-
Joys of menopause
Menopause hasn’t been the difficult time for me that I’ve heard many others experience. The worst time was when I had a heavy period that went on for weeks several years ago. Hot flashes or flushes never were a thing for me. But now I’ve been in menopause for a few years, I have had one issue and that’s spotting and/or light bleeding a few times. It’s always happened in a specific pattern and I wasn’t too concerned but it had become more of an issue recently. I went to the doctor and she did a pap test and a couple other tests and sent me off for a pelvic ultrasound. She did say at the time that it looked likely I had a condition called vaginal atrophy based on the appearance of that area. I read that it’s now often called genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), which certainly sounds a lot less unpleasant.
The ultrasound came out perfectly but the pap test didn’t get the cells needed, possibly due to the condition of the vagina. Also, I had too much of one thing and not enough of another in some other test done. In this situation, they often refer to a gynecologist who does the tests again but has better equipment to get a better reading on things. Of course, that takes more time. She said she thought it likely the issue was the GSM and suggested we could trial treatment and do another test in six weeks before going to the specialist. I was happier to do that than wait. I am on an HRT treatment daily for a couple of weeks and then I am to reduce down to fewer times per week as required. Hopefully, this should set things right and life will carry on.
I will admit to being a bit anxious about HRT treatments due to my family history of breast cancer. That said, I think a vaginal treatment is less likely to cause any trouble and hopefully won’t be something I need long-term. As I understand it, I am still young enough for that to be the recommended treatment at this stage.
I do suspect that my Sjogren’s syndrome may also be part of the issue here. It doesn’t help that I need antihistamines to handle seasonal allergies. The funny thing is I just saw the specialist about the Sjogrens last month and said all was fine. But I didn’t realise anything was amiss at that point. I am having a lot of dry eye and mouth issues right now though, so it may just be contributing to the problem.
I had to order in the medicine at the pharmacy and only started last night. I will say that it’s a bit of a messy business using a pessary that leaks everywhere when you get up. Hopefully, there won’t be any nasty side effects.
-
I can see clearly now, sort of…
I was overdue for my eye examination and the Scientist was long overdue for his. We finally made appointments and saw an optometrist last weekend. I knew my vision had gotten worse, particularly in my left eye, so I guess it wasn’t too much of a surprise to be told my left eye had worsened by one dioptre, which is kind of significant. My right eye was worse but not by nearly so much. I think the vision change happened not far into last year so I should have seen to this long before now.
I ordered new glasses which haven’t come in. The Scientist got a message yesterday that his were ready but today I found out mine had to be redone due to a problem with the coating. Mine are far more complex than his, though, so this doesn’t surprise me too much. I’m just anxious to have them again.
I haven’t been offered contact lenses for a very long time, presumably due to the dry eye problem I have from the Sjogren’s syndrome. But this optometrist suggested I have a trial of them and see how I do with them. So I did and I was “fitted” for them today. The appointment was for an hour but I didn’t need that long. My history is mostly linked with rigid gas permeable lenses but that was off the table this time. Still, I remember quite a few of the important parts of wearing contacts, particularly the hygiene. I’m trying out disposable soft lenses that will correct my astigmatism. One thing I came away with this time is a proper way to remove them from my eye. I didn’t do well with soft lenses in the past because I kept gouging my eye trying to get them out. Getting them in wasn’t a problem at all. It’s pretty similar to the harder lenses except there’s a lot more coverage of the eye.
I have two different variations to try out with these contacts. The first one is wearing them for distance only and using readers for close up work. The second one is using one contact for distance and one for close up.
Going in I felt like it would be best to go with two distance ones, but I am not so sure after wearing them for the better part of the day. I will say they were pretty comfortable for most of the eleven hours I was wearing them. I did use eye drops once when they started to feel dry but otherwise it was fine.
Seeing at a distance is absolutely brilliant. I shudder to think how poor my vision has been all this time and I suspect that I shouldn’t have been driving when my left eye was so off. I can only hope my right eye has compensated to some degree. I could read the computer screen from a fair distance, which is something kind of new for me. At least I don’t recall having such crisp vision from so far away.
Seeing up close is really tricky. I can still read unaided pretty well but with the contacts in, my close-up vision was impossible. I couldn’t even look at my phone properly and squinting is no help at all. I did buy some reader glasses from the pharmacy to use for close up and that makes a huge difference but putting them on an off to read things up close is kind of maddening. Still it’s mostly doable that way.
The real issue came when I sat down at my computer. That middle distance is too close to see with just my contacts but the readers aren’t all that effective either. I was getting blurriness both ways and it was kind of exhausting too. I will be giving them a few more times before I throw in the towel with them just to see if I can work with them in the longer term.
More realistically, I suspect I will have to hope I can work with the other configuration with one eye for close up and one for distance. I have a vague recollection my mom had this set up many years ago and I think it worked okay for her. It sounds a bit crazy to me but possibly not so much as being so impaired on my close up vision.
One thing that struck me after I got the contacts in and wore them a bit was how wonderful it was to see again. It was like I didn’t know what I was missing and was a similar feeling to when I first got glasses as a teenager. I don’t know how bad my vision was at that point but I recall being thrilled to see so many things properly again. The best part of all is the peripheral vision. With glasses that pretty much goes out the window and I did adjust to it but I like being able to see off to the sides. I will admit that if I decide to stick with contacts I will need to buy some sunglasses again. I haven’t worn them for ages because my glasses have had transition lenses the last several times which has worked really well for me.
Anyway, I will update again after trying out the other set up for my contacts and after getting the new glasses.
-
Annual appointment
It was a busy week for seeing doctors. Saturday I had an appointment to see my immunologist for a yearly check up on my autoimmune stuff. I’d had a bunch of blood tests before the appointment and had requested copies to be sent to me. This solves the problem of getting copies from the doctor when I attend. She works out of a mostly temporary office so I didn’t think she would be able to make copies. As it happens, they had moved since last year and it seems she would have easily been able to make copies. The results were mostly normal and a couple that were out of range weren’t much of an issue as they are often elevated in isolation. One odd one that wasn’t noted as abnormal this time was the albumin, which was 36, I think. The reference range said it was normal this time but the previous time showed the same level as out of range (low). As it was the same lab, I can only assume the reference range had changed a bit.
Aside from getting quite a few symptoms of Raynaud’s syndrome popping up throughout the year, not much had changed since my last visit. That is, not much could be noted until about mid-December. That’s when my usually off-and-on arthralgia in my fingers/hands/wrist decided it was going to stick around for awhile. Almost two months later and they are still often quite sore and swollen. Aside from dry eye and mouth stuff, this is the first time I’ve had to think about treating it on a regular basis. I was advised to try to stick with paracetamol (Tylenol) rather than the ibuprofen as that can be bad on the stomach. Of course it’s not ideal to take too much paracetamol either, at least from a liver point of view. Also she suggested using Voltaren cream at night since it won’t get washed off too soon and might help with the morning symptoms. I’m to have another blood test to check on rheumatoid factor. This has always been negative when checked before and I don’t expect that to change.
I also asked about some recurring bruises that have shown up on my stomach lately. They haven’t been very big but they have all appeared without any known reason. At least I like to think I would notice having some sort of small trauma to the stomach…not that I have any idea what would cause bruises so small. This has happened a few times now and they go away after a week or so. Anyway, I also get to have a coagulation panel done. I also suspect that will be normal. I don’t go back to see her for another year but she is to contact me on her next appointment day to discuss the blood test results. Nice to find a doctor who will do that rather than drag me back into for what is likely a one minute appointment to find all is normal.
-
Happy 2014!
I have been missing in action for the past several weeks. I’m here but for some reason I’m at a loss of what to write quite a lot of the time.
We’re just getting through the last month of summer here and it’s been fairly mild for the last couple of weeks. Not to say we haven’t had some hot days but nothing extreme like has occurred in many of the eastern parts of the country and none of the nasty floods that have hit the north of our state. I wouldn’t mind, however, having a small share of the rain from the north. After such a wet late winter, it’s been almost completely dry here since the end of October, I think, perhaps a bit earlier.
January wasn’t a great month for us. The year started off well enough but there were a couple of things happening, family-wise, that left January a rather negative month. I can just hope the year improves from this point.
At the end of the month, our gym membership contracts will run out and we are cancelling our membership with the club. Not that we are unhappy there, but the Scientist reached his goal months ago and I have started to lose much interest in going. My aim at the beginning was to go at least twice a week and aside from a couple weeks at Christmas, I have more than stuck to that for the better part of the eighteen months. Now I am more interested in doing exercise outside the gym like just walking or dog walks, cycling, etc. We also now have a spin cycle and a treadmill in the house, so should be set for even the winter and the really hot days left in the season.
Speaking of the gym, I am still working on my weight and fitness levels. I think the fitness is still pretty good but the weight stalled for quite a while and I have had to overcome some of the psychological aspects of that before getting going again. I also had some shoulder bursitis and tendinitis issues that I couldn’t quite get sorted with physiotherapy alone and had a steroid injection just before Christmas. With further physio, some of the shoulder issues have improved enough so I just need to make sure I don’t overdo any particular type of exercise again. Anyway, after some ups and downs, I think I am back on track for the moment.
I saw my new immunologist for the second time on Saturday. She had requested I have certain blood tests done and the results were back well before the appointment. They also sent copies directly to me. Overall, the results were all fine but I can’t help but be a bit pedantic about one thing that showed up. I’ve been getting a high titer ANA back every test since the first one back in 2004. This time was no different but there was a completely different sort of pattern to the ones that have appeared before. It was a different lab so my feeling is it was misread. My doctor wasn’t bothered about, didn’t really seem to know the pattern differences either. My usual pattern is rare but associated with Sjögren’s syndrome (which I have) and also autoimmune liver disease. Because of the pattern, previous doctors were keeping watch for a couple of liver-related antigens in blood work. These never were positive in the past but one associated with autoimmune hepatitis did come back a weak positive this time, which is rather funny, I think. At the moment, it isn’t so much of an issue due to it being weak-positive but mostly due to the fact almost all my liver functions tests came back in normal range. Only my albumin was slightly low…so also isn’t an issue at this point. At the moment, I will just go back for yearly reviews as I’ve done since my symptoms haven’t been anything major as yet.
Today I went in for a whole blood donation and was asked to give plasma instead. I was a bit surprised since it’s been so long since they’ve requested whole blood. Plus I thought they really wanted it this time as I got more reminders than usual. I’ve become acquainted with some of the staff at the center since I began donating, to the point that some of the staff skip quite a few of the questions. But the last couple of times, I have gotten new people and they have gotten into detail on some questions. Strangely it came out today that nobody thought to note down the Sjögren’s syndrome on my records before. The lady that interviewed me had never even heard of it so then went on to check it was okay to donate. Which it was.
Our board games have sat rather untouched the past two months. At first, Lego Lover wasn’t interested in playing but then we missed it one weekend or another and just haven’t got back to it. Meanwhile, we’ve had a few more games arrive lately so we need to get back into it.
There are probably some other things I need to update but honestly can’t think of anything now. I just wanted to get back into it keeping track of things a bit more before more time passed.
-
Allergy attack, for sure
My vertigo isn’t gone yet but it seems to have taken a step back the past day or so as my allergy attack has become more obvious. I’ve not often had the most typical of allergy symptoms and this time is no exception. Most of my symptoms run along the lines of massive itchiness, fuzzy head/dizziness/vertigo, tiredness, tingly and sometimes numb head,  lips and mouth, etc. It reached the point yesterday where it was worth risking massive dryness from Sjögren’s syndrome to take an anti-histamine. It didn’t exactly do a whole lot for my symptoms yesterday but it also didn’t cause as much dryness. Possibly it’s going to take a couple days to get much effect.  Funnily enough, I now have a more typical runny nose…I might even start sneezing next. :)
I obviously did not go to work yesterday although the Scientist had offered to drive me there and pick me up. I decided I wasn’t likely to be that productive and I think I made the right decision. I’m hoping tomorrow will bring considerable improvement and will see if I can work a few hours if that is the case. It won’t cover all my hours but would be better than none this week. We are in for more rain this week so it might just wash the nasty airborne pollen away for a while….meanwhile creating a blooming environment for even more pollen to be created in the next few weeks.
-
Teeth
I stopped in to the local medical center to pick up a prescription for the Scientist and decided it might be good to make a dental appointment. I think it’s probably been a year and a half since I was last there but I have simply procrastinated about it. I had a lecture about getting regular dental care when I was in the immunology clinic last month and I’ve even had some problems with a couple of teeth where food was getting stuck and causing pain. Anyway, it turned out there had been a late cancellation so I was offered an appointment within half an hour and took it.
I never used to mind getting my teeth cleaned. But the newer equipment always hurts and sometimes causes pain. I survived that ordeal and had x-rays done before the dentist came in. The good news is I had no new cavities and the calculus build-up was limited to the areas between my teeth. The bad news was that two of my fillings have decayed and will have to be replaced. This is exactly where I’ve had trouble with my teeth. Apparently it’s partially caused by my Sjögren’s syndrome because I sometimes don’t have enough saliva. Not sure exactly how that works. He has also recommended that I get amalgam fillings because they don’t decay so easily. I’m almost certain the current fillings have only been in less than five years…possibly less. I go back in two weeks to spend an hour in the chair having that fun. I must admit it will be good to be able to return to once-a-day flossing once this is done.
-
Bits and pieces
As is obvious from my last post, I’ve finally made some progress on writing about our holiday. I wrote most of that a few weeks ago but it was only tonight that I finally edited it in preparation for posting. I fear I will forget much of what I wanted to write as time goes on but there is nothing to be done about it.Â
********
I’ve been in a much better state of both physical and mental health over the past couple of weeks. While I don’t exactly feel energetic, I don’t feel like I need to sleep all the time. It seems the thyroxine must have been doing something after all. My tonsillitis episode did mostly resolve after about a week and a half.
This week I had my annual appointment at the immunology clinic in our local teaching hospital. Last year I had a disastrously incompetent doctor, and despite the other doctors being good to great, I was worried about a repeat. Fortunately, it was all fine, although it took longer than I expected. She was rather abrupt and gruff when we first got started but improved as we talked further. She later mentioned that she’d only been in immunology for a week so I assume she’s still settling in and that might have been the reason for the less than friendly start to our discussion. We covered my low thyroid issues caused by being off my medication and also discussed some abdominal pain episodes which had occurred while I was away and for a while after I returned. She examined my hands and found them quite cold, then asked if my feet were the same (which they were). Later she checked my blood pressure and found it was quite low (95/55) and was worried that I might be light-headed (which I wasn’t). She checked my abdomen thoroughly for anything unusual and presumably found nothing amiss. She asked about a couple of spots/rashes on my stomach but I wasn’t able to provide any useful information except that one has been there for a couple of years and the second, smaller one appeared recently. I’ve presumed they were due to some sort of skin condition but the only notable thing about them is the larger one sometimes seems to change color slightly. She had a thorough look at my mouth and throat and noted my tonsils are swollen.  After we covered pretty much everything, she went off in search of the consultant (head doctor) for the department to confer before we finished.
 The doctor was on a phone call for quite some time before she was able to reach him. Eventually he came to the consulting room and they discussed my case right there, which was kind of unusual. I’d seen this doctor at two previous appointments and he’d concluded that my autoimmune condition is Sjögren’s syndrome based on my symptoms and my ANA. I have antinuclear antibodies of at least two types. One type is called anti-coilin and seems to be fairly unusual but mostly is seen in people with primary biliary cirrhosis and Sjögren’s syndrome. The other type is common and also non-specific but also seen in Sjögren’s. This doctor had previously given me lectures on careful attention to dental care and keeping extremities warm (as I have early symptoms of Raynaud’s syndrome). He repeated the dental lecture again even though I’d confirmed I’d had it before. It may have been as much for the registrar’s benefit as mine. Discussion was had over which blood tests I needed to have done and it was decided I’d be reviewed again in a year. Appointment concluded.
In addition to the usual auto antibody tests, I also had tests specific for autoimmune liver disorders along with immunoglobins added in. I found the pathology department at the hosptital was too busy for me to wait so had them done today at a local pathology center. I think I’ve reached a record with seven tubes of blood this time. Apparently I will be contacted by the clinic if any results need any follow up.
********
The semester started last week at my university so I’ve started my last class for my degree. It’s an external unit and it seems to be a small class as there has been almost no discussion online so far. Also, the unit outline hasn’t been updated for this semester. I pointed this out to the teacher but have had no response after several days. It would be good to have some interaction with others in this class. It’s already isolating to study by distance education but it’s worse when you feel like you’re the only one out there.
********
My favorite band, Crowded House, are coming to Perth in Novemeber and I have purchased tickets for the event. We are fortunate to have them playing at a nearby winery so it will just be a fifteen minute drive instead of 30-60 minutes to reach Perth or Fremantle. The Scientist and I will, however, be trekking down to Freo for a concert with Megan Washington and support act Dan Kelly at the end of the month. Tickets were quite inexpensive as these are up and coming artists…so it should be good value for money. We’ve seen both as support acts for other performers and both were excellent.
-
Cold hands and feet
This morning I took a bus to an appointment at the teaching hospital near Perth. I had to be there at 9:45 so the Scientist dropped me off at the bus station where I caught a direct bus. Although the temperature wasn’t really all that low, it sure felt cold this morning. The bus trip was mostly uneventful and I arrived about twenty five minutes early. I went ahead and signed in at the clinic since there was little else to do. I’d barely sat down when I was called back to sit in the corridor outside the office. It was pretty quiet when I arrived but that was soon to change.
Some patients had been there long before I arrived and were still waiting. One man nearly walked out and another woman wasn’t able to be seen because something was missing from her file and they had to wait for the medical records department to send it through. She was very upset by the time she went in, just before me. Both had been there for appointments scheduled for 8:30 am. Having experienced a lengthy delay in the past (due to an admin. error), I came prepared for a long wait. I used my pda to continue reading Great Expectations. My only concern was that the battery would conk out early and I didn’t have a spare. Fortunately I was called in before this occurred.