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I was released from the Churchill Hospital at 4pm on Thursday with a large bag of medication, This included a two week dose of cefazolin, an antibiotic. This needed to be handed over to the dialysis nurses in the renal unit at MKUH where it would be used for intravenous application at the end of …

Reaping the Benefits

I am beginning to see the benefits of regular dialysis. With the Tesier Line Fitted and the pain subsiding the dialysis sessions have gone well. I have yet to do a 4 hour session- yesterday’s session was shorter as they had had issues with other patients which meant I started an hour later. It wasn’t …

Christmas

I was sent home from Churchill hospital at 8:30pm on Christmas Eve. I had completed another 3 and a half hours of dialysis to follow the previous two and a half hours on 23rd December. Finally I was feeling normal. Better than I had in months. I could feel the energy. We got home about …

D-Day

It’s 4:30am. The usual sleep pattern has been followed. An initial hour or two of sleep which is broke at 1am or thereabouts with a trip to the loo and then hours of wakefulness. If I am lucky I might fall asleep again about 6am for an hour or so - but it’s not guaranteed. …

Medication

As my kidney condition has moved towards its ultimate destination (End Stage Kidney Disease -ESKD) the range of medications needed to replace kidney function has both changed and grown. My morning pot of meds has now become quite a mouthful. In addition there are meds to take with each meal and meds to take at …

Wide Awake

It’s just before 4am as I write this. The middle of yet another sleepless night. I have seen each hour of the night so far and it’s been like this for days now. The sleeping tablets (Amitriptyline) had limited effect and I have stopped taking them. Basically they made me drowsy but did not result …

It’s rather irritating!

It’s virtually continuous and can strike anywhere on the body. It is often much worse at night, and has made it difficult to sleep. Imagine itching all over, the urge to scratch at the skin but with limited relief. This is one of the many effects of Chronic Kidney Disease. There are no obvious rashes …

Day 10

Today is the last day of Covid isolation. I return to work tomorrow morning. Thankfully I’m feeling a lot better. For me Covid has been similar to a heavy cold as far a symptoms. I am left with a heavy cough and blocked nose but little else. During the past 10 days the biggest issue …

Back To Work

The Alexa speaker alarm goes off. It is 5:45am, in my usual workday routine I will listen to the radio (UCB1) whilst coming round and jump into the shower by 6:45am. Downstairs to eat breakfast and make lunch whilst listening to Radio 4, before leaving the house at 7:30am. It takes 25 mins to drive …

Night Light

Could you sleep in a room which was as brightly lit as this? I imagine not. Yet this is what I'm supposed to do tonight. Some bright spark electrician decided to 'fix' the lighting this afternoon, The result, one of my lights does not go off. In truth that's not completely true. It does go …

Noises in the Night

Tick, click, whoooooooo The clock The drip The air filtration unit It's constant, rhythmic noise Not easy to sleep with all this racket Whoooooooo, Tick, Click, Whoooooooo Whoooooooo, Tick, Click, Whoooooooo Whoooooooo, Tick, Click, Whoooooooo Tick The clock marking time Tick Reminding me that it's late Tick Counting the seconds Tick One by one Click …

Rolling to the Right

The first manifestation of which I was aware of in Multiple Myeloma was the severe pain in my right shoulder. This became apparent in December. I naturally roll over to my right when I am going to sleep at night and I began to notice that this was becoming increasingly sore and uncomfortable. By February …

Day of Rest

In the English vernacular" I'm knackered". After three days out of the last four days on the road I'm exhausted. A sign of my illness no doubt as well as the variable sleep patterns over the weekend. I had enough energy to walk to the doctor for my weekly INR this morning  where my blood …

Dawn Chorus

The blackbird chirps away behind my window. Gladly greeting the morning. Regret not taking the sleeping tablet. It's been a steroid sleep. Wakeful hours. Toilet trips. Soon the midsummer sun will rise. A new day. An Abingdon day. Here to celebrate. A birthday. Nineteen Years on. Happy Birthday Son!

Sweet Dreams

I have a new ally in the fight against sleeplessness. Following several weeks of disrupted sleep I have got prescribed some sleeping tablets. So welcome on board a new drug to be taken as and when necessary. The drug is Zoplicone.  The drug has the advantage of helping me to sleep without leaving me drowsy …