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Feeling Devastated. Plenty of Questions & Worries, But Not Many Answers

By Health, LifeNo Comments

I’ve had time to reflect on my recent health consultations (see The ENT Specialists) and I can honestly say that I’m feeling devastated.

I knew the hole in my septum had gotten bigger, but seeing the state of the inside of my nose on a monitor attached to a camera on a flexible cable really traumatised me. I have plenty of health-related worries right now including:

  • Do I have vasculitis and if so, what does this mean for me in the long term? Vasculitis is a very rare condition.
  • If its not vasculitis, then what is the cause of this extensive nasal destruction?
  • What will the biopsies show? Could it be Cancer?
  • They want to operate urgently in the next two weeks. What is going through the mind of my ENT Consultant?
  • What has caused a small hole in my septum to lead to complete septum destruction in around 4 months?
  • Will the pain ever be resolved? Or is this it now? Chronic long term pain.
  • Could other symptoms such as fatigue, a psoriasis-like rash on my elbows, difficulty standing for short periods, right hip/knee pain and difficulty sleeping through the night (insomnia) be related to my nasal passage problems?
  • How will they decide to fix the problem? Is it even fixable?
  • How will all this impact on the management of my type 1 diabetes?
  • What other autoimmune diseases does this increase my risk of getting?
  • Is this related to that time I got pneumonia?
  • How will any or all of the above affect my life expectancy?
  • What does all this mean for returning to work and life?
  • Will I ever feel normal again, or is this the new normal?
  • Why did nobody ever tell me to go and get my constant blocked nose checked out? Would it have made any difference?
  • Why didn’t I get any ENT experience as a Student Nurse or in A&E. This would have at least given me some clinical experience in the area?
  • Why did I decide that my constant blocked nose was because of developing an allergy to my two gorgeous cats?
  • Will I ever be able to smell normally again? At the moment, I can’t usually smell anything, unless I try and it is particularly strong. Sometimes, I smell what smells like rotting flesh.
  • Why is the waiting list so long to seen ENT? Ear, nose and throat systems are vital to health and wellbeing.
  • And more questions continue to fill my head on an hourly basis.

I have plenty of questions right now, but not a lot of answers. It’s the not knowing that causes the most anxiety.

Best Wishes,

Antony

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Thursday 18 April 2024

Autism & Asperger’s Syndrome Series – What they are, Signs/Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment Approaches

By Education, Friends & Family, Life, ThinkingNo Comments

During my working and personal life I have met people who have told me that they are on the autistic spectrum or have been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. But I’ll be honest, I don’t know that much about autism or Asperger’s syndrome.

So I’m writing this Autism & Asperger’s Syndrome Series to educate myself and others.

What is Autism?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the name for a range of similar conditions, including Asperger syndrome, that affect a person’s social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour.

In children with ASD, the symptoms are present before three years of age, although a diagnosis can sometimes be made after the age of three.

It’s estimated that about 1 in every 100 people in the UK has ASD. More boys are diagnosed with the condition than girls.

(From: NHS Choices – Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), last accessed: Sunday 15th July 2018.)

Here’s a video that explains more:

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What is Asperger’s Syndrome?

Asperger’s Syndrome is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder that falls within the autistic spectrum. It is a life-long condition, which affects about 1 in 200 people, more commonly in men than women. Those with Asperger’s Syndrome are usually of average or above average intelligence.

The condition is characterised by difficulties with Social Interaction, Social Communication and Flexibility of Thinking or Imagination. In addition, there may be sensory, motor and organisational difficulties.

(From: Asperger’s Syndrome Foundation – What is Asperger’s Syndrome, last accessed: Sunday 15th July 2018.)

Signs and Symptoms

The signs and symptoms include difficulties interacting with others and unusual thinking patterns. Behaviour is likely to be affected, as explained below:

Examples of Autism Spectrum Behaviours:

Communication

  • Echoing words/phrases without context
  • Taking an adult to the biscuit tin rather than asking or pointing
  • Taking language too literally

Social Interactions

  • Preference to play alone
  • Difficulty relating to other people
  • Not understanding other’s thoughts and emotions

Repetitive behaviours

  • Hand flapping
  • Toe walking
  • Spinning wheels
  • Lining up cars

Restrictive behaviour

  • Eating only yellow food
  • Insisting on walking the same route
  • Only watching Thomas the Tank Engine

…

People with autism may or may not have the following:

  • Exceptional attention to detail
  • Sensory differences, this is most noticeable when children are over-sensitive to stimuli e.g. distress at loud noises
  • Trouble with co-ordination
  • Unusual eating behaviour such as only eating certain foods
  • Additional learning disabilities
  • A very small percentage have unusual abilities for example with music or memory

(From: Child Autism – Symptoms, last accessed: Sunday 15th July 2018.)

People with autism and Asperger’s syndrome are at higher risk of developing or have these other conditions: learning disabilities, ADHD, epilepsy, dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, OCD, depression, anxiety, bipolar, sleeping problems, Tourette’s syndrome or other tick disorders.

Autism-Spectrum-Disorder

Image From & Copyright © Dream Health – Autism Spectrum Disorder, 2014.

Diagnosis

People get diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s syndrome by their GP referring them to a Specialist Team. These days people are often diagnosed as children. The specialist team usually includes a Paediatrician, a Psychologist, a Psychiatrist, a Speech & Language Therapist and a Occupational Therapist.

Treatment Approaches
As every person with autism or Asperger’s syndrome is different, the treatment for each person is different; depending on the individual’s needs. However treatment includes interventions around developing communication skills, interaction skills, the ability to imagine and traditional academic skills.

It is also useful for parents/carers and other family members to go on a parenting and autism course. This is because these courses are packed with strategies to best support a child with autism.

Parents/carers and other family members can also get peer support which will help them feel less isolated and give them opportunities to learn from others at a local support group. If there isn’t a group locally, there’s lots of message boards online.

In the next post in this Autism & Asperger’s Syndrome Series I’ll be listing useful websites around autism and Asperger’s syndrome.

Write soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Wednesday 18 July 2018

Wonderful Websites – Mental Health and Mental Illness

By Health, The Web2 Comments
wonderful-websites-image This is the second blog post in a series titled Wonderful Websites. The first post focused on General Health websites and can be read here. This post focuses on the most wonderful websites for mental health and mental illness.

1. Mind’s website is a treasure trove of mental health and mental illness information. It has an A-Z listing of mental health conditions, information about treatments, advice on how to support someone with mental illness, legal advice, urgent help advice and stories of people with mental illness.

2. CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) is a movement against male suicide. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK.

CALM offers support for men who are feeling low or in crisis. They campaign for a change in culture, encouraging men to talk about how they are feeling and aim to eliminate the stigma of men seeking help due to mental illness. They hope to prevent as many male suicides as possible and also offer support for those affected by suicide.

3. SANE is a mental health charity credited with the Black Dog Campaign and the #EndTheStigma hashtag. The phrase black dog comes from Winston Churchill who described his depression as a black dog. SANE has also worked with Ruby Wax who coined the term Black Dog Tribe.

4. Head Meds tells you everything you ever wanted to know about medications for mental illness. It also gives information about conditions and shares people stories of mental illness. What I particularly like about this website is that it tells you how the medications affect sex, alcohol, weight, sleep and just about everything else.

A useful website that I always visit before medication reviews or at times when there’s discussions about changing my medication.

5. Bipolar UK has a great online eCommunity. I use it all the time and find it a very useful resource. People on the eCommunity are friendly and share their experiences around a wide range of topics.

The eCommunity goes a long way to making you feel less isolated and reassures you that you’re not the only one to be experiencing what you are. They also have support groups that are run by volunteers who are people living with bipolar. I used to go to a local group before it shutdown and found it invaluable on my road to recovery.

6. The Samaritans offer support by telephone, in person, email or by writing to them. Their telephone number and email is open 24/7/365, being a lifeline to people in a mental illness crisis.

7. Time To Change aims to end mental health discrimination. They do so by education in schools and by supporting employers. They have a wealth of information online including myths/facts, conditions, how to support your friend and a quiz to test your knowledge on mental health.

8. The Mental Health Foundation’s website has some informative publications which you can download or order a printed copy. Their vision is for everyone in the UK to have good mental health.

9. Anxiety UK has been around since the 70s and provides a wide range resources around anxiety. It’s website is informative, they offer an info line, a text service and training to organisations and companies.

Are there any wonderful websites for mental health and mental illness that I’m missing? If so, please leave a comment.

In the next post in my Wonderful Websites series I’ll be listing shopping websites.

Blog soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Sunday 10 June 2018

The People that are Ignored or Forgotten – Homelessness in the UK

By Life, ThinkingNo Comments
homelessness-in-the-UK Whenever the temperature really drops, like it has today, I think of people that are homeless. No scratch that, I think of people who I see as homeless – those that sleep on the streets.

I usually donate to my local homelessness project The Brick and hope that those sleeping on the street keep themselves warm enough to survive the bitter and bleak night.

If I’m totally honest: I find it utterly shocking that the UK, as one of the richest countries in the world, has homelessness and rough/street sleeping. At first glance homelessness could be easily resolved by ensuring suitable accommodation for everyone.

But the truth is that homelessness is a complex issue. Why? Because people are complex. There are also a range of complex issues that lead to people becoming and remaining homelessness.

The causes of homelessness or contributing factors include:

  • Poverty, being unemployed, being underemployed or losing source of income.
  • Unmanageable debt.
  • Addiction to alcohol, drugs or gambling.
  • Mental illness – including depression, anxiety, bipolar, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and personality disorder.
  • Domestic Abuse – including violence.
  • Breakdown of relationships – both romantic and with family, friends or others.
  • Chronic physical illnesses or diseases.
  • Physical, emotional, sexual, financial abuse or neglect.
  • Having a family history of homelessness (according to Shelter).
  • Transformation or regeneration of areas – leading to unaffordable house prices, mortgages or rents.
  • Criminal and/or antisocial behaviour including being in prison.
  • Being in the care of Social Care or being in the Armed Forces.
  • Changes to benefits and social security administration and/or payments.
  • Poor social support networks or isolation.
  • Death of carers for dependents.
  • Having no right to work or claim benefits/social security.
  • A combination of the above.

There are two different types of homelessness: 1. People that are sleeping rough on the streets, park benches or doorways. 2. People that are living in temporary accommodation. People in temporary accommodation maybe housed by their local authority in a bed and breakfast or cheap hotel, or maybe sofa surfing staying with relatives or friends.

We don’t have a handle on homelessness in the UK. We don’t have accurate figures of people that are sleeping on the street. Local Authorities are once a year required to go out and survey the population of people who are sleeping rough in their communities.

However in 2010 the Government changed the rules for local authorities (see Evaluating the Extend of Rough Sleeping by the Department for Communities and Local Government). These changes have impacted the annual reporting of homelessness, significantly reducing the numbers of people counted as rough sleeping or people that are sleeping in the street.

It is too easy to ignore or forget about people that are homeless. I’ve ignored people sat on the street when I’ve walked through the High Street of various town centres. The cold weather triggers me to think about people who are sleeping on the streets. But most of the time, if I don’t go into town centres, I forget about people who are homeless.

Here are some ways, that wont cost you a penny, to prevent people that are homeless from being ignored or forgotten:

  • Educate yourself and others around homelessness.
  • Use your skills, talents or hobbies to promote awareness of homelessness. A good example is this blog post, I’ve written it to raise awareness.
  • Email your local politician and ask them to campaign for people that are homeless and raise the issue in parliament. Politicians have the power to make positive changes to reduce and prevent homelessness.
  • Donate old items to charity shops that specifically support homelessness projects.
  • Volunteer your time in homeless projects.

I once heard someone say: You are only ever two paydays away from being homeless. I can’t remember who told me this, or the find the first person to say this on the internet. But I believe it to be true.

Like I believe that anyone could end up becoming homeless, it would just require the right causes or circumstances to become present in your life.

So take action for people that are homeless, because one day it could happen to you. Or to someone that you love. You wouldn’t want yourself or someone that you love to be ignored or forgotten.

Take care,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Friday 16 March 2018
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