Winter months do have their 'upsides' The worse the weather - the better the excuse 'not' to go out. You appreciate the warmer months more. I have an electric coal effect fire in my living room and can have the coal effect on even without the actual heater on. It gives a lovely real fire effect that makes the room look and feel cosy and I love the evenings when I can switch it on - close the curtains and snuggle up on the sofa.. Once you get to January - Spring is just around the corner. Nature 'springs' to life again, new born animals (such as lambs) and birds appear and your outdoor areas start to look like actual 'gardens' again. Looking forward to all this always helps to make me feel a bit brighter.
I'm sorry to hear this. Stuff like that is not only a major comfort & lifestyle problem, it affects your ability to gather nutrients from your food. I've recently had some significant urinary tract issues (my bladder completely stopped working), but with all the stuff I've suffered with that, bowel issues (like my recent diverticulitis) bother me the most. It's as though one problem is purely mechanical (if properly controlled) while the other impacts my health & my psyche. I sure hope you continue seeking a workable solution, but would not blame you if hope is sometimes in short supply (I, too, tend to isolate.) I've struggled when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel, and just recently found some hope that there may be a way to manage it. Continue to hang around, there's good company here.
The opinions on diets seem to vary from a high-fiber diet, heavy on whole grains, to a low FODMAP diets which is the opposite (almost). Since you find gluten and dairy to be a problem, have you tried other grains and sources of fiber, such as psyllium or even inulin? The FODMAP diet helped my wife immensely with her intestinal problems, but hers were of a different nature than yours. If you can try an elimination diet (if you haven't already), and if you can find a food regimen that reduces your symptoms, you could try adding L-glutamine supplement to your diet to see if it helps to heal your gut lining a bit. I feel for you, @Richard Whiting. I, too, have difficulty hearing. I have been to three audiologists and as many ENT people, but so far no cause or remedy for my deafness has been found. That alone can make you feel isolated, but when you add your other miseries, I can see why you want to sleep your days away.
@Don Alaska Thank you for the welcome There was me starting to think I was the only one from outside the U.S - does seem like I'm in a 'minority' group
We have at least one Australian, a member in Asia, a member in the Dominican Republic, a South American expat and a few Brits (and I'm 1/2 British and 1/4 German.) That's off the top of my head...sorry if I overlooked anyone.
Sweetheart, there's more than 1/4 of me missing, but I appreciate the benefit of the doubt. My dad's parents were German. I could not decide what to put for the other 1/4...I guess "American," assuming that my mother being naturalized does not skew the numbers.
Yes days are Long, but I get Long sleep. And thankfully I still have a curosity in seeking health stuff for my issues and share a lot of them on the boards I'm on. Talking yesterday to one of the guys that help me, he picked up Panda food for me, he is already ready to check out and he's in his early 50's. I attempted to give him some advice of sugar and the diabetes fears and how rampant diabetes is and he said "I don't need aother mother".... Guess I've been told... Then I asked him some questions about the love of his life, his 10 yr old pitbull, and he got happy. His helping me, gives him something to do. He primarily works from home and I am beginning to think people who work at home more and more, are really isolated. I had at least 10 jobs in 40 yrs and never from the home. Met a lot of people and saw a lot of the country.
We used to have quite a number of folks from outside the U.S., but now we are down to only a few but at least you are not the only one. Covid seemed to reduce the number.
Richard, think about being of service to someone who is unable to get around....I helped some older friends when I was in my 70's... I saw depression mentioned by someone and maybe it was you. Have you had a Thorough Thyroid Work done? Depression is top on the list of symptoms related to low thyroid. I went thru 10 yrs of depression and found finally from a SMART/WISE doc it was thyroid that needed help. While I was working on this issue and the thyroid medication, I was a friend of a guy who was also working on his thyroid....tweaking what had to be done. I learned a lot from him too.
I was talking to a young woman about being retired, and she says her grandmother considered it but she likes her work too much. Her grandmother takes care of "older people"...and she's 80 years old!!!
That reminds me of my mom and dad, too. They had an old hotel in a small town in Idaho, and mostly had elderly people living there who could not afford an apartment anymore. She and my dad were both in their 80’s when they passed (within weeks of each other), and still taking care of the hotel up until that time. Unfortunately, age is not always a factor, so some people , even though they are younger are just not physically able to take care of themselves very well, let alone other people.
Bless her 80 yr old heart, if she can still help others, more power to them all. If I could walk I'd be doing some help to a point and I'm 84.