April 10, 2008

I have escaped from hospital (a day early) - woo!

The prednisolone infusions seem to have gone well and without any horrible side-effects or reactions.  I had three lots of 1000mg over three days put in through a cannula.  Despite massive amounts of steroids running through my body I slept like a baby last night.  My blood sugar got up to 10.1, but the doctor was pretty impressed that it hadn’t gotten a lot higher considering everything.  My blood pressure has been perfect to slightly low (could be down to my expert use of my Dr Andrew Weil guided imagery audiobook!) .  My blood tests were all fine.

My daily dose of pred is being reduced by 5mg per week until I’m off the stuff, so tomorrow I’m down to 35mg.

I should be getting an appointment through to see my consultant in a few weeks (he didn’t make it in to see me while I was on the ward - hmm, no comment!).

While I was in hospital Mum got phone calls for me from work.  I am a preferred candidate for the summer job … so basically, as long as my references are okay and my Disclosure Scotland thing comes through okay, I have the job - hurrah.

I’m also working more hours next week, so I hope I don’t suddenly feel awful because of the treatment!

In more fun news, I’m off to see ‘And then there were none’ at the theatre on Saturday.  I have a small ‘And then there were none’ obsession, so I’m rather excited about this.

18 June 2007 June 18, 2007

So, yesterday was Fathers’ Day. Dad seemed pleased with his Spongebob dvd and QI book (apparently Richard Gere’s middle name is Tiffany). Now my mind turns to the next gift-giving event looming on the horizon: Mum and Dad’s wedding anniversary. A couple of years ago I started using World Vision’s Alternative Gift Catalogue. I’ve given the occasional Christmas, birthday and anniversary present from it since then. I had thought about giving my parents a bird bath for their garden, but an alternative gift seems so much more appropriate … now to choose!

Health:

I had yet another visit to the nurse today - another pin-cushion appointment. We discussed my bone density, all the drug side-effects and my general well-being. I need to go back in a month.

My last appointment with my consultant was on May 9th and my next was supposed to be six weeks later, but I haven’t had an appointment through. I rang the hospital this afternoon. It sounds like I have been forgotten / fallen through the cracks, but they will try to arrange an appointment for me … at some point. Hmpf.

Kitten update:

Firstly, Dolly is not a kitten!

Mum took her down to the vet today to see if she was microchipped, to have her vaccinated and wormed and to get her general health checked. The vet decided that she is probably 1-2 years old, and is just an exceptionally small cat. Looking at cat websites and the information on age and weight, we had figured that she must be 3-4 months old, but the vet spotted that she has some dental plaque on her teeth and so she can’t be very young. He couldn’t tell if she had been spayed or not, but gave us information on the warning signs that she’s in heat. He also had a look at her funny eye, but he couldn’t really tell what was wrong with it, but thought that it was probably nothing to worry about.

Apparently Dolly was a complete hit down at the vet’s, charmed everyone and had everyone coo-ing over her. Then she came back from her trip out and peed on Le Dog’s bed. Nice.

28 May 2007 May 28, 2007

Ugh, ugh, ugh. I had an appointment with the nurse today. My blood tests came back fine, but my blood pressure was still a little high, so I’ve got to take it twice a day for the next week and take it in to her next Monday. It was something like 140/90 when she took it today, but I did it this evening and it was was fairly normal (130/80 or thereabouts). My heart was pounding when I was in seeing her, I just get so anxious.

I got a catalogue for Burt & Daisy through the post today. They do natural, organic skincare, beauty, baby and cleaning stuff. On the off chance that anyone ever stumbles upon this post and actually reads it here’s the offer they sent me with the catalogue (I’ve not tried it, so can’t guarantee it works, nor have I ever ordered from them so I can’t vouch for them personally):

“Receive £2.00 off your next order when you spend over £25! Just quote/enter Voucher Coder BD5234Z when you place your order, either online or by telephone. Valid from 1st May to 31st July 2007. Feel free to share this great offer with your family and friends.”

Also, I liked that the catalogue says it is printed on recycled paper with vegetable dye inks.

I’m not feeling very well today. My nausea is pretty bad and my stomach is churning. I can’t think that I’ve eaten anything particularly out of the ordinary: banana for breakfast, Quorn chicken burger, boiled tatties and salad for lunch, then Tesco Naturally Good Chicken Dijonnaise Tagliatelle (I picked the broccoli out - I’m such a child) and a chocolate Skinny Cow lolly for tea … nothing there that seems like it could make me ill surely. It’s probably the Cellcept, but the stomach churning is something new. My travel sickness bands are doing nothing today, but I am persisting with them. I was asking Mum about natural things which are good for nausea we didn’t get any further than mints and ginger, but she did say that she has a homeopathy book somewhere upstairs which might have some suggestions. Despite my skepticism about homeopathy, I’m willing to give anything a try right now.

Last night I once again fell asleep to my guided visualisation mp3. I’m never going to find out what the third exercise is at this rate. I’m still not sure how the second one ends. I remember my wise, healing thing being a rabbit and imagining myself lying on a warm bit of granite (which was remarkably comfy in my imagination) outside a little wooden cabin in the middle of some woods, then nothing. Fast asleep.

I cracked open my packet of Sante facial cleansing wipes this morning. They’re okay. I’m not keen on the fact that they require you (me) to rinse my face after use, this hasn’t been my practice in the past when using Simple facial wipes (but then again maybe I’ve been doing it wrong all these years!). They smell nice and feel nice, but they’re perhaps a little on the dry side. I’ve added some of the Tesco BNatural facial wipes to this week’s shopping, so I’ll see what they’re like and get a proper look at the ingredients list after they arrive on Thursday. I also added some Bionsen deodorant to the shopping. It’s one of these spritzy mineral deodorants where you add water to some crystals - it sounds more complicated than it is, I’m sure.

Nursie! May 21, 2007

I had a ‘pin cushion’ appointment today.  The nurse was very friendly, but I just hate it.  She expected me to know what my doctor wanted done and when - like he actually tells me stuff!?  So, anyway, I had the usual ‘hmm, your veins are well hidden’ comment, then vials of just about every variety were filled with my blood.

Nice though the nurse was, she did insist on doing more than just take my blood.  She took my blood pressure: high.  She weighed me: ugh.  She tried to persuade me to diet … the Slimfast way: um, I actually like to chew my food.  I have to go back next week so she can check my blood pressure again, and presumably try and do a bit more arm twisting with regards to dieting.

I know my diet is crap and that I don’t do enough exercise, but it’s easier said than done to change things.  I have filled my virtual Tesco trolley with slightly healthier food than normal, so I’m trying.

My current baby steps towards a healthier mind and body (and world) have also included the radical decision to stop using facial wipes!  Apparently there are old-fangled things called ‘face cloths’ that do the job just as well.