24/7

Oooh, ice cream.......might have to yell for him indoors.......

i use Vick on my chest when I'm trying to sleep, think I might have tried too hard to sleep lying down, might try sitting up more tonight. Remember the advert when Vick got called 'the breathing jar'? 

By the way, the dinner is lovely and there is some spare, help yourselves. 

Hugs xxx

My sister had asthma when she was a baby and Mum used "little lung healers" which were little muslin bags of fresh herbs placed by her pillow.

It confused foreign doctor whose English was not too good.

Moony f you want to giggle watch the Khans it is hysterical. Birmingham Born  Indian family Classic.

Sorry you are so sore. Inhaling is good but Brandy might work better! Trouble is you need to cough to move all the rubbish. Strong painkillers, hot water bottle and TLC. 

Hope you feel better soon Moomy.

Glad you are ok Lynda.

Love to all Jasmin xx

Christine, yes I know the Khans, very funny.....but am not yet up to too much laughter, it's painful! Watching Michael Portillo ( partly to gasp at his combination of colours of jacket and trousers! Very strange ideas he has!) 

just pleased that the antibiotic, on just one double dose, is having such a great result, it will sort it out, thank goodness. I can only take about three antibiotics now! 

Think it's settling down now, and waiting for daughter to arrive after her stint with CBSO, not sure if it's Brahms one again. ( there's a short but very beautiful trombone chorale at the start of the fourth movement) 

hugs to you all xxx

I am starting chemo very soon and am being put on antibiotics to reduce risk of infection. Me being me I looked up type of infections was dismayed that soil is out of bounds as I love gardening. I grow as much of my own food as I can and I have plenty new potatoes still to be dug up. I do wash my veg but I have to admit I do like my veg earthy. A bit of dirt or a slug eaten cabbage doesn't bother me at all and has fed me well for over 20 years.

Is my veg and garden out of bounds during treatment ? If so, despite Winter even the thought of no gardening will not do any good to help me with my depression periods and panic attacks.

I don't want to miss out on my remaining veg.

Thank you x

Brandy sounds good......  hic.     

I have to say the included one glass of wine with our meal seems to have morphed into one bottle, or maybe more.

Who ever knew that a group of widowed people could have so much fun.

Better go to bed now.........  Hic. 

Sleep well everyone.

Hi Plotter, 

i think if you really love gardening, then as long as you double-glove (a totally waterproof one inside a thorn proof one, ) you should be safe, wash carefully afterwards too, of course! But do take care you don't get dirty hands! 

If you can get a bit of help getting up those spuds, so much the better, but daughter did garden reasonably soon after chemo ended, she too loves it though hasn't got a big garden. She double-gloved too. 

Hugs xxx

Thanks Moomy.

New garden gloves and kitchen gloves on my shopping list. Thanks again for the tips. Great help. Hugs x

Hello all!
Was away, then busy this week, so I have read through everything.... But an aweful lot for my tiny memory as is, to recall it all!

Keeping my fingers crossed too, that Lucus turns up.... safe and soon....

Menthol crystals, in boiling water, with the towel over your head.... Blows your head off, but does wonders I've always found in the past, to clear out my sinuses when they're seriously blocked.... -  Think I've a tiny plastic 'bottle' of menthol crystals, I got from either Boots or superdrug, oo, at least a decade ago now, and still drag it out when required...

The trip to my Dad's was good, but the weather turned seriously cold whilst I was there, so we didn't get out as much as otherwise we would; We even got a bit of snow!

Since then this week has been basically  to and fro hospital....

Monday I got back from Dad's, then met William at the rail station, and got the bus to hospital.... Went to vascular access, to get my port accessed, then down to PET/CT for a CT scan with 'contrast agent', before back to vascular access to remove the line from the port... That was a fairly easy day, but I felt so hot and then cold, overnight, so slept rubbish; Think that may have been the dye/contrast agent messing up my temp control even more thna it already is....

Wednesday was oncology/radiotherapy clinic, with bloods beforehand... Got a new Dr I'd not seen before, who seemed very confused by me telling him I was blind, as he clearly didn't realise I was.. Basically said the scan Monday was clear again, though I was expecting comformation of this today, by a phonecall that never came, subsequent to the MDT meeting I guess...

Today was endocrinology, and another appointment with the Prof... Good news is that I'm getting another testosterone injection, just before I fly away on the 23rd Dec; shall probably combined that set of injections with a visit to vascular access to get the port accessed as I have to do once a month, then I'll be OK until the end of January...

Endocrinology also gave the go-ahead that they don't need the port, so I can try arrange it to be removed. Tried to arrange that today, but receptionist in oncology fobbed me off with a phone number for a nurse, to contact, who can then contact a DR in oncology/hematology, who'll refer me back to vascular access, who can then arrange the  opp to remove the port... So, maybe it'll come out end of jan or start of Feb; one year after it went in!

Should be due to start human growth factor injections, as that's another hormone I'm missing, but as it can trigger cell division/growth, they seem worried it might re-trigger lymphoma, so looks like that won't be a hormone I can have... - basic upshort of which is I'll find it virtually impossible to lose the weight the steroids have made me put on..

Also, I vaguely recall a connection between human growth factor, and so-called 'well-being', in terms of mental state, so won't get any help with that improving, and, also I seem to recall its associated with the lack of spatial awareness I now get; Really can't explain to Drs, or rather they don't understand it, when I've tried explain...  But, with neuropathy I can't coordinate my hands, easily, and don't know where my body is in relation to the world. - A little while ago this evening, I bent over to plug the laptop in... head and nose made a gorgeous crunching noise on the wall... ouch!

Did raise things like neuropathy with the Dr on Wednesday in clinic, but, again, they can't seem to offer anything and I'm not quite sure they get it, really. Doubt I'll bother with many more 'follow up' appointments in oncology, they don't do a physical examination so I'm really not sure what the point is, cept for doing bloods, which I could do I guess at the GP surgery.

Off on Thursday to see Deep Purple at the O2, in London, which I hope I can cope with - my hearing or perception/processing of, is slightly odd following chemo, and/or the endocrine stuff, but, I've never mentioned that to anyone at the hospital, as they'd not understand/be able to do anything.

Getting damn cold here too now; Not sure the dresses or skirts will get too many more outings for the rest of winter; had to buy a new thermal pair of gloves, to hopefully stop the pain in my hands from neuropathy, when out in the cold.

Hope everyone else is OK and keeping warm