MICRO VASCULAR DECOMPRESSION

The morning I did my last post has had a positive effect, or maybe he was going to call me anyway. Mr Suttner, my neurosurgeon, called me at home last night and said he could do my MVD next Friday, 29th July at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow. So that's it, the waiting is over. A good outcome for me would be a reduction in the amount of meds I'm taking. A fantastic outcome would be 10 pain free years and no meds. Fingers crossed.

LIMBO

Nothing much to report, especially on the TN front. I contacted my neurosurgeon's medical secretary and she told me I'm still on the list for an MVD, but not imminently which was disappointing. I feel like I'm in limbo at the moment. I can't really organise any holidays in case they try to contact me because the notice I'm given could be as short as a couple of days. However, things could be a lot worse, the pain could still be there.
I'm really struggling with the side effects of the drugs at the moment. Today has been particularly bad. I fell asleep in the shower after deciding that a shower would be the best thing to wash the cob webs from my brain. When I'm talking, mid sentence, I just cannot come up with the word I'm looking for. I also look at familiar objects, I know what they are, I know what they do, but I cannot for the life of me remember what they are called.
I had a brief meeting with my neurologist last Friday. She discharged me from her care as there is nothing more she can do for me at this time as I'm waiting for the MVD. I informed her about the side effects of the meds and she agreed that these were common side effects of Tegretol and Gabapentin. I asked her if they could be the reason for my bad gold to which she replied you're lucky you can see the ball taking that amount of meds. So hope for my golf yet then. There's always a positive for every negative.
I went to my favourite place for snaps at the Ballast Bank and was rewarded with a fantastic sunset albeit my very expensive digital shutter release went for a swim and has not worked since.

CYCLING

I finally repaired my bike, or rather my father did, and plucked up the energy to go for a ride. I hadn't really thought about where I was going when I set off so I just followed a cycle path which passes near my house.
I eventually came to Whitelees Wind Farm, a journey of almost 10 miles, most of it uphill. Maybe I shouldn’t have been as ambitious because at that stage my legs and bum were sore.
I took a few snaps and sat for a while just admiring the view back down into Ayrshire and enjoying the fine weather. It was good to see that a fair number of cyclists were also making use of the tracks. Some of them looked very serious in their Lycra. Mind you, if I got into Lycra it might make me look serious; seriously stupid that is.
As I set off for home it occurred to me that much as I bemoaned the fact that most of the outward journey was uphill, the return leg was downhill. And so it was; ferocious speeds, cornering too fast and home before I knew it. In all, a really good day out.
Still no pain from my TN, but the continuing movement under the skin on the left side of my face lets reminds me that there's still something going on there. Still no sign of my MVD.

Stranraer Golf Club

The golf outing to Stranraer Golf Club was a great success. A very good turn out from the old duffers made it a really great day. The weather was superb with fluffy clouds and a light westerly breeze. The club provided us with a breakfast prior to playing and a lovely dinner after our round all for a very handsome price. We'll definitely be back there next year.
On the TN front, the crawling sensation under the skin on the left side of my face has returned with a vengeance. In fact, I can't remember it ever being as bad as this during the previous sessions. No pain, it's not really that uncomfortable, however it has set me wondering if its a sign that the pain is going to return.
My eldest granddaughter age 3 has the chicken pox.

Loch Lomond

The trip with my new caravan to Loch Lomond was fairly uneventful. One day it poured with rain for the whole 24 hours, and I mean poured!! When it was dry, the midges came out. Only an insane person would wear a short sleeve shirt and shorts when these beggars are about. Yep, you're right, that person was me. You should see the state of my arms and legs with bites. Not even my India Tree Insect Repellent (with neem herbal extract whatever that is) bought at great expense, offered an ounce of resistance. Saving grace? all this happened in a truly beautiful place.
Anyway, back home now and the only positive thing I can see in the news is the petrol price war that has kicked off with the supermarkets. Long may it continue! 15p per litre reduction in some cases.
I'm going to Stranraer to play golf with my old work chums tomorrow. I hope the weather is a bit better than our last two outings when we received a right royal soaking.
Still no hospital appointment which is disappointing.

PAIN RETURNS

Yesterday morning, while drying myself after showering, I had two sharp bolts of pain centred around my left eye. How do I feel after having experienced no pain since 28 December 2010? Well frightened is the foremost feeling I have at the moment closely followed by depression. I suppose I should be thankful that I've had such a long period pain free, but I want to be pain free for ever!!! In saying that, I'm fully aware that the chance of that happening is zero. The best I can hope for is a successful MVD which can give up to 10 years of pain relief. On the upside, I picked up my new caravan yesterday and am off to Loch Lomond later today for a few days.

Just to Let you Know I'm Still Alive

Life has been proceeding in a pretty orderly and mundane fashion, just the way I like it if I'm 100% honest. No sign of my MVD surgery although I am fully aware that it is imminent, probably within the next three weeks. I am reliably informed by my neurosurgeons medical secretary that, all being well after the operation, I should be home in around two to three days.

I've still not had any pain since 28th December last year, or even a hint of it. The only thing that reminds me that I suffer from something relating to my face is the strange crawling sensations that appear from time to time, the most recent one being the strangest of all. If I touch my left eyebrow, it feels as if I'm touching between the left side of my nose and top lip. Weird or what?

I'm still taking industrial strength doses of medication which ultimately do not agree with me so the quicker the operation comes the better.

I bought myself a new caravan (I think that's a trailer for my American friends) and take delivery of it next Thursday.

My youngest granddaughter has started crawling and she still has the worst hair ever. It is still growing out the way with no sign of it conforming to the normal conventions of hair style, even for a baby. Truth be told, she's all the better for it. Eldest is an absolute gem. Sharp as a tack, creative and beautiful. I'm not saying that just because I'm her grandfather. She takes after me.

I visited my doctor this morning regarding the last set of bloods and everything was back to normal except for the fact that I was slightly anemic, which I have been for the last few years, probably as a side effect of the drugs I take. So back in three months for further blood tests.

MVD SURGERY

Well, I've taken the plunge and am now on the list for micro vascular decompression surgery. I've asked for it to be postponed until after 11 June as there are a few events coming up that I don't want to miss. The pain is non-existent and it really was a difficult decision. However, all the reading and research I've done indicates that there is no cure and every pain free day I have is one day closer to the next bout of serious pain. So, no avoiding it really.
On a different note, I was playing golf last week and I ran out of energy on the 10th hole. I quite literally could not put one foot in front of the other. I thought that I was having some kind of heart attack, but without the pain. With the assistance of my eldest son, I eventually made it back to my car. I stupidly drove home and have no recollection of the journey and woke up in my drive. I don't know whether I fell asleep or passed out once I was in the drive. I managed to get an emergency appointment with my GP that afternoon. He gave me a good going over and took a full set of bloods. I was still feeling pretty poorly, but my blood pressure etc. was fine. His best guess at that point was a virus. He told me to make an appointment in two days when the blood results would be available. The results of the bloods showed that my white cell count was high and my red low which in the view of the doctor indicated that there was some kind of infection that my body was fighting due to the high white cell count. He checked me over again and told me to come back in a week when he would do another set of bloods when hopefully things will be heading in the right direction. My energy levels are slowly returning to normal so it my just have been some form of virus. Onward and upward

MVD SURGERY

I've decided to have the operation. I haven't contacted the surgeon yet, I'll do that next week. I don't know why I was even considered not having it when I think about the pain I was in and the distress it caused my family.