Wow, it's been over a year.
A super exciting year at that.
I don't actually have much to say and will probably disappear again (in fact, make that definitely), but I just wanted to check in and write something down at least.
So our boy is 14.5 months old already. He's been walking since 11.5 months and is just the nicest boy ever. He's so sweet and pleasant. He loves to read, dance, play all kinds of musical instruments, get arty with crayons and paint and play. We love him to bits, I couldn't be happier for having him around.
Health wise, things have been good really. I had a bad infection and virus in November which had temps up to 39.5, conjunctivitis, tonsillitis and dodgy lungs all at once. It was rough, but other than a few colds and a bit of infection (euch, all the joints in my body flared up, it was horrible!) at my birthday, my chest has leveled out again and seems to be doing OK. My annual review results were certainly good but I do have a daily productive cough which is a bit annoying. My OGTT said this time that I'm diabetic but my sugar diary so far looks good so I don't think I'll be started on insulin yet, probably just gonna have to keep an eye on them (as I have been since 2010 haha)
We've moved back to the mainland from Arran. We initially lived with James' mum for 6 months until we found a house to buy and sold our house on Arran, but we've been in our new house since March/April. It's still quite disorganised but we're trying...sort of haha.
Work is RUBBISH. I have 2 pupils. 2! I'm really limited for time obviously so that doesn't help, but it seems a Saturday just isn't a popular day any more so I'm stuck. I did apply for a piano teaching job with a council but I didn't get it. At least nobody can say I'm not trying. I'm giving it til Christmas then if things don't improve I'm gonna have to stop because I actually pretty much spend everything I make on petrol and time to get there. Naff.
I'm not posting photos of Ciaran on here as this is a public blog, but if you know me and want to see him you can either find me on facebook or on instagram (ruthjaymce)
x
Monday, 20 July 2015
Monday, 19 May 2014
News!
Been a while again!
There's been a lot going on in the McEnaney household. The main and most exciting event has been the birth of our first son, Ciaran Harris McEnaney. He is amazing.
The last trimester of pregnancy was pretty horrible in all honesty. Along with the diabetes I had major problems with my pelvis which ended up with me unable to walk without crutches and pelvic supports (and even then it was the slowest, most painful walk ever) and at 35 weeks my blood pressure shot up and I developed proteinuria and fairly severe swelling all associated with the onset of pre eclampsia so I was admitted at 35+5 for steroid injections and sliding scale for diabetic control and had my induction started at 35+6. Some Drs said I had pre eclampsia and others said I was developing it so I'm not quite sure where I lie there but either way it wasn't good.
Labour was interesting. I was hooked up to sliding scale on 1 side, hormone drip on the other, blood pressure cuff, O2 sats monitor, gas and air followed by an epidural, and right at the end another hormone drip. I literally don't think I've ever been hooked up to as many things at once before and I've been hooked up to lots of things. It meant I couldn't be as mobile as I would've liked, but when I tried the gas and air on the birthing ball I nearly fell off! In the end the best place for me was sat upright on the bed.
Another of the "complications" in my notes was that labour progressed very quickly. It was definitely less than 12 hours from arriving in the delivery room to actual delivery. I had the epidural in for 30 minutes before the Dr said I was ready to go and came back with a ventouse. Everyone had figured I was in so much pain because my labour wasn't natural and was being artificially managed, but it turned out I was much further on than they expected and it all got a bit frantic for a while. If I remember correctly the midwives count active labour from 5cm dilated and in my notes 1st stage active labour lasted 1 hour 20 minutes, 2nd stage lasted 20 minutes and 3rd stage 20 seconds (although that was "super actively managed" because my platelets and haemoglobin were rubbish and they thought I'd have a massive bleed without it).
Ciaran was delivered at 36 weeks exactly. 5pm on May 4th 2014.
The week following his birth is 1 I will hopefully forget in time but it's pretty clear in my mind at the moment. Having been moved to the post natal ward at 11pm on the Sunday, we were all set to leave on the Tuesday morning as Ciaran had managed to maintain his blood sugar and temperature for 24 hours but then the midwives noticed he was jaundiced and needed phototherapy. When they started on the lights he dropped his temperature and ended up in NICU to be warmed up and I was more or less ordered by the midwives to go to sleep because I was an exhausted mess. He did eventually come back to be with me on a bilibed (where the lights are below baby and they are in a little bag type thing so they can be covered rather than exposed with the lights above). He was taken off the lights after 2 days but by that stage had lost more weight than they would've liked so we still weren't allowed home until they saw he was gaining weight again. Once we had the all clear from the paediatricians and they had more or less said their goodbyes the midwives started their final checks on me, particularly my blood pressure as it had been a bit of a concern for a day or 2. I couldn't believe it when the result showed 175/100 and 169/104 and I had proteinuria again. The only good thing was my swelling was actually improving by this stage. However, that put a stop to our escape and I was howling. I've been on hypertension medication ever since, but it's been halved already so I'm hopeful when I return to the GP on Thursday that it'll either be reduced again or stopped. That night Ciaran was taken away to SCBU to be warmed up again and once again I was told to make the most of it and go to sleep but I was caught wandering around aimlessly at 5am. My haemoglobin also continued to drop so I had a nice little blood transfusion to try and pep me up a bit and have been on iron tablets ever since.
I can't believe how quickly things went downhill in the end. I was booked in for induction at 37+3 anyway, so wasn't a million miles off the end, but considering I should technically be 38 weeks at the moment it does seem a little bit weird.
So after 8 nights in hospital, 6 of them with Ciaran on the outisde, we were released on day 9 and spent a couple of days at my Mum and Dad's house with regular visits from James's Mum. We returned to Arran middle of last week and are really just trying to get into some sort of routine before James goes back to work tomorrow. It's a real shame his first week of paternity leave was spent in the hospital but Ciaran and I both needed to be there. Once the school summer holiday comes round it'll be good as he gets 6 weeks off to enjoy our boy.
There's been a lot going on in the McEnaney household. The main and most exciting event has been the birth of our first son, Ciaran Harris McEnaney. He is amazing.
The last trimester of pregnancy was pretty horrible in all honesty. Along with the diabetes I had major problems with my pelvis which ended up with me unable to walk without crutches and pelvic supports (and even then it was the slowest, most painful walk ever) and at 35 weeks my blood pressure shot up and I developed proteinuria and fairly severe swelling all associated with the onset of pre eclampsia so I was admitted at 35+5 for steroid injections and sliding scale for diabetic control and had my induction started at 35+6. Some Drs said I had pre eclampsia and others said I was developing it so I'm not quite sure where I lie there but either way it wasn't good.
Labour was interesting. I was hooked up to sliding scale on 1 side, hormone drip on the other, blood pressure cuff, O2 sats monitor, gas and air followed by an epidural, and right at the end another hormone drip. I literally don't think I've ever been hooked up to as many things at once before and I've been hooked up to lots of things. It meant I couldn't be as mobile as I would've liked, but when I tried the gas and air on the birthing ball I nearly fell off! In the end the best place for me was sat upright on the bed.
Another of the "complications" in my notes was that labour progressed very quickly. It was definitely less than 12 hours from arriving in the delivery room to actual delivery. I had the epidural in for 30 minutes before the Dr said I was ready to go and came back with a ventouse. Everyone had figured I was in so much pain because my labour wasn't natural and was being artificially managed, but it turned out I was much further on than they expected and it all got a bit frantic for a while. If I remember correctly the midwives count active labour from 5cm dilated and in my notes 1st stage active labour lasted 1 hour 20 minutes, 2nd stage lasted 20 minutes and 3rd stage 20 seconds (although that was "super actively managed" because my platelets and haemoglobin were rubbish and they thought I'd have a massive bleed without it).
Ciaran was delivered at 36 weeks exactly. 5pm on May 4th 2014.
The week following his birth is 1 I will hopefully forget in time but it's pretty clear in my mind at the moment. Having been moved to the post natal ward at 11pm on the Sunday, we were all set to leave on the Tuesday morning as Ciaran had managed to maintain his blood sugar and temperature for 24 hours but then the midwives noticed he was jaundiced and needed phototherapy. When they started on the lights he dropped his temperature and ended up in NICU to be warmed up and I was more or less ordered by the midwives to go to sleep because I was an exhausted mess. He did eventually come back to be with me on a bilibed (where the lights are below baby and they are in a little bag type thing so they can be covered rather than exposed with the lights above). He was taken off the lights after 2 days but by that stage had lost more weight than they would've liked so we still weren't allowed home until they saw he was gaining weight again. Once we had the all clear from the paediatricians and they had more or less said their goodbyes the midwives started their final checks on me, particularly my blood pressure as it had been a bit of a concern for a day or 2. I couldn't believe it when the result showed 175/100 and 169/104 and I had proteinuria again. The only good thing was my swelling was actually improving by this stage. However, that put a stop to our escape and I was howling. I've been on hypertension medication ever since, but it's been halved already so I'm hopeful when I return to the GP on Thursday that it'll either be reduced again or stopped. That night Ciaran was taken away to SCBU to be warmed up again and once again I was told to make the most of it and go to sleep but I was caught wandering around aimlessly at 5am. My haemoglobin also continued to drop so I had a nice little blood transfusion to try and pep me up a bit and have been on iron tablets ever since.
I can't believe how quickly things went downhill in the end. I was booked in for induction at 37+3 anyway, so wasn't a million miles off the end, but considering I should technically be 38 weeks at the moment it does seem a little bit weird.
So after 8 nights in hospital, 6 of them with Ciaran on the outisde, we were released on day 9 and spent a couple of days at my Mum and Dad's house with regular visits from James's Mum. We returned to Arran middle of last week and are really just trying to get into some sort of routine before James goes back to work tomorrow. It's a real shame his first week of paternity leave was spent in the hospital but Ciaran and I both needed to be there. Once the school summer holiday comes round it'll be good as he gets 6 weeks off to enjoy our boy.
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
Diabetes, work and exhaustion
I was right! My OGTT result was right below the cut off for gestational diabetes so I had to monitor my sugars 7 times a day for a week and the result of that is I'm now using insulin with my 3 main meals. I've been using it since Thursday and have already had to increase the dosage 3 times. I started out using it only with breakfast and dinner, increased the dose, added it in at lunch time as well, then increased the dose twice more. Finding it quite tricky to be perfectly honest. I seem to have a couple of days where the dosage I'm using works out fine then they jump up again. Pain. I'm sure I'll get them working out eventually though, just really want good control for baby's sake.
Only 2.5 weeks left of work and I couldn't be happier. I am completely exhausted and not sure if it's just pregnancy related or if I have an infection. I'm coughing during the night and waking up James and no doubt the neighbours, woke up at 6 this morning hardly able to get a breath in and some chest pain so had to get up to neb ventolin so I could attempt to get back to sleep. It took a while to kick in but thankfully did eventually and I got a bit more rest. Also completely sick of being sick after my breakfast in the morning. Only takes the slightest cough and that's me. Clearly everything is getting so squashed up now, although I've been throwing up after my breakfast for weeks now.
Think I'm gonna see how the next couple nights go and if I still keep waking up tight and coughing so much then I'm gonna need to be seen. Yuck.
It's not all doom and gloom though, I just don't really have much that's all that exciting going on. I have another scan next Friday and an appointment with OB so will hopefully find out if the diabetes and insulin use now means I'll be induced early or not. My friend's baby shower is this Saturday which is exciting! She's 35 weeks just now :)
Only 2.5 weeks left of work and I couldn't be happier. I am completely exhausted and not sure if it's just pregnancy related or if I have an infection. I'm coughing during the night and waking up James and no doubt the neighbours, woke up at 6 this morning hardly able to get a breath in and some chest pain so had to get up to neb ventolin so I could attempt to get back to sleep. It took a while to kick in but thankfully did eventually and I got a bit more rest. Also completely sick of being sick after my breakfast in the morning. Only takes the slightest cough and that's me. Clearly everything is getting so squashed up now, although I've been throwing up after my breakfast for weeks now.
Think I'm gonna see how the next couple nights go and if I still keep waking up tight and coughing so much then I'm gonna need to be seen. Yuck.
It's not all doom and gloom though, I just don't really have much that's all that exciting going on. I have another scan next Friday and an appointment with OB so will hopefully find out if the diabetes and insulin use now means I'll be induced early or not. My friend's baby shower is this Saturday which is exciting! She's 35 weeks just now :)
Monday, 24 February 2014
I'm so rubbish at this blogging lark these days.
I really don't have a lot to talk about and I think that's the main reason why I hardly ever write.
I'm now 26 weeks pregnant! Where has the time gone?! Things seem to be going well so far, lots of wriggling around in there and being kicked plenty too so that can only be a good sign. I'm being seen lots at both the CF unit and the maternity unit so I do feel like I'm being well looked after, even if it is a bit of a pain to get to all the appointments without a car (I leave mine on Arran because it costs a fortune to take it on the ferry).
Next week I have an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to check for gestational diabetes. All CF ladies who are going through pregnancy are offered this if they don't already have a diagnosis of CF-related/type 1 diabetes. I have to admit I'm not completely confident that I'll pass this test because I've been doing some checks on the advice of my CF dietitian and they've not all been within the recommended levels. This morning, for instance, my post-breakfast level was 12 and I was told it should be no higher than 8 in pregnancy so that's great :/ Cue me having a breakdown. Hormones are great fun.
I also have a scan, clinic appointment with the obstetrician and a consultation with an anesthetist next week. The anesthetic consultation is just in case I need to have an epidural/spinal/general at any point so they know what to expect, although I'm hoping to avoid these...
I have 6 weeks left to work and so wish I was able to finish in 3 which is when I can legally start my maternity leave. I can't because I have kids sitting piano exams in the last week of school term which means me doing an extra 3 weeks! I will get these 3 weeks at the other end though and really 3 extra weeks with baby is preferable to finishing work as early as possible.
My lung function is still sitting lower than we'd like but it didn't drop between the most recent clinic appointments so that's good. Annoyingly my lungs are a lot more productive than normal and the antibiotics I took did nothing for that, but consultants don't want me to have IVs unless I REALLY need them and seen as I don't feel horrific we decided to put them on hold again. They've basically been on hold now since Christmas and it's the start of March this weekend! I know it's a good thing I haven't deteriorated any further but it's damn annoying. Doesn't help that baby is squashing my lungs now and seen as I forgot my reflux meds last night (I was knackered) the combination of the 2 resulted in me throwing up 3 times in the half hour after breakfast. Well done. Won't be doing that again!
Anyway, moving on from baby/CF related things there really is very little to say. Work is ticking over and as I say will be stopping that soon. What else happens in my life? Nothing really lol. I have a spa appointment on Thursday though and I cannot wait! Body brushing and massage, yes please, and it's designed for preggos so I'm safe to go. Yay!
I really don't have a lot to talk about and I think that's the main reason why I hardly ever write.
I'm now 26 weeks pregnant! Where has the time gone?! Things seem to be going well so far, lots of wriggling around in there and being kicked plenty too so that can only be a good sign. I'm being seen lots at both the CF unit and the maternity unit so I do feel like I'm being well looked after, even if it is a bit of a pain to get to all the appointments without a car (I leave mine on Arran because it costs a fortune to take it on the ferry).
Next week I have an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to check for gestational diabetes. All CF ladies who are going through pregnancy are offered this if they don't already have a diagnosis of CF-related/type 1 diabetes. I have to admit I'm not completely confident that I'll pass this test because I've been doing some checks on the advice of my CF dietitian and they've not all been within the recommended levels. This morning, for instance, my post-breakfast level was 12 and I was told it should be no higher than 8 in pregnancy so that's great :/ Cue me having a breakdown. Hormones are great fun.
I also have a scan, clinic appointment with the obstetrician and a consultation with an anesthetist next week. The anesthetic consultation is just in case I need to have an epidural/spinal/general at any point so they know what to expect, although I'm hoping to avoid these...
I have 6 weeks left to work and so wish I was able to finish in 3 which is when I can legally start my maternity leave. I can't because I have kids sitting piano exams in the last week of school term which means me doing an extra 3 weeks! I will get these 3 weeks at the other end though and really 3 extra weeks with baby is preferable to finishing work as early as possible.
My lung function is still sitting lower than we'd like but it didn't drop between the most recent clinic appointments so that's good. Annoyingly my lungs are a lot more productive than normal and the antibiotics I took did nothing for that, but consultants don't want me to have IVs unless I REALLY need them and seen as I don't feel horrific we decided to put them on hold again. They've basically been on hold now since Christmas and it's the start of March this weekend! I know it's a good thing I haven't deteriorated any further but it's damn annoying. Doesn't help that baby is squashing my lungs now and seen as I forgot my reflux meds last night (I was knackered) the combination of the 2 resulted in me throwing up 3 times in the half hour after breakfast. Well done. Won't be doing that again!
Anyway, moving on from baby/CF related things there really is very little to say. Work is ticking over and as I say will be stopping that soon. What else happens in my life? Nothing really lol. I have a spa appointment on Thursday though and I cannot wait! Body brushing and massage, yes please, and it's designed for preggos so I'm safe to go. Yay!
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Festivities and 2013
Well, that's it, Christmas is over and the new year starts tomorrow!
Christmas was nice. It was very relaxed and easy going and really I've not done a lot. We were all spoiled rotten and I think we managed to spoil the people we bought for...I hope anyway!
We've had a busy and fairly eventful year when I think back...although no doubt I've forgotten a million and one things that have happened! We started the year being told we had to figure out what we were doing with the house and get the purchase through ASAP, which went so well it took until September 18th to finalise. Work has been fairly steady for me, even with the usual summer holiday dip, but I've come to expect that now and can at least attempt to compensate. We had a few weeks of unbelievable weather - both beautiful and our freak white out that caused us to have no power/heat for 6 days. Fun! We've been to a good few weddings which were all beautiful, seen our friends get engaged and have babies and all kinds of lovely things so all in all I think it's been mainly a positive year.
For my family it's been a mixed year. The biggest event probably being David going missing and his body being found a couple months later. My uncle and his partner are still fighting to find out what really happened to him and are trying to change legislation regarding pubs and drink spiking.
For James and I, after the house purchase, our biggest event has been finding out about little fidget pants McEnaney. I think that could be his/her new name, because he's certainly living up to it in there! It'll be our biggest event of 2014 too which is exciting. On Sunday I turned 18 weeks and James felt fidget pants kick for the first time. I've been feeling movement for a couple weeks but nothing that he could have felt. I've gained a massive 0.5kg on my pre-pregnancy weight and my nurse yesterday couldn't believe I'm 18 weeks because apparently I look too neat haha. At least I'm not having to be rolled about yet! That said I've a chest infection that hasn't shifted with 2 weeks of oral antibiotics so I've been put on another 2 weeks and to get IVs next week if it still hasn't budged. Lung function didn't even hint at budging. Could really do without being on more than 28 days worth but needs must I guess if it goes that far.
I can't really think of anything else to say at the moment other than I hope everyone has a healthy and happy 2014 and I hope our 2014 turns out to be as good as it's looking!
Much love xxx
Christmas was nice. It was very relaxed and easy going and really I've not done a lot. We were all spoiled rotten and I think we managed to spoil the people we bought for...I hope anyway!
We've had a busy and fairly eventful year when I think back...although no doubt I've forgotten a million and one things that have happened! We started the year being told we had to figure out what we were doing with the house and get the purchase through ASAP, which went so well it took until September 18th to finalise. Work has been fairly steady for me, even with the usual summer holiday dip, but I've come to expect that now and can at least attempt to compensate. We had a few weeks of unbelievable weather - both beautiful and our freak white out that caused us to have no power/heat for 6 days. Fun! We've been to a good few weddings which were all beautiful, seen our friends get engaged and have babies and all kinds of lovely things so all in all I think it's been mainly a positive year.
For my family it's been a mixed year. The biggest event probably being David going missing and his body being found a couple months later. My uncle and his partner are still fighting to find out what really happened to him and are trying to change legislation regarding pubs and drink spiking.
For James and I, after the house purchase, our biggest event has been finding out about little fidget pants McEnaney. I think that could be his/her new name, because he's certainly living up to it in there! It'll be our biggest event of 2014 too which is exciting. On Sunday I turned 18 weeks and James felt fidget pants kick for the first time. I've been feeling movement for a couple weeks but nothing that he could have felt. I've gained a massive 0.5kg on my pre-pregnancy weight and my nurse yesterday couldn't believe I'm 18 weeks because apparently I look too neat haha. At least I'm not having to be rolled about yet! That said I've a chest infection that hasn't shifted with 2 weeks of oral antibiotics so I've been put on another 2 weeks and to get IVs next week if it still hasn't budged. Lung function didn't even hint at budging. Could really do without being on more than 28 days worth but needs must I guess if it goes that far.
I can't really think of anything else to say at the moment other than I hope everyone has a healthy and happy 2014 and I hope our 2014 turns out to be as good as it's looking!
Much love xxx
Sunday, 17 November 2013
It's been SO long
Almost 6 months to be precise! What a ridiculous state of affairs. It's not that I've had nothing to write about, it's really just that some of the things I've wanted to talk about I've had to keep quiet...until now.
The summer was brilliant. It was very hot (often far too hot) but it made for lots of days spent wearing shorts/dresses and sandals. I managed to stay well most of the time because it was dry (I tend to fair much worse in the wet winter months) and got to enjoy myself! Only thing I will say is that spending an entire day at a wedding in 30C heat was a challenge too far. We were all ready to take a run into the sea!
We were told in July that our mortgage would finally be going through and we would be home owners, finally. That turned into our mortgage going through on September 18th, with only 4 days until the building society cancelled our offer and we were back to square 1. To say that was stressful is a wild understatement. We were constantly on the phone, constantly emailing, and constantly being pushed from pillar to post but THANK GOD it's finally through and we no longer have to deal with landlords. Phew.
A whole 5 days after our mortgage went through, on James' 27th birthday, we found out that I'm pregnant! Yes, I couldn't believe it either. Well, I could, because it wasn't an accident, but it was a bit of a shock none-the-less. I'm now just past the 12 week mark and starting to round out a bit, although I think this weekend it's mainly just my rubbish CF bowel that's making me look round lol. It's hard to tell what's causing it. Since getting pregnant, I've had a sickness virus and now have a heavy cold that I'm hoping isn't starting to descend to my chest, but I was awake during the night wheezing and whistling and just generally sounding and feeling rubbish so we'll see what clinic reveals on Thursday.
I can't really think of much else that's happened to be honest, because these 2 big life events have kind of taken over my memory, but I'm now in the run up to Christmas concerts and dinners out etc which are great fun when you can't drink! I've had 2 sober weddings already and man are they difficult. Not that I get completely plastered every time I go out normally, but a couple of drinks take the edge off certainly and make dealing with other drunk people a lot easier! To make matters worse, I had to use the excuse of "I'm driving" rather than just telling people the truth because we hadn't had all the necessary scans and tests.
Historically, my health has been pretty rubbish for me from January to April/May time, so I'm really hoping that this year things are different. I'll update after clinic on Thursday if I can be bothered.
Hope everyone else is keeping busy and well. x
The summer was brilliant. It was very hot (often far too hot) but it made for lots of days spent wearing shorts/dresses and sandals. I managed to stay well most of the time because it was dry (I tend to fair much worse in the wet winter months) and got to enjoy myself! Only thing I will say is that spending an entire day at a wedding in 30C heat was a challenge too far. We were all ready to take a run into the sea!
We were told in July that our mortgage would finally be going through and we would be home owners, finally. That turned into our mortgage going through on September 18th, with only 4 days until the building society cancelled our offer and we were back to square 1. To say that was stressful is a wild understatement. We were constantly on the phone, constantly emailing, and constantly being pushed from pillar to post but THANK GOD it's finally through and we no longer have to deal with landlords. Phew.
A whole 5 days after our mortgage went through, on James' 27th birthday, we found out that I'm pregnant! Yes, I couldn't believe it either. Well, I could, because it wasn't an accident, but it was a bit of a shock none-the-less. I'm now just past the 12 week mark and starting to round out a bit, although I think this weekend it's mainly just my rubbish CF bowel that's making me look round lol. It's hard to tell what's causing it. Since getting pregnant, I've had a sickness virus and now have a heavy cold that I'm hoping isn't starting to descend to my chest, but I was awake during the night wheezing and whistling and just generally sounding and feeling rubbish so we'll see what clinic reveals on Thursday.
I can't really think of much else that's happened to be honest, because these 2 big life events have kind of taken over my memory, but I'm now in the run up to Christmas concerts and dinners out etc which are great fun when you can't drink! I've had 2 sober weddings already and man are they difficult. Not that I get completely plastered every time I go out normally, but a couple of drinks take the edge off certainly and make dealing with other drunk people a lot easier! To make matters worse, I had to use the excuse of "I'm driving" rather than just telling people the truth because we hadn't had all the necessary scans and tests.
Historically, my health has been pretty rubbish for me from January to April/May time, so I'm really hoping that this year things are different. I'll update after clinic on Thursday if I can be bothered.
Hope everyone else is keeping busy and well. x
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Annual Review
Yesterday was that day. Yes, that day we all hate - annual review day.
I left Arran on the 9.45am boat, sat about in Ardrossan for nearly an hour waiting for a train to Glasgow, then got another train out to the hospital and arrived at 12.50pm. My appointment wasn't until 1.30pm, so I just sat and tried to stay awake in the waiting room.
Clinic was late in starting, as usual, so at around 2 I was sent to X-ray, having only had a brief chat with 1 of the nurses, then told to go straight to physio then straight to lung function before heading back. Well, I sat in physio waiting room for half an hour and no sign of a physio! She eventually came but I only had 10 minutes of my appointment with her left so we did the 6 minute walk test then I left. I think I walked about the same distance as last year and my sats stayed mainly at 96 while walking and didn't drop below 95 which is an improvement on October. My lung function was up another 5% which was good news. All this walking and singing seem to be doing me good. Oh, and I only needed 3 vials of blood taken as I had full blood work done in February. Yay! We managed it in 1 go, which is a miracle considering the nurse just looked at my arm and my veins collapsed lol. It was VERY hot though so I think that helped.
My appointment with the Dr wasn't so great, if only because I don't feel I was listened to properly and didn't get the antibiotics I was hoping for to help my sinuses, just got told to eat ginger. Fine, I love ginger, and maybe they help a bit but my glands are all still swollen and the amount of horrible crap coming from them and the pain, I know I need an antibiotic! I'll give it a week. My chest was half sounded (didn't listen to the lower lobes and did a rush job) but apparently that was sounding ok.
I got a bit of a fright when I saw a letter written by a consultant to my GP about an x-ray taken in March, but having spoken to my GP today about it I feel much better. It said that the radiologist suggested I might have TB and that I should have a CT scan to investigate further, but I'm told apparently he/she didn't know I have CF and thought the CF changes were TB! Doh. Although, it does say as well that there has been deterioration since April 2012, particularly in the left base and upper right lobe. Bummer :/ I'm absolutely convinced that these are the areas I've been bleeding though, so totally not unexpected and having seen the x-ray when it was done in March I kinda knew it was coming, although I thought it might look better yesterday but it didn't.
Once that was all over I was ushered out mid-chat with the dietician because they were concerned I was going to miss my ferry lol, so I left the hospital at 4.45, got 2 trains back to Ardrossan then the 7.20pm boat and I was home at 8.30ish. Long bloody day.
But hey ho, at least that's it over for another year.
In real life, nothing much is happening. I'm practicing my piano a lot because I got some new pieces that I'm totally in love with. I'm still teaching, the invigilating for SQA exams finishes next week (thank god, never been so bored in my life!!) and in 5 weeks it's the summer holidays, wahoo!!
I left Arran on the 9.45am boat, sat about in Ardrossan for nearly an hour waiting for a train to Glasgow, then got another train out to the hospital and arrived at 12.50pm. My appointment wasn't until 1.30pm, so I just sat and tried to stay awake in the waiting room.
Clinic was late in starting, as usual, so at around 2 I was sent to X-ray, having only had a brief chat with 1 of the nurses, then told to go straight to physio then straight to lung function before heading back. Well, I sat in physio waiting room for half an hour and no sign of a physio! She eventually came but I only had 10 minutes of my appointment with her left so we did the 6 minute walk test then I left. I think I walked about the same distance as last year and my sats stayed mainly at 96 while walking and didn't drop below 95 which is an improvement on October. My lung function was up another 5% which was good news. All this walking and singing seem to be doing me good. Oh, and I only needed 3 vials of blood taken as I had full blood work done in February. Yay! We managed it in 1 go, which is a miracle considering the nurse just looked at my arm and my veins collapsed lol. It was VERY hot though so I think that helped.
My appointment with the Dr wasn't so great, if only because I don't feel I was listened to properly and didn't get the antibiotics I was hoping for to help my sinuses, just got told to eat ginger. Fine, I love ginger, and maybe they help a bit but my glands are all still swollen and the amount of horrible crap coming from them and the pain, I know I need an antibiotic! I'll give it a week. My chest was half sounded (didn't listen to the lower lobes and did a rush job) but apparently that was sounding ok.
I got a bit of a fright when I saw a letter written by a consultant to my GP about an x-ray taken in March, but having spoken to my GP today about it I feel much better. It said that the radiologist suggested I might have TB and that I should have a CT scan to investigate further, but I'm told apparently he/she didn't know I have CF and thought the CF changes were TB! Doh. Although, it does say as well that there has been deterioration since April 2012, particularly in the left base and upper right lobe. Bummer :/ I'm absolutely convinced that these are the areas I've been bleeding though, so totally not unexpected and having seen the x-ray when it was done in March I kinda knew it was coming, although I thought it might look better yesterday but it didn't.
Once that was all over I was ushered out mid-chat with the dietician because they were concerned I was going to miss my ferry lol, so I left the hospital at 4.45, got 2 trains back to Ardrossan then the 7.20pm boat and I was home at 8.30ish. Long bloody day.
But hey ho, at least that's it over for another year.
In real life, nothing much is happening. I'm practicing my piano a lot because I got some new pieces that I'm totally in love with. I'm still teaching, the invigilating for SQA exams finishes next week (thank god, never been so bored in my life!!) and in 5 weeks it's the summer holidays, wahoo!!
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