I telephoned the hospital this morning to see if I could speak to Laura one of the nurses, but she was on holiday. Dee was there, but she was busy with other patients. The receptionist Kathy was very good, she remembered me from last time I was there. I must say the staff are very good at the Countess of Chester, they have been very helpful and nothing is too much trouble. Kathy was going to get Dee to call me back at work, but I couldn’t even remember my own office number. Yesterday I couldn’t remember peoples names either, I’m not sure if that is a side effect of the tablets though or me just being stupid and forgetful! Anyway, I said I would call back later.
I left work early today – my head just wasn’t in it. I think I spent most of the time looking at the same email thinking … why am I looking at this email.
I got home and managed to go to the loo (at least a little bit) which helped with the constipation.
I called the hospital again and spoke to Dee and explained that I wasn’t sure if I should wait until my appointment on Friday to discuss the side effects or to report them as soon as I had them. She said to let her know what the effects were and she would see. So I listed them to her
- Tingling in the feet
- Tingling in the fingers
- Tingling / numbness of the tip of my tongue
- Sweating in the night
- Chest pains when going to bed like indigestion or Anxiety
- Constipation
She explained that they are normal. She did make sure though that I don’t get a temperature and to keep an eye on the night sweats. She said she would see me tomorrow if I wanted to talk to her she would be available to talk things through more, but I said it was ok, I was in on Friday anyway and just wanted to make sure that what I was feeling was normal (so to speak). So everything is fine I feel a bit happier knowing that they are not unusual and to be reassured that the staff are on hand whenever I need advice.
As for the constipation, last time I was at the hospital they said they could give me something if I needed it. So I thought there is no point in having any extra pain, I might as well ask. I didn’t really want to go in to the hospital to get a prescription for something though and asked Dee if there was something that I can buy over the counter that wont interfere with the rest of my therapy. She suggested buying some Lactulose. So off I trotted (is that a bad word to use here) to the chemist to see if I could get some.
