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diabetes

Goals for 2011

By Life, Thinking2 Comments

Here’s my goals for 2011. Some are goals regurgitated from 2010 (see Goals for 2010), others are new:

Health
1. To quit smoking.
2. To test my blood sugars twice a day.

Education
3. To complete my Dissertation and Change for Children modules, therefore completing my degree.
4. To complete Complementary Therapies (Teach Yourself Your Evening Class) with Ian (my boyfriend).

Creativity
5. To use my creativity more in my everyday life.
6. To write a short story per quarter of the year with themes. The themes and deadlines:

Theme Deadline
Heroes and Villains 31st March 2010
Love 30th June 2010
Life & Death/Light & Dark/Good & Bad 30th September 2010
In search of an “object”/Holy grail 31st December 2010

7. To read 10 fiction or autobiographical books and review on the blog.
8. To read 5 pagan books and review on the blog.

Paganism & Spirituality
9. To continue to work on invokation of Apollo.
10. To read Astral Projection for Beginners by Edain McCoy and regularly practice my astral projection.
11. To buy a book on runes, learn runes and practice.
12. Host a psychic party.

Financial
13. Pay off credit cards.
14. To not increase my debts.
15. To live more frugally.

Family and Friends
16. To support them to achieve a state of increased happiness.
17. To see my friend Simon at least once a month.

Travel
18. Save up to visit the Egyptian Pyramids.

Write soon,

Antony

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Friday 7 January 2011

Review of 2010 Goals I set myself

By Thinking2 Comments

I thought I’d review the goals I set for 2010 before I write my ones for 2011.

First off Health:

Health
1. To get my diabetes under better control by testing my blood sugars at least twice a day.
2. To put on weight. (I know most people want to loose it, but I am 10 stone which is less than I weighed at 15 years old when I was 12 stone)

My blood sugars are under better control since I learn’t to cook during my brief excursion to Benidorm (see Welcome to Benidorm and Back Home). I’m still working on testing my blood sugars twice a day. I’ve also put on a bit of weight. I still need to test my sugars twice a day.

  • Goal 1. partially completed.
  • Goal 2. fully completed.

Next Education:

Education
3. To complete a further two modules towards my degree.

I completed one module earlier on in the year (see Promoting and Influencing Health module results) and have just completed another module on Leadership. In the new year I need to complete my Dissertation module and complete a Change for Children module.

  • Goal 3. completed!

Creativity:

Creativity
4. To write three short stories.
5. To enter these short stories in Writing Competitions.
6. To read at least fourteen books.
7. To update/tweak/add & remove sections of my website. (as the rest of the site as been poorly maintained since the new site design)

I haven’t managed to do any creative writing this year. Although I have read a total of 14 Books (see Book List 2010). I just need to update it and add The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, which I finished reading the other day – review coming soon, promise.

I also have updated the website, although it’s still a work in progress.

  • Goal 4. and 5. not completed.
  • Goal 6. and 7. completed.

Paganism & Spirituality:

Paganism & Spirituality
8. To host two psychic parties.
9. To buy Astral Projection for Beginners, read it and practice the exercises for more controlled astral projection.
10. Continue to work on invokation of Apollo.
11. Continue to follow Pagan Festivals.

I didn’t manage to host any psychic parties this year. I did buy Astral Travel for Beginners by Richard Webster but didn’t like his writing style and have not finished reading it. I have just ordered Astral Projection for Beginners by Edain McCoy as I like Edain’s writing style.

I have continued to follow Pagan Festivals but haven’t continue to work on invokation of Apollo.

  • Goal 8., 9. and 10. not completed.
  • Goal 11. completed.

Financial

Financial
12. Save regularly.
13. Pay off an Overdraft.
14. Live more frugally.

I haven’t managed to save regularly, pay off my overdraft or live more frugally. Indeed moving to and from Benidorm has increased my debt. However I have taken in a house mate to help pay off my debts quicker and am making good progress.

  • Goal 12., 13. and 14. not completed.

And Finally, Travel

Travel
15. Book a holiday to MyKonos and save for it.

Didn’t quite get to MyKonos, but did get to Benidorm.

  • Goal 15. not completed.

Although more goals were not completed than completed this year; I feel as though I have learned more this year than in the last two. My excursion to Benidrom taught me so much more than I realised at the time. Life sometimes gives opportunities for “life experience” learning. This life experience learning can’t be put on a goals list; as life decides when to offer these opportunities to you.

Will blog soon with my Goals for 2011 post!

Antony

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Friday 31 December 2010

Pretty Scary Pride

By Gay, Health2 Comments

Gay pride isn’t usually associated with anything scary or frightening. I mean with it’s array of colour and campness how could it be? Well I’ve attended Manchester Gay Pride for a number of years and always had a great time. Not only is it a big party but you get a warm feeling inside knowing that you’re helping to support gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans charities. However this year was to be different…

On a wet Saturday afternoon in the city centre I was ready to play my part in the parade. Wearing a white paint print t-shirt and white jogging bottoms with bright coloured hankies stitched down the sides I was ready to go. The parade set off and it was not long before I felt really unwell. I felt tired and a bit shaky. I was having a hypo. So I sent a friend to the float to get my bag with my chocolate in, sugar being the remedy for a hypo which normally kicks in pretty fast. He toodled off to get my bag.

Then my eye sight seemed to switch it’s self on and off intermittently. I could see and then for a split second just black, then back to seeing. I looked at my hand and up my arm all of which seemed to be shaking. I started to feel like I was loosing my balance and then I got a massive pain in my chest and remember my hand going towards my chest before everything going black.

I came round in an ambulance with two gay, sexy paramedics. One putting some sugar based gel in my mouth and then the other taking my details. I was on my way to hospital with another friend accompanying me. Apparently I had had a fit and fell to the floor hurting my cheek (see photo below), knee, back and arms on the floor.

It took me a while before I came round sat in the accident and emergency department at the hospital. But when I did I couldn’t remember if I thanked them. I should have thanked them and gave them my number so I could buy them both a drink when they were off duty. My excuse for buying them a drink would have been to say thanks, but the real reason, well I’ll leave that upto your imagination. If only I’d been more with it in the ambulance.

Write soon,

Antony

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Saturday 4 September 2010

How I was diagnosed with Diabetes

By Health, History, Life2 Comments

Three years ago today I ended up in hospital and was diagnosed with Diabetes, Type 1 insulin dependant. Here is my story (taken from an old version of my website):

Tuesday 30th January 2007

At the weekend mum had sent me a text message to see if I would come and take a look at my sisters laptop that wouldn’t load up. I am the technical support for anything computer related, although can’t always fix the problem. I had felt ill for about two weeks feeling tired and drinking more than I normally would. I told my mum that I would nip down on Tuesday as I had a “study” day from Uni where I am studying to become a Children’s Nurse.

Whilst at mums I was needed a drink every 5 minuets feeling desperately thirsty – like I was in a desert and had not drank for a week. Mum noticed the amount I was drinking and urinating as said that I urgently needed to get it checked it out. I said I would if it continued for a few days.

Dean (step dad) and Mum drove me home as buses are irregular by the time I had got the laptop working. I knew that the local Walk-In-Centre closed in an hour and it was only a 5 minuet walk away, so I decided to go and get it checked out. I thought they would just test me and say that there was nothing wrong. I even said to the nurse that there was probably nothing wrong, but that I just wanted to be checked to be on the safe side.

The Nurse tested my BM which was 22 mmol/l, and told me I needed to go to Accident and Emergency (A&E). I was reluctant to do so as A&E is some distance away from me and because of the disruption to my life it would cause. The Nurse informed me that if my BM was 26 mmol/l I would be in a coma. She insisted I call my mum to take me to A&E, which I did. While mum headed back to pick me up I packed an over night bag (as advised by the Nurse) and rang Uni to let them know.

The day before Kate and I had been to the cinemas and afterwards this desperate thirst had driven me to take the hour walk (there and back) to ASDA to get as much fluids to drink as possible including a 6 pint milk jug and several litres of fruit juices. Thinking back, if I hadn’t decided on a whim to go and get myself checked out I would have gone home and drank those fruit juices, which would of put me in to a coma. I believe I’m very lucky, however my mum believes “it was meant to be.”

Once at A & E:

I am seen by a young, kind looking SHO broke the news that I was likely to have Type 1 Diabetes and that If it was I would need life long insulin. I will always remember his face. He brought me some written information about diabetes. My reaction was a desire for him to be wrong, for it not to be true. I do not want to be a diabetic. However being a student nurse, I knew that it was likely that it was.

I was seen by a Registrar and started on Intravenous Insulin on a Sliding Scale. This caused me to go hypo. My BM was 2 mmol/l, 0 mmol/l and I would have been dead. It felt like I was dieing, like my life was being drained out of me and there was nothing I could do. It started with stomach ache and the shakes and progressed to me going clammy and not being able to move. Thankfully the nurse discontinued the Intravenous Insulin and went to get me a cup of tea with a sugar.

I was moved to a ward at about 02:30am and greeted by a male nurse (just nice to see a fellow male nurse). As you can imagine I didn’t sleep one bit with the noises and unfamiliarity of the environment. The nurse had to come in every 2 hours to do my BM and I was constantly up at the toilet what seemed like every 5 minuets.

Glossary
BM (Blood Measure) is a measurement of gluecose (sugar) levels in the blood. Before eating it should be 4-7 mmol/l. Two hours after eating it should be below 9 mmol/l.
Hypo / Hypoglycaemia is low glucose (sugar) in the blood, on a BM anything below 4 mmol/l is classed as Hypoglycaemia.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas which allows cells in the body to absorb the glucose.
Intravenous a route of giving drugs/fluids straight in to the vein.
SHO (Senior House Officer) is a middle grade doctor.
Sliding Scale is when a drug is started on a dose and depending upon your bodies reaction the drug is increased or decreased. E.g. if your BM had gone from 14 mmol/l to 20 mmol/l the insulin would be increased.
Registrar is high grade doctor.

I remember when I finally got discharged from hospital, I went home and started running a bath. While the bath was running, I sat on the floor with my knees up to my chest and cried. It was the first time I was really able to express how I felt about my diagnosis. I am of course three years on much more tolerant of my diabetes. So why share the story?

I felt alone when I was diagnosed and that there was no psychological support. So I guess I’ve shared the story to let others who are newly diagnosed this message:

You are not alone. Others have experienced how you currently feel. It gets better with time. You adjust and adapt.

Take care,

Antony

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Saturday 30 January 2010
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