greenbean

They're on the back of my hand and inside my wrist, triangular, you can kind of see into them, really painful, clearly puncture marks rather than just grazes but they didn't bleed much so I'm thinking they're not deep but I've been around cats my entire life and been bitten and scratched loads but neve anything as painful as this, I also saw that the cat's teeth were definitely in quite deep and there's a tiny bit of flesh gone from the one on the back of my hand. He'd just been eating old food out of another cat's bowl. Should I just go to the dr's anyway, wait and see how they do or stop making a fuss about nothing? I'm surprised at how strong the cat was when he was biting me, I couldn't move my wrist TIL he let go.

I'm worried I'm getting back into anorexic behaviours I thought I was over. Anorexia and bulimia are very close together for me but I have a wrecked kidney and I didn't have that when this was last an issue for me but my brain seems to be making bad decisions for me. I realised earlier I haven't eaten a decent meal in weeks; I'm eating but it's just snacking on crap. I make myself meals if I know someone will be there to see me eat them but all I do is pick at it, and if there's no-one here to see me eat I just don't bother and I'm starting to realise I'm scared of the prospect of eating an actual meal, like something that might have more than 300 cals in it. I might eat the same amount over 2 snacks, like one when I should be eating a meal and another just because but the thought of an actual plate of food is, I think, becoming a no-go again.

I never actually got help for either anorexia or bulimia; I got well underweight and referred to a psychiatric unit but my mum didn't want people to know so asked me not to go. I kind of stopped doing all the wrong stuff about 5 years ago (I'm 33) just because I couldn't physically keep it up anymore but it's still a thing. I chew and spit all the time, have done for years, I don't make myself sick anymore because I get horrible heartburn now and I haven't been conciously restricting what I eat for ages, but I am realising that a full plate of food has become a thing again. How do I deal with this, what would I have learnt if I had been to the hospital when I was supposed to because I don't want to go down that road again but right this minute it is suddenly seeming inevitable again.

This might be off topic but if I ask in beauty I'll get recommendations for hand creams made for professional kitten strokers. We have an allotment, it's a wreck but we're getting there and I spend a lot of time digging and clearing earth off of dock weeds. It was covered, literally, the whole space was just green with them, as though they were grass. Anyway, my hands are wrecked. I wear gloves at all times but I've read dock can cause dermatitis which I think I'm getting from spending so much time in contact with them (prob 10 hrs a week, there are THOUSANDS of the things on our plot) and the skin between and down my index finger and thumb is so dry it's embarrassing, as well as being uncomfortable, itchy, hot and sore. I have a mate who's a builder and I'm a girl and they're worse than his. I'm using Neutrogena unperfumed hand cream about 4 or 5 times a day and while the rest of my hands are fine with this much (as in they're just normal because they're really dry too) the area I've just said about and my fingers in general are horrible. Can anyone recommend a hand cream and/or barrier cream? I have sensitive skin in general, by the way. Also can anyone recommend a particular kind of glove that may be better? I wear fabric gloves covered in rubber on the areas that will see the most use. And just any other advice really, would be great. I have to scrub them under hot water with soap when I get home because the dirt gets so ingrained and I'm sure this doesn't help but I have to clean my hands up so I can't avoid this, really, as far as I can tell. Thanks very much.

She's about 7yo and has been basically the only cat around where we live for nearly 5 years (we live in a flat in an area that's really not very residential). There's a stray cat that appears every few months and another one from a couple of roads away who appears less frequently. Anyway, our next-door neighbours got 2 kittens a while ago and now they're old enough they've now started going outdoors every day/night the same as Maggie does. Their girl cat is very shy and doesn't come out as much as the boy, who is curious and I suppose you'd say bolder than her. It's the interactiion between the male cat and Maggie that I can't work out.

To start with there was a big hissy, howly stand-off when they saw each other, never any actual fighting, just the hissing and howling and Maggie would growl at him and he'd back off and that would be it. Then she started having to run at him to make him go which lasted a couple of weeks. Now, she doesn't seem interested or threatened or protective of her territory before, bearing in mind that she's had the whole place (I.e outdoors of the building), unchallenged, entirely to herself for the past 5 years. He sits on our windowsill if the window is shut and she'll half-hearted hiss for a bit then wander off. if the window is open he just comes straight in, firstly he'd come in, stand there for a minute then run off but now he comes in, has a good wander round for a few minutes and a sniff at whatever interests him then leaves when he feels like it. He even came and sat on the bed the other morning, I woke up to his face a few inches from mine the other day. He's just been in now and he actually went to her food bowl (which has food in it, Maggie's more of a grazer than a gorger). Maggie seemed perturbed that he was inside and that he was looking at her food and she sort of half sat-up from where she was lying and she hissed half-heartedly at him and watched him the whole time but made no effort to get him to go.

What's going on? Why is my 7yo cat who's had her own very clearly defined and unchallenged territory for the past 5 years letting a young cat who's basically still a kitten just help himself to that? She's not putting up any sort of fight at all. I've only seen her with the female kitten once and they were in close proximity to each other but just ignoring each other. The only previous incidence of us seeing Maggie interect with another cat was when a cat who was staying temporarily with another neighbour just randomly came through our window one day and she went ballistic at him/her, making all sorts of noises and lungeing at him/her. As far as we and her vet can tell, Maggie has been spayed and I know both the kittens have been neutered and spayed so I don't think there's anything going on there. What do you think is going on?

Something hurts on my left side when I go to the loo (either pooping or peeing). It's not a UTI, I know that and it's not a kidney infection because I've had a million of those and it's not coming from there. It feels almost muscular because if I try to stop the flow while I'm peeing it's there that it hurts but it happens when I poop too, you know like when you're making the effort? It's a really sharp pain that kind of radiates to my hip bone that feels like it's in the middle of my back and front. I've had huge amounts of abdominal surgery in the past 3 years because of severe endometriosis (I think it's 7 or 8 procedures all in all, including a hysterectomy and the removal of one ovary) plus surgery for 3 incisional and 1 inguinal hernia and a procedure to correct kidney reflux so I'm thinking adhesions between/around my bowel and bladder.My last surgery was around 4 months ago (hernia repair) and the surgeon told me he couldn't see any other issues than the hernia but this pain has started since then, maybe the last 3 months or so? My regular doctor said if it gets really bad to go to the hospital rather than make an appointment with him so I think he's worried about obstruction. Any ideas? Should I be concerned? Thanks.

I posted too about not being able to make a fist, yeah I know, I'm ashamed... Anyway I bruised both knees a lot but the right one is worse, the left just has a big hard hot red bruise on it. The right one though I grazed through my now-bloodied tights. I can feel it easiest when my knee is bent- there is like a squashy hot swelling (not a big swelling, more like where there are normally depressions instead there is like a pad of jelly) and there seems to be something in the middle of it, maybe it's just a vein although on the outside of a knee-cap seems like a stupid place to have a vein when it's so easy to hurt yourself there, it makes a kind of silent click if you know what I mean when I touch it, I can feel something sliding about. Any ideas? It doesn't hurt to touch where this thing is anymore than the rest of my hot, bruised knee but what is this thing sliding about? Thanks for any answers.

My hair is that dark blonde/light brown colour that isn't really any colour. I was white blonde as a child and I have blue/green/grey eyes depending on the light in the room at the time. Basically I'm no specific colouring except I can definitely say I'm cold-coloured rather than warm. I was thinking of colouring it golden brown which is the closest by colouring chart I can find; there is some red on the last 4/5 inches from henna which has been there 18 months and won't shift but other than that it's virginal to dye. Any ideas? I'm not gonna cut it but colourwise I'm open minded.

Did I miss something? I'm rewatching Season 1 and at the same time am partway into Season 2 as it's aired on Sky Atlantic. Was there no fall-out about the fact that Van Alden clearly acted like a nutjob during Sebso's "baptism"? Surely his death can't have just been explained away as an accident? Or is Van Alden somehow untouchable? I'm up to S1 Ep12, maybe it's all explained in there- I may have had too much hooch last time I watched it, or is it really just passed over?

Totally new to this. Some friends and family are saying put the manure in the compost bin so it will all rot down, and that putting the manure directly into the soil will just be feeding the weeds. Others are saying dig the manure into the ground now so it will break down and rot over winter and be ready for planting in the spring. I'm with them, I think fork it in directly to the soil because I don't think planting out into plain soil that's had nothing done to it sounds as sensible as putting something into the ground to improve it does. Also, we have some patches of clay in the soil (it's largely free of clay but there is the odd lump here and there) and I think the manure would help break these down. If there's any manure left over then I would put this into the compost so as not to waste it. Also, am I right in thinking that any seeds that have passed through the horse undigested have the potential to take root in my soil? Is there anything I can do about this? Thanks very much.

I'm quite often still up at 1.30 and I regularly hear a bird singing. I say 'a' bird but its song is so varied it could be that there's maybe 2 or more but I think it's one because the tone is constant. There is a lot of chattering between notes, some trilling, some random swirly type of sound, it's lovely. What would this be?

We have just got an allotment. This is the first bit of gardening space we've ever had to so we're complete newbies. At the moment, it is 7m x 17m of ground covered in weeds, mostly nettle and dockleaf with the stumps of a couple of bramble bushes. It's being double dug (whatever that is) this week and we plan to go down at the weekend to start sorting it out. We've got a compost bin- what I want to know is is it a good idea to put weeds on the compost bin? Won't they just take root there so when we come to use it we'll just end up spreading the weeds back out again? Also, what should I do about the bramble stumps? I don't know how long their root system is; is it enough to cut them right back or should we aim to dig them entirely? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

It's been about 5 weeks since I had 2 incisional and 1 inguinal hernia (all laparoscopically) repaired. All's been going well, the inguinal hurt to a degree I would need to swear about until about 3.5 weeks in, no idea how much the other 2 hurt because that was so bad. Anyway, slowly but surely it got better until maybe this Thursday when it started hurting more than it had been but in a different way. So, I've been keeping an eye on what it feels like and there is a definite lump there and I'm definitely feeling nauseated and as though I'm getting diarrhoea but I don't. I've tried feeling it while I cough and I think it feels more obvious then, but I don't know, maybe that's just how it heals? The lump is to the right and down from where the laparoscopy port hole is and feels to be maybe 1-2 inches big, it feels bigger sometimes and smaller on others. It's easier to feel when I'm stood up than when I'm lying down. Has this herniated again or is this just maybe scar tissue or something? I've been off work up til now, I'm back in in the morning which seemed like a good idea when I spoke to my manager last week but now I'm not so sure. Help!!!

We have an allotment, and a friend has a 14yo son who would like to earn some pocket money. How much should we pay him per hour for weed clearing, turning over soil, lugging crap etc (it's a new allotment and needs clearing which is what he'd be doing). We'd like to sort out an hourly rate incase we needed more doing or if he needed some money. We're in the UK.

I've basically spent the last couple of years having surgery, I've had (I think it's 9 surgeries, I've lost count tbh). Anyway my last was just over 4 weeks ago (repair of 2 incisional and 1 inguinal hernia); it's been agony, almost the most painful of all of them even though it wasn't the biggest. What I've found is that my hair is thinning out a bit- whenever I touch it I lose 2 or 3, if I take out a ponytail it's like 10 or something. What should I do? I've seen my doctor who said it's a response to the amount of surgery I've had and it should grow back so I'm not freaking out about it, I just want to know if there's anything that will help, like cutting it shorter or not washing it as often (usually every day, sometimes I leave it an extra day) or washing it more often or something? Should I tie it back or leave it down? It's currently nearly shoulder length, which makes it worse to me because I haven't had it this long in years so I think it looks as though more is coming out just because it's longer, and also maybe because I'm tying it back all the time I'm actually losing less than I think I am because instead of it just coming out without me noticing, I am noticing because I'm re-tying it a few times a day so the normal amount is coming out, it's just all ending up in my hand? Any advice anyone has would be great, I REALLY want this to stop happening!! Thanks x

This is driving me insane, I'm in my 5th week of being off and it's killing me. I'm off because I've had surgery to correct 3 hernias and I've still got quite a lot of pain from it. I'm fine in myself but I can't stay in one position for too long because it hurts too much, can't walk very far/fast and can't lift or carry anything heavy so it's not that I'm ill, I'm just hurting. I'm sick of TV, sick of the internet, don't want to sleep because I'm not tired, can't get interested in any books, I started making a new bag which I've nearly finished but now I'm too apathetic to pick it back up again. This is driving me insane. Does anyone have any suggestions? Cheers.

I had this procedure (along with repair of 2 incisional hernias) nearly 3 weeks ago and it's still really, really hurting. I've had mesh repair previously and don't remember it hurting for this long. I'm taking paracetamol and codeine, I can't take NSAIDs so no ibuprofen etc. I'm also taking Movicol because I know constipation is a complete nightmare after hernia repair and it's doing the job so I'm not concerned about that, and I'm taking co-amoxiclav for a UTI and amitriptyline. I'm walking around as much as I can and resting the rest of the time. Does this seem right or should the pain have eased by now? The inital pain of the surgery itself has gone, btw, the pain I've still got now is where the mesh was used.

We have a cat who we think is about 6 or 7. She's been with us for 4 years. We live in one of four blocks of apartments that are kind of gated-in in a non-residential area- there are a couple of other streets nearby but the area is primarily industrial, and for this reason our cat hasn't had much contact with other cats. There is a stray who comes and goes and one other cat from one of the streets and no other cats in our apartments at all so she has a large area she can consider her own territory. Anyway, I saw our next door neighbour today and they have just got 2 kittens. They'll be inside for a few weeks yet but obviously after that they will be let out into the same area as my cat roams. What I'm worried about is how ours will relate to their kittens- the last thing anyone wants is for ours to get territorial and their poor little kittens coming home with injuries she's inflicted, but she is a possessive cat (we got her from a friend who couldn't keep her because she was scratching her little girl and going for her when my friend was paying her attention) and she is territorial (there was another cat once who lived in a different block for a couple of weeks, he once came in through our window for some reason and ours went insane hissing and growling at him and she then threw herself at him). How can I make this not be a nightmare for all people and cats concerned?

I'm 32 and since having a hysterectomy last year that left me with one ovary, my skin has gone really greasy. I've never in my life had greasy skin, it's previously been so dry that in the winter it cracks but now it's shiny and itchy all the time. I hate it, it feels disgusting, I feel ugly and dirty and nothing seems to help, also the make-up I usually buy doesn't sit right anymore. What can I do? I'm using Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit facewash in the shower, Witch cleanser in the morning and evening and Gum eye make-up remover, but I'm still gross. I'm in the UK if that makes a difference as to what you suggest I buy/try. I hate this, please someone tell me something that works!!

I read that it makes it yellow/brown but when I take it mine is more of a bright yellow/green colour, is that right?

I had an incisional hernia repair op where the surgeon used mesh to cover the hernia about 6months ago. In the last couple of months I've started doing resistance workouts and kettle bells and altered my diet to exclude processed and refined foods, restrict carbs, increase protein and only include natural non-processed fats. The problem I've got is that I'm getting a lot of actually really painful sharp aching around where I had the hernia surgery (it's from the incision you get in the middle of your abdomen on the bikini line from a laparoscopy). It's been sore for 3 days now. When I get this I lay off the kettle bells and the more abs-y resistance stuff I do (so no planks etc) and try to be nice to the pain in general but what I want to know is what should I do diet and exercise-wise to avoid undoing the results I've achieved already? I'm not concerned about the pain because I know what it is and I know it takes a long time for everything to settle down after this particular procedure, I need to know whether I can still do any training or if anything else would be better while it's sore. (Cycling is out too because the pain is off-centre, more to the left and the whole pedalling thing makes it hurt more).

Sorry for the long question- basically what I'm asking is how do I maintain my progress when I can't work out?