Awake and up all night

Fuuuuuu! Just catching up. Oooh B12 injections. I need them. Once your stomach is whipped out, you can't metabolise it from food. Painful? PAINFUL? You betcha! Our practice nurse is fab and has injected millions of babies, kids and adults and she confirms that 'for some reason' the B12 is the painful one. 

I have fibromyalgia so I know my pain response is dialled up but when someone else did my injection, I thought she had ran at me and jammed a telegraph pole in there!! I could barely move and wanted a lie down and a weep though neither was on offer!

Frequently feels like it is being drilled into the bone. Ahem, so why was I very cross when my dosing interval got extended?????

Oh how very rude, good evening folks 

Cheers

Good evening Shimmer  

Those injections sound ghastly. With your stomach thing, do you have to do anything differently, say like a stoma bag or be careful of what you eat? xxx

Evening shimmer hope you survived your injections.xxx

Never a truer word spoken.xxx

Ooh how bizarre! I was just about to ask about your OH and eating! Is it tricky? Dangerous? Does he still enjoy food?

I can't help but feel sad that he is sad. Mourning old times enjoyed over a meal rather than celebrating managing a meal out now.

Me? No stoma. My fabulous surgeon (more about him later) used a smidge of stomach to join my tubes up internally.

There is a learning curve initially, dumping syndrome etc. Actually immediately after surgery in hospital, acid volcano was a huge issue. Who knew stomach acid exists without the stomach!!!

These days I eat a good variety of readily available grub. I am vegetarian. Was more vegan before surgery but as I was on my own, shopping for and managing a veggie recovery was more manageable. 

There wasn't the plethora of plant based everything that there is now

Cheers 

Thanks for that Shims I'm like yourself and like the nitty gritty. I thought you were a veggie, going by what you'd already written. The main thing is that you can enjoy your grub.

Right, I'll give the low down on OH's eating habits now but it'll take several mins and I hope the post doesn't go awol again xxx

Good evening Shimmers, Gill, Sonia, Helen, Uki and Julie & Amandas if you are still awake. I thought I'd have an early night tonight but just dropping by to catch up. 

Your B12 jab reviews are consistent i.e. They hurt a lot. I've never had one. My worst was the BCG (anti-TB) jab at school when I was about 14. I'm sure the nurse was practicing gear changes after sticking a long 1/4 inch pipe into my arm. Some good came of it. An abscess formed which got me off games and PE for 6 months. B12 sounds worse.

My daughter is visiting tomorrow. I'll be stripping my bed and putting the bedding in the machine beforehand and hope she'll remake my bed. The thought of fighting a duvet into its cover in these warm to hot temperatures would leave me completely dissolved into a puddle of salty water. She goes to the gym so should win the fight more easily.

Off to bed now. Goodnight all.  xxx

Hi, too much chat from and about me. How are you doing? Oops the tales won't help those about to start the B12 injections!

I got cross because in the early days, GP made it every 8 weeks instead of the usual 12 as I felt ropey before the next one.

Actually I really looked forward to being topped up as everything felt worse, even at 8 weeks. Then after years, I went to a different health center while my nurse was on holiday. Nurse there got all official. Wouldn't give me it as no consultants letter on record to state 8 weeks. My health was on its knees!

I pointed out there wouldn't be a consultants letter as it was GP decision and records would show 8 weeks for years. She agreed but it was still no. 

I want back to own surgery, related tale to receptionist asking for 8 weeks to be writ large on records. Told would be contacted once done with new appointment.

I was contacted. With a text. It said. GP reviewed B12 and it will now be 12 weeks!!!!!

Cheers

Nyt hun. I did duvet wrestling the other day. Totally unnecessarily too! Stressy had Parky pal staying so I rejigged the bedroom and bed. In the daytime heat I removed the extra mattress and put a very lightweight duvet on the SINGLE bed

Stressy insisted that the many tog super king duvet be put into a cover and folded in half!!!

Of course so hot, pal didn't even want the light one I swapped it for at bedtime 

Ooh your abscess sounds nasty 

Sweet dreams

So, OH had his throat and various tubes and stuff rebuilt with the flap taken from his thigh. The procedure also means that he can no longer breathe through his mouth or nose so they've become redundant in the great scheme of things. That's why the mucous build up in his lungs had to be managed as its only escape route is through his neck stoma.

This took a good 18 months to start settling down and it's only quite recently that mopping up copious amounts of mucous, all the long day and night, have started to slip off my daily routine. Fab!

Now onto his eating. Before he could start tucking in he needed to pass his swallow test to ensure no liquids were escaping where they shouldn't. He passed with flying colours and celebrated with his first cup of coffee in months! I asked if it tasted like nectar and got an enthusiastic nod.

The hospital decided he could move straight onto solids and they slid down nicely, so much so that he devoured most of his Christmas dinner with gusto, although he did write they'd given him a huge plateful.

After discharge in mid January '25, OH can tackle most foodstuffs with the odd exception, really spicy or tough, chewy things, so we avoid those.

He can't eat the giant helpings I used to dish up but does seem to enjoy eating again and reckons he can smell food. I'm not too sure about that, but I make sure he gets around 2,500 calories in each day and not many things are off limits. 

I think that just about covers the food section xxx