Dear Friends,
I cannot believe that I’m writing this but after so many setbacks we have shared with you, Margaret’s lack of treatment is continuing and as each day passes we have no alternative other than to believe her care for severe osteoporosis has also stopped.
Firstly however, an apology from me because having revisited our last post which was 3 months ago, I have found replies from at least 4 of you, which we haven’t acknowledged. Strangely at about that time, we had a couple of replies to very historic posts. Margaret and I were oblivious of your very kind and supportive posts. My sincere apologies to Fruitandnutcase, wellness1, 56jennywren and MayGodBlessYou.
When we share with you our latest news you will see that your loving posts are even more relevant today.
You may recall that Margaret was waiting to have two molars extracted. These teeth were considered to be a complication to having Zoledronic Acid and in fact we’re not causing her any pain or problems. The consultant who had been assisting Margaret and emphasising the importance of having the acid, arranged for her to have a test dose of one eighth of the normal dose followed by a gap of a few days before having the full dose.
We went to the infusion clinic on June 6th. Clearly the consultant had fully briefed and prepared the staff for the possibility of Margaret having a severe allergic reaction to the acid. We were both very impressed and reassured by the preparations made and the care and attention to detail that the senior nurse was showing. When Margaret showed the senior nurse her ‘passport’ issued by The Steven’s Johnson Syndrome charity, she delayed the infusion a little longer until she had read her history of drug reactions. Margaret was given one eighth of the normal dose of ZA over 30 minutes. Twenty minutes into the infusion, Margaret found it necessary to use her GTN spray because of multiple arrhythmias which were stronger than usual. The staff went to her consultant for advice and he came into the unit to meet us for the first time. By this time the arrhythmias had settled. The consultant checked with the unit’s pharmacist and arrangements were made for Margaret to have the full dose of ZA on the 11th June over the course of 2 hours.
After checking Margaret’s observations we went home with an epipen in the glove box just in case of a delayed reaction. That night Margaret woke up fighting for air as her throat was closing ( she has a history of Laryngospasm) She also had very strong chest pain, severe neck pain with difficulty in turning her head that gave her electric shock like burning, Her knees, especially the left one, were swelling. All this was accompanied with a bad headache. Having been told that some people experience strong side effects, Margaret also felt that she was experiencing a flare up of her autoimmune conditions.
We returned to the infusion unit on Tuesday 11th and again we were met with kindness and professionalism. Margaret described what she had experienced over the weekend and reported that the side effects were improving. The senior nurse took notes and went and spoke to the pharmacist and a doctor in Rheumatology. When she returned, Margaret was told that the pharmacist and the doctor would not prescribe any more ZA and that we were to go home and await a ‘phone call from Margaret’s consultant. That will be 3 weeks ago on Tuesday. We have heard nothing.
Again. after politely waiting a few days, we started leaving messages on the hospital portal. One message has been acknowledged ( by a nurse receiving it) and we’ve had no reply to the second. It’s starting to repeat itself. Margaret has gone from ‘This is urgent ! to zero’
What is particularly upsetting, is that Margaret has had no opportunity to ask questions. We were told that ZA was the only medicine left available to her, so we can only conclude that her treatment is over. The test dose was clearly worth its weight in gold. We can only guess at what a dose of 8 times bigger would have done to her but to not have a discussion about her future with anyone is very upsetting and we are left yet again, feeling confused and as if nobody cares if you can’t comply with the usual conveyor belt of medicine.'
I find it very upsetting to witness Margaret yet again being ignored. Clearly if by the end of this week there has been no communication we will start shouting. We are not by nature shouters but there is a limit and to not just receive a short phone call even to make a future appointment, is inexcusable.
Thank you dear friends for reading this.
Steve & Margaret