Philip (Phil) England

 Blog Entry: Friday 10h June 2022 Last 4 Days 7th June: Morning all, a bit achy again this morning, think I slept on my right side as my right arm feels like a weight, my neck is in agony too.  Later in the day: Not feeling too good, feeling a bit sick thanks to a terrible pain flare up, it just crept up on me, a lay down I think for the now. 8th June: Last night's flare up started to subside finally, didn't sleep too well at all, pain is currently at a 6.5 out of 10, last night it was around 8. 10th June: As the 2nd test starts today in the cricket, I am feeling very run down, totally exhausted. My get up and go has left me feeling like a drained empty thing. Apart from that, not too bad this morning. Very high on the pollen today, a mix of grass and nettle mostly, eyes are streaming already and throat is tickly. In the afternoon: I went for a lay down as my neck and right shoulder was really hurting, sometimes just going to lay on the bed helps, that and my tablets.  I m

This week has been mental health awareness week.  I suffer with physical issues; Ankylosing Spondylitis, Osteoarthritis and Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia acts as a kind of amplifier, boosting the pain, and other issues.  These physical issues really affect my mental health  I get frustrated and stressed when I fail to do every day tasks. Currently, I have a problem with my left eye. Started off with floaters, and at the end of last year went blurry. I am awaiting an operation, that was due to take place, as I was led to believe, earlier in the year. I was then  told that my good right eye needs to deteriorate before they will do any operation.  Having a blurry eye is really reducing my enjoyment of life. Even though I have been given the green light for driving by the DVLA, I am unable to enjoy it and therefore find myself staying as local as possible. Going for long drives has gone out the window, so I can go to see friends and family. I contacted my local councillor, Paul Ll

I was trying to get down stairs to put milk bottle out when my back decided to fire pain at me, it stopped me in my tracks  I am really getting fed up with it all, fed up of no quality of life, any life I do have is impacted by damn Covid. I have days when I am trapped in my flat, when I can even get out side the block to get some fresh air. Life can't get any worse right now, unless I catch Covid, then that would be the cherry on the top. I keep wondering why I am taking Co-codamol or my Gabapentin, until I stop taking it for a 48hour period, when I realise it does actually ease the pain I feel, no matter how slight.

Sunday 24th Oct: Another bout of horrible pain again.  Every part of my body is hurting like hell again. My skin is tingly and sensitive to the touch. If I could get inside my bones to scratch I would. I hate feeling like this. Also sensitive to light right now, and have a thumping headache. It seems to be the norm to feel like this at least once or twice a month. I have no idea why this happens and why I can't predict it. It really floors me when it comes. Sometimes it comes at night, sometimes in the day time, I never know when, it just seems to arrive and stays for anywhere between 12 and 48 hours. It's been 6 hours already... please go  12 hours in, damn this, why won't it ease down. Lucky I have water beside the bed and pain killers. Time for a few I think, and two Gabapentin. 16 hours in starting to ease, at long last, on a volume scale of 1 to 10, it's finally been turned down to a 8. Monday 25th Oct: Well not much sleep had but at some point things eased, and

  Great Back Pain – 20 th August 2021 Last night I went down stairs, knees popping and left hip hurting, to put the milk bottle out, on putting it down I somehow kicked off my bad back pain. It was a shooting pain that really stopped me dead in my tracks. I slowly made it back in to the flat, every move sending shooting pain up my back. Pain at a 8 I took some pain killers and also some CBD oil and went to bed half dressed Woke up a number of times in the night in agony, but managed to get back off to sleep. Pain at a 7 Finally woke this morning at about 8:45am still in pain but not as much, took my morning medication with a cuppa. Started to get back to normal manageable pain levels – Pain at a 5 , so went down to get the milk in. It happened again, bad back pain again, shooting up my back. So once again I slowly made it back to my flat, sat down and had a cry. Pain at a 8 This is no way to live, and knowing nothing can be done does not fill me with any kind of excitement

So, in the middle of the night my body decided I didn't need any more sleep and woke me up. A tingly type of pain, which develops in to a constant aching pain which seems to then spread from my mid to lower back and then moves up the back to also cover the top part of my body. Sometimes I get one pain in the mid to lower part of my back and my neck and shoulders at the same time, then the two seem to join up. I am really not liking trying to live my life with pain, it really gets me down. Seems my medication isn't really doing much to counteract it, it eases a little, but that's about all. Think of it as the sound on a hifi. The pain I wake up with and live with on a daily basis is at 9 or 10 - full volume, which gets reduced to 6 or 7. I am ALWAYS in pain and that makes my life horrid.

I had two appointments today. The first one this morning, in Singleton Hospital, with Dr Nash (Rheumatology). He just wanted to touch base in person. He poked and prodded a bit to see where and if I was tender in places. He did find a few areas, still feeling where he located them even after 5 hours passing from the appointment. The second was a virtual one, a video call with physiotherapy at Morriston. They say I'm doing ok with the exercises I was given, keep doing them, but if I get in too much pain don't keep going, just stop. If the pain keeps about for over half hour after then I have done too much. I also have to remember to stop beating my self up over things that I have no control over. Things will improve, just have to give things time. With having Ankylosing Spondylitis and Osteoarthritis, coupled with a slight heart condition and also fibromyalgia (specialist today in Singleton said it seems it is a sure thing that I have that due to being lethargic, run down, pain

 So another really bad, bad health day. Woke up hardly able to move, in total agony 😔. From my neck right down to my knees, and feeling very sick with it. It' just as well I have an empty bucket close to the bed along with a flask of water. Really hate getting days like this, seem to be getting them at least once every two weeks. When I am not this bad I still get some days when I am unable to get downstairs, so am really a prisoner in my flat, unable to get out side in to the fresh air. It really is doing my head in when I am stuck in. If I was in a bungalow or a downstairs flat, at least I would stand a fighting chance of getting out side. I was sent some exercises to do from physio at Morriston Hospital, done some, but not all yet. I find it is best to do them on my pine wooden chair as it don't move when I am trying to move. I have got another virtual video call coming up on 5th August in the afternoon, but before that an appointment at Singleton Hospital. I have spoken to

Well, my theory of being ok for the first week after doing my Imraldi injection has been blown out of the water well and truly. Woke up at about 5:30am this morning with terrible neck pain, which is also affecting the top part of my back and shoulders. Along with the pain, I have got like a high-pitched sound in my head. Not too sure what is causing it. Think it could very well be a trapped nerve, more or less curtain about that, but could be wrong.  This better go soon, doing my head in. What a way to start a new week. I am pleased I got out yesterday to see a friend whose birthday it was and his dog, Jet. If you suffer with Spondylitis check out this great site with a very supportive community   https://www.myspondylitisteam.com/

Health Latest, posted 3rd July 2021 Well, Thursday just gone I did my 2 weekly injection, Imraldi (that's its brand name, I can spell that with no problems!), as normal, it hurts, but its nothing compared to how things turn out any number of days AFTER doing it. It was Wednesday 30th June, the day before the injection. I woke up with slight back pain, which normal for me on a scale of 1 to 10 about a 4. Everything was going fine for the first few hours, I pottered about the flat doing this and that. I managed to get out for some fresh air, a quick wobble around the block and back.  Got in and felt a bit sleepy, so had a nap, as it was warm, I decided to lay down in the bedroom, it is always nice and cool in there. A few hours later I was awoken by a sharp shooting pain in my back up to my neck and across to my shoulders, on my scale it was either an 8 or 9. I had to get to my pain killers and quick, which is not easy. Anyway, the pain kept at that level until about 10pm when it sta

Health Update - 18th June 2021 So, following an MRI scan the other week, today I had a telephone consultation with a specialist from the hospital. Confirmed, I have Osteoarthritis in my back to go with my Ankylosing Spondylitis (which my 2 weekly injection works on, which explains towards the end of the two weeks I am in more pain). It is due to wear and tear.  The specialist asked if I have ever lifted anything heavy on a regular basis when I was working, as far as I know I have never lifted anything on a regular basis! They want to do more investigating when they open up for appointments again.  The specialist likes my way of describing things. Every day pain (that's the osteo) bad day pain (when it's a really bad flair up). The specialist noticed some things had been written in my notes but no follow up on them.  He wants to find out why and get further investigations done, Fibromyalgia being one of them. I like this specialist.  He is pleased I am doing light exercises, and

As well as having Ankylosing Spondylitis and carpal tunnel syndrome - which are both bad enough to have to live with! Yesterday I had a telephone consultation with a spinal specialist at Morriston Hospital (due to the COVID-19 lock down this seems to be the new normal), he said I have problems with bone wear and disc problem which is causing a trapped nerve which is causing the pain and problems I am having, along with bone growths. Reading the letter he sent me it says; "The MRI scan from 18 months ago shows a degree of cervical spondylosis at C6/7 with some impingement of the C7 nerve roots which is probably transiently causing these nurological symptoms" In the information leaflet that was sent with it, it says; " Numbness, clumsiness and weakness in arms and legs are likely due to pressure on the spinal cord in the neck. If there is severe cord compression on your MRI, then further damage is likely ", it goes on to say " Once spinal cord damag