The Days are going by far to quickly.

So here we are again and it is Monday already,  I wish someone could explain to me where the days are going, Because I have not got a clue.

It is almost a week since I last wrote my "Daily Journal", Not so much a daily journal now I am afraid though, although it will change back to being written and posted daily once I have got the new computer .

When Frank gets his new computer

Wednesday 11th September 2013

Not a great deal happened last week it was really much like any other week, on Wednesday Pauline and Gordon came down and while gordon spent a couple of hours cleaning the flat, Pauline took me down to Morrisons to get the shopping.

Morrisons Portsmouth City Centre.

Once we had got the shopping done we got a taxi back home, and after getting the shopping put away we had a coffee and a chat before Pauline and Gordon made their way back home, as usual gordon had done a good job on the flat cleaning as usual.

Got that one wrong Gordon

 Thursday 12th September 2013

Thursday was a normal day as far as normal goes for me spent most of the day as usual listening to the radio or watching TV in between cooking and washing up and then an early night on Thursday ready for my trip to the Queen Alexandra Hospital for my Pulmonary Function Test on Friday.

Friday 13th September 2013

Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth.

The appointment for my Pulmonary function test went pretty well. there was a young trainee along with a physiotherapist that did the tests and the results will be sent to Dr Gibb my consultant. then what he said at our meeting on the 5th, is that when he gets the results of the PFT we will then look at the treatment going forward,

so that was about it for Friday except once I had got home it was time for the ............................. Methotrexate. because Fridays is know by me as Freaky Friday.

Anyway I leave it until after Dinner before I take the Methotrexate so that about the time the Methotrexate kicks in I am off to bed that way I sleep through most of the affects, as it always makes me feel yucky for a day or so.

Saturday 14th September 2013

Saturday started as usual with me having a lie in and then going through the usual daily routine, and I was looking forward to Saturday evening as I am going with Gordon and Pauline up to my Nephew Arron,s House in Fareham to a house warming get together, Arron and Sarah have been married for two years and have just moved into their second house as they are expecting their first Baby in October, so we are all looking forward to that.

One baby on the way 

Gervase and leanne unfortunately can not make it as they have a prior arrangement and I heard on Friday that my Brother Pat and his family cannot make it as Pat and also his daughter Melanie both have glandular fever but there was still a good turnout and we all had a good time.

A good evening at Arron and Sarah,s house warming

One thing I did do was although it was not my day for Prednisolone I did take 10 mg on Friday as well just to make sure that I was able to go . anyway it was a great evening and did not get back home until 11.00 pm so to bed at midnight and a lie in sunday morning.

Sunday 15th September 2013

Sunday was a day of resting and recovering from saturday evening. Gervase came and took me to Asda at fratton to get the shopping, it was nice to see him and he and Leanne had a good night last night.

Gervase has a busy week ahead with work as he is in London on Monday, Leeds on Tuesday, Edinburgh on Wednesday and back to leeds on Thursday and Friday so he has a lot of sorting out to do at home so once we are back home after shopping we have a chat and then he heads back home.

Monday 16th September 2013

And so to today another restful day of TV listening to the radio, Pauline and Gordon were down in Southsea today so came in for a coffee with Misty the Labrador, it was nice to see them all, we had a nice chat and a coffee and then headed back home. I have just caught up with the journal but will now get it posted on my blog as my vision is telling me it has had enough, just to say that there is now only 5 days to Myositis Awareness Day on Saturday the 21st

So until my next Journal I will say...............

Where do the days go to ??????

Welcome to..................

It just seems like no sooner does the day start than it is soon time for bed again, They do say that as you get older that the days seem to go quicker.

So seeing as the days going by so quickly must be a sign of getting older perhaps I should buy myself a book on getting Older ..................

After my positive appointment with my Consultant Neurologist on Friday and then the taking of the Methotrexate, the week end went pretty much like every weekend does after freaky Friday.

Saturday 7th September 2013

Friday night was a decent nights sleep and saturday was a bit of a nondescript day really, so did not do an awful lot on Saturday, I did go for a bit of a walk round to co-op in winter road to get my morning paper but most of the day was spent watching old repeats of Bonanza and Gunsmoke on the CBS action channel, so that is one of the good things to taking the Methotrexate it wipes me out for a day or two so I can catch up on some nostalgic TV series from my Youth

Those were the Day,s

Bonanza 1959 - 1973

Saturday evening was a good evening as I spent a good 4 hours watching the last night of the Proms live on BBC 1 and 2  from the "Royal albert Hall"

The Royal Albert Hall, London.

Last night of the Proms BBC 1 and 2

Sunday 8th September 2013

Sunday was much the same although my Son Gervase came round to see me for a few hours in the afternoon and took me down to Asda in Fratton to get some shopping so that was a nice change, by Sunday afternoon the Methotrexate "Yucky" feeling is wearing off.

Asda at Fratton (Stock Photo).

anyway once we had done the shopping we head home and after putting the shopping away we sit and have a chat and put the world to rights before Gervase heads back home to Leanne.

Monday 9th September 2013

well come Monday and it is time for the slow cooker to come out of the cupboard as Autumn is approaching, so it is time to get out the Slow cooker recipe book. when I was shopping with Gervase Sunday I got a nice chicken breast quarter and a nice pork cutlet along with a nice pack of fresh casserole vegetables so after breakfast I get the casserole pack into the slow cooker with the Chicken breast Quarter and add the water and stock cubes and set the slow cooker on its low setting so that it will be all cooked ready for dinner at 6.30 this evening.

Casserole Vegetable pack

Fresh chicken breast Quarters

Pauline and Gordon were down at there Flat this morning and popped in to see me for a coffee about lunch time so we had a coffee and a chat an I gave Gordon his Birthday Card and Present as it is his birthday on Tuesday. Pauline and Gordon stayed about an hour and then headed back home to Waterlooville, so I settled down to catch up with some Tv and also to get another "Myo Man Dreams" Cartoon strip done, I did one on Sunday as well It is nearly a year since I did the last one so decided I had better start getting creative again.

Sundays Cartoon strip

Mondays Cartoon Strip

well monday was a pretty good day all round and I was ready for my Dinner from the slow cooker so at 6.30 it was a nice Chicken Casserole followed by fruit in Jelly and It was very tasty, and there is enough vegetable left in the slow cooker to have with the slow cooked Pork cutlet on Tuesday.

A Tasty slow cooked Chicken Casserole home made with fresh ingredients 

 Monday night was spent watching the TV before heading off to bed at 10.30 to listen to the local radio quiz before getting off to sleep at 11.30.

Tuesday 10th September 2013

as Usual Like any other morning it starts with a trip to the bathroom before a coffee which gets taken back to bed.

The morning Ritual

Once I have had my Coffee and lie in I then make another coffee and take into the lounge, where I send the text to Pauline and then have breakfast, Pauline phones back and says that Gordon is having a birthday lie in today and then they are going into the town later on this morning so ......................

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GORDON

So another day of watching TV, and relaxing until tomorrow when it will be shopping with Pauline down the city centre and also Morrisons. anyway at 10.00 I get the Pork cutlet into the slow cooker and also the remainder of the vegetable from yesterday, I add a rasher of Bacon and some extra stock and then put it on to the slow setting so it will be ready for dinner tonight.

A tasty fresh organic Pork Cutlet

Once that is all ready I get the washing up done and then settle down to get this journal written. I will be so glad when I get my new computer, which hopefully will be the second or third week of October if all goes to plan, anyway after a little while I take a break and  go and get a paper and some milk and then have another spell at the Journal, at 1.00 I make a nice Toasted Bacon and Egg sandwich for lunch and also a Banana, before getting back to the Journal.

Toasted Egg and Bacon Sandwich for lunch

So it is now 2.40 and the vision has just about had it with the computer for the day so I am going to end todays Journal and to remind you all that it is only 11 days to Myositis Awareness day on Saturday 21st September. so do what you can to raise awareness of Myositis in your community.

so until the next Journal I will say.................

Its another Freaky Friday.

So here we are on another Freaky Friday. It seems strange not settling down to write my journal on a daily basis but hopefully it will not be to long before I get the new computer and then we can get back to writing it daily again, as I do miss not writing it every day.

Writing a daily Journal

well yesterday was an interesting day as I had my Appointment with my Neurologist Dr Gibb up at the Queen Alexandra Hospital (QA) at Cosham. my appointment was for 11.30 so I booked a taxi for 11.00 as it is about a 20 minute journey from here in Southsea up to the QA. I was meeting Pauline there, as she was getting a bus from Waterlooville which is where she and Gordon have moved to, so she is nearer to the QA than I am.
Anyway I am meeting Pauline at the North Entrance at the QA as that is the easiest entrance to the Outpatients department.

North Entrance to the Queen Alexandra Hospital Cosham.

Well I get to the QA at about 11.20 ish and Pauline,s bus arrives about the same time. The taxi drops me off at the North Entrance but Pauline has to get off at the South Entrance and walk up the hill to the north entrance, anyway we meet up and go in to report to reception to let them know I have arrived.

Outpatient Department  Reception

When we report to reception I am informed that Dr Gibb is running about 30 minutes late in actual fact My appointment was for 11.30 and Dr Gibb calls me in at about 12.50 so he is actually running an hour and twenty minutes late still never mind, gives us time to read some out of date waiting room magazines, ( really should have brought a Newspaper or the iPad with Me.)

Waiting For Doctor Gibb

Once I was in with Dr Gibb we had a chat and all my Blood works have been coming back OK, over the last 6 months and all my downloads to the cardiology department from my Reveal Heart monitor have shown no repeat of the erratic heart beat over the last 16 months. I told him about the fatigue I have had since tapering down to the 10 mg of prednisolone on alternate days but he is reluctant to increase it and I am going to start on a daily multi-vitamin and see if that makes any difference.

 we discussed my Digestive/constipation issues in regard to my inability to digest some foods properly ie (beans, cabbage, cereal etc) due to my "Cup and Spill" stomach which was diagnosed after an endoscopy in 2010 and has been put into the background after being overshadowed by the onset and diagnosis of Dermatomyositis, so I am going to be taking a sachet of Fybogel every Morning to add more fibre to my diet so that  (along with the increased dose of Lactulose) in the evening should help with the constipation.

  
The Methotrexate is remaining at 15 mg on a Friday and the Folic acid is staying at 5 mg on a Monday. also the Lansoprazole is staying at a daily dose of  15 mg before breakfast and 15 mg before dinner . and the Prednisolone is staying at 10 mg on alternate days.
I said about the Ventolin Inhaler from the GP Dr Tyrrell that he prescribed to help with my breathing in this humid weather.

Ventolin Inhaler and the Aerochamber. 

I have  my yearly Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) scheduled for next Friday. and Dr gibb said that once he has the results of that  he will contact me with regard to on going treatment. hopefully the result of the PFT will not have changed over the past 12 months as the one last year and also in october 2011 was around the 80% to 85% which was acceptable.

Q: Did I pass the Pulmonary Function Test ?

well I must say that apart from the long wait in a very stuffy waiting room it was a very positive appointment, so now just the PFT on next Friday to get over and done with and then we will see where we go from there but feeling very positive as I said to Dr Gibb if it was not for the difficulty with the walking and the mobility of my arms I would be as fit as a fiddle, I wake up in the morning and feel like an 18 year old, get out of bed and feel like a 60 year old which on reflection is not to bad as I am 70 in 7 weeks time.

A positive appointment yesterday

Once we had finished with Dr Gibb me and Pauline headed down to the cafeteria on A level which is at the other end of the hospital where we had a cheese and ham toasted sandwich and a coffee each before going outside the South Entrance

Queen Alexandra Hospital Main entrance (South Entrance)

where I phoned for a taxi to take me home and Pauline waited for her bus back to Waterlooville. Pauline,s bus arrived before my Taxi so saw her safely on the bus.

Pauline,s bus arrives before my Taxi

Well there we are then, slept pretty well last night and had a decent day today, I am glad the weather is getting cooler as that does help, although it is still very humid, we had some rain during the night and also this morning but the sun returned this afternoon.
 It looks like the weather is certainly on the change for the week ahead but it could be worse I suppose/

so today has been a very quiet day of rest and TV for me, it is now almost 5.00 pm so I will get this journal finished and posted before watching Pointless on BBC 1 and then I will be having "Fish and chips for dinner before taking my Methotrexate

Yummy, Yummy Fish and Chips.

So until the next journal which will probably be On Monday I will say.....................

Laptop connected to the TV.

Well here we are sitting in my recliner with my laptop but connected to my a 39" TV. not the best solution but it may get me through writing my journal until I get my new desktop computer.

Samsung smart TV with Facebook App

As I have said earlier this week, I am having problems with my vision, mainly when spending time on the laptop, I have been diagnosed with a Prednisolone induced cataract in my right eye but at this time it is not severe enough to warrant an operation, but I will be discussing this with my Neurologist when I see him on Thursday, anyway after speaking to my optician and also the GP, it looks like although my vision is not to bad under normal conditions it is not that great for reading and looking at small text on computer screens for any length of time so It is decided that I need to get a larger computer to work on. so I have decided to purchase a imac with a 27" screen, also means that I will need to get a nice comfy office chair so I can work from my desk.

27" Imac

 However after reading the posts on facebook I have taken some of the advice and connected my laptop to my smart TV, that way I can still spend a little longer on the computer but not an ideal situation but will allow me to produce my journal although not on a daily basis.

One of the problems with having  impaired vision is that I can never see if my coffee cup is up the right way LOL.

Ooop,s must clean my Spectacles again

As a lot of you know I had my monthly blood tests at the Eastney Health Centre last tuesday. Well all the blood tests were Ok from last week, and after seeing Doctor Tyrrell on Wednesday I have upped the Lactulose dose to 10 ml twice daily as I have developed "Minor Anal Fissures" through a  combination of Constipation and the Prednisolone causing my skin to thin. anyway I have some cream for that (Life really is a Pain in the butt at the moment)

Perhaps I should eat less fish ???

At least I have also found out from the cartoon above why I walk Funny "LOL" anyway just hope we do not have a lot of snow this winter otherwise I will have to go out wearing a Tuxedo.

Anyway that is about it for today, I am out shopping with Pauline tomorrow and then I will be seeing my Neurologist Dr Gibb at the Queen Alexander Hospital on Thursday so will get another journal posted on Friday to keep you all up to date on my exciting life, at least it will be turkey mince tonight not Fish so who Knows what that will bring tomorrow ???.

I am not coming to your house for dinner tonight

so I am now going to get this posted and just to say that I will get back to getting the journal written daily as soon as I have my larger computer anyway thanks for all your facebook messages and so until Fridays edition I will say..........