MARYROSE02

My brother came down with gout again. He says the pain is worse than toothache? I have sent him some of the tips from this thread.

Suffering from Crohn's Disease must wear you down? I thought there might be some support groups around for something like this?

I just noticed your post - been working my way through this thread. Social phobia and/or shyness has been a problem at times. At uni in the 1980's I found the tutorials horrible, crowded into a small room, and unable to open my mouth for an entire year. Now I'm doing my Open Uni degree, a generation later, and it's all on line, but I am contributing to the forums, and to be honest, if I had 'face-to-face' tutes again, I don't think have any problem. I think 'social phobia' is all about the fear of being judged by other people. You know, 'I walk into the pub, and I'm sure that everybody is looking at me' or 'How can I go to a gym when all the 'jocks' will be laughing at my weedy body.' But in reality, nobody is looking, and they all have their own problems to worry about. Have you ever had any therapy? That can help. It helped me in fact. I remember after my first appointment with the guy I see, I was pumped up enough to go to an open mic poetry evening and read my own (crap) poem aloud!

I took Paroxetine in the UK for a couple of years. I did not have any problems when I was taking it, but when I came off it, I think I had to do it by switching to a liquid form, and reducing it gradually be an 'ml?' a day. I have discussed with my GP, switching to another anti-depressant and he prescribed 'Avanza' / Mirtazapine, but I've never taken it. I've thought about it, went back to see him and asked if I could stay with 'the Devil I know', which he agreed with. I think I may have been sleeping poorly at that time, and as you take Avanza in the evening, it helps rather than hinders sleep? Actually, I can think of a good reason to start taking it, which was partly the reason I did not want to start it. You can't drink in the evenings! To be fair, I was also scared about side effects of stopping one, and starting another.

I guess we all tend to associate 'depression' with 'negative' words, and when we are feeling 'down', we feel like we are surrounded by happy, successful, people?

Next time (which won't be a very LONG time) I see my GP, I might ask him again about how long I need to take Citalapram for? It was a doctor in the UK who prescribed them first, and different GPs I've seen in Sydney have concurred in that diagnosis. (I don't 'surgery-hop' bu the way. Each time I've changed suburbs, I've changed GP's. It was one in Balmain who first referred me to a psychologist. I asked him to refer me I should say.) In a way, I can answer my own question about 'how long to continue taking the Citalapram, or at least predict the GP's response, because I continue to be 'anxious', mostly about my health. I notice every little 'sign' (of change) in my body. Without being too 'frank', the major disadvantage of Citalapram is that it has destroyed my libido! I don't usually suffer from depression as such, though I have done at times. This year, two changes I made was going away on a holiday, and signing up for the Open University, the latter having filled a huge gap in my time. I've just done the last of the three quizzes, each worth 10 percent of my total mark, and I have the final assignment worth 30 percent due at the end of the week. And I've already enrolled for my next unit - -'Creative and Professional Writing' taught this time via Griffith University. Actually, both my GP and my psychologist agree that I am better than I was. I have an appointment with my psychologist in a couple of months, and he did not think I really need to see him. I can sort of sense it myself, when it's time to 'let go' because I no longer look forward to my appointments with him.

My brothers have both suffered from gout at times and just this week, one of them, staying with me at the moment, has been researching bicarbonate of soda. He started drinking a glass every day for other alleged benefits, but he says that it could be good for gout too. A couple of sites I looked suggested using baking soda twice a day for a week to kill off uric acid which causes gout. Maybe worth a shot Above is a line from an email which I copied. NB I think he has confused 'BAKING SODA' with 'BICARBONATE OF SODA?'

I changed my mind about changing away from Citalapram, "The Devil I know", perhaps. I discussed it with my doctor. I'll see how things go. Funny really. Tonight I went to meet someone New in Bondi, took public transport instead of driving partly because it is hassle parking in Bondi and partly because I wanted to have a drink. I travelled on crowded buses and trains, went in crowded clubs and restaurants, no anxiety or nerves, well not too much! Travelling away from home for a holiday especially flying is something I still need to conquer. If you saw me talking in the pub, you would think I am zero shy!

Forgot to mention cruise ship heading out of Sydney Harbour just behind Clark Island.

Not quite sunset at Redleaf and Seven Shillings Beach. I think there is a bit if Sun reflected on bldgs in North Sydney. Sun was still up at 730 when I arrived for a swim.

I travelled from Perth toAdelaide to Sydney inn my first couple of months 36 yrs ago and then I lost my traveling mojo!

Wonderful. I still have not been to NT or Outback WA.

This is the awful reality of Xmas in Australia. 7 20 on a cool (sic) Dec eve at Circular Quay in front of the Customs House, no snow no glowing barriers no dark cold nights just people out in summer shirts.

It was my 36th anniversary of arriving in Sydney yesterday 8th Dec 1978. I was scared too. Far more than when I went to Perth and Adelaide. Stupid of course, listened to all the horror stories from blokes in UK who had come here as seamen and probably gone no further than the closest pub to the ship! Not that the is anything remotely frightening about those pubs anyway! I stayed at the YMCA for a week or so then moved to New and Warrane Colleges at UNSW in Kensington. I got a job finally in Jan in Neutral Bay and moved there to Royal Private Hotel above the ferry wharf. Both my bros moved out in79 and also lived there. Just checked my diary for Dec 9th and I see I did Harbour Bridge, Opera House and Bondi Beach ask that day, went to Brooklyn Hotel in eve in George St (still there but much remodeled rebuilt and renamed.) and when I got back to YMCA bloke in reception gave me three cans of Tooheys Draught and we talked for a couple of hours. (That's Aussies for you. Unfriendly so and so's!)

I've had my own 'ups and downs' over the last few years and decades, probably more with anxiety than depression, although they often affect people at the same time, and the same medication is often prescribed. I've been taking 'Citalapram' for years, first prescribed in England by my GP there. I'm actually in the process of winding down taking Citalapram, and, after a day or two 'clean', starting another anti-depressant - 'Mirtazapine'. If anybody has experience of stopping one medication, and then starting another I'd be interested in hearing their experiences. I'm looking at the two packets as I type and I had this odd feeling of 'guilt'. 'Why do I need to take this stuff?' But I don't experience any feelings of guilt because I take a statin!? I don't know if anybody else has mentioned it, but if you get a referral from your GP, you can get ten appointments per year with a clinical psychologist, with contributions from Medicare, depending on the bill. The one I see charges $125 and I get $80 back from Medicare. I've gone over my ten for the year as I had to pay the full amount for my last appointment. I was just talking about feelings of guilt over my medication, and I guess I feel a little the same way about seeing a 'shrink.' You know, I walk in, looking furtively around me, which is both funny and sad, because, as others have said, we don't feel we are suffering a 'real' illness. Things are gradually changing though. I think I have improved over the years. One of my friends, who has known me for thirty years told me recently that he thinks I am not so 'scared' as I used to be.

Sydney from Watson's Bay today.

There's nothing to stop you going to a few 'open house' inspections in blocks of flats, look at the adverts, see what level the flats are, perhaps, but is it something you would want to do on your own? You could start 'small' somewhere like David Jones in Castlereagh St, or Westfield on Pitt St, go up one level at a time, till you get to whatever it is - 6/7/8?. There are a few multi-storey car parks where you could do the same thing. Walk over the Harbour Bridge and it gets successively higher above the ground. You only have to go as far as you want. But, again, you might want someone with you. I don't like crowds, and I just remembered that when the Bridge was closed to traffic in 1992 on the 60th anniversary, I - foolishly - agreed to walk over with friends, and about 250,000 others, and had something of a panic attack. I'm not so keen on heights either, but I noticed that it is worse when I can actually go out on to balconies as opposed to looking through windows.

I just pulled my diary out for 1978 to see where I was on the 29th October - at sea, somewhere between Singapore and Freemantle, suffering from a hangover from drinking too many Swan Lagers, but pretending it was sea-sickness. I arrived in Australia on 3rd November, 1978, so it's approaching my 36th anniversary (although I had twelve years back in the UK to reduce my actual time spent living here.) Reading from my diary, "My 1st impressions of Perth are really good. I like it and I want to stay. I went for a drink in the evening - the 1st pub I was really scared of being called a "Pommie B*stard" by some drunk, but it never happened, and I relaxed after a bit." (In my defence, the uncouth blokes I'd worked with in England had spent the year telling me how nasty Aussies were, to Pommies!) Just been leafing through the pages for November, into December, trying to remember what I did. I liked it in Perth, and made some friends, partly on the boat and partly at the hostel in Newcastle Street - 'Travelmates', but I couldn't get a job, so I decided to go to Adelaide on my own. When I got to Adelaide, I did not like it as much as Perth but that was partly because I was on my own. I actually decided to go back to Perth, but then I changed my mind, having met two Norwegian guys who were going to Sydney, and I arranged to meet them on the steps of the Opera House. I got the bus to Sydney on 7th December, 1978, and basically, apart from that sojourn back in the UK, I've been here ever since. Both my brothers followed me in 1979, one moving on to the US after fifteen years, and the other still here. I've had my ups and downs here, and perhaps I should never have left home. Still, my parents go to see Australia, and make fresh contact with family in NZ, the first since the War. I made frequent trips back to England, culminating in that twelve-year stint, though it would not have happened had I not been made redundant, nor my parents still living in England. It's nearly six years since I left England for the second time, and I've not been back. Possibly, I never will go back. I've let my UK passport expire, something I never did before. I guess I've 'gone native' now, and I think the way the Aussies do - i.e, I just 'live' here now. I still like reading about England, watching English TV shows, reading the English newspapers, watching the EPL, but I no longer 'pine' for 'home' because Australia is 'home!'

I Googled your query to see what comes up and also to push the thread back into the limelight? [h=3]Has anyone asked for release from ACT concerning the Subclass 190 ...[/h] http://www.pomsinoz.com › Forum › Australian States & Territories › ACT Cached [*]Jul 1, 2014 - 1 post - ‎1 author [*]If so, how did you go about it? It is at a point now that we are seriously debating moving out of ACT because of ZERO jobs in the ACT. [*]is it legal for a subclass 190 act nominee to work in ... 10 posts 27 Dec 2013 [*]Has anyone got the Citizenship approved without ... [*]10 posts [*]30 Oct 2013 [*]So the Job Market is pretty much dead in Canberra ... [*]10 posts [*]14 Oct 2013 [*]has anyone ever broken their moral obligation to stay in ... [*]10 posts [*]28 May 2013 [*]More results from http://www.pomsinoz.com [h=3]Living/working in other states on a subclass 190 visa ...[/h] http://www.australiaforum.com › ... › Visas and immigration Cached Similar Aug 26, 2013 - 10 posts Hi Mark, Happy to inform you the I have been granted a WA-state sponsored Skilled Nominated (Permanent) (class SN) Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190) visa, but ... Its a moral obligation.....that you need to stay 2 years in the state ... if you want to ask the CO about it, maybe ask "what if I have difficulties ... [h=3]British couple deported for failing to meet visa conditions - Page ...[/h] http://www.saaustralia.org › Immigration › General Cached Similar Feb 21, 2013 - 15 posts - ‎10 authors And if they do not have anything to complain about, they complain about that. ... Lol, sorry guys, it was said as a bit of a joke, I was not trying to offend anyone. ... you are granted a permanent Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190). ... your obligations for living in a regional area and ask what to do about it. [h=3]190 Visa Dilemma - Perth Poms[/h] http://www.perthpoms.com › Forum › Migration Issues Cached Similar Jul 15, 2013 - 7 posts - ‎3 authors Hi, Could anyone please advise if they have actually moved states ... The reason I ask the following; I am employer sponsored in WA. ... The state sponsorship is a moral obligation for the 190 visa only. .... Does anyone know if employers bother about the visa subclass and the 2 year obligation to stay in a ... [h=3]Visa 190 NSW state sponsorship - Expat Forum[/h] http://www.expatforum.com/.../141616-visa-190-nsw-state-sponsorship.html Cached Similar Feb 4, 2013 - 9 posts I have a question regarding the obligations of the visa. ... Can anyone here comment on my case (studying master degree in NSW). ... it's not a moral obligation to live in NSS for 2 years. if you can't find a job there then move ... but yes obligation for NSW SS for you to continue to live on the visa subclass 190 ...

How does Port compare to Sydney? I have always liked Port Macquarie, even wondered what it would be like to retire there, although now I am at the right age, I'm not so sure it would be the right move?!

Are you saying that I am OLD!? I did wonder/hope that I might get a job if the employer operated some kind of quota system - you know, certain numbers of women, gays, non-whites, and, hopefully, olds, but it hasn't worked out that way. What is it like in the UK? Do you reckon I would get a job easier there?

I rarely get jobs now, often go well over 100 apps.

I KNEW you weren't talking to me! (It's because I'm old and boring!) I was just moved by all this talk of 'Liverpool' to retreat to my 'throne room' with my chart book to peruse '1963' again, when I got a 4-speed record player for my 9th birthday on Anzac Day (though I'd never heard of Anzac Day then) and I bought 'Please Please Me' & 'She Loves You.' (and 'Like I've Never Been Gone' by Billy Fury & 'Glad All Over' by The Dave Clark Five.') Fifty years ago! It's ancient history now. The song I ended up singing in the shower was not The Beatles but 'From a Jack to a King' by Ned Miller. I remember talking to a bloke at Royal Mail who was retiring and I asked him: 'What year did you start?' '1963.' 'Before or after The Great Train Robbery?' 'Before.' 'What Beatles' song was in the charts?' 'Please Please Me,' PS I don't think I have 'Waterloo' on my spreadsheet of Sydney 'burbs' for PIO members so it must be time to both resurrect and re-activate that!

Me? 'MR2?' Can't be me, I'm not from Manchester. (Isn't it a suburb of Liverpool?) (My knowledge of UK geography is rather limited when it comes to north of the Thames (although I was born in South Shields.) I've been in Surry Hills, working or living, since 1981, albeit with a twelve year 'holiday' back in Southampton, and have owned my unit in Elizabeth St since 1987. Where does Redfern end and Waterloo begin? I walked down Regent St/Botany Road heading for Alexandria and I think it's somewhere down there. The Iron Duke, Macdonalds on McEvoy St, they are Waterloo? There's another pub about 50 metres past The Iron Duke? What is its name? And The Cauliflower. What suburb is that in!?

'Liverpool' is actually an old Aboriginal word meaning 'live by the river!' For some reason, thinking about places with the same name reminds me of my first time going to London to see Spurs play and I (naive young country bumpkin) went to Tottenham Court Road.