They said my hair wouldn't fall out!

I had had my suspicions. Rather a lot of short hairs that weren't the dog's collecting in the bath, but then everyone moults a bit. Cold head, but then the weather has been cold and miserable and we live in a cold house. I've had some sore-scalp-itchy-head moments, but then maybe I should have been washing my hair more often. Then I did the two-mirror thing after a shower to see if it was time to hack my hair about again, especially where it felt a bit straggly at the  nape. 

Straggly nape went to low priority when I saw my thinning crown and early bald patch. Boohoo. On the plus side, I now feel justified in wearing a hat in the house. And hopefully, with poison chemo finished it will start growing back... I'm not going to cut it until it does.

Had a scan a week ago in the main UCH building. For the first time I felt quite nervous about Covid but with an 8:15am appointment everything except the lift area was quite empty. I did try to avoid the lift area by using the stairs, as advised by large notices, but came up against a Covid - Authorised Personnel only sign on the doors to the floor. Who knows? Not the person who's putting up the signs. I thought it best to go back down the stairs again and resort to the lifts,  waiting anti-socially until I could get one with only one other person in it. 

Currently in Macmillan Centre Clinic reception.  Have had bloods done - four tubes this time rather than the usual two - presumably they want to look at more things with the trial in mind. Am waiting to see a couple of the trial staff - this is supposed to happen before I see the doctor which is at 12 and it's now 11:50 so I think this is a plan that has not worked out.

Ok - have now been weighed, measured, pulse oxed and BPed, ECGed, and pumped for details of post-chemo symptoms in such detail that even I have got bored of talking about myself. And I've given a pee sample. It's 1:30pm and I'm waiting for the doctor again after trying again for a decent BP. Definite white coat syndrome. Clinic Reception is empty except for me.

And now I've seen Dr Miller. The scan was good - some tissue thickening in the pelvis which has been there since the surgery, and was a site of recurrence last time. Nothing else big enough to measure. But still can't be passed for the trial - phrased as 'they can't register and randomise me' - sounds like the atomic disintegration that follows, "Beam me up, Scottie." Most of the blood and urine results were normal but as I expected, the BP readings were still too high and, while some of my home BPs are OK, not all are. Also, my WBCs/neutrophils are still too low although haemoglobin, RBCs and platelets are OK. The WBCs will almost certainly come back up on their own, but the BP is less predictable. 
Dr M suggested I increase my amlodipine medication. I don't really want to do this as I already get short of breath on the stairs and sometimes have slightly puffy feet which I put down to the amlodipine. We have four weeks to play with so I have negotiated a fortnight to see if building up my exercise and thereby getting fitter brings it down 'naturally'. Dr M doesn't think this will work but is prepared to let me give it a go and review in two weeks.
If it doesn't work, I'll have to decide whether to increase the amlodipine and do the trial, or not increase the amlodipine and stick to the standard 'rib' drug and protocols. 

Cycled home very slowly ..... am going to have to speed up. 🚲

 

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