Tuesday 30 July 2013

July 2013 - progress update

Well as I sit here today, things aren't looking too bad. My main worry is still the status of my bad back. I've referred to this before but not in great detail, essentially it is the reason I spent a night in hospital a couple of weeks ago and had the MRI scan on my lower back, the doctors are worried I may have Cauda Equina Syndrome. I hope to goodness I don't have it, because it may need another operation and recovery time can be very long. I'm hoping it is just "too long spent laying on my back annoying some nerves" rather than anything so serious. I just have to wait for the consultant to call me back in to discuss, which may not be for a few weeks yet.

In terms of my general health, just for a change I've got another rash (blood spots actually) on my legs, the doctor thinks this is the result of skin damage from my leg/feet Edema (water retention) that I had when I came out of the QA Hospital. It has allowed blood to seep into pores of my skin where the skin got really streched. The doctor made me have yet more blood tests to make sure my blood is coagulating, but he is fairly sure the blood spots/rash will fade away when the blood gets re-absorbed. Lovely.

My stamina is gradually getting better, nothing that a few swigs of Lucozade energy drink or a nap can't cure anyway. I have been trying to get out for walks now the weather has cooled a bit and have managed some decent strolls, and it is 'stroll' too. Our walking pace is normally about a 16 minute mile, I'm down about 19-20 minutes at the moment. But the positive is that I am not 'crashing' like I was, and can actually be of some use around the house rather than just watching daytime telly.

The DI (Diabetes Insipidus) is being held at bay by the drug I'm taking, so sleep is getting much more plentiful although I am getting backache in bed (in a place on my back that only aches when I'm in bed), so the planned new bed we've been talking about may be closer than we thought.

I'm now far enough away from the operation that I am allowed to do some bending and lifting (not that I have been doing much of either because of the bad back) and I have finished the wretched nasal rinses as well, which I'm glad about. And I can drink through a straw should I so desire, which was also banned for 6 weeks after the operation. I celebrated this milestone by going to our local Costa Coffee outlet and having a Mango and Passionfruit blended ice drink, bloody lovely it was too - it felt so naughty drinking through a straw again. Well maybe not the straw bit, but the drink was really nice.

On top of all that, I'm returning to work next week, so progress indeed. Let's hope this is a return to normality, and subsequently once my hormones are sorted out, something to look forward to.

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