we need some, albeit hacky way of clearing these old pms, make at least some way of finding them

app/controllers/notifications_controller.rb

@@ -3,7 +3,17 @@ class NotificationsController < ApplicationController
   before_filter :ensure_logged_in
 
   def index
-    notifications = current_user.notifications.recent.includes(:topic).all
+    notifications = current_user.notifications.recent.includes(:topic).all.to_a
+
+    if notifications.present?
+      notifications += current_user.notifications
+        .order('created_at desc')
+        .where(read: false, notification_type: Notification.types[:private_message])
+        .where('id < ?', notifications.last.id)
+        .limit(5)
+        .to_a
+    end
+
     current_user.saw_notification_id(notifications.first.id) if notifications.present?
     current_user.reload
     current_user.publish_notifications_state