New Shoes, Symptoms Update!

 A quick post to cover a symptoms update and a report of new shoes.

New Shoes

Time has passed and another pair of shoes has elapsed. My last new shoes post was May 2020, and I got my new shoes in late October 2021, which gives that pair a lifespan of about 18 months. All in all it seems that a new pair of shoes every 18 months is the general order of things, as documented here:

Date	Months	Activity	Post
Oct-14		Note new shoes	https://hspjourney.blogspot.com/2014/10/symptoms-update-and-trip-to-doctor.html
Apr-17	30	New shoes	https://hspjourney.blogspot.com/2017/05/shoe-wear-update-data.html
Nov-18	19	New shoes	https://hspjourney.blogspot.com/2018/12/more-new-shoes.html
May-20	18	New shoes	https://hspjourney.blogspot.com/2020/05/new-shoes.html
Nov-21	18	New shoes

The last pair of shoes look like this: 

I decided to go for the same shoes again - Karrimor Supa 5.

Symptoms Update - Fatigue Management

I went to the HSP clinic at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, in London recently. It was good to be out and about, and I had a little time to pop into the British Museum which is quite close to the hospital. Overall there is no big changes needed with the way I am doing things, although I need to focus on trying to bring my evening stretches back into play.

The main topic of conversation was fatigue management, as I am finding that I am tired a lot of the time. Steps I am now taking to manage my fatigue, with the aim of improving my sleep quality:

• Relatively consistent bed time - by 11pm
• Less caffeine in the afternoon - I am now generally having none in the evening, and only the odd one after lunch.
• Less night-time screen-time - I've subscribed to the paper edition of New Scientist magazine!
• Alternative bladder medication

The alternative bladder medication is the main change - I have switched from a tolerodine based medication to an oxybutnin based one, in order to see if I can go to the toilet less often during the night. I have now been on this new medication for a week or two. The initial thought is that there may be a bit of a reduction in the number of night-time visits, but these have not been eliminated completely. There is scope for adjusting the dose level of oxybutnin, which I will be discussing with my GP.

I track sleep quality using FitBit, so I will review this in a few months time once there is a bigger set of data.