Yesterday, while working hard at work/deleting all the pointless emails I got over Christmas/eating the leftover Christmas chocolates brought in by a coworker, I received a phone call from the hospital.
This happens about once a month, and I have developed a clear routine on such ocassions, as follows:
1. Almost choke on my cup of tea in surprise
i. Search for somewhere to put my mug amongst all the paperwork on my desk***
2. Scrabble frantically through my handbag to find my phone, whilst cursing either:
i. my annoyingly raucous ringtone
OR
ii. the piles of crap and receipts filling my bag and obstructing my progress.
3. Sprint out of the room into the corridor whilst both:
i. answering the phone
AND
ii. apologising to my coworkers for disrupting them
4. My endocrinologist says: "Hiya, is now an ok time to talk?"
and
5. I LIE THROUGH MY TEETH and respond "Yes, now is fine, no problem."
Anyhow, the phone duly answered, my endocrinologist informed me that he was calling because, having consulted with his colleagues about me, they have decided that I should start having injections of somatostatin analogue this month - specifically lanreotide (brand name, Somatuline Autogel). They will be at a lower dose than the injections I had previously (I was on 90mg, now I will be on 60mg), which hopefully means fewer side effects. I wasn't too badly affected last time, just had some stomach cramps and nausea for a couple days after each injection - but lanreotide's side effects can be pretty nasty, and I saw on the Pituitary Foundation's forums that some people on these injections have to go on a fat-free diet for the first week after each dose. I am hoping this will not happen, although perhaps I'm more likely to get side effects this time as my thyroid hormones are only slightly above normal, whereas previously they were decidedly eccentric. Interestingly, my endocrinologist mentioned that there's another somatostatin analogue formulation which tends to give people fewer side effects, so if I react badly to it there's the option of switching.
Of course, it all sounds so simple on the phone. "I will call your doctor," my endocrinologist said merrily, "then you can go for blood tests next week and have the injection."
Easy, I hear you cry!
WRONG
These injections are great because they fix me, but they sure are a hassle. Just as with answering my phone, there is an excessively complex procedure to follow before they can begin:
A Spotter's Guide to Somatuline Autogel Injections:
1. I go to my local GP's to get the initial prescription.
2. My doctor looks at me darkly and writes out the lanreotide prescription, muttering "oh my god, it's so expensive... so expensive..." and weeping gently into his rather ugly tie.
3. I take the prescription to the pharmacy and hand it over to the pharmacist, saying "I imagine you'll have to order this one in."
i. The pharmacist gives me a patronising smile and says "No, no, I'll see if we have it in stock first".
ii. The pharmacist looks at the prescription.
iii. The pharacist's brow wrinkles deeply.
iv. The pharmacist orders it in, saying "it'll probably be here in a week. I'll give you a call when we have it."
4. A week and a half later, the pharmacy calls.
5. I go to collect the lanreotide from the pharmacy (it comes in a pre-filled syringe, which I guess is handy).
6. I take the injection straight to the GP's, because it has to be kept refrigerated
i. I explain twice to the receptionist why I'm trying to give it to her
ii. Eventually, she accepts it and puts it in the practice fridge
iii. The receptionist then stops me as I'm walking out of the door, crying, "Have you written your name on it?"
iv. I point to the giant pharmacy sticker on the front of the box, listing my name, age, gender, address, GP's name, GP's address, bank details, sexual preferences and preferred pizza toppings
7. I am finally able to book myself an appointment to actually have the injection
8. Several days later, I return to have the injection, and several blood tests beforehand
i. It is a GIANT needle, I mean literally, even the nurses comment on how giant it is
ii. The nurse has forgotten to leave it out of the fridge to warm it up a bit, and consequently it's like having a stinging-nettle frappe injected into your hip
9. I go home and feel ill for two days
10. REPEAT PROCESS
I realise this is the most whiney post ever about a treatment which hopefully should leave me feeling much better.**** In actual fact, I am genuinely quite looking forward to going on lanreotide again; hopefully it might finally stop my hair falling out, sort out my heartrate and generally leave me feeling both pinky and perky. I just wish the process of getting hold of it didn't involve three trips to the doctors and two to the pharmacy each month.
Interestingly, Wikipedia tells me that in the US, lanreotide is only indicated for the treatment of acromegaly; it seems to imply that it is only used against thyrotropic adenomas/TSHomas in the UK, although I don't know whether that's actually true; it's obviously a logical treatment choice, as somatostatins inhibit the production of thyroid stimulating hormone as well as growth hormone. As well as pituitary adenomas, lanreotide is also used to treat symptoms of neuroendocrine tumours; the kind of tumour that Steve Jobs suffered from.
____________________________________________________
*Incidentally, I don't use fake tan. I am pale and interesting.**
**Well. One out of two isn't bad.
*** I have NO IDEA what most of the paperwork on my desk is. I inherited it from my predecessor and it was never explained to me. Consequently, I don't know if it's too important to throw away.
****Fun fact: when first typing this sentence something broke in my brain and it read "...an injection which should leave me stealing much better". Because at the moment, I am a rubbish pickpocket.
No comments:
Post a Comment