Again woken by the beast at 2 am this morning with an attack but thankfully i managed to get back to sleep and then woke up again at 5 am. Its strange as i continued to be pain free for the rest of the day yesterday. It seems like the attacks have now moved to the early hours only, as that is the coldest part of the day. I am now positive the medication is keeping the attacks from appearing during the day so hope that now i will introduce the new drug Verapamil the attacks in the morning will soon be a thing of the past. I popped over my mothers yesterday to take some tobacco when i started to get pains in the neck and thought that an attack was about to start but thankfully by the time i got indoors and had a cup of strong coffee the attack just disappeared and no big attack developed but i did have neck and back pains. As i walked over to her house i could feel the cold on the neck and the head trying to aggravate my condition. It didn’t matter that i had wrapped up and was wearing my woolly hat to keep warm.
I am grateful that no other attacks developed during the day yesterday and hope that i can go the rest of today with out any attack also. With the weather a little unpredictable at the moment means the cold weather is still causing me problems so i still have to be a bit more careful what i do. I wanted to fish the competition on Sunday being held at Cefn Mably lakes but with the temperature forecast to drop again over the weekend it doesn’t look like i will be able to. I will just have to wait and see what the weather is like on Saturday and then make up my mind. It is forecast to be warming up again by the end of the week and then looks to be gradually getting better as time goes on so looks like it is the start of Spring. I can’t wait for the better weather and longer days as i will get so much more fishing in this year. This will signal the start of my tour of the lakes and fisheries of Wales. I also have to remember to renew my fishing licence next month otherwise i could risk a fine and my fishing tackle being confiscated if i am caught fishing with out one. So it is better not to risk it and make sure i have them, more expense.
Ever since i have returned to the UK from Cyprus in 2002 i have been shocked at the price of things especially the price of fishing tackle. I remember when i was younger and it wasn’t so expensive to go fishing. A little set up wouldn’t cost more than £20 and then your membership to the fishing club of the area. This would entitle you to fish certain rivers and gravel pits free of charge for a year. Here in Cardiff they don’t do that sort of thing either that or they have changed it and now even with the membership you still have to purchase your day tickets. I don’t see the point in joining the clubs any more as it is just as easy to pay the full price of the day ticket and fish for the day that you want and not have to pay for yearly memberships. If you do have a membership you only save £2 per day so its not a huge saving, considering the cost of membership per year is anything from £50 to £200 depending on the club and even if you fished “every” weekend through the year it still wouldn’t save you enough money to warrant getting a full membership.
I am starting to rattle on and go off the subject of my illness now, makes a change from all the moaning and groining from pain all the time. Its nice to sit at the computer and be pain free for a change as even my back is behaving itself this morning but for how long, i don't know. I am hoping that it isn’t too cold outside today as i have a bit of running around to do. Every Friday is my payday so i have to go shopping and pay all the bills including electric and gas. My gas bill is enormous lately as i have had to keep the flat in the 15 and above degree mark. If the temperature of the flat drops below 10 then i start to get attacks and the head becomes very bad. I know it sounds crazy but that's just the way it is. I have tripled my gas usage in the last year due to my head attacks and have never spent so much money on utilities before now.
At least with the winter coming to an end and the temperatures rising i will now use less and less gas each month so my bill will be going down and my money in pocket going up. I am just hoping by next winter i will have these attacks under control once and for all with the use of medication and oxygen on a daily basis. I don’t mind having to do this as it keeps the attacks away and i have finally come to terms with the fact that i will now have this condition for the rest of my life. It has taken me a while to accept the fact of my condition as i was hoping for a quick fix. Something inside me told me it was something on the head that was causing the swelling and that was what was causing the attacks to be so bad and so regular. Now i have had a scan and they have shown me that my head is clear of any problems it is now easier to come to terms with the condition.
As the specialist said i have to start concentrating on not getting the attacks in the first place and not worry about the actual attack itself as there is nothing i can do about them apart from let them take their coarse. There is no pain killer that will stop them. The injections are the only thing that will help to abort them and with the use of the oxygen it helps to reduce the size of the attack and the amount of time you have to suffer when one appears. There are a few other things i can try, such as nasal drops or going into hospital and being put on a drip, in order to reduce the amount of attacks i get. He has offered me to go into hospital just for some rest if i get a long period of attacks with no sign of break, so its another option i have available in order to deal with this condition. With all the help and support i have from my family and friends and also the doctors who are now on my side and doing everything they can in order to get the attacks under control, the future is starting to look bright and finally, after many years, there is a small light appearing at the end of a long twisted tunnel.
