Off To London Again!

Finally I have a date set to go to London for a consultation and possible treatment with a Neurogastroenterologist who specialises in EDS named Prof. Qasim Aziz at The Princess Grace Hospital.

I will be flying out on Saturday the 13th of May early Morning and the appointment will be at 12:30pm in London. I am going, not only because I have been recommended by my doctors here, both in Cork and Limerick that I should go for advice and more targeted help by a professional who knows EDS but because of all the trouble I have been having with my gut related issues, by far my gut problems give me the most trouble and upset with almost constant pain, nausea, vomiting and weight loss as well as occasional swallowing problems and my already diagnosed  Gut Dysmotility.

My Doctor in Cork is coordinating his treatment with Prof Aziz in London so I am having a Gastric Emptying Test on the Monday before I fly out which will help as one of the tests that needs to be done before going over. I have already had a Barium Swallow X-Ray done in February and thankfully that was all clear, so thats another test already down!

I am really hoping Aziz will help me out if he can, it would be great to finally get some sort of relief from all the symptoms. Even if he can get a treatment plan sorted that my Doctors here in both Cork and Limerick can do more needed tests and know what more to do with me, that would be a help in it’s self but he may also want me to complete treatment or tests in the UK which I can’t plan for until I know if that is even happening, so I will have to wait and see and I will keep you all posted as usual.

Keith, being my carer as well as my husband will obviously be going with me as there is no way I would be fit or healthy enough to do it all by myself.
Even as it is we have the flights over booked but won’t be able to book accommodation or flights home until we know more from the appointment, as Prof. Aziz may need me to stay over for further tests etc. So we will leave that until the last minute when we know more.

That’s kind of it for now until we fly over and it won’t be long before we will be at the day, it’s going to be a long day traveling for me and I am not the healthiest at the moment, I have had to cancel going to London from the last time until now as I wasn’t strong enough to go for a long time, but I can’t wait any longer and it must be done now. May was the closest appointment I could get so I took it.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who fundraised and helped with my medical fund over the last while to help me get there, without you these trips wouldn’t be possible and with no EDS specialists in Ireland, with I as well as others fast running out of any help, we have to travel for treatment and help as we are completely alone here, medically, in Ireland.

Thank you all once again and I will keep you updated on everything that happens.

Lette (Fainting Goat!) xxx

David Bowie Tribute Gig

Thanks to John Steele and all involved for organising this years David Bowie Tribute Gig as a fundraising gig for both myself and Zondra Meaney (She is also from Limerick and also has Dysautonomia, EDS, and many serious secondary conditions) with all proceeds going towards each of our respectful Medical Funds.

It is on Friday the 10th of February in Dolans Wearhouse Limerick. Tickets are only €10 and can be purchased HERE, Last year this Bowie Gig sold out fast so be sure to get your Tickets early!

It has an excellent line up of local talent including: Falldogs, Shardbourne, Eammon Hehir, Parliament Square, Theme Tune Boy, Siobhan O’Brien, Ronan Mitchell (Foxjaw) The Alvin Purple Experience and The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra, to name just a few!

To raise extra funds there are also beautiful posters designed by Ken Coleman especially for this night, They are size A3 on a matt card finish at a price of €20 each, there are only 50 made and a lot of them have been taken already so to be in with a chance to get yours put your name down HERE asap.

If you cant make the night but would perhaps like to find out more or donate to the funds separately you can do so at the links below:

Lette Moloney’s Go Fund Me

Zondra Meaney’s Go Fund Me

Alternatively, sharing this blog post to your friends would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you all and again to all involved,

Lette 🙂

This time in Hospital, Seizures!

It was Friday morning and all through the house, not a creature was stirring… except for my husband, Keith and my sister, Jessica frantically calling out my name trying to wake me out of a syncope that had just happened after I got onto the floor to play with our pup Boo who now found herself up on my chest trying to worriedly figure out what the hell was happening to her mom.

There is a video, but I wont traumatise you… unless you want to that is, if so, let me know and I will share the video of my husband giving me rescue breaths while I fail to breath while out cold. It’s not a pretty site, I assure you.

I hadn’t come too, Keith called an ambulance and continued to give me rescue breaths for a further 17 minutes until they arrived.

All hell broke loose on the landing of the stairs while they proded and poked me with IV lines, Blood Pressure monitors, temperature readings and heart rate monitors and as I wasn’t breathing very well they decided to intubate me into my nose which immediately sent me into a full blown seizure, just to add to the mix for good measure!

This is what I am told of the day, as of the moment I passed out on the landing while petting Boo, I don’t recall a single sausage!

I was rushed to hospital in a state of Status Epilepticus while they tried to stabilise me and filled me full of every sedative probably known to man while I promptly and apparently completely ignored them and kept up the shake and vac, just to spite them!

Keith bagged up everything I needed, along with Jessica and Boo into the car, dropped them at my parents house and rushed into the hospital to be with me where I was in re-suss continuing to seize, even while doped up to the eyeballs and completely out of it.

A CT and full set of bloods was ordered and subsequently came back clear, yet I was still seizing and in and out of consciousness and while conscious, I apparantly kept looking around myself in utter awe and repeatedly asked, “Where is this place?!”… What an idiot, LOL! but in my own defense I was completely wrecked at the time and on all manner of wonderful drugs!

I was in the hospital for roughly 13hours before I started to make any manner of mental sense. This had them worried in that all day I was acting completely confused and not at all myself. They hadn’t been sure up to this point whether it was the drugs or if I had very seriously suffered some sort of oxygen deprivation to the brain.

Eventually I started to come round, still a little confused but as Keith explained everything that had happened, it was like all emotion suddenly connected with his words and I started to cry, a little in confusion and a little in the guilt I felt in all the bother I had caused everyone, especially Keith and my family. A completely irrational feeling but I couldn’t help it.

They admitted me and Keith decided to head home for a rest. The next day, Saturday, I don’t remember much of either as I mostly slept and puked and had a few more seizures, just to keep them on their toes!

Sunday is the first day I truly remember and I felt absolutely dreadful. My muscles were stiff and sore from seizing and I kept getting ill because of all the medication in my system and I had one hell of a headache and very low blood pressure.

I was in hospital after this for 2 weeks where I recieved just one more diagnostic test in all that time, an EEG. They were testing me for Epilepsy.

The EEG came back clear also but the Neurologist (now my newest addition to my team of doctors) informed me that he had seen people with epilepsy going through years of EEG’s before being able to catch the electrical activity in the brain so that they were going to start treating me for it anyway, and would continue testing as an outpatient, as I was continuing to have seizures and signs of the condition, like waking up with bites on the inside of my cheek and blood on my pillow. He said I had all the hallmark signs of it and so he started me on the new drug Keppra and sent me home on exactly the 14th day of my stay in hospital. I was delighted to be going home.

He told me to prepare for tiredness but boy, that was an understatement! The addition of this drug to the rest of my medications make my total daily tablet intake number 22 and has completely knocked me for six. The quality of my life is currently down due to the amount I need to rest and how ill I feel, especially after a seizure but hopefully once I get used to the new med in my system, I will be back on the right direction again.

The Keppra seems to be working also, any seizures I have had since coming home have been very mild and nowhere near as intense as they had been while I was in the hospital which is surely a good thing.

So now as well as Dysautonomia, Pots and EDS, I am now being treated for Epilepsy too.

I tell you one thing, I have an extreme new found respect for anyone who has lifelong Epilepsy, seizures really knock the crap out of you!

So where I stand am, now is that I have a lot of tests left to do, as an outpatient. Why they couldn’t do these as an inpatient ever yet boggles the mind, but there you have it. My hormones are so out of whack I may infact have a pituitary gland adenoma but no MRI was requested… this will be done as an out patient, if needed.

I have to have more EEG’s done as well as some Video EEG’s but they dont do them in Limerick, instead I will have to wait to be called to Cork or Galway, again as an outpatient.
Bloods, as an outpatient,

Urine, as an outpatient,

Life, The Universe, Everything, Outpatient!

Deboned, grated and put on a pizza, Outpatient!

Le sigh… but at least I am home and on the mend.

Also, because of these ongoing delays in my treatment (and in some cases the complete lack thereof) I have decided to set up a medical fund to help me get to London to Prof. Rodney Grahame and Prof. Mathias’ clinic who are specialists in Dysautonomia and it’s related conditions.

The treatment fund has been going amazingly well and the support has been amazing, I cant thank everyone enough for their contributions so far, once I reach the €5000 mark, I should be able to make my first trip over to get the ball in motion with my treatment.

That is all the news I have for now, I just wanted to update all that had happened while I was in hospital and there you have it! Hope you are all well 🙂 🙂 – The Fainting Goat 🙂