Friday, April 07, 2006
My career as a guinea pig
I had a very odd phone call on Wednesday. It was clearly on someone's
mobile, and I could only work out every other word. The lady at the
other end had a proper Edinburgh accent (I'm hopeless at decoding
foreign languages), so that didn't help, but it was only when I heard
the words 'study', 'Ian' and (crucially) 'Prednisolone' that I finally
twigged.
My consultant was asking me to take part in a medical experiment! Cool.
I have ulcerative colitis (it's similar to Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
and when things get really bad then I have in the past gone on a quick
course of steroids to help my body heal. This is prednisolone - it's a
pretty common, all-purpose sort of steroid. I daresay a few of you will
have had it at some point or other. Anyway, apparently this is some
sort of study of a different delivery method for the stuff, which
should enable it to focus better on the affected region (and not make
me generally hyperactive). So, of course, I said yes. I like to help
out, and furthering the cause of medical science has got to be a good
thing, right? And my UC is pretty bad at the moment - I declined to go
for a twenty-minute walk at lunchtime today because I don't have the
energy. That's pretty awful.
My thoughts did stray to those poor people who had to be hospitalised
after their drug test went horribly wrong, but I didn't worry too much
about that. This isn't a new drug per se; it's the old one, repackaged.
It's not going anywhere it hasn't been before. So I'm not worried.
Plus, I get an electronic diary to note down all the effects! Who knew
- medical experiments come with toys (or possibly vice versa).
There were some disadvantages (if you don't know what a sigmoidoscopy
is, then believe me - it's not what you'd rather be doing on a
Wednesday afternoon), but hey, hopefully the world will be a better
place as a result.
So don't say I don't do anything for ya.
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18 comments:
well done you! hope you feel better soon.
Is this going to be something like a skin patch? Like they do for nitroglycerine for heart problems?
Thanks chris.
No, no skin patch, just a differently coated pill. So I'll have to take about nine pills every day, most of which will be placebos. I won't know which one is the real one.
Sigmoidoscopies aren't something you want to go through anyday at any hour.
I hope the meds help you feel better! Best of luck with your role as the guinea pig! You have a good attitude about it and that will help.
Don't knock placebos. In many cases they're just as effective as real medicine:
http://www.badscience.net/?p=164#more-164
- H
Do you mean an authentic Edinburgh accent, as in, "aye, like, am fair drookit, ye ken?" or do you mean a proper Edinburgh accent, as in "what-ho old bean, fancy a game of backgammon before supper?" because while I can understand you having difficulty with the former, the latter should be easy enough to make out.
Also, good work on taking part in the trial, and I hope your innards are calmer soon.
I thought a proper Edinburgh accent would be like Miss Jean Brodie
- H
Sadly, those days are past now (and in the past they must remaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin), Henry.
Calum and I had two completely bonkers great aunties who were almost ridiculously posh and who came from Edinburgh. They were so posh they used to wear old, tatty clothes and drive around the outskirts of Edinburgh in a Bentley searching for firewood.
They spoke like Miss Jean Brodie.
But nowadays the posh Edinburgh types tend to sound English rather than Scottish.
Every word that salachair writes here is true. Especially the bit about posh Embra types being vocally indistinguishable from *ack spit* posh English.
you know, I was terribly concerned that you'd have to shove the pill up towards your seat of empathy.
Best of luck with that, Moom. And remember: we're all counting on you.
Well, that is a possible treatment for UC, but they'd have to coax me down from the curtains before I'd let 'em do that!
Tempted to post my "How to give a cat a pill" spiel.
You should, Hector!
Remember, those 'roids will let a lot of light through your eyelids, plan to sleep like a rock star -- shades on.
Might also be a good idea to consider a diet of no concentrated sweets, until your immune system has a change to reorient to your modified histology. You'll be in a similar condition as diet-control diabetics.
That's good advice, half, thanks. Nobody's mentioned that to me, but I'll be taking it up with the doctor when he gives me first lot of drugs on Tuesday.
Yeah, watch out for drinks that have Splenda in them. They can irritate the stomach even more.
Steroids can be hard on your bones too.
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