Journal Entries
Fuming over appointment with rheumatologist
Posted Oct 21, 2006
I had an appointment with a rheumatologist a few weeks ago. I've been having hip problems for some time, which he diagnosed and started to treat. He said I should come back in 6 weeks for a second injection. I told the receptionist that we're going away in November, so the appointment had to wait until we got back. I got the appointment letter this morning. The appointment is on 30th October, the day *before* we go away.
Now maybe the rheumatologist wants to do the injection sooner rather than later. It shouldn't be up to him. My right hip was uncomfortable (putting it mildly) for some time after the first injection. I do *not* want to be going on holiday with that kind of pain. I also don't want to be taking ibuprofen on a regular basis, as it has already done dreadful things to my tum.
The fact that we probably won't be going now because of Mum Heath's cancer is also irrelevant. We told the receptionist what our arrangements were and the hospital has no right to disregard my wishes over setting an appointment.
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Oct 21, 2006
Bad news about Mum Heath
Posted Oct 20, 2006
Well, we had the news today, and it's as bad as it can get. They can't treat the cancer. Normally they'd do surgery to remove it, but my mother-in-law is too old and her health isn't good enough. Basically, they don't think she'd survive the surgery, although they didn't actually say so.
The alternative would normally be chemotherapy (they don't use radiotherapy for stomach cancer). That's also not an option, because they think the drugs would make her very ill. They also reckon it would only add a few months to her life.
That leaves the 'do nothing' option. They'll give 'Mum' painkillers when the pain gets bad, but other than that, they'll let nature take its course. When the doctor started talking to 'Mum' and hubby, he initially said 3-4 months. He later said he hoped to get 'Mum' to her 80th birthday (June next year). That's just 8 months. Even with chemotherapy it would be no more than a year.
We had a holiday booked for the three of us in November, a cruise to Egypt. 'Mum' has been looking forward to it and still desperately wants to go. The doctor has said she shouldn't go, as there's less chance of her being promptly treated if anything goes wrong on board ship or on one of the excursions. (There's also a big question mark over whether the airline would carry her on the flight out and back, or whether the cruise company would have her on board ship as they have no way of dealing with things like internal haemorrhage, which can happen.) 'Mum' hasn't decided to cancel, yet, so hubby may have the job of persuading her not to go.
Hubby is in shock. I broke down and cried when he told me the news, and he ended up comforting me as much as me comforting him. 'Mum' drives me up the wall a lot of the time, but I always thought she'd die peacefully of old age. I thought she'd be around for a few more years. All we can do now is take things one day at a time and try to make her final months as enjoyable as we can.
Discuss this Journal entry [3]
Latest reply: Oct 20, 2006
Desperately seeking reassurance
Posted Sep 27, 2006
My mother-in-law (Mum Heath) has been having gastric problems for some time. They flared up while we were on a cruise earlier this year, and she ended up on a drip to re-hydrate her. She's been to the doctor since, had a barium meal and a colonoscopy. The colonoscopy didn' show anything, but the doctor has referred her to a gastrologist. He told her that if she didn't hear anything within 2 weeks, she should get in touch with him again and he'd chase it. She's had abdominal pains since then, on one occasion so bad that she couldn't eat or drink. She's convinced herself that she has some kind of cancer. I'd rather wait to hear that from a doctor, but I know that 2 weeks to see a specialist is classed as 'urgent referral'.
Mum Heath drives me up the wall sometimes. OK, she drives me up the wall a lot of the time, but I'm hoping she's wrong on this. Partly it's for her sake, partly it's for hubby's sake. We lost Dad Heath to prostate cancer a few years ago and it's not a good way to go. Hubby has enough on his plate without the stress of her being hospitalized, or at home drugged to the eyeballs the way Dad Heath was. In fact, if she is that badly ill, she'd need to go into a home, which doesn't bear thinking about. It'd probably finish her off faster than the treatment would. Plus the fact that Social Services would take one look at the state of her house and decide it's a death-trap. It is, but it's *her* death-trap.
I don't know why I'm posting this. I guess I just need to talk through the worry I'm feeling, to share my thoughts with somebody even if it's the faceless multitudes out there. I'm an atheist, so I won't ask for prayers, but it's times like this that help me to understand why so many people feel the need for that kind of spiritual support.
Discuss this Journal entry [14]
Latest reply: Sep 27, 2006
Fireworks - enough is enough
Posted Nov 6, 2005
Here in the UK it was 'Bonfire Night' on Saturday, and we've had 3 nights of fireworks going off. On Friday night, the social club behind our house had their annual Bonfire Night bash. On Saturday we had to contend with fireworks for at least 3 hours, starting at about 7pm and going on until at least 10pm. Hubby had no end of trouble walking the dog because of them. Now, on Sunday, somebody else has started to set off their fireworks.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a killjoy and I enjoy a firework display as much as the next person. But 3 nights of fireworks at all hours is a bit much.
Discuss this Journal entry [2]
Latest reply: Nov 6, 2005
When the side effects are worse than the condition the drugs are meant to treat.
Posted Sep 3, 2004
I have MS - relapsing-remitting MS to be exact. This means the symptoms go away, during which time I'm fine, then come back, during which time I'm not. How 'not fine' I am varies from attack to attack. It can be as minor as sense of touch slightly affected. The duration of each attack varies, too. Right now I'm into the 6th week of a pretty bad attack - unsteady, lacking coordination, speech affected, 'disconnected' spells where my brain knows what it wants my body to do but the signals don't get through.
Thing is, I went to see a specialist a few weeks ago. He was concerned that the attack had been going on for so long and recommended a short course of steroids to 'kick-start' a recovery. This turned out to be a cocktail of drugs - the steroid, a slow-release potassium supplement and a diuretic. Having been on the tablets for nearly a week (the delay was 'cos my GP had to do the prescription and he needed a urine test), I can honestly say the side effects of the drugs are worse than the MS attack. I've had bad heart-burn 'cos the GP and pharmacist didn't tell me the steroids have to be taken with food - I had to get that info from a friend who's had them and from the internet! Heartburn is easily treatable, but it's annoying 'cos it was avoidable if only they'd given me the information! I've had a pounding pulse, muscular weakness, but the worst of all is the disrupted sleep. Since I started the tablets I've had an average of 3-4 hours sleep per night, sometimes supplemented by a couple of hours snatched during the day. This leaves me lethargic and apathetic during the day. My speech is no longer as badly affected but the 'disconnected' spells continue, albeit not as badly.
In an ideal world we'd produce drugs that would do the job they're meant to do without side effects. Unfortunately this would be expensive and it would take for ever to get medicines to market. I will say this, though. If (or when) I have a similar attack, if the specialist recommends steroids again I'll say "Thanks, but no thanks!" The attacks I can cope with. They're a fact of life now. The side effects? Not nice, especially as the attack would (probably) have cleared up eventually anyway.
Discuss this Journal entry [13]
Latest reply: Sep 3, 2004
Cheerful Dragon
Researcher U26139
Write an Entry
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."