Updayyyuhtttt

Got my lab results back, and all was benign, phew.

Did my lung functions, they were 107%, and my weight is steady and *touch wood* my stomach problems seem to have gone and found something else to do for the last couple of MONTHS so I'm still managing to stay off my medications for that...phew.

I'm getting to the gym, on average, 4 times a week at the moment, phee-ewww.

Got my exam results, passed, phew.

I have gone deaf in one ear bizarrely. I knew I had problems hearing the other day, but it wasn't until I put my headphones in and thought they were broken (I've broken two sets recently), so switched them around just to check, when I realised, oh no, the headphones were perfect, it's my ear that's broken!!!

I went to the doctor who looked in my good ear and told me, great news, it's one hundred percent clean and clear. He then looked in my deaf ear, hummed a little bit, said "interesting" and told me it was 100% blocked, he couldn't see a thing. I have never had hearing/ear blockage problems, so it's great timing, because I'm supposed to be travelling long haul on Tuesday, off for the summer, and blocked ears can lead to painful infections which carry symptoms such as high temperatures. Oh and did I mention I have life guarding on Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 10-7? Now what was I saying about great timing?? Oh well, it could be worse; I got a stabbing pain in my stomach last week and panicked it was my appendix!!! Luckily it wasn't, it was just a random, temporary stomach blockage of some sort I think. There's always something. It just means I'm finding myself asking people to repeat themselves several times until it gets embarrassing so I just smile and nod. Only once or twice has that backfired and it turns out, it was an actual question I was being asked. Oops.

Apart from the aforementioned deafness, I'm in the middle of running around like a headless chicken, preparing for travels, so that on Monday (when I leave) I will NOT be running around like a headless chicken, phew. They say if you want something done, ask a busy person. I disagree, I seem to be crossing two things off my list and yet it gets longer by the hour!

Anyway, there's nobody in my house this week, because everyone is away, so it's actually VERY nice and quiet. I went shopping today for some basics for travelling and came home with four dresses, two tops and two pairs of shoes. I need to learn to leave my credit card at home.

The side-effects

This is more for transplant peoples, just thought I'd share.

I had this dark freckle on my foot. Not really too big, a teensy bit raised, but not what I would class as a mole or anything. I don't know how long I've had it, maybe a couple of years, I couldn't be sure. I was aware of it, especially since skin cancer is a *huge* deal post transplant (Usually, when the UV rays or whatever cause cells to multiply abnormally (cancer) the body naturally fights this itself and corrects it. It happens a lot and without a person ever knowing, but without a good immune system this process is damaged, that's my basic understanding of it!) Anyway, my mom caught sight of it one day and pressed me to have it checked out.

My GP wasn't overly concerned. My dermatologist said he'd remove it there and then for me, except when he described what he would do, I freaked and said I'd think about it (since he wasn't overly concerned either).

So skip a couple of months later, and I'm off to America for the summer. My mom is still pressing me to have it dealt with. So I ring my GP who cannot fit me in until July(!). My dermatologist is the same. I then ring the Beacon Hospital who said something similar but we explained about how I would be away for the summer. Their timetable is to have a consult done on a Wednesday and then any follow up work done on a Friday. So they tell us, fine, we can go see them this Wednesday considering how I will be going away. (When I say "I" phoned and "we" explained, I obviously mean my mom, because she's better at these things than I am.)

So on Wednesday morning, we strolled up to the hospital and the lovely lady doctor saw me and I showed her the offending article. She had read my notes that I had had a transplant so was at an increased risk. I was about to ask her to just look at another freckle I had on my shoulder when she interrupted (and immediately, I was like 'ugh' since I loath it when people interrupt) and told me that, in fact, she would like to do a whole body examination as it was best to see if there was anything else. I loved that attitude. Following the examination (where she found one other suspect which should be monitored) she asked me had I found anything else which I wanted her to look at (she had this magnifying thing that looked like what detectives use when they're inspecting diamonds) and I showed her the dark freckle but she said it was ok.

She then said she felt it was best to definitely remove the thing on my foot. So she went out and rang the plastics clinic and sent me right up. The doctor there went through what would be done and said that he could fit me into his procedure clinic that afternoon.

So that afternoon, I had it removed, which was painless after the local anesthetic. I just can't walk now, but I'm trying very hard to put weight on my foot and getting it to work again.

There are two issues with this story. Firstly, I am extremely fortunate that we are able to afford to pay for all this (seeing two doctors in a private hospital and a GP for a referral letter the day before is NOT cheap). If I had waited until my hospital decided to do something and then gone on a waiting list for a public plastics clinic, that could be months. There is something about that that is not right at all; money shouldn't mean better health care, but yet, it does. We caught this one well in time, but it's so important to not get caught in that position when it's too late.

Secondly, I am going back to see this dermatologist once a year for a check up. I would recommend that all transplant patients do this if your clinic does not offer it. Or just do a self check and make a mental note of dark freckles. Prevention is much easier than treatment.

Summer's a coming

My exams are over. I am beginning to believe that summer is almost here. My passport arrived, I have travel insurance, I have picked flight dates, I am getting excited. It still doesn't feel real yet, as there are one or two more hurdles to be leaped over and I'm a bit nervous that it is mid May already.

I am (hopefully!) becoming a certified lifeguard in a couple of weeks. Yeah, random.

I joined a gym a few weeks ago, and the day of my induction I went to hospital and spent a few days on IVs and fainted a couple of times. Joining the gym is a traumatic experience.

So I eventually went back the other day. It's a circuit system and I highly recommend it. There's no tricking around on treadmills and bikes, it's weights and stretching and jogging. So far, I have been twice, the day before yesterday and today (my aim is every other day). But I really do enjoy it. However, it would appear my heart rate is a bit higher than they would like. You stop every eight minutes and check it and they have a chart which shows where you should be. They assured me it was probably the medications I am on. I think in reality it's because I am not fit AT ALL. I actually got embarrassed about how high it was (it was pushing 200 at one point), but once you go red on the chart, you take a break. I was actually red on the chart after my stretching, which confirms I am very unfit or that the gym thing for me truly is traumatic! So all in all, I look forward to having my six pack by next Saturday. I'm realistic like that you see, which probably explains my previous success with gyms.

In other 'news', I am browsing post graduate courses at the moment, both Masters degrees and PhDs. Mostly because I don't want to have to go get a job when I finish college and without the rich husband, I can't live my life with maids and butlers, playing tennis in the mornings and golf at the weekends *just* yet.

I found a couple I really like the look of, the selection for one seems very competitive, the other more attainable. Our class in college is *extremely* competitive. To the point where some students when they hear certain useful information will hide it from others. I enjoy the competitiveness because it motivates me to do better, but yet I'm not bitter when I don't do amazing either. I also don't agree with the hiding of information, because that's just a bit daft, but thankfully that is just one or two people.

In final news, and I say this because I have just checked I have stocked up for when this backfires, but I have been able to go over three weeks without any stomach/intestinal medications. And I haven't modified my diet. It makes me wonder is this whole fiasco is stress related. But as I say, having just announced that, I have my supplies ready to go for when I am riddled over in pain on Monday having cursed my luck!

I have just reread that last paragraph and feel maybe I'm being a bit... eh personal! But it's just so anyone reading who might be going through similar things, to be aware that stress can clearly have a huge impact on the processes in your body! So therefore, keep an open mind when assessing the need for medication. Not that I am advocating NOT following medical advice or anything....

I should be studying, volume 423535

It's 11.47 PM and I should be studying for tomorrow's exam. But I started getting distracted and thinking. In our class we had this competition. It was an international competition, but everyone in our class had to enter it. Our group came joint first with another group, but the other group were picked as winners and got to travel to Atlanta, Georgia for five days to go to some conference. It was very cool, actually. Our group were disappointed obviously, but not really THAT much, like we weren't that bothered by it, but would have been delighted had we won nonetheless.

But the group that did win had a lot of problems. Firstly, they had become so strained that they weren't on speaking terms by the time they left to go to America. And they had to spend the trip in the same hotel room. One said that while she was happy she went, it was the week before exams, so she wasn't too keen on being away not being able to study. Which was a fair point.

And *then* the volcano went and erupted and caused chaos. Instead of returning to Dublin on the Sunday, they were stranded - in Boston - until they eventually managed to escape on the Friday (I think?).

So I was thinking, how dreadful would it be, the cost, the fact that the group were having problems, the lack of study. And then it occurred to me, if it was ME, I would have run out of drugs. I usually bring about three days' extra with me anyway, but it would not have been enough.

So then, because I'm "studying", I googled the cost of *one* of my drugs. On this website, where it offers great deals, it would charge €1580 for a month. Now despite the fact that with that deal, I get 12 Viagra tablets, I couldn't imagine the stress of trying to sort that out in America.

It's really true, things happen for a reason!!! ....now back to studying...

The Community Nurse part II

So there I was sitting in my kitchen, thinking about my phone sitting alone in the dining room, wishing I could think of some excuse to make the community nurse hurry up and leave. That seems a bit unfair, she was a perfectly pleasant lady but it always unsettles me slightly when medical people don't really....'get' it. By 'getting' it, I mean references which I would think would be fairly basic and standard concepts within the medical field. And when my trust in them begins to waver, then I internally begin to panic about whether they are fully able and qualified to do the job they came to do, in this case, change a dressing on a PICC line in my arm. Which runs near my heart. Which must be kept sterile at all times. So the conversation continued...

Nurse: "So the diabetes, that came after a surgery?"
Me: "Yes my tr-"
N: "-And what surgery was that?"
M: "A transpl-"
N: "Oh a transplant, I see it's written here! What type?"
M: "Lungs"
N: "Just the one lung, was it?"
M: "No lungs. Two."
N: "Ohhhh! And what was that for?"
M: "Well I have Cystic Fibrosis"
N: "Ohhhh! Cystic Fibrosis? And was that to cure it, yes?"
M: "Well, no. Like I don't have it in my lungs anymore, but the rest of my body still has it, so I'm not cured."
N: "Ohhhh I see! And how long have you had Cystic Fibrosis then?"
M: "Well, it's genetic. So I was born with it. "
N: "Ohhh! So a long time then, says you!"
M: "Yeah. I was diagnosed when I was six months old."
N: "Ohhh! Six months, so you've had it a LONG time then!"
M: "Well, yeah. I was born with it. "
N: "And when did you get the transplant?"
M: "Four years ago, almost."
N: "Ohhh! And how long were you waiting for it?"
M: "Emm about si-"
N: "For ages I bet!"
M: "Six months?"
N: "Oh that was quick!.... Oh you have a dog! Oh I never even noticed him. Oh isn't she gorgeous?"
M: "Yeah, that's my dog, he's very sweet"
N: "She's like a fox. Or a deer. Or a doe-a-deer! Oh will she bark now?"
M: "Oh no, he never barks, ever really."
N: "Oh I bet she'll bark"
M: "No, don't worry, he doesn't bark"
N: "Oh she'll make strange for me I bet!"
M: "No don't wor-"
N: "- right so I'm here to do a dressing then, so let's see, why do they want me to do that? Where is it now? Oh look at the eyes on her [the dog]..."


And so it continues. Turns out she doesn't have the right supplies, so I agree to go the pharmacy later and buy them. She has what will make do in the mean time. I become very worried that the pulling and prodding will make the line come out, so she agrees to hold it and I remove and dressings. Of course, this is all done through some more bizarre conversation, but seeing as I am studying for exams right now, I haven't the time to blog about it!

Thankfully the IVs are well in the past now, my lung function is back up and beyond where it was (I think about 104%) and I'm feeling much better! : ) I just have to concentrate on passing these silly exams (anyone know anything about statistics, neuropsychology or usability engineering, if you wouldn't mind disguising yourself as me and sitting my exams, it would mean hours more sleep and three less exams for me to do!).

My parents went to the CF conference this weekend, and so when I get a chance I'll blog up all I learned second hand from them.

Part II of the community nurse entertainment will continue shortly (it does get worse). At the point where I left off, I was planning my fake phone call and then realised I left my phone in on the dining room table. Fail.

In the meantime, we had to put down our lickle dog today. He was about 14/15 years old (a rescue dog so I'm not sure exactly). Although he was 'only' a dog, we miss him so, so much. It's amazing the overwhelming noise that silence makes.

The lovely community nurse part I

My lovely community nurse called today to change my dressings. She was actually very nice and friendly, bless her. This is part one of our converstation.

Nurse: "Hi. Ok, just need to run through a few things before we start to change your dressing."
Me: "Ok"
N:"So how long are you a diabetic and how are you finding your sugar [control]?" (reasonable question, because medical people need to know these sorts of things)
M:"Emmm...four years? Yeah, quite good"
N:"Oh four years is it? And how are they giving you insulin" (I began to wonder if she thought I was just diagnosed and I had something *in* me that gave me insulin that she was here to look at)
M:"Through injections, in my stomach like"
N:"Oh, oh, I see. Sub-cut, very good. How long are you doing that?"
M: "Well since...fo-"
N:"-forever, right, ok, yes, forever."
M: "Well...four years"
N:"Oh right. And how do you find that?"
M:"Grand"
N:"And are the sugars managed well?"
M:"Yes, quite well."
N:"And have you always been diabetic?"
M:"No. Just since four years ago"
N:"Oh right, just four years. So are you used to it now? I suppose you are, says you!"
M:"Yeah it's ok"
N:"And how did they find that out? Just by chance?"
N:"Well, I had surgery, and they routinely were checking them and they found out. I was on really high steroids at the time so that caused it"
N:"OHHHHH steroids will do that! And has it gone away now?"
M:"What the diabetes?"
N:"Yes, is it all OK now?"
M:"No. I'm a diabetic"

(begins to to plan fake phonecall!!!)

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a nice Easter. I ate a Crunchie egg. And then I ate another Crunchie egg that someone left up on a shelf in the kitchen. It's generally survivor of the greediest in my house so unless you hide things, they disappear when you leave the room to do anything. I once came into the kitchen looking for microwave popcorn but there was none in the cupboard. I asked my sister was it all gone and she shrugged. I then made a comment about how greedy people in this house were. Then twenty minutes later, I smelled microwave popcorn, so I dropped everything I was doing, dashed back to the kitchen and saw my sister standing beside the microwave. I asked her where she found that bag. She pointed to *another* cupboard, which we *never* use for anything. She moved it a few days earlier so she could save it for herself. So ever since then, I keep a close on the income of food into this house, I'm pretty sure my talents could earn me money as a card counter in Vegas someday! :)

And also, turns out I have a community nurse (never knew that!) who, turns out, is coming tomorrow to change dressings on my arm. I have no idea what time, I'll probably get up early and wait for her to arrive and then pretend I am important and I have somewhere *urgent* to be when/if she arrives. Just to entertain myself really. I might even pretend to take a phone call and be all "Ok, I'll be there as SOON as I can". And hope nobody actually phones me when I'm pretending to be on the phone...*awkward*. Actually I do have work, but it's not that important if I show up or not. And I actually was planning on going to my library to study too. Anyway, I just hope I don't make a twat of myself and faint on her!

Anyway, nothing else new going on. The past week or so I've been on holidays, I have laid out all my books on the dining room table so it looks like I'm studying. Actually, I have discovered Survivor: Heroes vs Villains is on so I've watched every episode to date. And then I spent about two hours watching clips from "The Room" on youtube. Seriously, if you have nothing else to do, watch a trailer for this film. HIGH-larious. "Zis is naaacht ok!"

Plans for easter

I got a new phone. My old phone which had a bad habit of breaking, broke, and so I was entitled to a new phone. It's the Nokia E63 which is like a blackberry but available on pre-pay plans. I feel very pretentious carrying it around; I only wanted a working phone but in my defence all the basic basic models were sold out. Anyway, this thing has wireless Internet on it so it's very useful.

On Tuesday I went to clinic and unfortunately my lung functions had fallen over 8%. I suspected that was the case as I picked up some funny thing in college a couple of weeks ago and had been wheezy since. Having nightmareish veins which may as well be painted on to my arms, they had to put in a PICC line (a bigger line which goes into a large vein and runs toward my heart) for IVs. Administration wise, an appointment is faster dealt with if you're an inpatient, so I went in for "one night" to have the line put in. Except it took them a while to get the vein to put the line in and once they did? I fainted. Passed out. Embarrassing to say the least. Especially when I heard someone shout 'She's fainting!!!' UGH. So that earned me another night. And then yesterday? Same thing happened again. That earned me a heart scan. And another night. To be perfectly honest, I think it's just the pressure of the line or something technical, so nothing seriously wrong. Thankfully my bed was needed today so I got to escape.

My plan for the rest of my holidays include eating, sleeping, drugging, sleeping and studying. Needing IVs is a bum, but it couldn't have come at a better time! The two weeks coincide with my Easter holidays perfectly. Plus I'm just grateful I didn't book last minute to go away anywhere! Phew! The IVs tend to make me really tired so I have plenty of rest and reading time to manage with. Plus it gives me plenty more *geeek* study time too as I have to be up at 7am and stay up until 12am. Yes, *geeek*. It could always be a whole lot worse! And I feel fine apart from the drama.

PS: thanks Sheryl for your msg :)

Busy.

I took a break from doing college work for about a week, that was nice. I am a calm speaker when I have to do presentations and then i had to do one last week and got SO nervous, like when your speech quivers, so embarrassing. I think I'm tired!

I'm about to begin a two week binge of study as I'm on my Easter holidays and my summer exams are *weeks* away. A lecturer called me rude the other day - *ouch*. I don't know why, I barely have time to talk to her/them in between all the moaning that I have to listen to from her/them!

Stress.

I think I have finally mastered the solution to my stomach problems (if you can ever master something with so many variables!). I realise I have mastered it once I stop taking the solution and recognise the need to start taking it again.

Busy.

Happy Easter!!!

Updates from less stress more success

Life is good. I had a couple of episodes last week where I fainted in my sleep. Google told me this was possible, as mad as it sounds, and it can be a symptom of sleep apnoea. Luckily, I think I was beyond exhausted and a little run down at the time so I think they were collectively once off. Imagine! What a random experience.

College is busy, busy, busy again. I am busy doing extra curricular work at the moment.

I read this on a blog somewhere about study and control. It was interesting. I can be incredibly lazy and procrastinate-y, but I love to do well. Not necessarily insanely competitive (I swear everyone believes I'm genuinely competitive) but I feel like I'm a waster if I don't aim for high grades. Over the years, I really feel like studying and working is something I have a control in.

I was incredibly ill when I sat my Leaving Cert. I was 17 and it was the first time I thought I might not make it home. It was a bizarre time in my life where I wasn't really ''with it'' enough to acknowledge how ill I was, all I wanted was a dark room and to sleep permanently. Luckily, I came through it, but also began to turn the tide on that nasty infection a few days before my first exam. Of course, I sat 7 of the exams in hospital, slept in between all of them, and honestly did no study. The thought of doing that nowadays would make me throw up- being so unprepared!

I got good results despite the circumstances, I mean not fabulous results by any stretch of the imagination, but good, enough to get my first choice in college. The right things came up on the papers too, which really helped! But I always felt sort of.....not embarrassed, but I wish I'd done better. Everyone congratulated me, but I felt I could have done better.

And now I have the opportunity to do better, to learn, to have a free college education, to be taught by very intelligent people, some experts in their field, some whose career paths I would LOVE to follow, I feel like if I don't seize this opportunity, then I'm wasting it.

Now back to this research proposal due soon....

Procrastinating Observations

I never do so much learning (or blogging) as when I have a deadline looming. Surprise, surprise, I have to argue for the death penalty in a mandatory debate on Wednesday, and as such am supposed to be looking up information which backs up my point. To date, I have found out one of my friends has upgraded her farm on facebook, another has been rewarded with mystery chickens and about four of my friends are updating their statuses from around the world. So not much the death penalty then! Other random useless information:

1. Some people, however, simply do not exist on the internet. Not that I am a serial stalker or anything, but seriously, the mind boggles.

2. I am embarking on a diet. I think it's time.

3. There are not enough hours in the day, and yet I seem to accomplish so very little some days!

4. Thomas Harper Ince was a big hot shot in Hollywood in the early 1900s-20s and then he mysteriously died aboard his yacht. On his birthday. I mean, of all the days in the year, jeesh! Allegedly Charlie Chaplin was 'aving it off' with his gal. But whether it was murder, foul play or simply a sudden death has been debated ever since.

5. Adidas was founded in 1924

6. The guy who was in a coma for 23 years who supposedly came alive again a couple of months ago and began communicating, is in fact, still in a coma after 23 years and is not communicating after all.

end of midterm

I can't believe it's the end of midterm already. How time flies! Here are some observations:

1. All people with a size 5 shoe are wearing black knee high boots at the moment. Because, let me tell ya, there's none to be had in a size 5, anywhere. Oh sizes 3,4,6 & 8 but no 5. An occasional 7, mind.

2. Is a problem still classed as a problem when you can live with it despite the symptoms? Yes, that problem is lurking again. I should really stop saying how marvellously I recovered. But, I can live with it for the moment.

3. Manchester is a cool place to live. Seriously.

4. Tiger Woods is a tool bag. And the world is one collective tool bag for giving a care about his issues.

5. My car. My new car. Sigh, sigh, sigh. It has developed a habit of the back right door flying open while in transit ("OMG MY DOOOR!!!!)". Oh the passenger door has the same habit ("OMG MY...EH...OTHER DOOR?..!!!!"). I DON'T EVEN HAVE CENTRAL LOCKING!!!! Meaning, these two problems are not connected, just coincidental! I swear whoever invented the car (google that and find a definitive answer) put in the blueprints "This will be a marvelous mode of transport for everybody. When the world becomes equal, even a woman will be allowed to operate one. Oh except the following people:" and my name was top of the list. That, or the cars I buy have decidedly weird previous owners! Still, we shalt not complain.

6. Total number of original body parts working today: -1. I am going to sleep until Monday I think.

So it's been a week. Or over a week? And I'm thrilled to say I am SO much better.

When I was discharged after the four days, I certainly felt better, but very tired. And then the weekend I spent feeling horrendously ill. But yet I knew the original problem had been fixed, so what was making me feel like I was chronically hungover? I lasted until Monday before I had to put a call in again.

So, following another xray and an abdominal scan, it turned out the new medications I was put on were the cause of the new problem. This was confirmed by the fact that my xray (thankfully) came back as ok and once I stopped taking all these new potions and pills, I felt miraculously better. I haven't heard back about the scan, but I chatted away to the technician during it, and it would seem it looked good. It was funny, because during it, she kept asking me to breathe in and breathe out and used my first name the whole time. Then she went quiet and said 'ok, just take a breath there, pet' and I always think people are nicer to you when they feel sorry for you, so it worried me what she might have seen, but apparently slightly enlarged abnormal vein(s?) seen in my liver is normal considering my medical history. Peeee-hewwww! And the fact that my team haven't phoned me yet about it either says they are sick to death of talking to me, or it's all ok. I would say it's most likely a combination of both.

So the newest remedy in compete contrast to last week's new regime, is to stop ALL the new medications. AND a couple of others that I was also on. I was able to keep up going to college and this week is the final push to midterm or "reading week" as they *insist" we call it. Not that I'm doing much reading when I go on my holidays!!!!! And apparently if 'they' hear that that's how we're doing that 'they' will cancel the reading week. I don't even know who 'they' are and why 'they' would be hanging around listening to my conversations. Or reading my blog...

Thanks for all the good wishes recently too xx

One night turned into four days. Four long days. The problem is sorted (they hope) but a lot of the symptoms have not. I am now on four new medications and cocktails and have been let home.

They say these stomach problems may be a once off or a totally new stage in my life, one which I will have to get used to and look after. So one or the other. Got to love vagueness!! Of course I would love the former but am happy, or content, to settle with the latter.

Anyway at the moment it sort of feels like I sort of know what I'm doing, or supposed to be doing. A bit like going through a forest blindfolded and carving out a trail that I can follow.

Everything could be a LOT worse and four days on a transplant unit is a sobering reminder of that.

In the meantime I have the weekend to get used to a slightly altered medical routine, observing myself and observing my dog who has now developed a habit of fainting if he gets too excited. Interesting....

There is nothing like a entire night spent out of bed in pain to realise a 'stomach problem' really can only be avoided for so long. A trip to the hospital after college has resulted in me being kept in for tonight and potentially tomorrow while they work on treatments. Well actually, the treatment for the stomach is not that complicated or complex, it's just that they want to observe me over night. I'm not going to complain, if they have nice painkillers in that building which will result in a night's sleep, I will gladly be the first to sign up.

I also notice when I talk out loud to other people (and not just to myself) it's almost like I can pieces of a jigsaw fall slowly into place.

"So this pain came on last night?"
"Yes, and I never want to feel it again"
"Were you feeling ok yesterday?"
"No, I was a bit off yesterday....actually all weekend...actually I had bouts of pain on Friday too when I was in the library...oh no that was Thursday come to think of it"
"So you're nearly a week in this state?"
"Well not quite as bad as last night, but, yes, I guess"

Anyway, my ipod is charged so I am off for some rest and recuperation.

I got a new car. A second hand car but a new car to me. I then had a new radio cd ipod thing installed. It means when I put a cd in it actually plays and when I want to eject the cd it isn't swallowed forever. I also discovered the 'City' button on the car which is supposed to be used to make parking easy but it also aides taking corners in 5th gear at 40 m/ph. Good times.

I have been having a few problems with stomach pain lately of which I cannot figure out the cause. I'm blindfolding myself and picking tablets at random each day to see if they help (not really, but essentially that's the selection process) so far with minimal success. Luckily the pain and sickness aren't there the whole time (in fact thankfully a lot of the time it just comes and goes) but when it arrives it makes me really tired too. If ever there was a good time to get insomnia, this would potentially be it.

On other medically fronts, I'm still taking Roaccutane and that's going well so far. I'm still only on half dose and it seems to be working very, very well. I don't know if that's because skin issues are generally easier to treat the second time around? Because I really don't think I'm going to need a full dose in a couple of months, but time will tell.

It must be pointed out that I am extremely well aside from the aforementioned problem(s), and you can never be more thankful for that!

And despite it being January, I am already planning my summer! I am trying to strike the balance between suitably geeky activities and fun ones too. It's all about planning for the future while enjoying the present.

Can't beat good timing...

I took my first dose of Roaccutane today. And we've lost water on our road now. NO WATER!!!

About three years ago I went on Roaccutane to improve my skin. The drug is a working miracle. And it worked. Until this past August, I noticed my skin began getting bad again. I gave it four months before deciding it wasn't a 'phase'. I went back to my dermatologist today and he prescribed me some more. Yay. I think it's going to be another 180 or so days of treatment. He said that it's a harsh but brilliant drugs, and for nine out of ten people it works first time, but there's always that 3% of people who need a second round (not sure about his maths there but anyway...) and I fall into that 3%. With my history of medical minority lotteries I seem to win, this doesn't surprise me.

The drug is a strong one, and stops your body producing any oil at all. So the risk of side effects is long. And to even get a prescription for it, I had to pass a pregnancy test! And you *have* to go on the pill with it, it's pretty much a legal requirement. Too bad, I fell into a minority of suffering a dangerous side effect of that one too! (I swear they should just post my photo at the end of those warning leaflets and say 'go ask her' for the rare side effects). It also means I have to get my hair done this week before starting because your hair goes crazy dry on it too. Inevitably I will have lots of people offering their own solutions to their skin problems when I tell people I'm on this. Kind of a "what would you be wanting to be on that for? My auntie Josephine always swears by grapes before bed time for her skin" etc, etc. Akin to telling someone your drive took 6hours and they respond with, "did you know it's possible to walk and you'll still get there?"

But I digress. I am vain. I like my skin and my hair. And I'm impatient and this drug works. Or it's supposed to work. Fingers crossed!

FREEEZE

Most of the news at the moment is dedicated to the "big freeze" that's going on. My flight home from London was cancelled last week (I did manage to get home later) and when we arrived, what we saw was a scattering of frost. To be fair it has got a lot worse since, but nothing on the scale of the UK or anything, just a LOT of ice.

I was busy during the week saying how I felt Ireland really went to extremes by way of practically closing down due to the ice; I had all of two lectures this week with about 10 people showing up, and the rest were cancelled. It was only ice after all.

Of course, that is, until I went out to my car to get to college at which point I got left with an imprint of my phone on my ass in bruise form. Our driveway is on a slope/hill. I went to put my hand out to open my car door, and the next thing I knew I was thinking "Oh my, I am falling!". My feet left the ground, I was momentarily frozen mid air, and then "clump" "crash" "bang", I was down. I was stunned and unbelievably embarrassed. I popped up and looked across the road to make sure there was nobody gawping over (there wasn't, but you can never be too sure - I once saw a neighbour fall off a ladder and I can bet by the way he reacted he was sure nobody had seen).

If my fall had paralysed me, it wouldn't have mattered, I sprang up and ran back inside to gather my laughter. To add insult to (actual) injury, I was wearing a big black puffa-jacket, and no hat, so I probably looked like a female Mrs Blobby with wild hair going everywhere. My brother came thundering down the stairs thinking I was having a seizure (no joke), turns out my laugh is slightly abnormal.

Anyway I eventually went back for attempt two and managed to keep both my feet on the ground this time. Although I'm sure I looked like a mad person laughing to myself the whole time. Later that evening my bum cheek hip area was naturally rather sore and when I looked at it the mirror, a perfect black, purple rectangular outline could be seen where my bum went down, phone in back pocket. In fact, if it weren't for the jeans I'd been wearing when I fell, I'm pretty sure you'd be able make out the 'LG' logo such was my bang!

Keep safe out there!