Friday, February 01, 2013

Relatively speaking I am not too bad today post Bicillin

Relatively speaking  I am not too bad today for two days after a Bicillin shot.  Yes the gastric and reflux burning is back with a vengeance and I am taking Losec and Nizac and Alka Seltzer Gold but I have put up with worse.  It still only seems to be really bad after lying down.  My appetite vanished again and I have not eaten a main meal for two nights so I am trying to at least have a cooked breakfast when my appetite does kick in.  The heat and lack of energy for cooking does not help so mornings are best for that - or rather, mid-morning.  I was definitely functioning better during my treatment break though and it is a bit of a blow to have to go backwards healthwise.

The drive to Maleny and back on Wednesday was made hairy by the downpour, the cloud and fog of the range but I survived.  But it is closer than going to Noosa for me.  It takes less than 3/4 hour but it will depend on whether I get stuck behind a truck going up the range from Landsborough.  Andrew was just happy to see that I still was not a sobbing mess as I was the week before and nothing has changed that you don't know about.  I am hoping that dropping back to fortnightly injections, which meant changing arrangements with Blue Care, will mean I will get a bit of relief from the added bone pain and gut burning I experience in the second week but who knows what will happen when I add Clarythromycin into the mix.  This is all a bit like chemotherapy having to endure the side effects for the sake of provoking a remission.  Some say that the mood side effects happen on the antibiotics that cross the blood-brain barrier.  At any rate, Dr has already labelled me as "sensitive".

Dr was writing an information brochure during my appointment (that he wanted me to take) while I was rattling on about my goals for the future which was my homework. I think either he is hyperactive or I am boring!  I remember being fit enough to have a million projects on the go and always being busy like that.  I sort of miss it but at the same time, I must take time out to relax no matter how well I become. Fingers crossed.  Here is an interesting part of the brochure still in draft form.

Here's another interesting bit of the brochure:
During therapy, we often see a return of symptoms seen in early infection or illness.  This is a phenomenon called "full circle" and is significant as a marker for recovery.......There is also the concept of residual deficits.  These may be problems that remain because parts of yourself are irreversibly damaged.  Some problems may take years to recover, things such as neurological concerns may take up to two years to return to normal.  There is also the risk of irreversible damage.  This is difficult to predict........Particularly difficult are the following symptoms - severe neurological complications, deep set bone pain and gut paralysis.

Relapse is also a risk - it is important not to create the same environment that caused the disease in the first place.
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I had a liver function blood test today, early, with a few other things thrown in: CRP, ANA, IgE, and that's all I remember.

SNORE Australia have sent the results to Dr too and all I got today was a note saying the same, an offering of a private consultation and all these warning brochures about driving with sleep apnea so I hope they are not suggestive of my results.  I am not in a great hurry to find out so unless I get a phonecall re any of my results, I will not contact them before my next appointment on the 28th.

I was wondering Zena if your suggestion of putting something under my knees to stop sliding down the bed when jacked up on pillows was because of you have had plenty of experience sitting up in bed during asthma attacks.  Thank you for my present :)

I just made a yummy smoothie with lactose-free milk, frozen cherries, a handful of baby spinach leaves, maple syrup, plain yoghurt, a qtr of a banana and a dash of vitamin C powder.

1 comment:

zena said...

Re pillow under legs. Not sure when I learn't this but it was only in the last few years so not from my asthma experiences.