I’ve had a nice quiet day recovering and starting to treat my eye. Going to continue this during the rest of the week. Might even get some gaming in tomorrow!
Tag: Medical Issues
An unwelcome sequel
Zombie Eye V is officially here. I spent the day in the emergency eye department again. This is my fifth uveitis attack since April 2019.
Today’s consultant said, contrary to what I’ve been told previously, that I shouldn’t start treating a uveitis attack with eye drops until an eye doctor has out-and-out told me it’s definitely uveitis. This means a day in the eye department every time, unfortunately, but at the moment it only seems to be happening once or twice a year – and quite honestly I feel relieved, because it means I no longer need to worry about diagnosing myself (which is what previous consultants were suggesting).
This has taken up most of the day so I’ll be glad to get on with other things tomorrow.
Bit of a medical admin day
A few issues with meant-to-be-regular medication at the moment so I spent some time this morning on the phone to various admin staff. Hopefully I’ll have managed to get everything joined up and in place by next week… fingers crossed!
I then went to a physio appointment (not my regular physio, it was one booked by the hospital for spondylitis purposes). She didn’t have many exercises to add to my routine as I do so many already, but she did come up with a couple for improving my side flexion (the only major stiffness issue that hasn’t been improved by my recent medication). Telephone appointment next time, though, which is great as that clinic is a bit of a pain to get to.
Looking forward to the weekend now.
Post-deadline
I’m finding it a bit difficult to believe that Things that Happened in Houghtonbridge is finally out… but it is, and you can play it here! I’ve been working on the game since February and it turned into a bit of a behemoth. It’s a lot more narrative-focused than my previous games and so it required a lot of revision during the creation process (I was still adding scenes as late as yesterday!). I’m really happy that it’s finished now.
Today I went to the hospital to have one of my hearing aids fixed, meaning that I can now finally hear in stereo again (it’s been a few months so it’ll take some adjustment). Looking forward to a really quiet weekend after a mad month.
Quietly diagnosed
I had a fairly long-awaited appointment at the hospital this morning. It’s been nearly a year since the eye consultant I was seeing about my uveitis said ‘you know, this HLA-B27 gene you have is probably why you have all these lower back problems as well’ and referred me onwards.
Following a two-hour process of tests, having stuff measured, long discussions with consultants, more tests and a trip to the X-ray department, I have begun the long and experimental process of finding a semi-effective treatment for my ankylosing spondylitis. I officially have ankylosing spondylitis now… I think. Doctors never seem to out-and-out state ‘YOU HAVE X’ these days. But I was given two booklets about it and a prescription for the first of the many treatments that can be tried in the effort to mitigate it, so it looks like they’re fairly certain.
I’ve had this chronic pain for about twelve or thirteen years at this point and having it finally taken seriously is an incredible relief. It might take a while to find something that helps, but at least I’ve got the ball rolling now.
Not knowing how to de-game, eighteen miles and a glass teapot
It’s been a bit of a mad week.
After the frantic weekend rush to finish my game by Monday night, I sort of didn’t know what to do with myself on Tuesday! Between TechUP and making two games in the last couple of months, I’ve not really stopped with the non-day-job work since September. I plan to continue with the game-making because I’m enjoying it so much, but I did give myself an enforced break for the rest of the week, and I’m really looking forward to spending the weekend playing other people’s games rather than making my own.
In an ideal world I would have spent the last few days dozing on the sofa… but it’s been a busy week! On Wednesday night I accompanied Geth to the Newcastle University Teaching Excellence Awards ceremony, as he’d been shortlisted for two awards. He ended up winning the award for Outstanding Contribution to Academic Support – I was not at all surprised, as nobody works harder than Geth when it comes to supporting students, but I was super super proud. The award trophy was a glass teapot (TEA – Teaching Excellence Awards), which now has pride of place on our mantelpiece!
Yesterday I went for my 18-mile long run. I’d been apprehensive about it because I’d run into difficulties with my hip on the last couple of miles of last week’s 14-miler. However, I was able to develop a run-walk strategy during the run that meant I didn’t burn out and didn’t put too much pressure on my problem areas. I’ll be adapting this for the actual marathon – I’ve got a couple of six-mile runs to do during the taper, and I’ll practise the strategy during those.
Today I had a physio appointment, and other than a bit of stiffness everything seems to be fine. I’ll pop in again after the race for a once-over.
It’s been a great week overall but also a tiring one.
Where did the weekend go?
Time passes in the blink of an eye when I’m busy making a game!
It’s not finished yet. I’m going to have to squeeze in some work on it over the next couple of days.
Still dealing with the aches and pains but through the power of walk breaks and proper warming up I am able to run, mostly without discomfort. Another gentle mile tomorrow!
Physio Friday
The good news running-wise is that a couple of weeks of extra focus on the strength training has healed my leg issues really well. The bad news is that yesterday morning I woke up with a flare-up of the lower back issue that’s being investigated long-term at the moment. It’s this back issue that causes all my other issues (as it affects my form) so I’m going to have to be patient for another few days until it (hopefully) goes away.
That means another volunteering week at parkrun tomorrow! And a very quiet weekend otherwise – I’ve got a game to finish making.
Back to normal
Back to work today, though still with chocolate for lunch. Shaping up to be a good week – still got that semi-holiday feeling.
I’m still buzzing after being able to do my slightly longer run on Sunday, and today I did a short run without any background aches and pains at all (not even the usual ones caused by chronic stuff). Feeling good and hoping for some more improvement at the physio later this week.