AQUAE SULIS

The visit to Aquae Sulis (Bath) went well. On arrival at the McDonald Bath Spa Hotel (5*), a concierge and two bell hops came swarming down the stairs, opened the car doors, saw to our luggage and we were checked in before we knew where we were. The lovely receptionist (Spanish) ‘upgraded’ us to a ‘garden view’ room which was very spacious with a nice sitting area. It took about 15 minutes to walk into the centre of Bath. All we did that first day was have a quick look around to get our bearings after which we returned to the hotel and made use of the extensive spa facilities. My favourite was the outdoor pool. I don’t know what its temperature was, but it was as warm as a very hot bath. It was great floating there in the dark looking up at the moon and stars, very relaxing, in fact so relaxing I fell asleep and nearly drowned.

The following day we arrived in the city centre about 9:30am. It was a miserable rainy day. The first place we visited was the Roman Baths. It was fantastic and we spent a lot of time there wandering over paving laid 2000 years ago and tramped on by God knows how many Roman feet. The hand held audio guide was excellent. At the end of the visit, we even got to sample the ‘waters’, a not to be missed experience :-)

I was keen to see and photograph the Georgian architecture at Royal Crescent and the Circus. However, a brief visit was all we managed due to the rain although I did manage to take some snapshots. Even in the rain it looked majestic. After a very nice lunch in All Bar One, we retreated to the sanctuary of our hotel and the spa.

This morning, I attended Crosshouse Hospital where I had my first appointment with consultant neurologist Doctor Vikki Marshall from The Southern General Hospital. At the risk of showing myself up as an aging old sexist, she was not at all what I expected. She was young, tall, slim and very good looking. What’s my point......I don’t really know, other than the fact that I am now a confirmed old duffer. She showed me the MRI scan of my brain which confirms two things; 1. I have a brain, and 2. there is nothing sinister there (other than my thoughts). She carried out a number of tests which confirmed the trigeminal nerve is in working order (boy, don’t I know it) and discussed the history of my condition. Bottom line is that she has referred me to a neuro-surgeon, which she said could take months. She also booked me a further appointment to see her in six months.  

While discussing my medication with her, I got the impression that she would have advised me to cut out the Gabapentin if I had been open to it. My position, and she did not disagree, was that I am relatively pain free at the moment, just infrequent minor jolts, and I would not be keen to cut down on of my medication. I think she may have been trying to identify which drug was most effective in my case, but the memory of my last bout of pain is still too raw to start messing about with my drugs. I asked her about managing the pain at home rather than turning up at A&E. She said that all the drugs I was on could be increased and agreed to write to my GP on the matter. So another visit to Dr Gaffney when I get confirmation that he has received the letter.

I’m still in a pretty positive frame of mind.