Thank god for a nice lay in this morning. After the last couple of weeks every bit of rest is so needed at the moment. With the cold nights and cold mornings causing my head to play up so badly it has really been getting me down. I have noticed if i keep the heating of the flat up in the nearly 20 degrees mark then i don't seem to have as many attacks as when it is down below 15. This confirms what i have been saying about the cold being one of the main triggers for my condition. The trouble is with it being so cold lately to keep the temperature up all the time in order for me not to have attacks will cost a blooming fortune! Just running the heating for 2 days and a night at that temperature has eaten almost £5 in credit. To keep it going like this for a full week would take all of my money so i have to try and find another solution.
I have been trying all sorts in order to keep the heat in for longer and not escaping in order to make it cheaper for me to run the heating. I have placed blankets and drops over all the doors and along the gaps at the bottom of the doors to stop the heat from escaping. I have put foil behind the radiators so that it reflects the heat back into the room and not spends half the time warming up the flat walls. I have kept all the windows shut and the curtains too so that heat doesn’t escape. The trouble with this is that it has become so stuffy in the flat and being a smoker isn't healthy not having ventilation so i have decided to chuck that idea in the bin.
I don’t know of any other ways to cut down the cost of heating in order for me to have it on constant. The only thing i can do is keep it on the timer and try and use it sparingly. The trouble is the slightest drop in temperature or the smallest of drafts and i will feel it immediately. I get a cold feeling on the top of my head before i feel anything else anywhere. Even my hands and feet seem to stay warmer than the left side of my face, it seems to be so sensitive to any change in temperature or the pressure when we have bad weather. You could say it has now become and early warning system for cold weather fronts approaching so it does have one use being this ill (you have to laugh or i would cry).
For now all i can do is stay wrapped up and try and use the heating only when i think it is really needed, in the early mornings and late evenings when the worst of the attacks seem to appear. During the day i do get attacks, mainly smaller ones and ones that are set off by my neck and back hurting all the time. I do get some big attacks but no where near as painful as the early morning and evening ones so i think i could handle them as long as i keep the worst ones away.
I have started the medication increase like the doctor has told me and am hoping that it starts to improve my situation soon. When i started taking the medication i noticed it took around 2 weeks to start to have an affect but when we stopped increasing it and stayed at the same level for a fortnight i noticed that the attacks just came back. It has still got rid of the smaller ones during the day as i am not having anywhere near as many attacks as i used to have. If i compare it to last year i would say i am getting about 60% of what i used to get so it is an improvement, a small one but still better than what i was like. However! the big attacks that i get seem to be a lot stronger than what they were like last year, either that or i am getting weaker and can’t take the pain like i used to.
