8 January 2026

Nothing posted for December as I was struggling with my left arm all over Christmas. Fairly sure that I've pulled something in the 2nd week of December when I probably tried to move too much from the garage. Did not feel anything while doing it, but the following day using my left arm was a problem. Trying to find a pain killer that worked and did not cause other problems was fun! Paracetamol and Ibuprofen Gel did nothing, and lower doses of codeine produced little effect. Tramadol sort of worked for a short time, but then the pain was amplified within a couple of hours of taking it. Was then moved to Nefopam which again sort of helped but screwed up my heart rate and sleep something chronic.

After three weeks and with my GP saying she had run out of options that I could take due to my heart problem, I ended up in A&E again on Tuesday. Had to get myself over there and did not consider the bus vibrations would be a problem, so I ended up getting off as soon as we hit Worcester. As it turned out, there is a footpath from the bus stop through the wood at the back of A&E. Little over a mile, but I still needed to get my steps in so worked nicely. Fun getting back through the wood in the dark after 6 hours inside, but fortunate that the Evesham bus was running late as it turned up 3 minutes after I got back to the bus stop.

Got triaged very quickly when I went in and when offered 'pain relief', the triage nurse ignored my point that it had not been working, and put me into the 'minor injuries' queue. After waiting 2 hours I chased to see what was going on, and was then seen by a 'nurse practitioner', who put me back on the main list and finally pushing me in for an ECG and bloods which should have happened when I arrived given my heart medication. The doctor then saw me quite quickly after the ECG had been completed and sorted an dose of Naproxen to address the pain. ECG was messier than it has been but in line with what I was seeing caused by the Nefopam. We had to wait on the blood results even though they would probably be clear given the ECG, and by the time those came through I was the most comfortable I'd been in the previous 4 weeks! Had to wait a little longer for tablets to take home but those were not long. As I said the walk back through the wood was more fun, but only about 400mts without any lights, then on light paths.

I've got a physio appointment later at which I hope to address the restricted movement that I've got in my left arm, which is still not 'pain free', but is manageable. I have a 20 minute physio routine for my back and leg problem, but need to add some shoulder and hand exercises to that, and today's walk was more comfortable than I have had for a while and I could even swing my left arm rather than supporting it in my pocket.

Fingures cross things are moveing the right way ...