Coughs and colds

Everyone around me seems to be suffering with coughs and colds, but I seem to have avoided all of them! I have suggested that others try the Rituximab, but no-one has taken me up on the offer yet...

However, over the last couple of months I've had a cough and at the beginning of March had a bit of excitement. I woke up in the middle of the night with a very strong pain in the middle of my chest. It didn't go away, and eventually Keith called 999 he was so worried. After a few minutes of questions, they sent an ambulance with a very helpful paramedic. He checked me over and said that the pain was not my heart, but probably I had pulled a muscle in my chest from coughing. Painkillers soon sorted it out and in a day or so I felt much better - if I didn't laugh, cough or sneeze!

The cough didn't completely go, and at the end of March got much worse so that I was taking cough mixture several times at night and getting tired and breathless, so went to the GP. He gave me antibiotics and sent me for an xray, so I went to the walk-in clinic in Cobridge. They called me back the same afternoon to tell me they wanted a CT scan as well, so another appointment early the next week. The CT scan showed 'changes' in an area of my lung (they have so many scans they can compare!) so an appointment with the respiritory consultant in a couple of weeks to see what they think. Last weekend lost my voice too which I think maybe connected, but will be able to find out more soon.

Half way house

Treatment today will be halfway through the Rituximab. All going well, and gut now settling down with new regime of laxatives

Piriton

As part of each Rituximab maintenance therapy they give me a steroid and an antihistamine. The Rituximab and the steroid are fine, but the antihistamine makes me very drowsy. I drowsed all afternoon during the treatment, too sleepy to read my book, and it was too noisy to actually sleep. It's nearly bedtime now, and I'm just about starting to feel more awake!

This treatment will be the half-way point of the maintenance therapy. It's a little scary to think about when it finishes and I will have to stay in remission on my own. I know I managed for 25 years before, but not sure how long it will be this time!

My hair, as predicted, has grown back curly! I've had it cut short and layered and am experimenting with it, but seem to be good at getting it looking frizzy, not so good at the loose curls I was hoping for!

More results

I met with the gastroenterologist on Monday and the tests have all come back clear. He thinks I have a 'sluggish' gut and that is causing the constipation and then the diarrhea. He had prescribed a selection of laxatives last time, but they didn't seem to make much difference. He has prescribed a slightly different selection for me to try, assuring me that they are safe to take in large quantities (not sure I like the sound of that!)

I've been researching this a little myself and am going to include a probiotic (Yakult) in my diet to see if that helps. In addition, I'm going to try a home-made mixture of prunes/figs/dates/currants as well!

Hopefully, with my normal healthy diet and exercise, my gut will start to settle down and get back to normal.

Review

Review at the hospital today and I was able to talk about the problems with my gut. They assured me that the endoscopy was to rule out anything serious, but they are sure there's nothing serious. My blood counts are improving - white blood count nearly normal!

Prep Day

To prepare for the colon procedure I had to follow a very strict regimen. I had to eat a limited 'low residue' diet and take some strong laxatives. The diet sheet included several things I don't normally eat, so had to go shopping specially for cornflakes and white bread. The laxative is taken twice, once in the morning and once mid afternoon, after which you don't eat until the morning of the procedure. By the end of the day it was apparent that I am resistant to laxatives! Not really good news. The procedure was fairly painless, but my colon wasn't clear enough for a full test. Saw some fascinating pictures of the inside of my colon! Results in a few weeks.

A surprise!

I had my appointment with the gastroenterologist this week and I was rather surprised by his possible diagnosis. I've been having bouts of diarrhea that left me feeling very weak and poorly, sometimes for several days. The consultant said that he thinks I am chronically constipated, probably brought on by the treatment - not what I associated with diarrhea! A very good diagnosis, though, as easily treatable! I have to go for an endoscopy at the end of August to check the bowel and I'm not really looking forwards to that!

The cancer talk at the university earlier this year reminded me to consider the environmental causes of cancer, so I've taken the decision to go vegetarian (kind of - I still eat fish and occasionally chicken) because red meat and processed meats are known to be associated with cancers. There has also been some research on the use of hair dyes and NHL that suggested there might be a connection, so after a bit of research, have used Henna to colour my hair back to dark brown. It's quite a change after all these years of being blond!