Tuesday 18th November - A Book At Bedtime

 This could equally well be a 'My Oxygenated Life' post; 

sooner or later, the meds you take for one symptom cause a different problem, so you need to add another packet of pills to the carrier bag full BB brings home every six weeks...

The main culprit for this new addition is long-term steroids. Several years ago, the chest clinic consultant asked if me to try reducing my dose. It's well known that taking steroids long-term is bound to affect on bone density (cue calcium and vitamin D supplements, and annual zolendronic infusions).

This has to be a careful, incremental process over several months. Sadly it wasn't long before I became so breathless that even mere walking as difficult, so I had to gradually increase the dose back up again.

Yesterday I learned that I need to add statins. It seems that steroids can cause cholesterol levels to rise; switching to Benecol etc won't be enough to lower it. I was half expecting this when Isaw the results of recent routine blood tests so it wasn'ta surprise. But then the GP pharmacist cheerily said 'it's best taken at least 30 mins before bedtime'. 

Whoa! Stop there! 

I'm blowed if I'm going to spend my whole day watching the clock until it's time to take the next pill; currently I'm already coping four different times;

7 am in the morning as I get up

2:30 pm or thereabouts, 

6.30 pm or thereabouts because this one has to be taken with food, and that's when we eat (oh, that's NOW; excuse me a moment...) 

10 pm as I go to bed. 

plus remembering to take the iron supplement at some stage in the day according to whether I have consumed, or am about to consume, dairy, wholegrains or eggs.

Now he wants me to add 9 pm as well?

We found a compromise; take the statin and other pills as soon as we go upstairs, and then read for half an hour every night after climbing into bed. In other words, I  need to read a book at bedtime. 

There, in true Ronnie Corbett shaggy dog story fashion, I've worked my way round to the title of this post!

This what Wikipedia has to say about the beginnings of the BBB radio programme 'A Book at Bedtime'

The series began on the BBC Light Programme on 31 January 1949, billed for the first week only as "Late-Night Serial",[2] with the first instalment of a 15-part reading of the John Buchan novel The Three Hostages, read by Arthur Bush.

There was a break after 29 March 1957, but the programme returned under its old title, now on the BBC Home Service, on 2 April 1962; the Home Service had in fact been broadcasting weekday evening 15-minute readings since 19 September 1960, but not under the Book at Bedtime heading.

While it's not called 'A Book at Bedtime' anymore, it is still running on Radio 4 at 10:45 pm. Other books are read through the day on Radio 4extra. Plus they are available on BBCsounds afterwards, sometimes for years.

And this brings me to my scavenger hunt item for today;

BEETHOVEN 

The theme music for 'A Book at Bedtime', back at the beginning was this charming, gentle Bagatelle by Beethoven, op 33 no 3, in F, played here by Alfred  Brendel