Friday 15 November 2013

Week 62

When I did the blog last week, I was feeling pretty rubbish. No reason to it, it's just MS, isn't it? We put all of our ailments down to MS, don't we. I blame everything on MS. That nasty headache I had the morning after my recent Guinness binge. That was the MS. When I fell over that night, it wasn't anything to do with my intoxicated state either. You can even blame the third world debt on my demyelinated condition if you like, I do. 

I did seem to pick up slightly at the weekend, but I wasn't tip top. My walking hadn't been great and my balance was rubbish. I know, I know, I had been boozing a bit, but then my bladder became very unpredictable. I know for a fact that alcohol doesn't play a part in my newly found urgency to use the loo. It should do, and many MSers will confirm this, but with me it rarely does. Note to reader: I said 'rarely', not 'never'. 

Hang on a minute. Legs, balance and bladder? I've got a bloody urinary tract infection (UTI)! But how? I take a low dose antibiotics every day as a profilaxus   (I know I've spelt that wrong!).  What I'm trying to say is I take antibiotics as a precautionary measure. They do say prevention is better than a cure. The reason they give them to me daily is because I self catheterise every time I piss - sorry, pass urine. 

UTIs are fairly common if you self catheterise, but personal hygiene is an important factor. I have a 'gentleman's wash' every day and I wash my hands before I pi.. pi...pass urine. My plan isn't fool proof, but it puts your chances of getting bugs in your urethra at an absolute minimum 

As I have antibiotics here anyway, there is no need to take a sample to my Doctor, for them to tell me what I already know and give me something I already have here. I just cut out the middle (wo)man. A couple of days of an extra antibiotic and my bladder is tip top. *smiley face* A small glass of cranberry juice in the morning doesn't go a miss either. 

It's prophylaxis, by the way. 

Happy Friday,

Dan 

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