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

until August the 19th. first appointment I can have with a Dr. right arm so painful can only just hold and use the kettle to pour water to make a cup of tea. legs painful for walking brain fog increasing... sleep worse than useual and tiredness/fatigue worse than ever starting to miss chemotherapy, that was less uncomfortable than this. Despite only three hours sleep last night (eventually got to sleep at 6 AM to then wake at 9), made it out earlier and bought a lepard print top and earlier in the week, also went out to charity shops a couple times, got two new skirts; both M&S, with store tags still on, and looking brand new for five or six quid each (one had the M&S origional price tag, of £25 still on it ) oh, and bought the sparkily unicorn print top too and... think I bought something else as well.... clothes wise.... - plus two pendant/necklaces from charity shops too, about £3 or so each Had to buy more clothes haners today and tried to buy those 'clippy' hangers, for putting skirt son, but again coudln't find anywhere selling them; though we did ask in Primart, - they gave us half a dozen for nothing Students all gone home now, pubs are deserted in the evening not been solicited for sex or mistaken for being a prostitute for days now typing is agony on my right arm trying to source a reputatible online source of pin-pric blood testing, to check some stuff the hospital and GP are too lapsidasical to bother doing Ft3 a as well as FT4, and B12/folic acid etc amongst other things

That is a long time to wait for an appointment

Yay for the sparkly unicorn top, though

not only teh sparkly unicorn top... I got a lepard print top too and, two new skirts brand new skirts, still with labels, one with the origional £25 price tag on it... each for about five quid in the charity shops

yeh. its a long while to wait. and I'm not sleeping.

didn't sleep all night last night, and by 7 AM, I felt fine. perfect. muscle and joint pain gone, head clear and thinking possible, headache gone, spatial awreness back, and coordination so I could use my hands; the exact opposite of what should happen at a point basically when I'm about 12 hours since the last dose of the hydrocortisone (only lasts a max of 8 hours in blood) - then I went up to bed... slept a few hours (after taking thyroxon and HC first), and feel aweful.

screaming (literally) in agony to lift the kettle to pour a cup of tea uncordinated and muscle pain everywehre. thinking less clear and so so so tired now (but wasn't feeling particularly tired before I slept)

Just sifting through information on the web, (slowely as I can't think), and sorting out a few hundred quids worth of blood tests to order up to test stuff myself as the hospital and GP won't do it. B12, folic acid, Vit D, ferric, Free t4, free T3, anti T3, TsH, etc If I am as I suspect low on T3, then I'm not converting T4 correctly, and as the hospitals here don't like subscribing T3, I shall have to pay a lot each month, and order that from overseas (one friend with hypothyroidism already does this; may see if we can combined postage or something!) the HC.... shall just have to wait and hope eventually the hospital will switch me to the slow release version or the pregnisalone or prednison and just prey one of them works well, and doesn't give many side effects - desperately trying not to place all my hopes for some quality of life on the replacement human growth factor, although I do know in a lot of patients that turns out to be key to finding a return of consciousness and feelings and emotions and life. So, just sitting on the sofa drinking tea until the 19th August basically, and getting out as and when I can/am able. may try GP again later this week or next week, see if I can find out anything from him (like if I've already some of the test results I want, on the system and jhust don't know; I had at least one set of bloods done for GP months back and never got any results from it; think that may have been checking metabolites and vitamines etc)

Keep having to put on lous music in the front room, to drown out the noises of 'everyday life' outside, as they can't process properly in my brain and I get a weird paranoa and anxiety thing that somethimes goes all the way to halucinations.... the loud music doesn't help the headache though. Not turned to painkillers yet, not found any that do anything anyhow, cept for alcohol.

Usual plug for cpap machine.

Almost instant improvement on insomnia, MUCH easier falling asleep and sleeping soundly.

Gradual improvement beyond that over several months in energy levels.

Also reduces cardiac stress in connection of sex.

Everyone with a sleep disorder should be checked out for one.

http://healthliving.today/physical-health/what-is-copd/?utm_subsource=Gemini-HM&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=HL-COPD-Native-US-HM&utm_adgroup=copd+back+pain&utm_term=&utm_content=32034743104&keywords=copd+back+pain

I can't get my oncologist to see me, and I've had cancer. i can't get my endocrinologist to see me, and I'm his patient I really doubt tryign to find a sleep clinic woudl work round here, TBH; I was on melatonin due to serkadian rythem disorder, but I took descisiom to stop it, as it interfers with some of my other meds (Drs didn't know this but i appear to be able to read clinical data and drug data sheets better than they can). - HC and thyroxin mess up my serkadian rthem more mow anything, anyhow, so I figured the melatonin was just fighting aginst them, as the meds I have to take are constantly thrying to throw my serkadian clock to a wrong dial/setting I can't sleep with any clothes on, often not even with any besheets, nothing touching my skin so I'm not sure I'd like the face mask thing with the machine; the thing they made me wear in hospital (thing my oxygen saturation was low), ment I was awake for 50 plus hours over the hospital stay until i got home Odd thing at the moment, I feel far far better if I go without sleep at all, than I do if I do sleep, as it messes about with the HC, and so confuses my body, and its the HC that is making me ill (whilst stopping me going into coma) A lot of the muscle and joint pain I think is probably caused by the HC too, as it can cause oedima that I have a plenty though, mind, I think the levothyroxin can cause oedima too

<wah. Sure this can be sorted eventually... Just hope sooner rather than later

Elevated air pressure improves oxygen absorption more than elevated oxygen, the principle of the cpap machine, beyond helping to relax air passages to improve air flow.

Besides the full face mask, there's also a nasal pillows system that can be more convenient.

I use both for various puposes, the latter allowing the wear of eyeglasses and allowing sipping beverages through a soda straw with the mask on while using the machine awake, the full face mask better for actual sleep.

In either case there's an air hose to contend with.

There are also small portable units available these days that one can use while walking or travelling.

Oh yes, just found a small lump in the subcutaneous of my throat.

I've so far had two tumors removed surgically, both of which proved to be benign, though the second had a potential to go malignant.

Thankfully, no advanced chemo or anything like that required.

Unless something dramatic happens in the meantime, I'll bring it to the attention of the doctor next regularly scheduled appointment.

Hope its a false alarm.

Thankfully they useuall are I was really supprised, last year, when I got the cyst appear, right over the site of the origional lymphoma, in my armpit; yeh, it looked and fetl identicle to the lymphoma, but what supprised me, was how worried William had been about it; despite the earlier having lymphoma, a few months before, I just adopted the 'well its useually nothing to worry about' attie to it, the second time a lump appeared lusckily it was just the cyst, though painful enough and involved lots mor eantibiotics (which I've later discovered they'd given me wrong antibiotics, as they mess up my hydrocortisone and shoudln't be given at the same time as on hydrocortisone )

Talking of hospitals, must phone the ward now, and see if W is out of anasetic and the operation; he was having his hernia sorted today at last hope it went alright... Just be nice to know if he's coming back tonight, or staying in overnight (so I can figure out what to do about dinner)

I just went and looked at side effects from thyroxine because you're the second person who's mentioned side effects, and I was always under the impression there shouldn't be any because it simply replaces a substance your body should be making on its own but isn't for various reasons. (I've been taking thyroxine for over 15 years). It looks like most of the side effects are due to being on too high a dosage, have you had your level checked lately? I would think with all the other things you have going on they should be keeping a pretty close watch on everything, although I get them impression they aren't. When I was pregnant I had to get my thyroid levels checked at least once a month, and every two weeks when they adjusted the dosage.

The reason I mention that is because one of the effects listed is swelling of the hands and feet. Yours may be caused by the hydrocortisone, but if your thyroid levels are elevated they could be contributing to the problem and making it worse.

My last bloods, weren't that long ago I think, and my free T4 (all they mwasure), was 11, so not even really in 'normal' range as far as I can make out (should be higher) - but yeh, teh oedema can be a side effect of the thyroxin too - the new hormone they want me to start soon is grow factor.... - oedema is a side effect of that too; I'm not entirely sure what their plan is, but mine doesn't include taking the growth factor until we can sort out the other two or three hormones I'm taking (not sure if my testosterone injections can also raise water retention)
The main problem is still, and in their eyes as well as mine, my bodies response to the hydrocortisone;
I don't basically produce any anymore, can't recall my last fasting morning cortisol level but it was microscopic and the response on the err... synaptin (something like that ) test was very sub-optamul....
so... 10 AM, I wake.... not taken any HC since 5 or 6 PM the night before... i shoudl be desperately showing symptoms of low cortisol.
I wake feeling fine.

Take HC, and strat demonstrating symptoms of low cortisol I just don't agree with that drug... or rather I dont' think it agrees with me; its the tablet form; I'm fine when they inject me, intramuscularly or IV with it, that is a completely differnt drug as far as My body reacts to it we'll see... just hope they come up with soemthing quicker than the 19th August

Thyroxine is one of those things I have to be careful of, thyroid storm was one of the side effects of diabetes type II crises the last two times I ended up in the hospital.

I do use a raw glandular (freeze dried raw bovine thyroid tissue powdered and prepared in tablet form) thyroid preparation though.

One of the other things I need to be even more careful about is lactic acid.

I used to thrive on it, but the first of the two diabetic crises that put me in the hospital was touched off by excess lactic acid.

I may never be able to nerve myself to take a serving of sauerkraut again.

Sourcroute is horrid anyhow! - ahh yeh, the extracted thyroxin is something I may consider (though I'll have to pay a fortune and import it from the US, as you can't get it in the UK); it is ment to be a lot more natural than the tablets of levothyroxin etc, which only contain T4, and a lot of people don't convert T4 to T3 (the active form of thyroxin), due to an enzyme missing; the extracted thyroxin contains T4, T3, s well as T1 and T2 so mor eaccurately reflects what the body would itself make, were it able too - wish someon would invent tablets of TSH and ACTH and FSH/LH to more accurately mimick the normal hormonal situation and allow the bodies own thyroid, adrenal and testies endocrine tissues to actually do what they're able too (in my situtation), if only they were recieving these upstream signals

Actually slep last night for the first time in a couple of days, felt rather good afte 5 or so hours sleep, right until I took the hydrocortisone, when I started feeling so tired and fatigued again, and clumsyness returned; luckily I'd poured the hot water into the coffee pot before I took the HC, afterwards I managed to spill a cup of coffee on myself. Which is unsual for me, don't think I'd ever spilt a cup of coffee like that before I started on these evil meds arm back in agony again too now, so not sure what I'll do for the rest of the day, most things generally involve using my arms and typing hurts quite a lot now.

did someone mention sauerkraut?

If so it was too late. I just served myself a large slice of ham with cold poptato salad flavoured with curry

Anyway, to hear things haven't been sorted out yet, my friend

I admire your patience, others might have blown up stuff long ago already

Poptato?

(imagining a popcorn-like potato. it's hard, because there's just the one potato, not many kernels like corn. if just the potato popped, i imagine it would make a big mess.)

In a salad, you say?

Poptato...

I've done it. In a microwave. Not as messy as Popegg or Popsausage, of course.

poptato-potato

http://karry.dk/wp-content/uploads/2005/12/Karry-kartoffelsalat.jpg

Where's totomoto when you need him, eh? ouch... the pain in my face has decided to get a lot worse for not any obvious reason I just have to ignore that pain, the Drs all ignored it when I told them pain in right arm now moving up the arm further as well as just the forearm and elbow only got to wait until the 19th... August William back out of hospital after his hernia op and seems fine... if, I woudl say, possibly still a bit high from the sedative and anasetic and sore obviously
so I must go cook us dinner.... expect swearing from teh direction fo the kitchen as I attempt to lift pans full of water/pasta and suchlike