25 June 2007 June 25, 2007

The cats woke me up at some ungodly hour this morning (Dolly playing with a leaf and Boo wailing to get out) and I struggled to get back to sleep. Consequently, I’ve been even more tired than normal today. This would have been fine but for my trip to the hospital this afternoon.

I had some time to kill in town before heading to my appointment, so I bought a compost crock and then I went into Grampian Health Foods. I’d never been in before, but it’s a fantastic little shop. It’s my idea of shopping heaven at the moment. It has so many of the natural toiletries and organic/natural foods that I’ve been wanting to try - and so much more too. I was a little dubious about the shop after looking at its website and seeing references to Jan de Vries. I used to watch him on This Morning and he would diagnose lactose intolerance (or similar) by holding a pint of milk near a person’s back and pushing down on their outstretched arm. It was totally ludicrous pseudo-science. I used to sit laughing at the people who believed in him. I really can’t understand how he gets away with it. Presumably there must be more to his diagnostic tests if you actually pay for a session with him?! Coincidentally, for a while my brother lived in a flat next to de Vries’s Edinburgh clinic. Anyway, I digress - Grampian Health Foods is great and so much better than Holland & Barrett in Aberdeen.

I bought Green People Day Solution.

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I’ve been looking for bookplates for Mum. I do not want to order bookplates from the US, so my choice has been rather limited. I saw some perfect ones (see left) on a website for a shop called Hebejewellery, but the site seems to have disappeared.

In my searches I have seen bookplates that I’d like for me. Foyles have some which I love - they are so appropriate for me. I haven’t ordered them, but I am sorely tempted.

You wouldn’t think that finding bookplates would be so tricky. I asked in Waterstones today and was told that lots of people ask about them, but that they don’t sell them. They referred me to WHSmith, but I didn’t have time to go there, maybe next time I’m in town.

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I almost didn’t make my hospital appointment. The bus to the hospital was horrendously late and when it eventually did turn up it got stuck in traffic. In the end I had to run (!) when I got off the bus. Luckily, they must have been running a bit late, because no one seemed to notice I was late. I saw a registrar, not my usual (locum) consultant. He was young and nice, but clearly didn’t really know very much about my condition and its treatment, so he got a consultant. The consultant was also nice, and knew - or at least knew of - my old Edinburgh consultant. He seemed to be more knowledgeable about pemphigus than my regular consultant. He’s taking my prednisolone down from 15mg every day to 12.5mg and 15mg on alternating days for three weeks, then if everything goes well with that, then I should start on 12.5mg every day. I failed to mention the tremor, mainly because I was anxious about seeing new doctors. I think I’ll make an appointment with my GP and ask her about it.

My blood pressure was 125/60 - so much for it being high!

23 May 2007 May 23, 2007

Once I go for something, I really go for it. Last night I purged my toiletries drawer of just about everything. This has forced me into buying lots of natural / SLS-free / paraben-free toiletries. I splurged on some essential oils and some bottles of flower water from Naturallythinking. I have also been totally sucked in by the look and descriptions of Burt’s Bees products.

I also spent a little bit of time looking at the supposed healing properties of crystals. I know that it’s garbage, but still I might dig out my turquoise earrings.

I’m slightly more persuaded by the argument for washable - and therefore reusable - sanitary towels. I hadn’t heard of them before, but they seem like quite a good - if slightly yucky - idea. I’d heard of mooncups before, but had immediately decided they weren’t for me as I prefer to use pads, so discovering that there was a pad option was an interesting revelation. If they were easily available in the Britain, for a decent price and they looked as nice as the ones from Sckoon (see left) then I think I might take the plunge. There would of course be the issue of washing and drying them in a house I share with my mum and dad - practically the definition of ‘awkward’.

(Daily 20 minutes exercise - done!)

Guided imagery May 20, 2007

 

 Last night I flopped on my bed and watched Rebus (Hannah not Stott!), then when it was finished and I was cosy and comfy I put on one of my new meditation audiobooks -Self-Healing with Guided Imagery: How to Use the Power of Your Mind to Heal Your Body by Andrew Weil and Martin L. Rossman.  It was very interesting, but I didn’t actually get as far as doing any guided visualization.  I was pleasantly surprised at how non-airie-fairie-wishie-washie-hippie-dippy it was.  Weil certainly was very persuasive and logical in his arguments, and was very clear that guided imagery should not be used as a replacement for conventional medicines and treatment.  I think it may be worth pursuing this and trying the guided meditation, as Weil says even if it does nothing else, it should relax me and take my mind off my worries for a short while.

Like I say, I didn’t get as far as the practical bits of the audiobook.  This was mainly because I was too tired.

Today was a busy day - out to M&S (the woman in the checkout queue ahead of us had even less hair than me, but she was old and somehow that seems more acceptable), then lunch with Dad, then we made the foolish decision to go and try and find him a comfy chair - not a wise move when you are stuffed with Sunday lunch.  Once we prised ourselves out of big, leather armchairs Dad took me to see Zodiac (loved it).  Anyway, I’m too tired to listen to any of the audiobook tonight, I’m just going to snuggle in my bed and sleep, sleep, sleep.

Complementary, alternative, holistic … whatever. May 19, 2007

I’m fed up with yo-yo-ing meds. I seem to be hitting a brick wall when it comes to tapering my prednisolone. I get to 15mg, then try to go lower but immediately flare up. It’s getting me down. I hate the side effects of the pred, but I hate the pemphie more.

Anyway, today I decided to try some other ’stuff’. Despite being a bit of a skeptic when it comes to ‘alternative’ health things I found myself looking at websites about meditation, hypnotherapy and homeopathy. I went as far as buying two guided meditation audiobooks. Both are to do with improving health, one specifically with the immune system. I did a bit of research on homeopathy, but I can’t bring myself to give those particular charlatans my money.

I must share a website I came across … I won’t say why for fear of being sued, but go and see if you don’t laugh too: Aberdeen Hypnotherapy.

I’ve just bought some travel sickness wrist bands in the hope that they will ease the nausea I get each morning.  I assume that the nausea is due to my Cellcept.  The wrist bands supposedly work “by applying pressure on the Nei Kuan acupressure point on each wrist” … whatever that means.  Right now I’m willing to give pretty much anything short of homeopathy a go.