Beer Festival

It's been a busy few days despite having the week off! We have started on the vegetable patch, done some other gardening, worked at the 17th Reading CAMRA Beer Festival, drunk at the same beer festival and headed off for more work at the beer festival last night! I have to say Friday was a cabbage day. I got up reasonably early having woken and proceeded to sit on the sofa the vast majority of the day, I also went to bed early having been sat up in bed waiting for my reflux to settle down...... Eventually I woke B as I know he has tablets to help that and 30 minutes later I was able to lie down again, ah well, combination of beer and curry Thursday evening....

Last night was really good. We signed up at short notice and we were asked to Steward. I said yes to the whole session and B agreed to half and half, 2 hours Stewarding and 2 hours beer bar - you can't drink the beer while you are a Steward..... I was almost regretting my decision as I wasn't working with B and I wouldn't be able to drink beer but by the end I had had a really good time, been told I was a natural and then had a beer afterwards!

Niki's Trekathon

A friend of mine, and an ex colleague, sets herself a challenge each year and has done so since her MS diagnosis in 2003. These challenges have ranged from overcoming a severe relapse to enjoy her wedding, to having children. Niki describes this challenge as 'pushing a bit further' - I have to say I think raising two children has got to be the hugest challenge for anyone, but then I wouldn't know!! This year Niki has set herself the challenge of a 26 mile Trekathon raising funds for the MS Society. Check out Niki’s blog post about the challenge she has set herself, and go straight to her fundraising page if you fancy donating some pennies to this cause.

My poor nose....

I have just updated my 'Symptoms Log', I used to list everything on a regular basis, making sure everything was noted and up to date. It seems less important now, I am not going through the process of getting diagnosed, I seem to be doing ok on Rebif so I'm not after any different drugs (although lets face it tablets instead of injections would be nice.....) and nothing much ever happens :0) I do make notes in my diary so I can keep an eye on changes, mainly so I make sure I contact my MS Nurse and get a UTI check if something goes on for too long. I do then transfer any events on to my list - I think I just like lists!!

I realised the other day that I am still writing down injection sites and time of injection every time I inject - I remember talking to someone I met fairly early on who told me I'd give up with that after a while and I absolutely thought I would but I need a reminder of what side I'm on! B injects my bottom for me and just injects into an area which is not red from a site reaction - mine last over a week so he can tell which side it should be - and I inject my thigh and stomach according to my injection diary. Stomach Monday, thigh Wednesday and bottom Friday! Having said that I am using my bingo wings at the moment (arms) as my thighs seem to be permanently bruised..... My left thigh has been sore for a while, 4 months or so at a guess and I have just noticed my right thigh is also sore, I am hoping giving them a break will help but it is getting closer to short sleeve weather and I get lovely red injection reactions on my arms as well as everywhere else :0( Maybe I should speak to my MS Nurse about it......

So, this round:

Flare due to cold (at a guess…)

Went away for the weekend 25-28 March and ended up extremely tired despite being able to relax and get plenty of sleep.

• 28/03/11 – right eye pain on movement and slight change in sensation to left hand. Symptoms continued intermittently all week alongside exhaustion.
• 03/04/11 (mother’s day) – symptoms above continue, twinge in the back of throat. Tiredness lifting.
• 04/04/11 ongoing – sore throat developed Mon – Wed, right eye pain on movement became constant, mild vision change on walking and left hand change in sensation became more noticeable. Tired but not too tired. Wed night started to feel unwell and Thurs off work feeling unwell and very tired – again….

I love the fact that as my cold started to come out I started to feel less tired and I didn't really feel ill for the first few days of bad throat and strange voice but last night and today I am feeling pretty grotty...... I have been home all day, either on the sofa with my slanket or in bed, missing out on the gorgeous sunshine, and have 'watched' a lot of TV and snoozed. Hopefully B will be home soon with my supplies - Ultrabalm tissues (my poor nose), Lemsip, chocolate and cookies (given the lack of alcohol I have calories to spare!!).

Pah....

So I woke up this morning with a mildly sore throat, a hacking cough, a sore right eye and about as tired as I was when I went to bed..... Great..... Still I didn't do too badly today courtesy of Blackcurrent Lemsip - not sure I would have got through this morning without a Lemsip!!

Eye Pain

Last weekend, well 25 to 28 March, B and I went away for his parent's Wedding Anniversary. We had a really nice weekend, didn't do very much and ate too much! Anyway, since then I have been really tired, I have had eye pain on movement on and off and I have had a change in sensation to my left hand. Worst - I haven't felt like drinking alcohol since the 28 March....!!

I had to have a Google about the eye pain as I assumed ON always had visual loss, now I know it isn't necessarily ON but apparently it is possible to have ON without visual disturbance. Given that my eye hurts when I move it around I am going to say my previous ON inflammation is being irritated but my tiredness. Oh, I forget, I also have a scritchy throat, I am therefore going to blame everything on that!

Sootie has been to the vets twice now. He was an entire male so he went in for neutering, vaccinations, chipping and the rest of the MOT all at the same time. He is apparently healthy and approximately 5 years old. He had to have an upper canine tooth removed and had already lost one so only has 2 but he eats ok! He is still very scared but still likes a good scratch and tickle behind the ears!!