Since my last entry, the discomfort has largely subsided, there's still the sensation of a needle having been left in place in my hip but I've not taken medication for a week as it's not been necessary.
When I saw the consultant (back whenever that was) he stressed that the hormone blocker would mean that I'd experience hot flushes among other side-effects. As the injection was around three times the dose of the first, I expected that such an effect would begin almost immediately and I was happy that the hot flushes didn't seem either very noticeable or very frequent.
In the past two weeks however, they have come thick and fast. They seem to be more frequent in the evening and at night, the latter strong enough to wake me to seek relief (usually a cold water splash or if more insistent the use of a fan).
The flushes don't seem to affect my whole body, it's mainly my upper torso and particularly my head. The best description I can think of is to imagine what it must be like to be a cup being filled with boiling water. The heat starts low down and rapidly travels up my shoulders, neck and head culminating in the sensation of beads of sweat bubbling-up on my forehead and scalp.
I'm somewhat bemused by the onset of this. I cannot quite understand how something injected into me two months ago has the capacity to alter its effects when logic would dictate that the effects diminish with time. Still, I'm not complaining, I'm happier to cope with the hot flushes than the discomfort of a few weeks ago.
I'm sometimes surprised by my lack of stamina. Not physically, I can do everything that I want to do, it's this weariness that overtakes me so quickly. It could be exacerbated by the interrupted nights but I don't think so as on the occasions where I sleep well I'm still overwhelmed by tiredness within a few hours of waking. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm doing when I feel drowsy. I might feel fine, jump in the car to pop to the shops and just down the road I find that I could happily go to sleep.
I can ignore the urge but it takes quite a lot of concentration. Activity helps and I have often lately found myself in company and had to excuse myself and leave so as to fight the urge to close my eyes. I must appear quite rude at times. Being on my feet, walking and active helps to stave-off the urge to sleep but as a recent weekend away showed, I pay for it later by needing a couple of days to recover.
So if you are reading this and have wondered why I seem at times to be paying less attention to you than I would or should, if I've suddenly declared that I need to leave, that's the reason. It may also explain why I sometimes don't answer the door or the 'phone, I'm probably asleep!
