Drug addict.

I've just had the weirdest of weird days.

I was due to see Dr Feelgood up at the hospital today and was expecting some quite bad news. I ended up unable to sleep all night, which is not like me.

I'm really used to bad news - I even have a special shirt which I only wear to get bad news in, so I don't have to wear it on other, happier times.

I'm a toughie - I know how to take bad news on the chin.

About 5-00 am I worked out why I couldn't sleep - it happens every so often.

I take co-codymol at night, which is a mixture of paracetamol and codeine. Recently I've been using up some old codeine tablets with a separate paracetamol tablet on top.

Each night I've been unable to sleep was a night I didn't bother to take the paracetamol.

Now I've been taking paracetamol every night for the last four years to help deal with minor pains. It means that I've acquired an addiction to this stupid, ineffective drug and I've got to decide whether to live with it or go cold turkey.

It's not as though it was any fun!

So I got up and got washed and it was really, really painful - as was the drive up to London.

I spent the morning embarrassing myself by going up to patients, doctors, pharmacists and nurses and asking them to make sure that they were going to vote and to vote Labour.

I have to be weighed and I need to take off my big bad boots to do it. It hurt so much I walked to the doctors office in my socks.

I got a good result - my bloods have improved.

Better still, this opened up the possibility of an infusion to repair my bones, which I couldn't have before when it was all going wrong.

My scan wasn't so good - the cancer is on a little rampage, but I'm OK for a month and possibly two before big decisions have to be made.

So we went upstairs and I had my infusion - annoying the nurses by telling them how to vote and getting very emotional about it all.

So much at stake.

I got my hospital prescriptions and then drove off to my doctors to pick up another prescription.

At that point my poor old body just gave up on me and I was in agony all the way home - I couldn't cope with doing the shopping as well.

So a bad day turned out to be a good day, even if it hurt.

Robyn has already told me off because I am by nature a pessimist and I refuse to get carried away.

But a good day all the same.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com