{"id":942,"date":"2022-04-15T17:57:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T08:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/?p=942"},"modified":"2022-04-16T00:23:24","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T15:23:24","slug":"stephens-blog-60","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.alphabendi.com\/?p=942","title":{"rendered":"Stephen’s blog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dear Regular Readers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome to this week\u2019s edition of our newsletter and as always I hope there is something in it that is of interest to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the moment, the weather doesn\u2019t seem to know what to do with itself here in the Kanto area, one day we\u2019re experiencing a day time high of 20 odd degrees and then the next minute we\u2019re down to 11 or less.\u00a0 Usually by this time of year, the plum tree in my garden has blossomed and I\u2019ve had to sweep up a couple of full bags full of fallen blossoms due to the wind and rain that typically pay us a visit just when the tree has come into full blossom.\u00a0 Sadly, the wind and the rain cut short the peaceful and serene beauty of cherry and plum trees in full blossom. \u00a0The last time I looked at my tree was about 5 days ago now and all I could see were buds beginning to form. \u00a0I don\u2019t know whether to put this down to global warming or the fact that I pruned the tree fairly heavily last year, probably both factors are to blame; I just hope the tree bears some fruit as I\u2019m looking forward to making some plum wine or Umeshu as it is referred to in the Japanese language. \u00a0I usually get enough plums off the tree to allow me to make a couple of very large wine containers of the stuff every year and I\u2019ll be a bit disappointed if this year the tree decides not to present me with at least some of its fruit.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without further ado, I will crack on to try to conclude my journey to find a cure for my ongoing (quality of life affecting) health issue.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With prescriptions for medications in hand, \u00a0I was requested by Dr Kurushima to return to see him after finishing all the medication, of which I had 10 days\u2019 worth, so after setting a fresh appointment with him off I went to pay my bill and collect my medication. \u00a0\u00a0I think I have mentioned this before, but in general Japanese doctors dish out quit a lot of meds, maybe doctors in the west do the same thing, it\u2019s just been a very long time (30 years or so) since I had to visit a doctor in the UK. \u00a0\u00a0However, I do remember on the very few occasions I did need to go and see a doctor in the UK I received very little in the way of meds; for the same health issues I have had to go and see doctors about here in Japan I have way more meds and this particular day was no exception. \u00a0\u00a0I received a collection of meds, there were 6 tablets I had to take 3 times a day, a nasal spray to use twice a day and some medicine to gargle with once a day just before bed. \u00a0\u00a0As I have mentioned previously, I am not a good taker of meds, so to be faced with taking all those tablets and a concoction of other meds to either spray into my nasal passages or throw to the back of my throat and gargle with was not something I was looking forward to doing, but I made a deal with myself that if I didn\u2019t complete my course of medication then I would simply not be anywhere nearer to finding out what is exactly wrong with me.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this stage in the proceedings, I was very congested and my desire to want to cough to release the phlegm that was present on my chest was constant, so much so that I believe I must have strained my chest from all the coughing I was doing as it became very painful.\u00a0 For those of you out there that have suffered with post nasal drip, rhinitis or sinusitis you will know what I am talking about.\u00a0 \u00a0In my case, I was apparently having to contend with all three attacking me at the same time which was beginning to take its toll on me I have to say.\u00a0 \u00a0I religiously took my meds, did my nasal passage spraying and throat gargling, but I was seeing no improvements, if anything, I felt a tad worse, whether this was because of the meds or simply because my condition was worsening I was unsure.\u00a0 It was at this time that I decided to start to use a nasal irrigation system which was originally my daughter\u2019s, but as she hardly used it I sort of commandeered it and made it my own.\u00a0 I also decided to purchase a humidifier, one of those fancy Dyson ones that do a bit a lot more than just moisten the air.\u00a0 \u00a0On top of this, I was very closely watching my diet and I had reduced my alcohol intake down to about zero (I\u2019m not a heavy drinker so that was easy to do); I had removed all the possible trigger foods from my diet and I was completely committed to getting my quality of life back up within a normal (ish) range whatever the sacrifice.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My days were up and down (still are), some good ones and some bad ones, a typical bad day would see me suffering from pressure in my nasal passages and an inability to properly breath through my nose; the constant feeling of something stuck at the back of my throat that through trying to cough to clear it had made it very sore; a tightness in my chest which I can only describe as feeling like you have a ball of phlegm obstinately sitting on your chest that not even the most productive of coughs will shift; also along with this I had a feeling of pressure in my ears and a splitting headache that spanned across the whole circumference of my head, especially across my forehead and very heavy, itchy, achy and sore eyes that are difficult not to want to rub.  On the better days, I lose most of the headache; the tightness in my chest subsides somewhat; my nasal passages open up a bit; occasionally both of them simultaneously sort of open; more often than not just my left one is open and the right one is closed; my eyes are less heavy, itchy and achy and they feel less sore and if I am lucky the feeling of something stuck at the back of my throat will leave me for a short while.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the day of my hospital appointment and I was feeling pretty ropey to say the least, beyond feeling very congested I had noticed that the salty taste in my mouth was much more pronounced than it had been in the past and this was a cause of concern.\u00a0 Before leaving my home I took the last of my medication and flushed out my nasal passages with my nasal pump action irrigator which provided some short term relief, after flushing out my nasal passages I can sometimes breath through my nose in a balanced manner.\u00a0 However, on this particular day I was having difficulty flushing out my right nasal passage, most of the saline solution I was trying to pump through was entering into the back of my throat which I assumed was due to the nasal cavity being swollen. \u00a0\u00a0I then left my home and headed to the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After going through the usual procedure of temperature checking and hand sanitizing upon entering into the hospital, I made my way to the doctors surgery and positioned myself outside waiting for my name to be called.   The good thing about Japanese hospitals is that you are not usually waiting very long to be seen, whether you have or don\u2019t have an appointment.  Going back to the days when I lived in the UK, I would always take a book to read whenever I had to go and see a doctor and more often than not I would be able to go through quite a few chapters before being seen.  In Japanese hospitals it\u2019s quite a bit different, if you\u2019re lucky you just may get a chance to catch up on all the top news stories of the day on your iphone before your number appears on the digital screen at the front indicating which room you need to go into to see a doctor or your name is called out.  It depends on the hospital, some Japanese hospitals will have the doctor call out his patients names and others will use the digital screen and number approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When my name was called out in I went to see Dr Kurushima.\u00a0 As usual the first question a doctor asks is: How do you feel? \u00a0I explained exactly how I felt and explained that in particular the feeling of being congested was beginning to impact very heavily on my day to day living and I also mentioned the increased salty taste in my mouth.\u00a0 As usual, he checked my nasal passages and the back of my throat and concluded that some swelling existed, particularly in the nasal passages.\u00a0 He suggested that I continue to take the medicine I had been taking for a further 10 days and he additionally prescribed some stronger decongestion tablets that he recommended I take just once a day: before going to bed.\u00a0\u00a0 Also, he recommended that I take a blood test to rule out any possible zinc or vitamin B12 deficiencies as low levels of these vitamins and minerals can cause a salty taste in the mouth. \u00a0I agreed to take a blood test and I was then given my next appointment day.\u00a0 \u00a0The doctor\u2019s receptionist directed me to the room where I had to be relieved of some of my blood and off I went.\u00a0 Within a matter of minutes, I was called into the room and as I am very familiar with the drill (I\u2019ve forgotten how many blood tests I\u2019ve had) it was swiftly up with my shirt sleeve, out with a clenched fist and my head positioned sideways while a couple of vials of blood were taken from my arm. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With another 10 day supply of meds and an appointment to return back and see Dr Kurushima in as many days I left the hospital in the hope that the wheel would begin turn and my current quality of life would start to improve.   I wondered whether the blood test would provide any answers and I had 10 days to wait to find out.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, \u201cThe best laid plans of mice and men often go awry\u201d (a poem by Robert Burns), meaning that in this case I had the time, the intention and the expectation to bring my saga of unending health issues to an end today, but finally I was unable to meet this expectation. \u00a0Once again, I shall leave my writings there for now and try my level best to conclude them this time around next week.\u00a0 Until then, keep well and enjoy the weekend ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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