That was unexpected

DZ, like many men his age is affected by benign prostatic hypertrophy, an inconvenience rather than an affliction. He held off for some time reporting this to his GP, knowing what would happen, but eventually bit the bullet and had it confirmed. We then discussed therapy. Treatment of this condition has come a long way since DZ qualified and most patients receive symptomatic relief with drug treatment, surgery being reserved for the worst cases.

DZ may have mentioned that his GP is usually subject to my own strong views on what therapy I should receive, to which he seems to respond with weary resignation. I was quite clear that I wasn't prepared to take the testosterone antagonist, Finasteride, with it's potential for causing decreased libido and impotence. The possibility of growing tits did not appeal either. The thought that some people will endure these side effects when taking the drug to treat male pattern baldness seems to me illogical. Why make yourself more attractive if you lose interest and can't get it up? 

To Quote Chuck Jones;

"A true fanatic is one who redoubles his efforts when he has lost sight of the original objective"

So my GP wrote me up for the second line drug, Tamsulosin. I didn't get on with that at all. Not only did it not seem to improve symptoms at all, it also gave a rather unpleasant side effect. I won't specify exactly what it was  but it was reminiscent of the limerick about the young man of Gwent, who found that instead of coming, he went!

Back in 2016 DZ published a post extolling the virtues of the Phosphodiasterase Inhibitor, Tadalafil. One such was that it is licensed for the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy as a third line treatment, and DZ has now been on this for some time. And over that time it appears to have caused a totally unexpected and unreported side effect.

Prior to starting the drug DZ had total male pattern baldness. Head as smooth as a billiard ball. It wasn't something that he was concerned about, as advised here. About a year after starting Tadalafil there was distinct fuzz starting to appear on the billiard ball which has continued to develop to this day.

Not quite as marked as this, but most definitely an improvement. I know that a series of one patient hardly qualifies as significant research, but then I'm not an academic.

Coronavirus

 I suppose sooner or later I would have to comment on the pandemic. It seems only yesterday that our lives became dominated totally by this awful disease, and yet it seems an age since we enjoyed the simple basic pleasures of life, involving free interaction with other human beings. To a species as gregarious as humans this is surely distressing, though not as much as losing a loved one.

DZ has come back to work, very much full time and has not had a week off since April. Until now. One of his offspring who works in areas with considerable contact with others, has brought the disease home. So DZ is in isolation and forced time off. I've noticed two things. Firstly, how much I have enjoyed being back at work. The social contact, the sense of professional satisfaction, and purpose have resulted in my realising how much I now miss being back in the saddle, albeit temporarily. Secondly. DZ is no spring chicken, and has one or two health conditions which, while being by no means disabling or serious, nonetheless put him in a much more serious position in the event of him coming down with the virus. And yet, in spite of having been in direct contact with someone infected I don't feel particularly anxious or afraid. I seem to still have that attitude, common in the young, that I am immortal. I seem to have got away with it this time, it's been nearly two weeks since contact.

And now finally there is light at the end of the tunnel. The work of the scientists who have developed vaccines in such an extraordinarily short time is astounding. Within just a few weeks DZ is hoping to have been vaccinated, and then breath a sigh of relief. Maybe even in time for Christmas. 

My isolation has drawn ne back to the blog after quite a while away, and I think I will be back to being very busy in the new year for some time to come. For now I'm taking advantage of the down time, and I'll raise a glass to this man, for the millions of lives he has saved during his lifetime, since his death and even still now and into the future.

Edward Jenner 1749 - 1823