well....part II

I go to tell the manager that our ground floor room was broken into via the window. He seems totally unconcerned about us, the customers. I ask him to call the police. An officer comes and inspects the damage. The room was by no means small but the window was broken with such force that there was glass on the pillows, on the far side of the room. We discover that they had my husband's Nexus 1 and about £300.00 in cash. They had been through my handbag and had thankfully just tossed house keys and passports aside. The did not delve beneath the knitting in my rucksack- which was where my wallet with all of my 'plastic' and some other cash was.(Number Guy's was in his pocket.)

I go back to reception It is about 11.30pm by this point. I am not feeling at all well. They seemed totally bemused when I ask them to give us another room. Upon hearing that there was no other room I asked them to start phoning around hotels and finding us one. This seemed to be a totally unreasonable request. Suddenly there was another room available. About an hour later when we are finally finished with the police officer we take our suitcase, walk miles and miles (no offer of assistance from staff)...go up and down, up and down lots of steps- our room in in the old part of the hotel and the layout is bizarre to say the least. Not only is the room right above the disco, it has someone else's stuff in it. We trek back, up and down, up and down, back to reception. Only to be asked 'Are you sure?' by the receptionist. By this time I am feeling too unwell to say 'No, we are joking.' The manager appears and reassures us that there was a mistake, ours is the room next to that one and the disco will be off in 15 minutes.

We go back to the foyer. The manager joins us for a friendly chat. Finally thinks to ask if we might need something to drink. We ask for coffee and a soft drink and he then sits still for another half hour before finally going to organise it. In the meantime NUmber Guy had gone back to our room for something. He had a T-shirt with his employer's logo on it. As he came back I could hear someone being somewhat unpleasant about it. A scary-looking bloke then sits down with us and starts to pick NG's brains about search ratings :0( FFS- everyone now knows we have been burgled, it is after one in the morning and I look/feel like shit. But neither off us feels like telling this guy to take a hike. It was all very odd and we suspect quite strongly that he was the fucker who broke into our room...remember that NG had given our room number earlier in the evening when ordering a coffee. So this guy then starts going on about this online webshop of his friend blah blah blah. It is a sex toy shop (Oh, really? How uninteresting). We sit through as much of his stupid, inane burbling as we can manage until he offers to show me the site on my iPad. he makes a move to grab it but I get there first and just tell him 'No way!' He then starts getting very interested in whether it is the iPad 1 or 2....hmmm. But then he goes too far and makes a grab for Number Guy's laptop to show us the website on that. (what the fuck is wrong with this guy? I mean, how much more inappropriate could he get?). I've had enough by now.
'I don't mean to be rude,' says I. (For non-Brits that translates as 'I am being really rude, please fuck off and die.'). You can see we have had a bad night. I am ill and it is now after one in the morning. Goodnight.' He finally sods off. We drink our coffee/soft drink and go to bed.

We were supposed to fly back to Zürich later this same afternoon but I get worse and worse. After a really frustrating call to a doctor ('Did I need to be admitted?' Erm...wasn't that his job to decide?) I am finally admitted to hospital. Pyelonephritis is diagnosed and I am given IV antibiotics. I can't comment on other wards in the Countess of Chester Hospital but the two wards I was on were spotlessly clean and the staff had no problems with me self-medicating.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...the staff's attitude at the hotel, together with everything that had happened meant that NG did not feel happy staying there. He left and booked another hotel. We remain disgusted with both the standards in the hotel and with the very unhelpful attitude of the manager. We were burgled at his hotel yet he did not seem to think he needed to do anything to assist us.

Unfortunately...the new hotel is at the racetrack. It was Chester Race Day. The car park is shared by the hotel and the racetrack. NG can't get in until after 8.00pm....

My stay in hospital was largely uneventful, thankfully, but there was one funny incident. The morning that I was discharged I was in another ward and hadn't even said as much as 'Hello' to the other women, as I had been brought to that ward late the night before.The woman in the bed opposite me obviously didn't like the look of me- she was making mobile calls (that wasn't a problem on the wards at this hospital) with a disposable bed pan held up to her face. She was glaring at me over the top of the bedpan, holding the mobile in the bowl part of the pan and speaking into it in an obvious attempt to make sure I didn't hear what she was saying.It was SO funny. She kept glaring at me over the top, so I finally very ostentatiously put my ear buds in and turned my iTouch on...but kept laughing to myself....well, it was the only funny thing that had happened in a very long weekend.

So... discharged, get to the hotel. Grateful to see that there are two extra pillows in a clear case on top of the wardrobe. That meant I wouldn't have to ask for more.I take them out, arrange them on the bed, turn over...and put my face right into a pillow smelling of vomit. Well...that really was the imperfect end to an imperfect weekend

Well....

I am not sure where to start...this is a sorry tale, but I am going to share.

On the 29th of July we arrive in Chester at the end of a two week holiday/conference trip and check into the hotel. NUmber Guy had had reservations about this place but he was looking for somewhere that would be a treat for me while I stayed behind when he and his friends went walking ( This was my choice, as I really was not up to a ten mile hike). THis place had a spa...he said the hotel itself looked slightly shabby but the spa looked good. We didn't have much time to look, so we went with this one. When we were booking in a couple were complaining that their shower still was not working, despite having reported the problem in the morning.

We get our key and walk miles and miles of corridor to get to our room. Fair enough- we had asked for a quiet room. The key wouldn't work. We hiked back, miles and miles....'Are you sure?' asked the receptionist. 'No,'I said. 'we're joking'. Receptionist unimpressed, hikes back miles and miles with us and looks upon us in triumph as the new key opens the door.

The room is large, barren and cold. But very clean. Same with the bathroom. Number Guy had ordered some champagne and chocolates as a surprise. There they were- a big box of cheap chocolates, lukewarm bottle of champers sitting on the table. We go back to reception, are met with an astonished glance when we ask if a wine bucket with iced water could be provided for the champagne. We go into dinner. Complaints from diners are being fielded left, right and centre by the waiting staff. When our meal arrives it looks like someone had vomitted on Numer Guy's plate. No kidding. Mines was.... edible. We go back to the room. The champagne is in the water. We open the bottle and...clunk...the glasses together.

I was not feeling very confident about being left alone in the hotel so I decide to go out with everyone the next day. I go to bed and I slide under the covers plus extra blankets and several layers of clothes- it is cold and of course the heating doesn't work.

Breakfast next day- someone has taken the serving tongs for the eggs and burst all the yolks as the search for one which is just right. The woman in front of me sneezes all over the tomatoes. I go for some Weetabix.

We take all our valuables with us as the room has no safe. We have a lovely day with a fantastic lunch. My hip had been bothering me so D carried my rucksack (Number Guy had his) so that I could go for a walk around the lake at Delmere Forrest.

Half an hour before the end of the walk I started to feel vaguely unwell. It started in my leg muscles. I didn't say anything as my health is always a topic of conversation and even I am bored of it. By the time we finish I am feeling quite ill. It is happening so quickly I suspect flu. Number Guy has suggested finding a nice place for dinner, as we don't want to eat at the hotel. By the time we get back to Chester I am just not up to it. I suggest a supermarket visit for yoghurt and fruit. By the time we get to the supermarket (about an hour and a half after I started to feel ill) I have a fever. I go to buy a thermometer and some ibuprofen and Number Guy reluctantly levase me to get some yoghurt etc. By this time I have rigors (violent trembling/shaking associated with high temperatures). I am finding it hard to walk and I am shaking so much the store manage comes over and says I am vibrating with the shakes. I looked so ill he wanted to call an ambulance. My temperature is 38.5 (my normal temp is 36.5). I decline, Number Guy gets back and we get back to the hotel, leave most of our stuff in the room, take iPad and Laptop and go to foyer. Number Guy gets me a coffee, telling the bar staff (and incidentally other people in the bar/foyer area) our room number. I am on phone to NHS 24. After about an hour and 3 phone calls, a doctor says I need to be seen 'right now'. Because I was so unwell, we didn't go back to the room for our stuff.

I see the doctor, she says it is a urinary tract infection and told me to take the antibiotics but get back in touch if I get worse. We get back to the hotel to find our room had been burgled.

Next installment tomorrow...

Reducing meds.

On absolutely no advice from my doctor I have reduced my carbamazapine by 100mg daily. Last week the crazy itch that I have been having returned with enough ferocity to drive me tothe walk-in clinic at the station. Itching like that can be an indicator of liver problems, always a possibility with this drug. One of my results wasn't great but bilirubin levels were normal, and it is apparently bilirubin that causes the itch. That meant it was the drug itself driving me up the wall, not a side-effect. Anyway, a rash decided to join the itch. I am waiting to hear frommy doctor and hoping that this decrease does not leave me open to another seizure.

in the meantime I havebeen gently enjoying Salzburg. And by that I mean I have pottered about, eaten Sacher Torte, drunk coffee, had brunch and generally was not much of a tourist. The first couple of days were gorgeous and I pottered around the old town. The last two have been very, erm, Scottish in terms of wind and rain. I thought about doing a tour, visitng the 'must-see' places but other health issues were intruding so I just pulled back.

here are a few links to the Mirabell Gardens, which I spoke about above. They are from previous years.


Garden


Garden


Garden

Swissness

Decorating my front door for the seasons makes me feel Swiss-ish. It isn't just winter decorations, spring/easter ones are popular, too. I bought this after a failed attempt to have coffee with some ex-pats this morning. You know that un-loved feeling you get when you turn up for something and no-one else does? Well, I didn't feel like that, since I haven't been for months, but I was a bit naffed off that I yanked myself out of bed at 7.45 this morning.

After a couple of cups of coffee I headed off to the Apotheke (pharmacy). They have a good system here- my doctor can write a repeat prescription which is good for a set period of time, and I just go back to the pharmacy to pick it up, no need to contact the doctor's surgery first. Once again, my German was trotted out. I bet the guy though 'Oh, not again!' when, in response to his 'Do you speak English?', I replied that I must try German first. There then followed a long and complicated discussion, in which I came to appreciate just how much of what we say is actually padding. Very long story short...after delving into his computer he agreed with me that the doctor had actually prescribed '1 to 2 tablets' of Melatonin. His first thought was that this could not possibly be correct and he looked really worried when I told him I had been taking two tablets at night since last Friday. Melatonin is the latest in recent attempts to sort my sleeping out. It occurs naturally in the body and is what sends us to sleep. You should have seen Dr L's face when I told him that the doctor in the US had offered me Ambien or benzodiazepines!! 'Oh, please don't do that!' he blurted out. Not to worry, a tranquiliser addiction is not what I need right now, so I had turned it down. In the UK it is very hard to get benzodiazapines on prescription. They are very useful in certain circumstances but their use is carefully monitored. So far the Melatonin seems to be helping.

We are supposed to be heading back to the UK on Friday to do our christmas shopping. Not sure if that'll be happening, given the weather in the UK at the moment. In the meantime, the snow looks very pretty from the comfort of my living room....I'm off to curl up on the sofa and read. Tchüüs.

still health

I need to write about my trip to Costa Rica...it was amazing. Hopefully I can find my camera and rustle something up.

In the meantime, things are good here. I feel crappy but only in a jet-lag-why-can't-i-sleep-why-can't-I-stop-sleeping sort of way, so that's fine. I was delighted to find that 'my' migraine doctor is still at the clinic and have an appointment on Thursday to see him. I am trying to ignore the fact that I have to be at his clinic for 8.30 am....I even managed to sort it all out in German, so that's OK. From my brief conversation with the receptionist, I won't be the first person presenting with hemipleigc/basilar migraines which is both heartening and disheartening as you can imagine.

Tomorrow I am going to try to haul ass into Zurich and get a few things done...but then again I ma still be in bed at tea time!

Health update

Well, first of all, it is good news. Thenfirst thing the doctor told me today was that there was definitely no bleed, new or old, in my brain. In fact, he was very unhappy with the way that the scans had been read...he said that the anomaly was clearly a blood vessel in my brain and that what had been reported was just so wrong. To add insult to Injury, the person doing the reporting completely contradicted themselves at the end of the report and didn't even notice. At the end of the consultation the doctor showed Number Guy and myself the actual scans and took a lot of time and trouble going through them to show us exactly why he thought that there was no indication of a stroke.

During the examination it became obvious that I do still have altered sensation in my right foot....this became very obvious as I was feeling rather blasé aboutnthe blunt pin that he was testing my foot with. he then used the same blunt pin on my fingers and I nearly shot off the examination table. He said thatbthis sort of numbness is very common with migraine, as is my word-finding issue. He thinks that I had a basilar or hemiplegic migraine. I have given a couple of URLs at the bottom of the post. To be honest they don't really explain theybtype of thing that can happen, possibly because it is pretty scary, I don't know. A quick Google will bring up lots of information should you wish to know more.

the doctor said that he has followed patients who have had very, very severe attacks of this sort. To the extent that they mimic a stroke even more than mine did. A lot of these patients never have another episode, so it really is a case of getting on with my life. He didn't categorize the attack as either the basilar or the hemiplegic as I think I was fortunate enough not to have enough symptoms to make the differential diagnosis but he is confident that it is 'that sort of thing'. He didn't want to do anything about my meds as he, quite rightly, felt that it had taken a lot of adjusting in the past to get to where I am now. I did, however, ask him if he could do anything about my sleep, which over the past few months has been very bad. Now that I know my brain isn't frying I felt that this was the single thing that would help the most. I was very hestitant about asking since in the UK there is still quite a stigma attatched to sleeping medication......woman+ sleeping tablets = neurotic. The doctor thought that it was a very reasonable request and apart from the huge relief at the diagnosis I am looking forward to what I hope will be the best night's sleep I have had in months.

apologies if theere are glaring typos in this post....I haven't worked outnhow to scroll up,through the text when I am typing on my iPad, so oncenit goes beyond the top limit I can't get back to it.





http://www.migraine.org.uk/index.php?sectionid=1254

http://www.migraine.org.uk/index.php?sectionid=210

Strokes are the new black

As some you will be aware, a well-known blogger had a stroke earlier this year. It seems that I cannot let her have all the fuss and attention, so I had my own mini-strokes, or Transient Ischaemic Attack, this morning. You will have gathered, obviously, that the fact that I am typing away here some ten hours later means I am ok.

I woke up early this morning and was very confused about where I was. This in itself is not unusual since we have been travelling so much this year. But, I just could not work out where I was...it took me a while to realise that I was in the US with my husband....and I am not sure that I thought of him as Number Guy but on,y as 'husband'. I tried to get out of the bedroom, but I couldn't work out how to do it. I got to the bedroom door and couldn't figure out how to open it. This sort of thing sometimes happens when I am sleepwalking, but I was definitely awake. I got a bit upset at this point and am not sure what happened next. Somehow I managed to get out and I visited the bathroom and then went to speak to Number Guy, who was in the living room. Just as well I did. I remember asking him to 'hold me' and then I basically fell over. Luckily he grabbed me or I would have been face first into the table and then onto the floor. My right arm started to shake and spasm and my vision went completely black with yellow stars.

finding a hospital with an Emergency Room was a bit of a farce....however things were resolving a bit. By the time I was seen, which was very quickly after we found the right place, I had some ataxia on my rightnside and I still felt very odd. I have had an MRI scan and it has revealed an 'old bleed that they are not worried about'. Well, I am because my migraine doctor arranged an MRI scan earlier this year and he made a big point of telling me that it was all clear and to tell doctors that if any future scans show damage. So this old bleed is notmactive now but it has happened in the last year.

so as you can imagine, I am a bit shaken. We have delayed our return to Switzerland by a week.I need to have a follow-up,appointment with a neurologist and we need to leave enough time to make sure that this is not a precursor to a major stroke, although the hospital say that if they were concerned aboutnthat they would have admitted me.

That'll be $700.....

so....second line antibiotics are not shifting sinus infection. ECG confirmed that although my QT interval is a bit long, it isn't so long that these new antibiotics are going to give me arrythmias (!). Howerver, both the antibiotics and the prednisolone can cause rutpured Achilles's tendon and other tendon issues (!!), so being on both means increased increased risk (!!!). So far, the total for the two visits plus medication is about
$700. (!!!!). So.....who is lucky to have health insurance, eh?

Other than continuing my medical Mystery Shopper job, I have just been chilling out here. We are going to spend the weekend lazing around, possibly going out for a bite or two to eat. Walking slowly. Watching those tendons....

All done

It's over. I can confirm what other people have said- thanks to the wonders of sedation, the worst part is the preparation. What made it a bit harder was having to get up to take the second solution at 4.00am this morning. The original plan had been 6.00 am (bad enough) but after yesterday it became clear that if severe public embarrassment were to be avoided, 4.00am it needed to be.

I told Dr F' I'm never having this done again, so this is the only chance to do all the tests that you need. I think he took me at my word. We need to await the histology results to be certain, but it look as if I 'merely' have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I say 'merely' because it's fab news that it isn't something worse, but I'm not sure what else can be done to alleviate the symptoms. Oh well, I should find out at my follow-up appointment next week.

Now, where is the horse, because I could eat one.

I've been putting it off.

I have That Test tomorrow. Sitting in the fridge are two bottles of 'stuff'. How do you find the motivation to drink something that you know will: A) Taste so bad you might end up vomiting; B)Cause you to spend all night in the bathroom; C)and to add insult to injury requires a 5am start tomorrow morning to do it all over again?

10 minutes later.

It was bad. But not that bad. I was finding it hard at first because my throat kept feeling like it was just going to close. ..I had a taste. It was awful. I quickly developed a technique- 4 teaspoons of the liquid, which was small enough to be 'downed in a one-er' as we say in my neck of the woods, to which a hefty squeeze of lemon juice was added. There was 90 mls. That was 90mls too much, but still. Now I just nee dto drink 2L of water and hang around the bathroom. Oh Joy.

The only problem I foresee at the minute is that I am feeling quite sick. It really
will add insult to injury if it all comes back up after I went to the effort of getting it down.

You might want to skip this.

It isn't really gross, but still...

I had my lactose-intolerance test today. It seems that I'm not. Lactose-intolerant. All I can say is that there's a mighty amazing placebo effect going on when I take lactase. It'll take me a while to get my head round this.

Anyway, my GI consultant managed to amaze me today. He needed me to explain to him why I didn't really want to have a colonoscopy. Yes, really.

6 weeks

That's about the length of time that my migraines have been under control. Yay :0) This is how it is for me and 'my migraines', that constant companion. I get ups and downs. The downs really suck- weeks on end of painkillers and making sure I have them and my other meds with me, chronic pain, constant fear of an acute attack. Then something magical happens- it all.just.stops. The past week or so have been a bit niggly, as I have a major stress coming up, but other than that I have had a reminder of what it has been like to be a normal person. :0)

Swine Flu Vaccine Information

If you have worries about the Swine Flu Vaccine, here is some great information.

Something for nothing? In Swtizerland?

Yep, you read it here, folks. I had the Swine Flu vaccine yesterday. Free.Gratis.For nothing. That is so unusual I think I should have asked for two....

With the seasonal flu vaccine I had no side-effects whatsoever. Today I am feeling fairly crappy and am wondering if it is as a result of the Pig Flu vaccine. I know I haven't got the flu, it is a dead vaccine, after all, but I am feeling a bit 'flu-y', with attendent muscle aches etc. I wouldn't be bothered except I have an appointment tomorrow that I have to schlepp across town for at HALF-PAST SEVEN IN THE BLOODY MORNING. Doesn't anyone know that I'm not working so should NEVER have to see that time of day???

New personal best

10km, 1 hour.

This health &v fitness thing sure is odd. I didn't get up until 1.00pm today because I had (another) bad migraine. Ye this evening I feel good enough to go on the crosstrainer.

What is even odder, and more frustrating, is that my weight stays resolutely the same. I am not eating between meals. I am not eating huge amounts of carbs. I am not drinking lots of milk. If my measurements were changing, then that would be great. But everything stays the same :0(

Seize the moment

(Hard to do when it took me a few moments to work out how to spell 'seize'- German is really screwing with my English.)

This week has been harder than normal. I am having lots of migraine problems. It's getting me down a bit.

However, one of the things about living with chronic pain is that you learn to make the most of the good times. And to be fair, I have had lots of good times with the current med regime. I had a couple of hours today where I felt not bad at all. I leapt at the chance to go on the crosstrainer. Well, okay, I admit that is putting a bit of a gloss on it. I dragged myself upstairs and did my first 60 minutes for a long time and clocked up just over 9.00km.

Feeling far too knackered to feel smug about it, I then sat down to do an hour of German, which wasn't too bad at all.

I also managed to chuck on some pumpkin and apple soup (my favourite) and slung some soda bread in the oven. I'm starting to feel really crappy again so it's off to the sofa for me and an hour or two of Star Treck- in German, natarulich ;0)

Next step

HAving had the appointment earlier this week regarding the possibility of a PFO, I had a long chat with one of the patients who has had the procedure.

I have decided to join the study. The first step will be to have the test to see if I have a hole in my heart. That will be sometime next week.

Speedy, huh?

Gasp

Just completed 50 min and 7.66km on the crosstrainer. Had to push hard for most of the was and those extra ten minutes at the end were bloody awful, but it has to be done if I am going to reach my goal of 1 hour every two days.

I am also trying very hard now with regards to what I am eating. A small amount of carbohydrate twice a day, protein at every meal and loads (and loads more)vegetables.

Smug

Much as I hate to admit it to myself, never mind anyone else, when I was a skinny miss I was fairly smug about it. Until about 10 years ago, I weighed 7.5 stones. I wasn't on a diet, in fact I ate a ridiculous amount of cream cakes and chocolate bars. I only put on the regulation 1.5 St when I was pregnant and with no effort at all was back in my jeans when Baby Bear was 3 weeks old. Over the next decade I put on about half a stone ( about 3 kilos). I 'knew' that people who were overweight 'simply had to eat less and exercise more.'

Well I am paying for that smugness now. I use my crosstrainer every two days. I am eating much less....but I am not losing weight. Ha, the simple things in life are not so simple after all.

I have made some progress though. Having come off the pizotifen (which was responsible for the weight gain, but not for the weight staying put), I am now back to a more normal eating pattern. Thze current migraine med, a beta blocker, is not affecting my pulse which makes it easier for me to exercise. Today when I had my nutritionist appointment (well, don't all the best people have nutritionists?)I told him I wanted to move on..

Next goal- increase from 40 min to 1 hour every two days on the crosstrainer, one stone in weight lost. Both by Christmas.

Research

Study title: Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) in migraine with aura (PRIMA)- a randomized prospective study.

This article explains it quite nicely. If I decide to take part in the study the first step involves a procedure to discover whether or not I do have a hole in my heart. And guess what? It involves shoving something down my throat. I'm so over having that kind of thing done. Unlike the endoscopy that I had a month or so ago, I'll be wide awake for this one :0( I'm going to talk it over with Number Guy and make a decision about it this week.