h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

that is, the levels of testosterone in my blood, are, so low the 0.8 that it actually showed this time, might just be an apporition of the test procedure...

OK....
So. too low to use a gel, so inter-muscular injections.

I ran to bloods, so they've got baseline bloods on my PSA and other things, W through the hospital to pharacy.....

Pharmacy don't have any testosterone

I did the bloods anyhow, they're done now, and hospital phones this morning, can't get any testosterone in until next week... so I'm off as planned tomorrow, and hoping Tuesday to Thursday next week we'll get a call and I'll get some testosterone

intermuscular injections sound fun... not sure I've had one of those before... pah. I'm had lumber punctures, injections, blood injections, my port accessed a few hundred times, I can't imagine it'll be anything much to write home about

Interestingly.

The Prof now thinks, we're gona try look at reasons as to why my pituitary ain't working as should; idea of it having gone woniky with my road traffic accident/head injury in 93 or haemorridge in 94, doesn't hold, as its wrong areas of brain;

idea one;
the fit/seizure I had, was a hemorridge, that bled into the pituitary.

idea two, which I put to oncology back in feb, but which they ignored; pitutiary lymphoma...

time will... no doubt reveal all

CT sacn on head coming up, in a few weeks, and waiting for appointment for a more detailed, MRI scan on the head, to get a decetn pic of the pituitary



May, we, i guess, live through intersting pathologies

just packed my rucksack... last time this one saw an outing I think was its first, so far only trip, when I flew offf to Sweden which... I guess was about a year ago now... a whole year ago <

hmm. clearly I'm still more girly than not, as they're all female clothes, mainly blouses

now. later.... is the tricky bit;


what... cosmetics to take... E45 cream, natch... dreamcream, maybe, coconut oil/moisturiser, maybe, coco butter, body butter, maybe some handcream.... some of the dry Lush sunblock stuff and, the chey butter soap, natch... might actuall skip shampoo, as there oughta be some there I can use and the new hair I have, doesn't seem to require washing with quite such furry and regularity as that which I used to have.... sorry, which the earlier version of me, had, used to require

will have to see what the weather is like tomorrow, decide between a leather jacekt, or, perhaps my new top.jacket we got from the chairty shop.... its so pretty with the beading on it etc pity I've only got my ancient collecting of boots to wear really

right, off now to gain some beer talkens to take with me ,ale

I just learned my testosterone gel costs over $400/bottle. I use a bottle each month. My insurance covers the bulk of it, but still. I recently had to change. I was using a lower concentration, thus more gel per application. The company was advertising on TV for their new 1.62%. (Yes, drug companies flood our airways with adverts. ). They switched me to this higher concentration as they discontinued their previous 1.0% concentration. I highly suspect they did this just to take advantage of the higher prices they can charge for a "new drug" for the ten years it's patent protected (before generics become available). That means I also pay a higher co-pay.


As to pituitary issues, it's too bad you can't use my doctor, the one I've referred to as my "primary brain care specialist". He is one of the world's leading pituitary tumor surgeons. I occasionally have to schedule my appointments around his world travels as he goes to places like China to lecture/teach. He's really nice and he listens. Unlike several of your doctors, it seems.

The endocrinology Dr I see, is actually the endo professor; his specialism is in pituitary stuff, and he's by far and away the best Dr I've met at teh hospital... - he's got the entheuiasm and drive, of someone many years his junior, and has an almost child-like fasination for his subject; its great!; William sits there, looking dumbfounded as me and the prof exchange huge blocks of science both of us happily chatting away in our technical language of endocrinology/biology
he's really on the ball; he'd already spoken to my oncology people, before I saw him yesterday, - one of the first times any Dr at the hospital has admited to me, to having consulted cross-departmentally

- one odd ting of course; we may never know for sure if it was a pituitary lymphoma or other cancer; as likely as not, the chemo I had, would have done a prett good job on that too - and, anyhow, I think the hemorriding into it is the most likely option; the CT and MRI I'm due in for oughta shed more light onto it anyhow;

The origional brain scan, was not great quality (the one taken just after the seizure), so they weren't sure if there was evidence of bleeding into the brain or not; on my right side, I've so much dammage already, due to the road traffic acciden in 93, its hard to tell; my entire right hemosphere is basically scar tissue I think really...

As I say... interesting and if not curious pathologies; at least this endo Prof, is of a mind as me; I find this stuff so genuinely interesting... - to the point I keep forgetting in this cae, I'm not reading other peoples case historys... - its my brain and body! But... I'm still refusing to do 'serious' basically

Intra-muscular injections are no big deal (Depo-Provera and flu shots are my sole experience--no idea how thick they are in comparison with testosterone). Even if they pick a little muscle to inject into. At worst, you feel like you've over-exerted (unless it's an arm shot, and you've forgotten 'cause the soreness has faded, and you lie on the injection site--at that, it's more the shock than anything). A shot in the rump is just the prick of the needle going in, and that's it. I got talked into an upper arm shot for Depo *once*...

I think they said they'd want to go into a big muscle, on my thigh; Which is the same as William was shown, for how he'll have to inject me with the hydorcortisone, injectible, if I get 'ill' and 'm not getting sufficient effect of teh oral hydrocortisone I have to take dairly, to prevent me going into shock; I'm ment to be able to self-inject; and carry it with me, where ere I go; but its tricky as the stuff is powdered, and you have to mix with the water, then draw up into the surringe, rahter than just having an epipen type thinggy... - hence I'll not be able to take it away with me, over the weekend to my Dad's, - I'll just try not be ill - I don't think I've had inter muscular injections before, anyhow... - siz eof needle doesn't really matter; you ougtah see the giant things they use to skewer into my chest, when they aim for, an doften miss my port I find all the differnt pains... interesting... - I'm so so so tempted to ask if I can have my portacath removed, with no anasetic, but, I guess they'd not let me; as it was I had it put in only under local; I know most people I've seen who have one fitted, before chemo have it done under general anasetic
yeh. I'm that* weird. - I've enjoyed all the various pains so far of the treatment... the residual aching now, in the armpit and skin areas, from radiation, is... however, just tedious TBH - but does respond well to my converting the sensation to colours on the surface of my skin

well, just about packed anything I can thin of, to take away, cept for teh few last things to pack in the morning... have plenty of drugs with me including the eye drop stuff, hydrocortisone, melatonin, temazepam and stuff getting the train tomorrow afternoon; first trip on my own since...... since I can remember, which means ... last year about this time, frlying back from Sweden and then getting the tube in London, and thence on teh over ground rail to Cambridge.... seems strangely distant yet strangly close, due to m not having much or any memory of the interveining err... twelve months