- Location
- Minnesota
- Name
- Chris
Maybe you should read it before you go and kill yourself building your commando toddler proof fencing?
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Travel My Trip Report - Iceland
- Thread starter MountainMan79
- Start date
-
- Tags
- iceland
- Location
- Beaumaris, Melbourne, Australia
- Name
- John ...
You're almost certainly right there, mate!
I collapsed in a living room chair the other day. Had to ring SWMBO on her mobile to come and help me (she was upstairs ... ).
I've nearly completed the works. Today should be the last day.
Then polar bears will not be able to get into our pool, let alone 5 y.o. humans.
Whatever happened to parental responsibility?
- Location
- Minnesota
- Name
- Chris
Who needs that when you’ve got a fence?
- Location
- Beaumaris, Melbourne, Australia
- Name
- John ...
What a wonderful trip, Chris. The wonderful people you met must have helped you come to terms with the death of your father, to some degree at least.
Sorry to hear about the dreaded GERD. I understand ...
I have a hiatus hernia, topped off with what Warfarin does to my stomach. So I've taken 40mg Nexium (proton pump inhibitor) for the last 19 years, and will be taking it for the rest of my life. It's either that, or the Warfarin will perforate my stomach ...
Continue to take care of yourself, mate.
[Edit]
BTW, I finally finished the bloody pool fence. Put all the tools away this morning, and have arranged for the pool fence inspector to come. Hopefully he will issue me with the required certificate of compliance!
Have spent an immensely enjoyable 2 hours reading every word of your mighty travelogue. Lovely photos, and thank you for the enormous effort in essay writing. Well done.
[End edit]
Sorry to hear about the dreaded GERD. I understand ...
I have a hiatus hernia, topped off with what Warfarin does to my stomach. So I've taken 40mg Nexium (proton pump inhibitor) for the last 19 years, and will be taking it for the rest of my life. It's either that, or the Warfarin will perforate my stomach ...
Continue to take care of yourself, mate.
[Edit]
BTW, I finally finished the bloody pool fence. Put all the tools away this morning, and have arranged for the pool fence inspector to come. Hopefully he will issue me with the required certificate of compliance!
Have spent an immensely enjoyable 2 hours reading every word of your mighty travelogue. Lovely photos, and thank you for the enormous effort in essay writing. Well done.
[End edit]
Last edited:
- Location
- Minnesota
- Name
- Chris
Thanks John. I’m glad you enjoyed the read. The PPI seems to be helpful so far (about 2 weeks into treatment), but my esophagus still has a way to go before it’s healed up. It’s one day at a time, and hopefully tomorrow is always little better than today. Thankfully that’s been the case...with all of it that I’m working through.
Good luck on the inspection
- Location
- Seattle
- Name
- Andrew
Wow! I saved this thread for a time when I'd have enough peace and quiet to go through it and take the time it deserved, and that was a good idea. Thank you for not only the wonderful photos, but the honest insight into how you felt and thought about your trip. This will be a landmark in your memories, probably forever. I especially appreciated your insights into the anxiety that you dealt with on the trip, as I've had anxiety aplenty on trips, vacations and adventures, when I had hoped to just have fun and appreciate what was around me. I think a major step towards curbing that internally is to find that it's common, and others deal with the same stuff. It will, for certain, wreck your digestion, and I'm not at all surprised to read you had/have GERD-type issues now. All the anxiety, beneath-the-surface emotional unrest and grief, and the food you weren't used to. Oh, and the alcohol! Alcohol can definitely exacerbate acid reflux type issues, I have found. Not that it'll stop me from having a good pint now and then, but just something to be aware of. I've found things improve a lot if you apportion your entree to go with your drink, i.e. smaller meal if you're going to wash it down with a couple brewskies. My one other recommendation as you recuperate, get some deglycyrrhizinated licorice, or DGL, chewables/tablets. It's licorice with the potentially heart-rhythm-disrupting glycyrrhizin taken out, and it's used as an antacid in many parts of the world. My parents let me on to this when I had issues similar to what you're describing after a fairly mild bout with coronavirus. While the illness wasn't any worse than two weeks of intense tiredness and very mild flu symptoms, it messed up my stomach in its aftermath. DGL works by stimulating more production of mucus to line your stomach and esophagus. Not something you feel or notice, but it protects against irritation really well. Just combine that with decreased meal size and lay off the alcohol for a while, you'll be right as rain before long.
- Location
- Southeast Idaho
- Name
- Dan
Great report. Congratulations on getting to go to such a great place. Iceland is one of my top 10 wishlist countries to visit.
- Location
- Minnesota
- Name
- Chris
Thanks Andrew. And you’re actually the second person to now recommend the DGL licorice stuff. Sounds like that may be a good longer term solution, but for now I need to let the medication do it’s magic for a couple months while my throat heals. I hope to celebrate my birthday in July with a glass of red wine, but until then (and even after to a large extent), it’ll be pretty clean living for me.
Edit- already ordered some DGL. Curious about how it builds mucus to protect the lining. As when I was on a liquid only diet, and drinking mostly milk based protein shakes, I had a lot of mucus and phlegm buildup in my throat, exacerbating the swallowing issue, so I’ve been taking mucinex to help with that (me and milk never really got along). Crazy to think that may now be doing the opposite of what I need. At least now that I’m finally transitioning away from that, I think I’ll stop the mucinex for now, and shortly begin adding in the DGL.
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- Location
- Beaumaris, Melbourne, Australia
- Name
- John ...
@MountainMan79 Chris, about a third of all adult mammals are milk intolerant. Adult cats are a prime example, but us humans as well.
Also wise to consult your managing physician. A lot of complementary medicines are incompatible with prescription medications, as they often do the same thing, or cause problems.
Being on Warfarin makes one very aware of all kinds of interactions with other medications, including eye drops (!), which are processed by the kidneys and liver ...
Also wise to consult your managing physician. A lot of complementary medicines are incompatible with prescription medications, as they often do the same thing, or cause problems.
Being on Warfarin makes one very aware of all kinds of interactions with other medications, including eye drops (!), which are processed by the kidneys and liver ...
- Location
- Seattle
- Name
- Andrew
I never noticed DGL increasing mucus that I could feel. I think it mostly stimulates production in the stomach, when it arrives there. It really does feel like an effective antacid when I take it, yet it's doing something much more natural than some antacids and helping the body protect itself the way it is supposed to. I'm not into a lot of herbal stuff (growing up with a "health nut" mom gave me a lot of insight into what works and what doesn't) but I found success with that one at least. And I do think beer exacerbates this stomach/esophagus condition more than anything else I've come across. Beer, wonderful beer, why must you be my enemy?
- Location
- Southeast Idaho
- Name
- Dan
I think I just walked into the wrong bar here. I think I'd better beat it out of here before I find another accordion in my car.
Somehow I completely missed this. First of all my condolences on your father's passing. Secondly, that's a seriously thorough and thoughtful write-up. The people you describe sound wonderful. Thirdly... Wow those are some really nice photos! Hard to pick a favourite, or even a top 5. Well done! Also for overcoming your fears and facing your emotions. It sounds like a transformative experience.
- Location
- Minnesota
- Name
- Chris
Thank you so much for the kind words! Appreciate it!
- Location
- Seattle
- Name
- Andrew
My apologies for derailing the fantastic travelogue/photos for such an unpleasant topic! That probably could have been carried out via PM. Oh well, everyone else just breeze through my contributions! Hahah.
- Location
- Beaumaris, Melbourne, Australia
- Name
- John ...
Had the inspection today. All good except for one minor issue that inspector helped me to rectify.Good luck on the inspection
Took the certificate to the local Council. Charged me $20 to LODGE the bloody thing!!
Then I got cranky ...
Involved three staff at $40 p.h. each for 45 minutes arguing the toss with them about all and sundry. 3 x $40 x 0.75 = $90 of lost productivity ...
There are more ways of killing a cat than sticking a straw in its ear and sucking its brains out ... heh, heh.
- Location
- Seattle, WA, USA
- Name
- Keith
Finally getting to this thread, and I'm so glad I did. If your current career takes a turn you can always fall back on freelance travel writing and photography, Chris.
I'm so sorry for your recent loss. It must've been hard to miss the memorial, but my guess is that the enlightenment you took from this trip will be something you'll carry with you for a lifetime.
Thanks so much for sharing your adventures and even your tribulations with us. Looking forward already to the recap of your return visit.
- K
P.S. It's bizarre to me that you draw the line at gravlax after eating whale, shark, reindeer, puffin, etc.
I'm so sorry for your recent loss. It must've been hard to miss the memorial, but my guess is that the enlightenment you took from this trip will be something you'll carry with you for a lifetime.
Thanks so much for sharing your adventures and even your tribulations with us. Looking forward already to the recap of your return visit.
- K
P.S. It's bizarre to me that you draw the line at gravlax after eating whale, shark, reindeer, puffin, etc.
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- Location
- Minnesota
- Name
- Chris
> gravlax
I have read every word, looked and marveled at every picture and feel as if I was there in your body experiencing these wonderful sights and feelings. Like you, I sometimes get flustered to the point of panic in strange situations where I feel I am not in control. I always focus on another person who looks weaker than me doing the task I am supposed to do and think to myself---"if he/she can do it, so can I." This attitude got me through my parachute jumps which I did not want to do but I forced myself to do so with that mantra of he can, so can I.
I am impressed that you were able to find such peace so soon after the tragic loss of your father. Loss of a loved one seems not to bother me outwardly, but the pain seems to go on internally forever. Hang in there, your words might have inspired more people than you thought.
I am impressed that you were able to find such peace so soon after the tragic loss of your father. Loss of a loved one seems not to bother me outwardly, but the pain seems to go on internally forever. Hang in there, your words might have inspired more people than you thought.
- Location
- Minnesota
- Name
- Chris
Thanks Mel. I’m glad you enjoyed the read. I used to have debilitating panic attacks in my late teens, and have used a lot of different methods to try and cope during those episodes. Thankfully this latest round was nowhere near as severe, but my old coping skills were still put to the test. And I’d say I’m similar to you in how I process grief; outwardly I looked much better than I actually was. That moment at the waterfall was powerful, and released a lot of that grief. It’s not entirely gone, and I’m sure it’ll be some time still, but it propelled me quickly to a much better spot. Every day is still better than the last, and I’m hopeful now. Thanks again.
Unrelated update. The DGL I bought is either just GL, or doesn’t sit well with me. Some pretty gnarly heart palpitations accompanied it’s use, so I’ve discontinued it.
- Location
- Beaumaris, Melbourne, Australia
- Name
- John ...
@MountainMan79 Chris, some folk remedies and patent medicines can and do have some very serious side effects in some people. Being permanently on Warfarin brings this home forcefully! Even eye drops are processed in the kidneys and liver ...
