Week 36

Well guess who didn't make it to have some hyperbarick oxygen last Friday ? Yes, yours truly got a puncture less than a mile from home by the time I got the tyre fixed,  I didn't have time. It's not the end of the world though. I don't even know why I've wasted your time telling you. Sorry about that. 

Last time I wrote I was quite fatigued and I said I wouldn't fall asleep. Well I did! So what do I know about this illness. You're probably asking yourself why you read this fool's blog. If I wasn't me, I wouldn't read this inaccurate rubbish either. 

I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but due to an overactive bladder, I self catheterise every time I wee. I use the Speedicath Compact male by a company called Coloplast. They're called 'compact' because they are just that. They come in a green plastic tube that is about 8 inches long. "You what? my urethra is longer than that!", is what any male catheter user would say right now if they were reading. The way it works is that as you pull it out of the case it extends to nearly double that length. A bit like an old  radio aerial. 

That's the advert over, so I'll get to the point I was going to make, and that is that to help with my excitable bladder, I take a drug called oxybutynin. Oxybutynin is an anticholinergic, which means it interferes with the path of the nerve impulses. As they calm down, the muscles around the bladder relax and the constant urgency subsides. 

I was reading a blog that my Neurologist writes and he's said that there is a link between older anticholinergics (such as oxybutynin) and cognitive impairment. I'll put a link to the blog at the bottom, if I remember. Newer anticholinergics don't cross into the brain like the older ones, and therefore don't contribute to the 'cog fog'. He then advises anybody taking a drug like oxybutynin to go and see your GP and ask for something different, something newer. 

So guess where I went yesterday? Yep, I went to see my GP about oxybutynin and he says that the dose I take is low (7,5 mg), so it won't affect my cognition. He also says it is by far the most effective eanticholinergic on the market. I'll have to speak to my consultant about the dosage and see what he says. 

For the record, I am not on Coloplast's payroll. The male compact Speedicath catheter really is that good. Try it. 

Happy Friday. 

Dan

http://multiple-sclerosis-research.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/oxybutynin-worsens-cognitive-impairment.html?m=1