Thursday 26 March 2015

Diary of a Relapse - Day 2

Feeling fractionally better than the lowest point (yesterday afternoon). Of course, I hope that was my lowest point, but I never really know until I get through it to the other side!

Here's how I'm taking care of myself today, doing everything I know that has worked for me in the past, to reduce the inflammation and recover from this relapse as soon as I can...
  • Allowed myself an hour's lie-in. Would have liked longer, but needed to be up in time for that magic 8:30am slot to phone the GP surgery! (You Brits know what I mean ...)
  • Prayed gratitude for a good night's sleep in a dry warm home.
  • Made another super-mega-strong anti-inflammatory juice.
    Grateful to discover that my left hand was working a little better than yesterday.
  • Made appointment to see GP - earliest I could get was 5pm tonight.
  • Gratefully allowed my husband to make me more juice for the day, which is now in the fridge for when I need it.
  • Decided that today was only for rest, writing blog, drinking juice, and that I would not under any circumstances waste precious energy on any housework not directly related to nurturing myself.
  • Played healing music on a continual loop. Today it's 108 Sacred Names of Mother Divine by Craig Pruess and Ananda.
  • Played with my blog.
  • Took an epsom salts bath - not as hot as I would usually like, because I know the heat makes things worse.
  • Had a light salad of mixed green leaves and half a steamed mackerel fillet, for that all-important Omega 3 oil.
I'm off now for a sleep before my visit to the GP. 
I have decided to assume that he/she will be able to listen to me as well as speak and that it will be a helpful encounter. I've realised that my negative attitude towards medical professionals in recent years may have helped to create the negative experiences that I've had.
At the very least it has helped to make me stressed, and as we all know by now (and if you don't, please watch
The Connection) chronic stress helps to create chronic inflammation.

Plan to update blog after doc's appointment. Also juicy photos and recipes to follow (as soon as I'm up to it). 

Peace out xx

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Update: the appointment with the GP


Well, that went better than expected - assuming the best seems to have helped!
I got to see my original (female) doctor, usually impossible without booking well in advance. She's not exactly the kind of open-minded, enlightened physician that I dream of one day finding (sigh ...) but at least she treats me like a human being instead of an irritating interruption in a busy day of prescribing and box-ticking!

As expected, she followed the same NICE guidelines that the other doctor was quoting at me at the beginning of the week: 500mg a day for 5 days. Crucially, she explained that it's actually a different drug to what I was previously taking at 30mg a day - that was prednisolone, this is methylprednisolone. I still don't really know the difference but I do understand that to make a direct comparison based on dosage alone makes no sense, if it's not the same drug. She also advised me how to offset some of the worst possible side effects, and that was it. 

I will need to get a taxi tomorrow to one of the few pharmacies in the area that has the correct tablets in stock - don't ya just love provincial living? - but at least I know that by lunchtime tomorrow I'll be on the meds I need. 

The meds I hope never to have to take again. 

I'm not going to give myself a hard time about this. But I do believe that I now know everything I need to know to get healthy and stay healthy without medication. I just need to do it, consistently, every day. For the rest of my life. Not just when I'm unwell.

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