Here we can all be heard for a little while. Part 3

dandy-candy

Thanks for the advice all. My friend has come and gone now, and i didnt drink. The first two days were very difficult, she is a different person to the girl i grew up with and we dont really have anything other than our shared history in common. Also she is very bossy to her kids and fussed over her “wonderful” son while completely running down her daughter all the time which i found upsetting. I made a point of walking with her daughter and chatting to her when we were out, and she is your typical 13 year old but a really sweet kid with it.

House back to normal now but im very up and down mentally, and feeling restless. I told dh yesterday that i wish there was a remote hill i could run up to the top and then scream loudly again and again. I dont think he even commented back to me. :mad:

So many things im meant to be doing but i cant get my backside into gear right now.

I hope everyone else is ok, ((hugs)) if you need them x

dekaspace

I am ill again, I'm still unsure the reason why but have been getting worse since Christmas and it skyrocketed just after I started new job (which has terrible air conditioning) first week there I had the sweats and was up all night then a few weeks later was when I began my cycle of violent coughs had 3 sets of antibiotics in 2 months they deal with the problem for a few days then it comes back worse, I can't tell if I am drained due to the cough or work or something else or all 3. I did change my allergy medication literally 2-3 weeks before the cough got severe before that it was a tickle for months that didn't bother me much, and also been on anti depressants since November last year.


Had to take afternoon off work as I was sweating like I had a fever and couldn't stop coughing and bring up stuff.


Worried this will affect my job as technically im still temp worker until Christmas even though they said its almost definite I will be kept on.


Also been given an actual asthma inhaler from GP which I pick up today, didn't say why I needed it, I went to hospital for tests and they recommended it, and just put on notes "cough? asthma" I googled what I can and its a steroid based one.

Waves_and_Smiles

Hello all! How is everyone? :j

I am here for a moan. I have been told I need to go on HRT which is something I really didn't want to do because my hormones are already a mess and I'm scared of anything that could change my moods. I am now severely anaemic due to peri-menopause symptoms (you can guess, I won't be graphic for delicate stomachs) and my oestrogen is down in my boots at only 18 months in so my GP says my body needs a hand. She thought my psych medication was masking symptoms and without it I would be having mood swings with my hormones this messed up so it would actually add an extra layer of emotional stability for me to start replacement therapy. I was finally diagnosed with PCOS and the doctor was amazed that I have lived with it for so long without treatment, apparently a lot of women with that have to take HRT. The type they want to put me on basically halts menopause so everything carries on as normal for as long as I'm taking the pills. I will do it, don't want to! Wahhh!

Also I now have mild fatty liver disease. It isn't serious but my GP said it is as a result of my ED causing me to quickly gain and drop weight for decades. It will get worse if I don't keep my weight stable so I need to get control of the ED now.

WaSp is doing better, still tired and weak but no relapses. We see his consultant every 3 weeks and they are keeping a very close eye on him which is good!

dandy-candy

Deka the inhaler should help greatly, have you had a chest xray also?

WaS im in perimenopause too so feel your pain. Im a member of a fantastic facebook group called menopause support, ladies, uk & roi only. They are a fab bunch and i recommend you join it, you can get great advice or just have a vent!

Hugs to all xx

dekaspace

Had chest X ray which came back fine, it was because of my symptoms I was given one, 2 days in and it has helped I went from Wednesday afternooon so blocked with cattarh I was constantly choking, taking it Wednesday tea time, and around 11pm feeling much clearer but was drenched in sweat eventually went to bed 4am had a fantastic nights sleep (I took day off work Thursday too but was authorised) woke up Thursday and even in the blazing heat only had a few mild coughs.

Today was fine all day bar one flare up at lunchtime, and when I went for drinks with colleages after work coughed a few times in the stuffiness, actually didn't like this night out, already back home. Sure I didn't touch alcohol but it was more the usual life of the party wasn't there, and the other guy who is basically just a lad who likes an entourage cared more about getting with the barely 18 apprentice girl so was distracted the whole night.

At pub closing he normally leads the way but this time even though the few remaining people agreed to go to the nightclub I noticed he was not leaving the side of this girl, I wasn't sure as everyone just seemed to break apart so I approached him and got a literal point at door and go "i'll see you in the club"

Rather than go to club and pay £10 entry and about £4-£5 a drink I just got taxi home, no point being in club if theres only literally 2 or 3 other people I know and 1 of them was drunk anyway, the other 2 are females who are 20 so not much to talk about.

Still I felt a bit left out, but decided i'd rather spent the £3.50 on a taxi home than £10 entry and been uncomfortable.

onomatopoeia99

This has been going on for a few weeks now and is all tied up with my spell in hospital back in February. Saw the consultant in April for a follow up, and at that appointment he told me that there would be two more tests as an outpatient (which I have now had) and then he could give me a diagnosis, so would make an appointment for four months (August). It meant another four months in limbo not knowing what's wrong with me and not being able to get travel insurance for a pre-existing condition as I couldn't tell them what the condition is, but I was able to deal with that and was focused on getting a diagnosis in August.

Three weeks ago I get a letter from the hospital with the appointment. At the end of November, which means more than three extra months of limbo. I have not been coping well with this at all, it has completely knocked the stuffing out of me, I'm totally stressed, not sleeping and distracted. Rang the number on the letter (outpatient appointments dept) and they said "earliest we can do now is December", but let slip they hadn't done anything with the appointment request from the consultant until two days before I received the letter, so they sat on it for 12 weeks. Rang the consultant's secretary and she looked into it, but all the clinic slots had been filled by the outpatient appointments department, so she couldn't help either.

Ended up at my GP as I wasn't coping and he told me that GPs couldn't do anything about hospitals unless the symptoms of the actual problem the appointment was for had deteriorated (they haven't, they cleared completely within two weeks) and offered me Zopiclone or to sign me off work. I declined both, Zopiclone turns me into a zombie and I don't work in the public sector so don't get enough paid sick leave to be signed off, it would just add "paying the bills" stress to the stress caused by North Bristol NHS trust .

It seems at this point the only solution is to go back in time to April and get the outpatient appointments department to book the appointment in then, so there would be slots in August available. I'm not actually that bothered about the results themselves, if it does turn out to be MS (which I think it will), I'll know that in future there will be times that I have to make adjustments and I can deal with that. It's the state of limbo I'm in now that I cannot deal with.

I have written to the consultant, an actual letter with a stamp in the royal mail, asking him to write to me with the results because I can read as well as listen, but talking to a friend that is a GP, she suggested that the hospital wouldn't send bad news in a letter, they would require me to attend and be told face to face.

For me the not knowing is worse than knowing something bad, because if I know I can act, or plan, if I don't know I'm left feeling frustrated and hopeless. It's turned me into a moany person, I don't want to talk to anyone, and I wouldn't want to talk to me at the moment.

Izadora

Ono, that's a really rough position to be left in. I agree that not knowing is worse than bad news and it seems ludicrous that they can't fit you in any time before Nov/Dec. Did they say anything about the possibility of getting a cancellation?

Please don't worry about moaning, venting and getting things off your chest is a lot better than worrying by yourself. As much as I'm sure IzHe and my mates are sick of me moaning about my parents I find it's the only way I can even vaguely cope with them. Well, that and drinking myself into oblivion every now and then...

elsien

Sorry to hear that, Ono.
If you're feeling up to it, I would make a formal complaint to the hospital. Not PALS, but a proper complaint saying what you've said here about the delay and the impact on your mental health. And say that for resolution you want to be prioritised for any appointments that become available.
There will be an NHS complaints advocacy service for your area if you would prefer someone to help and write the letter for this.
I know people don't always like to complain, for a variety of reasons, but it does sometimes give services the boot up the backside that they need.

onomatopoeia99

Thank you both. The formal complaint route is one I'm considering if my letter the consultant doesn't produce any results.

Waves_and_Smiles

It's quiet here, I hope that means that everyone is doing well!

I am about to go for a inner ultrascan of my ovaries to look for fibroids because my doctor is certain I have either PCOS or Endometriosis. This is all rather late as my periods are stopping now and I have lived with it for 30 years but peri-menopause for me is awful! I still have mystery anaemia, my iron levels have dropped again but all tests are coming back clear. If the ultrasound doesn't reveal anything the next step is an endoscopy to look for inflammation or an ulcer, if that also comes back clear then it is time for a colonoscopy. If that also doesn't show results perhaps I have a brand new illness and they will name it WaS disease! I am taking iron tablets now because the levels have dropped so low even though we don't know why it's happening.

WaSp is doing ok despite being exhausted, it looks like he will need dialysis soon because his kidney function is still very low. If they can get his vasculitis into remission he can go on to the transplant list. It is time for WaSp to claim PIP too, we are both a bit of a mess!