I’ve put on how much?

I know they said that I’d put on weight but 4lbs in a week does feel a bit excessive.

I know that might not sound an awful lot but to someone of my size and frame it is – and especially over such a short amount of time.

To be fair, my level of physical activity has been a lot lower over the last few weeks - not having to get up and walk to and from the station to work – and I probably have been tucking into the comfort foods. But still, I have put on at least 3lbs in the last three days!

Apart from the pancakes and pasta, which I confess I have enjoyed, I do think this is mostly down to the steroids that they give you to suppress the nausea and other side effects. And you do need them. I haven’t suffered too badly but enough for the stomach and head pains to be a constant gnawing distraction. I even resorted to cleaning Mr P’s flat on Thursday to try and take my mind off how I felt! That was a double-edged sword though, because I ended up completely exhausting myself.

Just generally, the tiredness is a complete bitch. I constantly feel jaded and while I can muster the energy to do stuff during the day, the evenings are a complete wash-out. But worse still is that, despite my exhaustion, I just can’t seem to sleep through the night and end up getting up really early. Boo!

I am still trying to exercise though, to try and boost my metabolism and hopefully my sleep might settle in a few days now that I’m temporarily off the steroids. (You only take them for a few days after treatment – unless you really need them).

I’ve also got lots of healthy supplements that I’m taking to boost my vitamin and mineral intake, mostly bought for me by my lovely friends and family. Today I shall be trying ‘Milled flax, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds, and goji berries’. (Thank you, Ms Jackson). Apparently I can sprinkle it on or add it to all sorts of things, so I suspect it might feature in my morning smoothie and in my chicken stew tonight.

I’m going home today after four days at Mr P’s, so I’m planning a nice quiet night in. He’s got some friends up from Devon, so I think it will be good for him to go out and take his mind off things. It’s been a lot for him to take on these last two months, and very stressful, but he has been an absolute star. I know I’m very lucky to have him ...

And tomorrow, I’m hoping to catch up with some more friends in Ealing just for lunch or afternoon tea, so if anyone reading this is around and fancies coming to say ‘hello’ – please let me know!