marie m

I have had my dog since he was 10 weeks old; he is now four years old. He is an outdoor dog. He sleeps in a kennel just outside the back door, warm and sheltered. The door of it faces in so he can see us through the glass door. He is rarely allowed in the house, and it's usually for a minute or two while I am preparing his food. For the last four weeks, any time he comes into the house, he cocks his leg, almost always on paper bags which contain shopping waiting to be put away. I get very angry at him, and batt him on the head with a rolled-up newspaper. I don't know how else to manage this , or why he has started to do this after four years. there are no changes in the household;no new people here, no different routines, no other pets.It's like he has suddenly started to see the house as HIS!

Anyone out there have any ideas?

I have just been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, after several months of stiff and painful wrists and fingers, and sometimes feet and knees. I am still stunned by the fact that I will have to take drugs for a long time to come.

I have been prescribed methotrexate 10 mg once a week to start off - but when I came home from the hospital and read the information brochures given to me, I just went cold after reading about possible side effects, including hair loss and liver damage.

I am 54, generally well otherwise, have a good diet high in fruit and veg, no red meat, no dairy. Can anyone tell me your own experiences of methotrexate?

What will happen if I don't take it?

I feel I have managed my symptoms well so far, losing some weight and getting a bit more active; or am I just in denial about this?

Help!

About three years ago I bought two hair clips made by a company called Stylee; they are suitable for medium or long hair, made with two curved combs which are sewn on to a decorative piece of stretch fabric, like a scrunchie. I have been unable to find anywhere that sell them in Ireland, or indeed any web site for them. i know they are still around, becase a friend bought some a year ago when in London. Can anyone help? they are brilliant; your hair looks groomed and tidy when it is swept up in one of these!

I got a grommet inserted in my left ear three days ago under GA; it was supposed to help my deafness by allowing fluid to drain out of my ear; and also to help equalise pressure in my middle ear, which gave me vertigo earlier this year; My doc said that the results would be "remarkable". However, I have had no improvement in my hearing, if anything I feel more blocked up, AND I seem to be developing earache too; I have no check-up until after Christmas; has anyone any advice to offer? Can I use any self-help methods, or use any alternative/complementary therapies that might help?

My PC is 8 months old, and has Norton Internet Security, currently showing my PC is clean and healthy. yet when I try to open my Yahoo browser - it opens with this Spyware page, inviting me to have a "free scan". When I click this button, Windows advises me that the site is not safe, so I don't go any further. Yet when I type in my Yahoo address, the pop-up "system alert" comes on at the bottom of the page, to tell me the PC is under threat from A Spy.It's been like this since we got back from hols - it was totally off for a week. I know my son used it a few times when we weren't here, but could he have imported something unwelcome, and most of all, how do I get rid of it?

I bought two budgies for company two months ago; the male seems sociable enough; he will listen and look at me if I talk to him, and attempt to respond, but the female seems to sit brooding and silent, occasionally letting off a few loud squawks and flapping around the cage, at the male.He can also be quite aggressive towards her, pecking at her head, if she gets too close to him; I'm presuming they will settle and get used to each other eventually?

I have been off work for a week, after a sudden violent attack of vomiting and vertigo, for which I was hospitalised. There does not seem to be any specific cause - perhaps a viral infection, I've been told. The treatment I am on is Stemetil; 3 times a day; Serc; 3 times a day.I still feel very dizzy and disorientated - walk like I am drunk. I have read that Ginkgo Bilboa can be helpful in these cases; has anyone used it? Or has anyone any suggestions for exercises, or other treatments? I cannot go back to work until this settles; I'm a supervisor in a very busy clinic, and I need to be on top form to be at work.

I'm open to complementary therapies of any sort; I just feel really strange and "out of it".

I have had a large ulcer-type sore on my right shin for six months; it's being treated by a dermatologist at the moment. It started as a tiny red mark, like a flea bite, and simply grew and grew. It's about one and a half inches across, and has been biopsied-no infection, no malignant cells, no fungal cells; treated with Protopic; with Fucibet; Dermovate and now Betnovate..there is very little real improvement. I stopped using all creams, exfoliators, and tanning products, and just use a bland cream like E45 or Aveeno to moisturise, and the Betnovate. I have taken a course of antibiotics to eliminate any infection . Three days ago, with the weather so good, I decided to use fake tan on my legs for the first time in months....and behold! Three little red spots just like the original one have popped up on the same shin....Not due to see my dermaologist for a week...but does anyone know if there is an ingredient in fake tans that might cause this type of reaction when used long-term?

I have five children, four grown up, three with kids of their own. for the second year in a row, there has been no acknowledgement in any way of that fact by three of the four eldest. my youngest is 14, still lives at home, gave me a card and made me tea and toast this morning; but I know this would not have happened if my partner hadn't organised it. My eldest daughter is 30 with a child of her own; my eldest son, age 26, there is an excuse for, he has just had a baby of his own, and is very caught up in that. I will probably get a call from my other daughter later today; my other son of 24 is living less than six miles away, and I have not heard from him. My partner has gone out with the dog; the youngest is in his mates' house on the Playstation. It feels horrible. Am I being unreal in my expectations; did I rear them badly-or am I the only one feeling like this?

I am seeking any information on a (Thomas)Tat Ming Cheung; or Cheung Tat Ming as he is correctly known.

Worked in Ireland for 3/4 years , went back to Hong Kong for a wedding in 1993.

After returning to Hong Kong, he worked as a travel guide for some time, taking tourists to the U.K. Last contact with him was in 1994; he called from London to say he had brought a group of businessmen on a guided tour.

His address in Honk Kong was in Shelley Street in the Central Area. He is an only son, having three sisters, one of whom is a dental nurse. He worked in the Imperial Restaurant in Dublin for some time.

I manage a very busy clinic in a large hospital; I supervise four staff; two are younger than me, one is my age and one is older than me. The difficulty is, the older woman has begun making mistake, really bad ones. She tends to be a little dotty and forgetful anyway, but we tolerate it and work around her, because she is loyal and pleasant to work with. In the past five months, her mistakes have been horrendous; one costing the clinic a lot of money; it's like she has completely lost her focus. I've noticed her typing, never fast, has slowed down to nearly full stop. Have tried to find out if there are any stresses in her life; but she seems her usual happy, dotty self. The trouble is, her errors have now come to the attention of senior management, and as her boss, I have been asked to address the situation. This is going to be hard; she is an obliging and supportive woman. How do I tackle it without alienating her?

My husband considers himself a wine expert. He says that butter or chocolate is added to wine to give a "buttery" or Chocolately taste. I feel this doesn't sound right - I don't like to think of my white wine having butter added to it!

I used to make home brew wine, and I never added anything like that; the flavours just used to develop.

I thought that the terms "buttery" "chocolatey" or vanilla or apple or pear undertastes was somehting that just occured as the wine matured?

HE is a lovely, kind man when he is sober. He loves me to bits, I know this. He would do anything for me, and he is so proud of me. when i met him he drank every night of the week, 10 to 14 pints plus shots. however as we weren't living together initially, and my then job entailed night work, I guess I was unaware of the extent of it. After he moved in with me, I would come home to find he had done something awful; he broke the fridge, my daughter's bike, the washing machine by deciding to fix them while he was drunk. Anyway, the point is, life changed for both of us. For family reasons, we had to move house, which meant that we bought a house together. Instead of it being just MY home, it was now OURS. And despite promises, he continued to drink. We have been to counselling; the agreement at the moment is he goes out one night a week, and doesn't drink at home. Yet I know he drinks when he leaves work. I see the cans and bottles around the house he hides. Yet I still care for him

I got a call fron the payroll dept of the very large comapny I WORK FOR CLAIMING TO HAVE OVERPAID ME FOR THE LAST YEAR!I changed location a year ago with a new contract and a four day week. However payroll claim not to have recieved notification of the change in my hours and continued to pay me for a five day week. They now claim I owe them 6600 euro through no fault of my own, and they want me to pay it back. I had a meeting with the head of payroll today and i offered to repay at a rate that suits me; However, it will take nine years to pay it all off! The head of department was not happy with this; I feel i have been very magnanimous about the whole affair. Should I now dig my heels and and say"If you want it, you'll have to chase me"or should I stick to my guns and say" Its your mistake; I shouldn't have to pay for it; or any ideas?

I have had low b12 counts for the past 2 yrs; as low as 170 or going up to 250 while taking an oral supplment. My HB count is around 11.5. My GP feels the lack of red meat in my diet is to blame; but im a huge veggie eater&eat chicken&fish. My symptoms are extreme tiredness, a lack of energy, although i go to the gym twice a week, but he is maintaining me on the oral supplement because of the reasonable HB count. I have a tendency to mouth ulcers and sores on my tongue; plus pins and needles in my left arm&fingers&sometimes my right.