September 2013 - first holiday of the year

Well, 2013, didn't quite go to plan. For the last couple of years we have gone away for a few days in March to the Isle of Wight. However this year, I decided our time would be better spent preparing for the redecoration of the lounge/dining room, so indeed we did get loads done in the week and the two rooms duly got redecorated as planned. Not to worry I figured, our June holiday wasn't far away. However, due to reasons of a Pituitary nature my June holiday was hijacked somewhat and I wasn't fit to go on holiday then. So now it is late September and finally I get to go away for a few days.

We fancied somewhere a bit different to the norm, and bearing in mind wherever we go our elderly dog Nemo has to go also, we booked into a dog friendly hotel in Hampton Wick, which is just across the river from Kingston Upon Thames in Surrey. We had a very good time, relaxed, eat a lot, walked a lot and it was just what we needed....our first holiday of 2013. But this also brought with it the first holiday of Hydrocortisone taking and dealing with post Pituitary recovery.

I still haven't been contacted by my local doctors surgery about my Testosterone prescription (so they will be getting a phone call tomorrow) so I'm a bit out on my full compliment of hormones, so I wondered how I would get on walking and being 'out and about' a lot more than normal. Well the answer was 'not to bad at all'. I had a couple of energy level 'crashes' where the remedy was drink some Lucozade energy drink, which seemed to pep me up, but it is like I have a need for sugar that maybe affects me more now than it did before my operation and maybe before my hormones were a bit 'out'. I am not a fan of energy drinks and have never drunk a Red Bull and probably never will, that drink makes me nervous. So on the odd occasion I have felt the need, I quaff about a third of a bottle of Lucozade and it really does the trick for me....a Glucose shot....I don't want to overdo it and turn myself into a diabetic. Mind you, the stuff is addictive, drinking more would be easy!

The real reason for this post though, is remembering that I now rely on something far more important, my Hydrocortisone tablets. Packing to go away involves more than just a few clothes and a toothbrush, I cannot forget to pack my life-blood tablets. So a whole packet of 30 tablets went into my bag, even though it was only 5 days away. What if I get ill and need to double my dose, what if....what if.....Going down to breakfast in the hotel, don't forget to pop a pill, out during the day, pop some pills in my wallet to have at lunchtime. Popping down the pub for a meal out....need a pill (a half pill to be exact). A whole new regime to get used to. As it happens I didn't miss a dose, with the help of my lovely wife to prompt me on occasion. But it makes you think, something you gave no thought to not so long ago, suddenly is at the front of your mind. I dare say that it will become second nature soon enough. I have been taking them since February after all, but never whilst being away. I now have some tucked away in my work laptop bag, some in my wallet....I wonder where else they will find their way into.

I also need to brave another trip to the doctors to chat about my tingly foot and leg. The consultant from Wessex Neuro confirmed that my MRI scan showed no damage to my spine so ruled out Cauda Equina, but admitted that if the symptoms hadn't gone in 4 to 6 weeks, I needed to get checked out. That time period has expired, so I need to go and see the doctor really. I'd had enough of doctors to be honest so have been ignoring the symptoms, but I think the time has come to go and have a chat....and collect my Testosterone prescription too :-)

All in all though, I felt pretty healthy for my first weeks holiday, managed to walk a long way and spend long days laughing and relaxing....something not taken for granted not long ago. In fact I have just gone over my 4 month anniversary since having my Pituitary Tumour removed (28 May 2013). In a way it seems like an age ago, but parts of the memory are still so fresh. Thinking back to my time on D-Neuro ward at Wessex Neuro Southampton, when you're at your most vulnerable and feeling so scared about what is to come, then when the operation has been done, so scared about how recovery will affect me, the knowledgeable - calming - hard working - team-working - downright amazing - nursing staff are there to be your crutch to help you along and point you in the right direction at a time when you need it the most. I wish I could remember all their names, but they are the most memorable part of the experience. 4 months on, I still clearly remember the care I received....24/7. ;-)

September 2013 - Man (and woman) vs. Hedge part 2

So this weekend I wanted to a) finish off the conifer hedge and b) see if last weeks physical prowess was just a one-off. I can happily report that it was not a one-off....

I finished off the side of the hedge yesterday whilst Deb started on the top. We did quite a lot yesterday and left a bit to do for today. We were in a rush to finish off the hedge today because the weather forecast suggested that rain was coming in and we wouldn't have too long, bearing in mind we do like our lie-in's on a Sunday.

I don't think we have breezed through a hedge-cut this easily for years, from my point of view the physical side of shearing through about 4 rubbish bags of conifer hedge was just so much easier than it has been in previous years. It makes me wonder just how much better I am really feeling now, it isn't really something scientific you could measure, it is all very subjective. But my arms just didn't tire like the did before. Someone said to me recently "don't overdo it", but in a way I kind of want to overdo it, I want to see how long my body takes before it is 'overdone'. I know that is a silly thing to say, but it is kind of how I feel.

As I think I have said before, I have taken to early morning walking before I start work, I have come to really quite enjoy my strolling around the area. Although strolling has become more "how fast can I go according to the App on my phone". The App in question is RunKeeper and when I started my early morning walks I was doing about a 19 to 20 minute mile. I hit a 13:57 minute average on Friday and duly got an email from RunKeeper telling me I had set my personal best for walking speed. A previous RunKeeper email had told me I did just over 25 miles during August, I don't think I have ever walked so far. I'm pretty chuffed with myself to be honest, particularly when I read back through this blog and see how poor my health was not so long ago. It makes you want to appreciated feeling good, we don't do it enough and take 'good' for granted.

The other thing is I am finally back driving. I rang the DVLA and their advice was "follow the advice of your doctor". So I emailed Dr. Kar at the QA Hospital who had seen my positive eye field test results and basically said "go for it". So I am now driving my car for the first time in over 3 months, but I still await the official letter from the DVLA once their medical experts have made a judgement. I wish I had rung them a few weeks earlier to receive this advice, I had obviously misunderstood the position and was waiting for their letter, it seems I could have just asked my doctor. Never mind, it is great to be back behind the wheel.

So I am well happy to be feeling fitter and be driving. More positive news to finish off this week, although as I sit here it is raining and looking distinctly like the summer has ended. A shame really, the best summer we've had in ages I've spent quite a lot of it feeling rough....now I'm feeling better it's raining. But you know what, I don't care :-)

September 2013 - Man vs. Hedge

We have an 80 foot long/7 foot high conifer hedge that I'm supposed to cut twice a year in April and August...usually during the bank holiday weekends. But what has this got to do with my pituitary gland?

Well, yesterday was the day I decided to do a bit of conifer hedge trimming, as we didn't have time during the recent bank holiday weekend to do any gardening. In between the showers I managed to get just over half the side of the hedge trimmed in around 2 hours, big deal I hear you utter. What occurred to me yesterday, was how much easier it was cutting the hedge than it was this time last year....I didn't get around to cutting the hedge at all this April.

Of course this time last year, I was blissfully ignorant of what was going on inside my head. I had a pituitary tumour, I probably had one growing for ten years or more, but carried on about my business. But for how long did it affect my every day life without me knowing, how many times was I tired or lacking energy and how many times did I say "oh it's just because I'm getting old". Well I don't know the answer to that for sure, but one activity that was guaranteed to knacker me was cutting the damn hedge. Partly this is due to my insistence that the hedge looks far better trimmed manually with hedge clippers. It does though, using our electric hedge trimmer makes the hedge go all brown on the ends, and takes just as long ultimately.

I distinctly remember how much my arms ached last year whilst trying to cut the hedge, and how many rest breaks I had to take. Yesterday, I breezed through the couple of hours I managed to fit in between the rain showers, my recovery time was much improved. It wasn't dead easy, because I still took a couple of short breaks, but my arms didn't suffer like they did. Now presumably this is all because I now take Hydrocortisone tablets and my tumour has gone, so most of my hormones are now in order. It makes me ponder how many times over the last few years I could have been much more physically up for a task if only I had listened to what my body was telling me. 

So the moral of the 'man vs. hedge' story is simple. Do exactly that, listen to your body, if you think something isn't right then maybe it isn't right. No-one knows your body better than you, you live with it every day and I suppose I am aiming this message more at men than women....don't be afraid to go to the doctors or put it off any longer. I did put it off and I did ignore the signs up to a point....I did go to the opticians several years ago because I had some slightly odd vision which I couldn't put my finger on and I did go to the doctors quite a while back because I had a spell of feeling a bit faint when exercising. I had some basic tests on both occasions but nothing was found because of course they were looking in the wrong place for my ailment....but I could have been more pushy in my quest to find what was wrong.

September 2013 - The Hulk, grrrrr

Well here we are in September already, and I have just had a really positive visit to see Dr. Kar my Endocrinologist. I feel much better having seen him as it seems I am only slightly out with my hormone levels and my full recovery is well within my grasp.

As I have already reported, my Cortisol levels will need permanent boosting with Hydrocortisone, but Dr. Kar said there are no long term health risks with taking Steroids as they are replacing something I'm missing. The only risk is if my body suddenly starts making its own Cortisol again which would put me in a higher dose situation. It could happen apparently. The only other hormone that needs sorting out is Testosterone....which I had guessed already.

Testosterone should give me back a bit of 'get up and go' which I would certainly welcome, but it also serves an important function as I get older which is to protect my bones (Osteoporosis). So bring on the Testosterone, I'm going to try a gel to start with to see how I get on, if I turn green and all my clothes rip off (Incredible Hulk-esque) then clearly I'm using too much gel!!

Other than that, I need to have an MRI scan towards the end of the year to check everything is ok in Pituitary land, and my next scheduled appointment now isn't until January. So I can stop worrying about stuff and get on with healing and getting better. Can't wait!