Good luck to Rosemary

[rosemary johnson]

Well! The appointments people say:
1. all contact lens section appointments have the name of That Certain Surgeon on them, becuase he's head of that department
Huh????
2. it isn't actually an appointment to see him, it's with the contact lens people
Errr...... really???
3. My new consultant asked them to make it.
WHY?????? I asked, but they hadn't a clue.
Bureaucracy - doncha just love to hate it???!!!
Rosemary
feeling stiff as a board having gone out for an hour and a holf long ride on Thursday - so tired by the time we got home could barely trot at all, or even dismount (in conventional manner I mean)

[rosemary johnson]

well!
It seems the test results have got back to my GP
It took one of the office staff 6 mintutes on my prime-time phone bill this morning to find this out and tell me they couldn't tell me what the results WERE, because she's not medically qualified!
I have an appointmnet with the lovely Linda, the nurse-consultant, whatever the right title these days is, tomorrow.
About SOmething COmpletely Different, but will ask her what the results say, and if I can have a print out.
Will also ask about asthma inhalers (as need a repeat prescription for the blue ones anyway) and if it is possible to reduce the steroid intake.
Have been feeling better the last couple of days, having not had any more puffs on the brown ones and been sleeping better.
Apart, that is, from someone arriving and bumping things about in the flat upstairs and waking me up..... at 20 to 3 this morning!!!!!
THe tenants moved out a couple of weeks ago - and found Inventory Officer coming round to take inventory of landlords ... furniture, presumably.... yesterday, so presumably no-one moved in yet. SO there I was, after waking up with a start, wondering what is going on and if I should ring police.
Rang letting agents about it this morning - apparently it has been let but new tenants not moving in till heating fixed. They are supposed to be investigating nocturnal visitors and getting back to me......!
Grrrrrr.
Rosemary

[rosemary johnson]

Well!
Went to see lovely Linda at GP
Test results on computer not at all what I was expecting - just a list of just about every illegal (or dubiously-legal) recreational drug you can think of, all labelled "Negative" - except for Ketamine which is labelled "Not detected", for some strange reason I know not.
This is NOT!!!!!!! what I requested the eye hospital that I be tested for!
No trace on GP's computer of either what request they sent to the lab, nor of any communication between GP and Eye Hosp about doing this in first place.
Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!
AM going to try to get in touch with Eye Hosp and see if they know what is happening, otherwise can see another complaint due.
Also found a letter from new consultant to GP saying I have stem cell failure in my left eye and am to be considered for cultured stem cells when available.
This is complete news to me!!! - I'm, errrrrrm, hoping, shall we say, that this is a secretarial mix-up and my GP has been sent someone else's eltter. In which case, who has got mine??!!!
Need I say I@m thoroughly pee'd off with this.
Furthermore, have not got appointment with new consultant till 2 months after last one, and eye hosp only gives one month's supply of eye drops at a time. So will need more before next apptmt. Person I sa today says they can't issue repeats for more steroids without fax from hospital saying they should - all the paperwork they have is that it *was* prescribed for me just after op, but nothing to say they want me to be going on using it *now".
Aaarggghhhhhh!
ANyone else have these problems?????????
Meanwhile, the SOmething Completely Different seems to be a case of, it's quite common, nothing to worry about. Fine. I shan't.
Rosemary

[Andrew MacLean]

Rosemary

Well, at last you know that nobody has been lacing your guinness with exotic substances; but like you I'd be puzzled to know why the test had been for these substances rather than the one you requested.

There is an old saying, "If you are not confused, you have not been paying attention!"

Andrew

[rosemary johnson]

Hi Andrew.
Yup, it least no-one has been spiking my cups of tea!
Apparently, the recommendation of the toxicology lab contact by the eye hosp about testing for opiates recommended that "drugs of abuse" was put on the request form, along with opiate metabolites in general and Remifentanyl in particular.
Why, I know not. I mean, even if I were breaking the Remi.... down into something unusual and obscure, I'm not really likely to be breaking it down into something that looks like a metabolite of speed, ecstasy or ill-gotten tranqs or barbiturates, am I? Errrrr, am I??????
Am going back to asthma clinic next week, so will keep asking if there is a second set - in case the tests got done by to labs, and there's a second set of results still to come. Or sitting in someone's in-tray not been put on the computer yet......
I can see another Freedom of INformation request coming up.
I've heard another good saying:
"Cynicism is the mark of the disillusioned idealist."
Think I'll start putting it in sigs - maybe someone will know who said it.
Rosemary

[Andrew MacLean]

I don't know that saying. I have heard others like it, but that combination is new to me!

A friend keeps saying "Cynicism is the mark of the intelligent mind", but again, I do not know the source of his oft repeated bit of self-defense!

All the best at your asthma clinic (or have you been?). The forum has been unavailable since shortly after you posted on Friday, but thanks to the tireless work of John we are back in action.

Andrew

ps THANK YOU JOHN

[rosemary johnson]

Yes, I'll second the THANKS!!! to John.
I went to the asthma clinic - well, it is Uth the asthma nurse at the GP's Health Centre.
Ruth, that should say. Ooops.
There was no more news of the opiate tests - Ruth is going to chase it up and see what has been happening, and let me know.
Being Ruth, I think she will, so wait in hope.
I told her about what had been happening, which she was duly shocked about.
I also said that it seemed that the recent bits of "bad trip" had conincided with puffing asthma inhalers in the evenings, and I hadn't had any more since I hadn't had any i the evenings (or at all).
She didn't know whether it was possible that it was all a reaction to a big dose of steroids, or whether it was possible I was hypersensitised to steroids, so might get a bad reaction to what otherwise wouldn't be a terribly big dose.
Said I should go back and ask the Eye Hospital about that......!
Meanwhile, she was qite amenable to the idea of changing me to a lower-steroid inhaler regime, and also looked up some non-drowsy, non-eye-drying antihistamine tablets.
So far so good on those - seem to be reasonably effective and no more hallucinations. THough do feel tired - not sure if just tiredness or if I'm drowsy even on non-drowsy tablets.
She's also fixed up for some blood tests, which I had taken yesterday. Will await the result of those with interest.
Meanwhile, the Eye Hosp seem tohave a computer problem, as my emails are bouncing.
And not sure if my new consultant got my email, so don't know if there is something i should know about stem cells - or how to get more eye drops before my next appointment.
Meanwhile........ good news is i have been not only back on board Duke, but even jumping!!!!! - only about a foot, and only twice at the end of a long afternoon (!) but only a few weeks ago, I'd have thought that was something I'd never be doing again!
Rosemary

[Barbara Davis]

As of today there seems to be a spare place on the equestrian team for Beijing 2008, Rosemary. Just waiting for you and Duke perhaps?

It's good to hear you are riding again, and a problem with steroids might explain a lot.

[rosemary johnson]

Spare place on the Beijing Olypics team??? - ah well, before we can take that up, we'll have to persuade Duke to go into a horsebox.
WHen he first moved house to this field where he now lives - just over two years ago - it took the entire length of the Cup Final, plus extra time, plus half the penalty shoot out, to coax him into a trailer to be moved.
The bloke who was due to be doing the driving was happy for him to take his time - he was sitting in the car to which the trailer was attached listening to the radio.
He's a West Ham fan.
ANd all the time Duke was refusing to go in the trailer, West Ham were in the lead. As soon as they got duke intot he trailer and got the ramp up and shut, Liverpool edged ahead on penalties.
May be it is fortunate that i wasn't there to help...... as a Liverpool supporter.
ANyway......
New inhaler seems OK so far - not been reaching for the reliever overmuch, considering I've been out in the field with the horses, and outside yesterday evening hacking away at the creeper in the back garden.
Seem very tired. THink from tomorrow I'll be taking the antihistamines inthe evening not the morning.
No more hallucinations - hooray.
No more news of urine tests, nor of blood test results yet, nor any peep from the eye hosp, but have an appointment there on Monday re contact lenses.
Meanwhile, Duke and I have been jumping again - five times up a line of three fences, all of them actually off the ground, not just poles onthe floor. ANd we only knocked down one of them.
Well, to be more accurate, Duke jumps and Rosemary hangs on!
But considering it was only a few weeks since I was wondering if I'd ever ride again, I'm pretty pleased.
Hoping there's going to be some pics on the web soon. Watch this space.
Meanwhile meanwhile....... looking out of my front window and up the road in the evenings, it does seem as if the "illuminated pine cones" effects round all the street lights and car headlamps - caused by the multiple images when I look through the grafted eye - are getting smaller. Does this sound about right, to any other graftees reading? - that the number of multiple images might be starting to reduce again after 4 and a half months?
Still not gone - but they're like smaller triangles now.
Rosemary

[Barbara Davis]

It's really great to see some more positive news - you deserve it.