The other job

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned my other ‘job’ on here before, (It’s been a long time since I posted with any sort of regular pattern), but the Vending Machine business is slowly taking off.  It’s been a busy 12 months with the number of sites/machines doubling and updating the whole fleet of machines with Credit/Debit card readers.

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Well the business has taken another turn with the purchase of a bigger van…. Meet Vernon the Vivaro!

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Bus Fire in CMK

A Redline bus caught fire today at the old Bus Station in CMK today..

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Pictures used with permission from MKFM

Going by the flames in the first picture it seems they were very lucky that there wasn’t more damage done to the Bus Station/Buszy

There has been unconfirmed reports that the bus had mechanical issues earlier in the day, but of course that could be something completely unrelated.


Time for a Personal Update :-O

Well who would’ve thought it, A personal update on here!… It has after all been ages!

 

So what do I have to tell you? Nothing that exciting in all honesty!

Let start with health Issues.  Anyone that knows me will know I’ve had Psoriasis since my mid teens, It’s never really responded very well to any treatments, Normally showing improvement for a few weeks or months before deciding to fight back.  I’m long past using creams and ointments and I’ve had my lifetimes fill of UVA Light treatment (Basically controlled use of a hospital sunbed). In the meantime I’ve developed horrible joint and muscle pains over the past few years which is a suspected combination psoriatic arthritis and Ankylosing spondylitis (I’m hoping for a proper diagnosis this week at a hospital review), which I’ve been using painkillers to try an at least take the edge off the pain. In the meantime some new biological drugs have been invented, All very expensive and difficult to be accepted for with many hoops to jump through.

Last year I finally met all the criteria to use Humira.  This drug is injected into your thigh once a fortnight using this automatic Pen thing, It bloody hurts like hell when it goes in!, This drug was like a miracle cure!! All my pain went away within 8 hours of my first injection, I couldn’t believe it… I was practically bouncing across the yard at work lol.  All was going well until about 3 months in when that was it, My skin suddenly went from clear to covered in a matter of days so that was the end of that.

 

Since then I have been using another type of injection called Stelara, Even more expensive that the Humira, and only injected once every three months.  It’s worked great for my skin but sadly it does absolutely nothing for my Joint pain so I’m back to square one with that and have been struggling along with the pain for the past 9 months trying various painkillers to see if they help.  None have really, with one having some particulary horrible withdrawal symptoms once I stopped using it.  I am now just using co-codamol with reduces the pain to muddle through until the next appointment with the rheumatologist, and combining it with Physio, Acupuncture, diet & exercise.

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On the subject of diet & exercise, Last February I joined a Gym!! This was seen as many as very strange behaviour for me!  Even weirder, I decided with a workmate to share a personal trainer! :-O

 

To date I have lost 66lbs and gained a fair bit of muscle, Which I’m hoping will protect my joints a bit more by making them stronger and of course less damage to them by losing the extra weight I’m carrying.

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So far I am actually enjoying it, and seeing some muscle form, especially on my arms, is quite a good feeling.  Still got a fair way to go but I’m still plodding along with it.

Can you see the difference?? (I can’t! lol)

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There isn’t really a lot else to tell you.  I now do the same split duty at work every day so I can go to Physio and hospital , So I am on the same timed buses Monday to Friday, Which I guess is ideal for anyone looking to stalk me lol.

 

Tell me what’s been going on it your lives in the comments. 🙂


A little personal update from me

So I’m sat here in the little portakabin rest room at Aylesbury Bus Station, just looking out the window watching the occasional bus go past thinking it was about time for an update, so I thought I’d whip out the ipad and type something up. 🙂

Well firstly my psoriasis is back. My latest blood test showed that my current medication had damaged 21% of my liver, so I had to stop taking it straight away. Within a week my skin was covered in spots again.

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After being clear for nearly 5 years it takes a bit of getting used to the stares from other people, and the constant itching. Itching that’s so bad you want to get a knife and just cut chunks of your skin out! It’s really done nothing for my confidence of late. I’m waiting to go back to the hospital this coming Friday, to see if funding has been approved for my next treatment, Humira. This is a fortnightly injection which is used to treat my psoriasis and the psoriatic arthritis which I now also have. I’m a little bit concerned by this drugs list of side effects, but the way it’s effecting me at the moment I don’t have a choice, even if I just get a few years relief from the skin and joint pain it will be worth it.

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On the bus side of things not a lot to mention really, I’ve been back working at Aylesbury depot for a few weeks now and it’s going okay, The cost of commuting has rocketed since I was last here, so not sure I’ll be able to continue the travelling in the long term, especially as I am on a “new starter” rate of pay for three years, but we’ll see how it goes.