BLUES?????

hileena111

I have been feeling dreadful recently and was at the GP {about something completely different} He asked how I felt {mood wise} I said ..."wellll"} and he just jumped on that. He said I thought there was something wrong.
There and then he did a questionnaire with me and worked out from that that I was moderately depressed.

The next thing I know I have an appointment ......a telephone call for about 30 to 45 mins.......and from that they will decide what's the best thing to do......CBT? Counselling? or something else. That call will be on the 21st of this month so I'll probably shout for pocket duties then even though I haven't been on much recently.

What's happening is I'm finding it hard to get up in the mornings, don't want to go to places I always enjoyed going to, quite weepy, and pains worse than ever.

I know there are reasons for this. My mam is seriously ill over in Northern Ireland and I'm Northern England, This dire weather like Sophia mentioned. Pains are worse......which came first chicken or egg? Pain then feeling down or feeling down and that making the pain worse???
My meds have been changed recently. I went onto morphine 10mg x 2 a day. That helped but then he decided to take me off Naproxen. Admittedly I've been on it for quite some time and on the full dose. So I came off half of it...not to bad, then a couple of weeks later he took it down to a quarter of the dose!!!!
Was at the pain clinic the other day and he looked at bloods etc and said they were good and he didn't see any reason why I should be suffering on a little dose of Naproxen when a slightly higher one would probably help me. He is going to write to the GP and say that they should be put back up again...not necessarily to the full dose but more tan it is now.

Sorry as usual for the ramble but you know me by now
The gift of the gab!!!!!!
Love
Hileena

stickywicket

This doesn't sound like you, Hileena but I know your hip problem has been playing up for some time now and pain can grind us down. Your mother's illness must be a worry and, as for the Great British winter....say no more. I can do cold OK but the dreary, unrelenting wetness is another matter though, as we live on top of a hill, at least we don't have to worry about floods and insurance.

I hope the anti-deps help and your pain meds can be sorted out in a way which will satisfy everyone concerned. I don't think it's helpful when docs disagree.

hileena111

Hi Sticky
Thanks for the reply.....no its not like me is it?
As you say "The Great British Weather!!!!!!!
I much prefer it icy, frosty, cold,a bit of sun... during this makes all the difference. Compared to the dark, miserable, raining, days. Like you I'm on a hill so don't have to worry about flooding either.
I'm not on anti dep. I'm just getting a call from someone from "Talking Matters" to decide what is the best way forward....CBT or counselling or something but not more meds

Love
Hileena

barbara12

SW you are right this is not like our Hileena,I know you have been in more and more pain since the fracture..and like you say they cut the antiinflams..and your poor mam...but if anyone can bounce back its you...but dont expect things to change overnight...one day at a time, and I do think talking to someone.. has well as us..will help you...you have always been so busy volunteering..so it has been extra hard on you, but you will get there..(()) xx ...

Megrose489

((())) Thinking about you, Hileena.

Meg

dibdab

Just wanted to drop by and send you some hugs and positive thoughts (((((( ))))))). Living with the relentless nature of our various ailments is enough to make anyone blue, and as you say the weather is just "pants" to quote my young niece!

I really hope that upping the naproxen slightly will help, and that the talky folks have something positive to offer.

Deb xx

mig

Sending you some hugs (((()))).Mig

hileena111

Hi
Thanks again everyone.....its so good to have people to talk to.

Love
Hileena

elnafinn

Dear Hileena, it is not like you as others have said. You do have a lot to contend with though, and this last huge hiccup has not been at all good for morale and this is very understandable.

You are allowed to feel how you do at this time, and I hope it will soon go away for you. It was good of your doctor to notice and comment and for you to admit that you were not feeling too happy about things.

Being so far from your mam and knowing she is seriously ill is a huge worry and very upsetting. Again totally understandable.

Sometimes we cannot cope with it all on our own even with a loving husband and friends but I feel pretty confident that with a little help that is coming your way, you will perk up and be the Hileena we have all got to know.

You are amazing with all that you do generally and for others, and now it is time for others to help you.

Sending you gentle hugs
Elna

dreamdaisy

January is a long, dark month which takes forever to pass, your pain levels are up due to the trochanter and the weather, you have the worry about your mum (the geographical distance plays its part too) so to my mind it's little wonder that you are feeling as you do. The symptoms you mention are signs of depression and something can be done to help alleviate them - and I hope whatever happens does just that.

I take a daily low dose of an anti-dep and should I forget to do so I soon feel myself slipping; yes it's another med but it's one I wouldn't like to be without, not at the moment. I wish you well. DD

hileena111

Hi
Thank you both....Elna and DD
The latest is that 2 days ago my mam was taken from respite back into hospital again. Her temperature and BP were very very high.
The last I heard was they were going to do a brain scan. Nothing much gets done over the weekend so I'm sure it will be next week before anything happens. The brain scan is because a few years ago she had a minor stroke and takes warfarin and I'm told its just a precaution.
As for me......I've had pains in my legs {not the normal ones} different kind. The doc sent me for a blood test. and now I have an appointment to go back and see them. To me that means they have found something. I have tests bi annually and they never want me back. The most they do is tell me anything at the next appointment. So that's tomorrow afternoon. Will be interesting to see if they have found anything.
Love
Hileena

barbara12

Thinking about you Hileena...(()) xx

stickywicket

Any news yet, Hileena? If so, I hope it's good news.

hileena111

Hi Barbara and Sticky
Well the news about me and my legs!!!! I think I said the doc that ordered the tests was on holidays. The one I saw had no idea why I was to be seen :roll:
She looked through the tests and the only thing she could see was I was a bit anaemic.....whats new with me
So she wrote a prescription for Ferrous Sulph.

Then I mentioned to her about Naproxen.......I have been on 1,000mg full dose. I know that's high and when my pain in the trochanter bone seemed to ease with a small dose of morphine he suggested I start cutting down on Naproxen..,....I agreed. I came down to 500 a day. Then about a couple of weeks after that I got a new prescription and the naproxen was 250mg
So that was a quarter of what I had been taking a very short time ago. I mentioned it to him and he said he had been sneaky and hoped I wouldnt notice HA!! and it would chip away at it.
So he agreed that I could go back on 500mg a day {still half of what I had been taking for years.}
I was at the pain clinic las week and was still in some pain and told him and he said some people can take anti inflamms and others cant. You seem to be coping fine without taking them down to 250. Better to have less pain and more naproxen.
He said
" in my letter I'll suggest that you should go to 750mg". I thought by the time the letter goes from the pain clinic to the GP it could be months. So I put myself on750mg {extra 250} and thought I'll tell the doc when he comes back from holiday.{its still less than I was taking}
When I told her {this doctor} she said NO.....I was to come off them completely. I said while my tablets lasted I was taking 750mg. I would then worry about it when the tablets ran out.
She told me how dangerous they were {as if I didnt know} and then she said you are anaemic so that could be an ulcer bleeding out....what happens if you have an ulcer, collapse here, and just die on the floor. Very sympathetic wasnt she. :shock:

OK My mam.....in hospital on a drip because she is dehydrated...I suggested that at first......Brain scan was fine, she is being discharged in a couple of days.....where to?????No one knows :shock:

She only had one pair of pyjamas and Billy went back to the home to get her another pair and they said to him {no one can speak proper english} "Not here, gone, not coming back, clear room!!!!! So he cleared her room took things back to her house and back to the hospital again, found out about the scan and they said she would be discharged but at the moment they didnt know where to.
Helpppp!!! LOL Is it any wonder I'm "down"

Love
Hileena

theresak

Oh Hileena - what an awful state of affairs! That is far too much for one person's plate. No wonder you're feeling down.

It must be such a worry being so far away from your mam while she is in hospital. How on earth can they discharge her if there's nowhere for her to go. No, don't answer that - it simply shouldn't happen.

Ah, Naproxen - my GP gives it when/if I need it, without being terribly happy about it. I prefer Diclofenac, but he feels Naproxen is a lesser evil. It's such a balancing act with these drugs, but to go from 1000 mg to none all seems nothing less than absurd. Would that some of these medics could walk in our shoes for a while.

I hope something can be put in place for your man. Do take care - keep thinking of Venice!!

hileena111

Hi Tezz
Thanks
I was on diclofenac like a lot of people were but it was decided that naproxen was the best of a bad lot so I was changed on to that. Everyone that has posted in various forums about this much prefers diclofenac.

As you say if they could walk in our shoes for a while :roll:

Love
Hileena

stickywicket

I'm pleased your Mum's brain scan was clear but not sure what you are saying in the rest of the paragraph. You talk of both 'the home' and 'her home' as if they are separate places. Has she been in a residential home temporarily? If so, might it be that she now requires a nursing home? Or at least a permanent residential home? A very difficult time for all concerned.

As for you...there seems to have been a bit of miscommunication at your surgery and the doc you saw yesterday wasn't given the reason why the doc who's away wanted to see you again although low iron levels would be sufficient for mine to send me off for another endoscopy / colonoscopy.

I know it's difficult as we get older (therefore more prone to digestive tract problems) and take multiple meds (therefore more prone to lots of things). Your GP yesterday certainly didn't word things tactfully but I know GPs do worry about stomach or bowel bleeds and they are the ones responsible for your overall health not the pain doc. who, presumably, was unaware of your anaemia when suggesting 750mgs would be OK for you. It's so easy for us (and I'm one of the biggest culprits) to believe the things we want to believe. But, if the GP says you must come off them and you say no, you'll continue to take 750mgs what is she supposed to say or do?

You have been through a lot recently and I can well understand that you will feel better able to take charge of your life if you're in less pain but......

Maybe book in again to see the doc who ordered the test when he's back. Ask him to explain the anaemia and how that fits in with your leg pains that you went about. Ask also about the discrepancy between the pain doc's advice and the surgery's advice though, if the pain doc was unaware of the anaemia, that would be enough to explain it. And, is the anaemia causing the leg pains? And might a course of anti-deps help while things are so difficult?

I do think you need some answers but I don't think that one of them would be to go against the GP's advice. We have to work with, not against, our docs and, on a purely practical level, if they don't write the prescription you can't take the meds.

hileena111

Hi Sticky
Yes my mam was sent to hospital to start with because of a broken arm between shoulder and elbow. They then discovered she had damaged a nerve in that arm so not only was her shoulder in a sling but she had lost any feeling or movement in her hand.
They then decided that with this, and 93 yrs old she was not ready to go home and couldn't be left to cope on her own. So she was sent to a respite for a few days, then back to the hospital for high BP and high temp. and as soon as that happened they wanted the room she had been in cleared.

I'm dreading the thought of another endoscopy/colonscopy.........it hasnt been mentioned as yet. When I was making the appointment the receptionist said it doesnt matter what doc you see the notes will be there :roll:

I'm planning to see the GP that ordered the blood tests and try to sort it out. I had gone down from 1,000 to 500mg. I thought after 16 years on them that was good. If I had been given longer {more that about 3 weeks} I could have come down more I'm sure. I also told that doctor to put notes on the computer that I said I was taking 750mg until Dr Avaal came back from holiday.....Keep her clear.

I've got to admit that that she did write another prescription for some extra meds until the other one came back. Havent got them yet....just got a text to say they were at the chemist so will get them later this afternoon and check them

Love
Hileena

stickywicket

I think, at the end of the day, both GPs want you off the naproxen or at least on a much lower dose. Maybe they won't go the endoscopy/colonoscopy route as they've already prescribed iron. (Mine told me they wouldn't prescribe iron until the camera work was done as iron can cloud the issue.) But, yes, you need to sort out exactly what will happen.

I hope your Mum can either get home, or to a respite home, soon.

hileena111

Hi Sticky
My mam is getting worse.......yesterday she slept all day {not a good sleep} and is on a drip and on oxogen now as well
My brother says there is still no point in me flying over because she wouldnt know me most of the time and he'll let me know if things get worse.
Hope they are happy with the iron for me.
Yes both want me off them but and very fast rate after having been on them 16 years.
I have got a telephone call from someone called David Talking Northumberland. Apperantely he will be on the phone tomorrow for 30 to 45 mins then decide what is the best way to go...CBT Counselling or something else
This is at 11.00am tomorrow
Wish me luck
Love
Hileena

dreamdaisy

Oh dear, things don't sound too bonny with your mum, do they? At least she's in the right place so an eye can be kept on her.

I can see why the docs want you off the nap (I presume you've had a stomach protector all the way through, yes?) but 16 years is a long time to be on such a drug. I don't think you can just stop it, though, surely a period of reduction is needed? Mis-communication is easily achieved when we have so many health 'professionals' involved with us and our care. Good luck with the phone call, I'll be thinking of you at 11. DD

stickywicket

The situation with your Mum must be an ongoing worry. I'm sorry. We all have to deal with the deteriorating health of our parents and it is never easy.

As for you – I hope the telephone appointment goes well although I'm not sure what will constitute 'well' in this case. Let's just say I hope good comes of it. I'm having my blood test at 11 so I might be a little distracted then but do let's know how it goes.