Tuesday 27 May 2008 – TENS machine usage

It has been a week now since I have been using the TENS machine, sometimes it has been quite effective, however without the use of Tramadol, which I have been taking again now for a week, I would be in total agony.
I have begun to resign myself to the fact that I probably never will be rid of the pains in my back and since I had put great store in the Pain Clinic being the answer to all my woes I have no idea where to turn to next.
I will be seeing my own doctor within the next week or so and the company doctor on June 2nd so I am hoping either one of them will be able to point me in another direction soon.
In the mean time it has been intimated that I may be offered acupuncture at the hospital, it has got to be worth a try.

Tuesday 20 May 2008 – TENS machine appointment

Two days after taking Amitriptyline I was once again agonizingly poorly and it was then that I realized I had been prescribed this medication previously in January and it was stopped then because of its affects on my system.
I have also stopped the Tramadol as this is also affecting my well-being and may be reacting badly with my Gastro-Resistant capsules.

I now have an appointment arranged for today at the Pain Clinic for the TENS machine and I have spoken to a Sister Nurse [Helen] on the phone about the problems associated with the medication mentioned above as she will be fitting me with the TENS machine later.

Wednesday 14 May 2008 – Pain Clinic

Back to square one!

Yet another course of tablets and an inconclusive prognosis of what is causing the pain, although the consultant like everyone before him has decided it is best treated as being a result of the lobectomy scar tissue, even though he believes it not to be.
As you can imagine I am feeling pretty low at this stage as I had put a great deal of faith in them not only being able to diagnose the problem but also treat it conclusively, which would not appear to be the case. Once again it is trial and error.

I shall become even more vocal with my opinion on what it is I need and how I expect things to progress from now on.

I have another appointment on July 30th 2008; although I can count myself lucky on this one as I managed to get in on a cancellation otherwise it would’ve been 2009 before being seen again.
In the meantime I am to stop taking the Pregabalin and continue with the following regime:
Amitriptyline HCL 10mg [Increasing to 20mg] one dosage per night. I have also been prescribed Tramadol 50mg Sustained Release Capsules to be taken twice a day.

I am also waiting an appointment for usage with a Tens machine at the hospital and I have made another appointment to see the company doctor.

Tuesday 13 May 2008 – Oncology outpatients appointment

Today I spent longer than I would’ve liked at hospital waiting to be seen by a consultant. I had been waiting considerably longer than the woman and her daughter in the next cubicle, but still they complained after ten minutes. More of those two in a moment* but for now the good part I have been given the OK for another three months. I do not get overly worried about these checks-ups anymore as the pains in my back and the impending Pain Clinic appointment for tomorrow are occupying most of my thoughts at the moment. I am hoping they can remedy my on going back pains.
The head pains from my last entry have disappeared since reducing my intake of the Pregabalin.

*And so, back to the women in the next cubicle.
The mother, who was ill, and her daughter who moaned after 10mins of not being seen, were in the next cubicle to me as we waited to be seen by a consultant. When a consultant did check the mothers scans he then left the room, probably to consult another colleague, and when he returned he attempted to explain that there was scar tissue on the mothers chest and other checks needed to be carried out, at which point they complained again about not having the checks done locally to where they live [they live within a 20 mile radius of the hospital the checks were to be done at!].Then they mother tried to explain that she had no idea why she should have scaring of the lungs despite being asthmatic and a chain smoker!! The silly wheezy woman did not realise that they don’t do CT scans and then recommend MRIs on a fekkin whim! The consultant told them the xray and CT scan results were a 'bit wishy-washy' and needed investigating! They did not have the necessary brains cells between them to realise what was NOT being said!It’s an oncology department for heavens

Friday 02 May 2008 – Head pains, what next?

Another visit to see my employer's Doctor has resulted in a recommendation that I am still not ready to return to work on a part-time basis and the preferred option is still for me to work from home. I have only just received a package of work to begin looking.

I have also been to see my own GP because I have been experiencing ‘electric shock’ type pains in my head, especially down the left hand side. As a result I have had to reduce the Pregabalin tablets to a minimum and I am now supplementing these with prescribed Co-codamol pain killers.

OK, the pains have not been brilliant and I have resorted to hot baths in the morning and hot water bottles on my back in the evening.

The 13th of this month sees me back at the Oncology outpatients department for my three monthly check-up followed by my ‘first’ appointment the following day on the 14th at the pain clinic.

My partner and I joked about my having a heart attack, no joking matter I am sure, but since I have had everything else I am well over due one.