Shaping up

I bought some pistachio nuts the other day, on the back of the packet it said, "Allergy advice – may contain traces of nuts". Well, Duhh. They’re nuts for Christ’s sake. You couldn’t make it up…

My mum and her old mate, Gilly came over for dinner last night. We all got far too drunk of course, but it was nice to have the girls round, something I ought to do more often. Lovely to see you again, Gilly. I’m sorry I plied you with so much wine.

It’s been a while since I blogged, sorry blog for neglecting you, but I’ve generally just been plodding on, doing what I do, with no major developments. Yesterday though, I had a very productive meeting with my GP. After finally getting approval from Charing Cross to go on Finasteride and Vaniqa, I finally managed to get an appointment with my busy GP to get the prescription. I’d waited for ages to get the blood test results CX promised me, I never got them so I gave up waiting. Turns out my GP never got them either, tsk. However, CX have actually upped my recommended dosage of estradiol tablets, quite a surprise, but a very pleasing one. They’re still not keen on me using the Oestrogel, but my GP is perfectly happy to prescribe it; I’ve even managed to get him to put 3 tubes onto one prescription. 3 tubes would have cost me nearly 60 quid at internet prices, it’s now £6.85. I also get 168 tablets on one prescription, so it’s certainly saving me money by going down the CX route. Anyway, after some gentle persuasion I managed to get him to prescribe me the Finasteride, he said he had to do it on a private prescription as the NHS are only allowed to prescribe it if it’s to be used for reducing an enlarged prostrate. In the end, the chemist charged me the standard NHS fee anyway so I don’t know what all the fuss was about. He got the letter from CX up on his screen and said although they’d approved Vaniqa, he’d never heard of it and it wasn’t coming up on his list of prescribable drugs so he really couldn’t help me. This was devastating and my heart sank. After spending 1700 quid or so on IPL and laser, and being left with several small scars where the laser burnt me, but achieving little actual hair reduction I was desperate to get this cream, which is supposed to slow the hair growth to a virtual standstill. I KNOW it’s available on the NHS, so I couldn’t just quietly accept what he was saying. He was adamant that he couldn’t prescribe something that apparently did not exist. What the hell’s going on I thought. Why are CX recommending Finasteride when my GP thinks he’s "technically" not supposed to prescribe it for my purposes, and why are they recommending Vaniqa if it’s not on doctors’ systems. And then it clicked. I remembered the copy of the same letter I’d got some time ago. More evidence of the incompetence of the secretary there: "Vaniga" she’d put, and later in the same letter "Vaneka". If my GP hadn’t heard of it how would he know that -

"Oh they spelt it wrong in their letter"

"Ah. How are you spelling it then?"

"V - A – N – I – Q – A"

"Ah. There it is…."

And there it was. "Vaniqa, eflornithine cream, for treatment of female hirsutism" it said on his screen.

"Oh, it’s indicated for what you want it for…"

He seemed a little surprised at that, but was immediately happy to let me give it a go; 2 tubes on one prescription. Hopefully he will up that amount next time. It’s something I’ll have to use forever, if indeed it works. Sounds like a nuisance, but no worse than using moisturiser twice a day. Hopefully only once a day after a few months. I just know that I would have problems with electrolysis, my skin is so delicate, so I’ve avoided that so far, If the cream doesn’t work that may be my last resort, but I’m optimistic about the Vaniqa, so watch this space.

So armed with 3 prescriptions I came out of the chemist with a small sack of goodies, and couldn’t wait to try the cream. I’m now completely happy with my prescribed hormone regime. It was a good feeling having all those magic potions in one bag! Gilly, by the way, was telling me last night that she swears by her HRT. I couldn’t agree more!

It’s a couple of months since my NHS consultation for the trach shave and I haven’t heard anything yet. I’ve pretty much decided not to bother with them, and instead will let Dr Suporn do it at the same time as my SRS, just as my friend Gillian did in October. She seems happy, the remaining small lump on her neck would be acceptable to me, and the NHS guy pretty much guaranteed that he would also leave a lump, and a bigger scar by the sound of it. So why wait? It’s a rhetorical question, since I really can’t find a sensible answer. So, the booking of my SRS is imminent, I will be emailing the clinic in a matter of days. Can’t wait…

The band have found a temporary replacement for me while I’m away and for the few months while I’m recuperating. I do hope he’s not too good. When I’m fit enough to be out and about though, I shall very much enjoy going to see them play, see how they look from the other side of the stage.

All in all, things really seem to be taking shape.

xx