Friday 29 April 2011

New prescrition

Had an appointment with my new doc today and yipee he gave me a stronger inhaler. Took the prescription to the chemists but they had run out of it so I will have to wait until tomorrow when I can go to Hingley's my favourite chemist which is a local firm and I'm always happy to promote Brummie firms. They were shut today because it's a bank holiday for the royal wedding of Harry sand Kate. I'm not in the slightest bit interested and I'm not a royalist. Up the revolution I say! There seems to be a lot of people not interested I've been talking to round here. I'm a proper chatterbox and talk to anyone I get a chance. It runs in the family, My mum was the same and all my cousins on her side are the same.
 Tomorrow I was supposed to be meeting up with 3 old work mates but there is a local football game there could be trouble at so we've cancelled it and are meeting next week instead.
 I've been trying to ween myself down with my steroid inhaler and took half the dose today and am sxuffering leg pain for it I am at the moment connected to the oxygen.
 Tomorrow I pick up my new contact lenses. I can't wait. Some years ago my optician gave me monovision lenses so that I could read without reading glasses. In other words one lens was stronger than the other. I left my lenses out while I wasn't well and wore my specs. I put them in again for 2 weeks and since I've had them out I've had double vision while my eyes try to readjust. I told my optician I didn't want them anymore and I wanted another prescription. He said that I would need to wear reading glasses. I said I would rather do that.
 

Tuesday 26 April 2011

New doctor's practice

I was talking to a friend the other day who recommended I join her practice. Seeing as I'm very unhappy with the treatment my practice at the moment is giving me for my asthma I webt along to register today. There is one doc and he is an absolute sweetie. Iwas booked in that evening with the nurse for a health check and she is also a sweeie and really knows her stuff on asthma. There is a lovely friendly atmosphere about the whole place and I will definately be moving there.

Monday 25 April 2011

oxygen not needed now

Ican get rid of the oxygen now yippe!

Got it!

The practice nurse said to take 2 puffs of my becotide inhaler but that didn't work so I tried 3 ,that didn't work either . Then5, no good then 7 and yes it worked1I was getting out of breath, every 2nd step while I was walking I had to stop for a breath but now I can walk my usual pace without getting out of breath and I have no pain in my legs. My inhaler is 50 mcgs which is a child's dose , 7 puffs is 250 mcgs which is what most people are on.
 I was talking to a friend across the road yesterday who used to have asthma and she suggested her nearby practice which has an asthma clinic. I will go down there tomorrow. I can't go today as it's Easter bank holiday Monday.

Friday 22 April 2011

nurses appointment

After waiting for a week for a nurses appointment to get my asthma  diagnosed and get a stronger inhaler to help  me loosing oxygen in my body she said she hadn't got time for anything but she did suggest I should take 2 puffs of becotide instead of 1 and I'd have to wait another week.another week of being woken at 0600 by pain for another appointment, no thank you. I went to another nearby practice that has an asthma clinic but they wouldn't accept me without Gray joining aswell which he refused cos he didn't think they would accept him with his heart problems. They suggested another practice down the road by the old church and that I should go to the walk in centre at Solihull which I did and saw a very nice nurse but she wouldn't give me a prescription for an inhaler cos she didn't have any notes for me and said my GP should give me the prescription and that I should give them a kick in the backside or move to another practice. She asked what my inhaler's strength was and I said 50 and she said but that's the pediatric dose! I took 3 puffs of my inhaler this evening but still got the pain in my ankles so I will take 4 puffs tomorrow.So it's 0119 and I'm sitting in front of the computer with what little oxygen I have left, one tank is empty and the other nearly and it's Easter bank holiday this weekend so wont be able to get anymore for about 6 days.

Thursday 21 April 2011

Most haunted

I'm getting the pain in my legs all day now and having to turn the oxygen right up to get rid of it. I was prescribed 2 litres but I'm having to use 8 now. that means my asthma is getting worse and worse and I can' believe the docs have left me like this I think they should be struck off. I was finding it very difficult to breath last night and Gray was very worried about me. I have an appointment with Diane the practice nurse at 12.0
 I'll let you all know how I get on. She will give me a stronger becotide inhaler I'm only on the minimum dose at the moment. Straight after my appointment I will be going to another local practice who have got an asthma clinic to ask if they will accept me.
   My favourite programme on telly is Most Haunted. I actually saw a ghost myself when I lived in Plymouth, Devon. I lived in Plymouth for 6 years, I loved the place and cried when I left it. I lived in a 2 roomed flat in a very old house that was built in the 19th century. One weekend my brother came to stay for the weekend and slept on top of my bed in a sleeping bag as I only had the one bed. I was woken in the night by  the feeling of someone coming in to the room and saw a black human shape float through the door and come to the end of the bed and bend over as if to see who was in the bed. I woke my brother to ask if he was getting up for the loo and he said no I'm here I shouted well what's that then. My brother saw it too. I then screamed and it disappeared.
My best friend Jane was very religious and called the vicar to see me. He asked where I'd seen it and he looked in the exact place I'd seen it float through the door. I went to the library to see who the original owner was and he was a chimney sweep! Some people suggested I see a psychiatrist! So I'm a believer. Not like Gray who is a sceptic.

Wednesday 20 April 2011

Leaving orange after many years

The woman at orange tried to tell me I'd used the £20 credit I'd put on 2 days ago up on the internet and I hadn't used my phone at all in the 2 days since I topped it up. I got very angry and said I was going straight tgo the phone shop leaving them and getting a T-mobile sim card .She offered me a £10 refund but I said no I'd topped up with£20. I will never use that company ever again. I've been with them for years and never had treatment like that ever before. I will be getting Gray a T-mobile sim card too and putting in a formal complaint on Saturday. Big warning to all Orange customers.

bloody asthma and bloody orange.

Itopped my mobile phone up by £20 2 days ago' tried to phone Mo and Pete and it said I had no credit. I phoned Orange and they said I'd used it all up on the internet' I pointed out that their internet had been down for 2 days and I also pointed out that there was no way I'd spent£20 on the internet in 2 days. Long silence.
 My asthma has been getting worse and worse and I have had to increase the rate of the oxygen. I have had to wait a week for an an appointment at the docs and none of the docs have a peak flow meter. I have had to buy my own and I should have been given a prescription for one and it was expensive-£11. I need a stronger inhaler and I have to get that from the nurse and she works part time. Our very nice next door neighbours also has asthma and she goes to a nearby practice that has an asthma clinic so I'm going up there tomorrow after my appointment to see if they will take me on.
  The weather is lovely sunny and warm today and we are supposed to have a heat wave

Tuesday 19 April 2011

no internet again

Our internet was down yet again today . It's only just come back and it's 1839. It's down regularly . In the last three days we've only had it for one day. i'm pretty sure it's BT doing work in the local telephone exchange . My Dad used to be a telephone engineer in that exchange so I know a bit about it. The other week I phoned our internet provider Sky to complain and they said they were going to complain to BT but it's no better at all so I'm going to phone them again.
  My oxygen was delivered today that our GP ordered and it's been a great help. I felt a lot better for it.
  Today we went into town to book an eye test for my contact lenses. It was the first time we'd been in for a while due to Gray's surgery and my illness and it was so nice to get there again. We saw a couple of friends we hadn't seen for a long time and I got a hug from both of them. Male I might add! I managed to find a horror fantasy book by my favourite author Clive Barker. I didn't realise he'd written and I am already enjoying it. I used to be an avid reader and as a child I always had my nose in a book but not so much for a while as not enough time.
 I was going to give up work cos I thought with secondary breast cancer I'd omly have 6 months to live but I've come across other ladies wh've lasted 10 years so I've decided to go back to work but part time perhaps 3 days a week cos Gray might no go back to work with jis dicky heart. He thinks I'm mad but I used to really enjoy my job and after working there 25 years I get on really well with all my work mates they're like sisters to me and have visited me and kept in touch every week and visited while I've been off sick.

Saturday 16 April 2011

Feeling a bit better.

Now I have been using my becotide a bit longer it's working better. I bought a book on asthma written by the BMA  and it said it in there but I'm still getting out of breath at the littlest thing. I'm hoping Diane the practice nurse will be able to sort that out for me on Thursday as she is better trained in asthma treatment than the docs.
 I managed to get an appointment for my eye test today for the 30th April. I normally wear contact lenses but I left them out for a while when I wasn't well and then put them in for two weeks. My lenses were what's called monovision which means one lens is stronger than the other so I can read without reading glasses. Since I took them I've had double vision while my eyes try and readjust. I've had it before but couldn't understand why.

Thursday 14 April 2011

Out of breath

I'm getting out of breath with every little thing I do due to my asthma and my peak flow is down. I wake up every day with pain in my ankles although it's a little better than it was as we now sleep with the window wide open so I can get more oxygen and it's freezing. I get woken up at 0630 am every day and have to go down and open the patio doors for more oxygen and freeze ! One of the GP's at our practice has ordered me some oxygen so I won't have to do this anymore. It should arrive next week I can't wait.
I had an apology letter from the crap Dr. today. and I've booked an appointment with the practice nurse Diane for next Thursday as she is very good at treating asthma patients. I've been recording my peak flow on a flow meter and graph paper so I can show Diane next week.
I bought a new mobile phone today for a reasonable price but I'm finding it difficult to get my head around it. I tried transferring all my numbers by bluetooth from my old phone but it wouldn't work so I'm having to do it one by one. What a pain.
We had a lovely couple of warm sunny days last weekend and I got all my t-shirts out and ironed but it went really cold again yesterday so I've had to iron all my jumpers again.
Michaels the offie has run out of apple and rasberry J2o's so I'm very dissapointed as I'm addicted to them after my cousin Pat introduced them to me the other week I didn't know they did apple and rasberry. I love rasberry.

Friday 8 April 2011

A new woman

I managed to get a prescription for becotide through the receptionists today. Took one puff and instantly felt like a new woman. I've never been able to breath so easily in my life. Great big breaths without thinking about it.
When I went out I was so tired after 2 sleepless nights I could hardly walk and I was apologising to all for it. I took one puff and instantly felt like a new woman. I've never been able to breath so easy.Great big breaths
without thinking about it and full of energy. I've told Gray to watch out when his healed! I must be taking in10 times the oxygen. No wonder I was getting out of breath easily. I must have had asthma most of my life cos I've never been able to breath as easy as this.

wheeze wheee all night

I've been wheezing slightly all night and now I have that rotten pain in my legs again ouch stupid GP. I will be phoning the docs at 8.30 to ask for an urgent prescription. It's 5 am. As soon as I get home I will go to bed to get some sleep. I had to sleep on the sofa last night after a sleepless night thanks to that stupid doc.  I've decided to make a formal complaint about her.
 I have an allergy to dust mites and I always get a reaction when I get out of bed and that's when I had my asthma attack. I just couldn't risk sleeping in bed.

  I ought to change the title of my blog to Els life with breast cancer now I' ve got secondary breast cancer.
I was going to give up work cos I thought I'd only got about  monts to live but Iknow of people like me who've lasted 10 years. I'm now looking forward to going back to work as I really enjoyed my job.

Thursday 7 April 2011

pain in the arse doc

today I went tu the docs to get a prescription for becotide after being up from 3 am in agonising pain. She wouldn't give me one and sent me to the QE just because I'd had an asthma attack! They asked why she'd sent me and I said I didn't know. They took a pee sample,blood pressure.pulse, temperature and blood sample all normal. They kept us there 'till 7.30 pm and I was getting really pissed off and discharged myself much to Gray's annoyance. It was a total waste of a day.

Asthma attack

It's 3 am and I'm up with terrible leg pain after my first attack this morning. I don't understand why. I will be phoning an asttma nurse tomorrow.
I have always had a nasal allergy to dus, pollen and mould spores. I also have exzma. They all run in the family.Every morning I aways sneeze and my nose runs. This morning I was wheezing from the time I got up and I knew it was astma.I booked an appointment with our FP and when I got outside it stopped. The doc gave me a ventolin inhaler. I was really out of breath and it took me about half an hour to get my breath back. My legs felt uncomfortable all day and now it's 3 am and I'm up with terrible pain in my legs. Iwill be phoning an astthma nurse tomprrow to ask about it. This evening I've never felt so tired in my life. My legs were uncomfortable all day and now it's 3 am and I'm up with terrible pain in my legs. I've taken a paracetamol in the hope I can get back to sleep.