First night.

First night on upped meds. Managed to sleep a little better, still sore when I woke up. Feeling pretty groggy from raising my amitryptline but I should get used to that, I did last time I raised it!

Pain clinic and update!

So, just quickly, tesco resolved my issues and I've since received equivalent TVs to what I ordered. Finally got some good customer service from a lovely lady called Shona.

Today was my pain clinic appointment. Been waiting for a few months and was anxious about it as I didn't know what to expect.
Met with a nice doctor who went through a number of reasons for pain, and how they can help treat it. The end result is:
I'll be coming off most medication.
My amitryptline will be increased from 60mg to 100mg at night.
My Butrans patch will be increased from 10mcg to a max of 52.5mcg but this will be slowly because of side effects.
I'll slowly stop taking Tramadol over this time, as the two go up.
I'm also going to be taking clonazepam when needed, we will see when that will be as the other meds have increased.
I'll also be taking tapentadol, can't remember the dose. 
And lastly pregabalin will be slowly increased up to, I think, 1200mg a day. 
I'll keep my diclophenac, omoprazol, ondansetron, folic acid and B12 injections as normal. 

So lots of changes, lots of strong medications being added in. I'm really hoping they manage to keep me level and feeling as close to how I used to as possible. 
They should also help with sleep, because I've been surviving on 2 hours most nights for a while! 
I've increased my patch to 20mg and my amitryptline to 100mg already, as suggested because I had supplies at home!

I'll let you know what happens and how I feel in a week or so! 

Update

I'm hoping by this evening I'll be able to update on the tesco situation, provided they stick to their word!

Update on me chiari wise. Well it's 5.13am and I've yet to sleep. I've got to be awake at 7am so this will be fun =\ I'm having more bad days than good but am just about managing. I've got a pain clinic appointment next Tuesday which I am looking forward to with great anticipation and hoping it will benifit me. Still waiting for a date for my next blood patch, which will be next year sometime. 

I'm enjoying all your emails and will try and reply to as many as I can as soon as I can, I've got a hectic week this week but things quieten down at the end of the week for Christmas so will have plenty of time. Please use the contact form on the right of the page and I'll get an email direct to my inbox. Or, alternatively, leave a comment on any post and I'll respond, this just takes me longer to see normally as I get no notifications so I'm not ignoring you if you get no reply swiftly. Have a lovely week =]

Chapter 2 in the story of tesco and their terrible customer service.

After the promise of a phone call and exchanging numerous tweets, guess what........tesco are still ignoring me. They clearly feel that they are above their customers and can keep my money without providing me with my items. Getting close to taking this further, and I mean beyond the realms of the virtual world and into a store.....LOUDLY complaining!

The story of Tesco and their terrible customer service!

Sometimes I think that if I get bad customer service I should just accept it. Sometimes the big man can scare you into silence and into retreate. However, sometimes you just want to shout loud and say what has happened to anyone who will listen.

Sit back, relax and let me tell you a story. A story of a newly married couple and a disabled student. 2 friends who are struggling to make ends meet. 

One day the two friends had a nice evening together spent with their respective partners. Both couples are money savers and like a good deal. Both couples were after a television, the newly married couple wanted to buy one from their wedding money and use it to show their wedding video to family and friends. During the evening they went online, and saw an amazing deal. A 50" 3D TV by LG with built in free view! WOW, they bought bought before snapping one up. An fantastic end to a great night. 

Now as you may have guessed one of the people in this story is me, the other my best friend. The story sounds fantastic, a great ending for two people. However, this is when the story goes sour. 

The orderes were placed with tesco direct (a company with a good reputation within the UK, much like walmart for all my international readers) The order was accepted and the money removed from my partners account as well as my friends. 

Now, we have come to realise over the past few day set that this was a price glitch, a fact we had not previously realised. 

When we arrived to collect our items there was a 22" TV waiting for each of us. Not what we had ordered and not what is on the emails we received from Tesco. 

Now, on Wednesday I went and had some surgery done, by Thursday I was sore but without my promised TV I had to spend a huge amount of time worrying and stressing over a TV. 

On Thursday evening my friend was told that she couldn't have the TV but could have one of equivalent specification. She went to another, larger tesco store to collect the item, before being made to wait again, she was then told she had to drive to another store, further away to collect the TV. And guess what. Once she got to her 3rd tesco store, she was told she wasn't getting anything and to go home. 

We were both told we would get the 50" TV with 3D but that we would need to wait due to stock issues. We were reassured to be told that we would get regular updates on progress. Now, since this, I have not heard from anyone. My friend has been told she will get hers on Wednesday but it will NOT be a 3D TV. 

My friend has spent 4 hours on the phone, 2 hours in store and today over an hour on twitter asking for a reply. 

I have spent 3 hours online chat (which the operator disconnected 4 times for no reason) sent 4 emails and spent over an hour on twitter. 

Tesco have got our money, yet are choosing to ignore us. 

They have ruined my best friends wedding video night, and destroyed both of our trust in them. 

We have been offered no goodwill from tesco for the hours we have spent chasing them, in fact we have been offered a TV with substantially less features than advertised for the same amount of money. 

Now tesco may have glitched on the price, but we bought the TV in good faith. They have lied and ignored the little man for too long. We are making a stand, come on tesco! Sort this mess out!

Chiari.

Has anyone been told they have both high and low pressure headaches following decompression? That's essentially what my neurosurgeon thinks I've got and I've never heard of anyone else having it 

Nil by mouth

So surgery tomorrow. Nil by mouth in 20mins. Wish me luck!

Surgery time!

Going in for surgery this Wednesday, for once it is not for my brain. My lower to wisdom teeth are impacted, one is growing horizontally forwards into my other teeth and the other is growing horizontally backwards into my jaw. Hoping they can remove it without taking any of my jaw bone which they were worried they might need to, or without any nerve damage. They were only going to take half of one of the teeth as it was situated so close to a facial nerve but have decided to take the whole thing, so there is a 50/50 chance of a small amount of nerve damage. Also hope the anaesthetic works oky. After my decompression it had a paradoxical effect on me, leaving me wide awake and in pain, this lead to me getting distressed because I was in so much pain and then my blood pressure bottomed out and I was really quite sick for several hours. 

In chiari news, I have been still having bad heads, the past 2 days being really quite sore and I've spent lots of time lying down flat. Hoping I get my next blood patch out of the way soon, to see if it will offer any relief. Also, I have finally got my pain clinic appointment for 12th December so hoping an adjustment of meds will lead to a happy Christmas in the gibbo household! 

xxx

Yet again

Saw my neurosurgeon yesterday and I am waiting to have another blood patch to try and treat my low pressure headaches

Appointment

Neurosurgeon Monday! Wish me luck.
I'm hoping he will be able to do something about the chiari symptoms. I counted the other day how many times a chiari type headache was triggered. Overnight I woke 7 times and between 8am and 12.30pm, so 4and a half hours, I had 54 chiari type headaches (12 and hour), triggered but things such as coughing, laughing, standing, bending, sneezing, shouting. I can't even begin to guess how many times it would be in a 24 hour period but it was happening so often I had to stop.
So, hoping for some relief.
Then next Wednesday I'm having my wisdom teeth out! Hoping that doesn't hurt my neck too bad!

Apple!!

Now I normally don't bother with moaning about stuff about products and stuff and normally just review. 

Now this isn't a review!

I write this post on an iphone 5, I also own, currently, a MacBook Air and a iPad and have previously owned a 3GS and a 4G. Not a boast but rather to just highlight that I'm normally a big apple fan. 

However, since owning an iphone 5, which I got last October I've bought 6 charging cables, all legitimate ones from Apple store. Each time it has broken within a few months, this one I have now has lasted the longest at almost 3 months. Each time I've not been offered a replacement as they say it is MY fault they have broken. Now my charging cable gets used almost every night, overnight, and when not in use is tucked under my bed to prevent it being trodden on. My phone is flat when charging. Yet still they break. I've also had 3 MacBook chargers in 2 and a half years!  So Apple, why are you so shit at making chargers?!

Chiari is a real pain

So I'm off to see my neurosurgeon in the next week or so to talk about the continuing intensity of my chiari symptoms. I've had a return of the cough headache since not too long post op but it is just getting worse and worse. I'm getting it just from the pressure of laughing, coughing and even standing up, I feel the pressure or force of doing so and that creates a headache. I'm also having continuing low pressure headache and just generally feel like shite.
Sorry for lack of posts but you know, when you feel crap it just stops you wanting to do anything =\

Busy month

Yep, I've been gone again for a long time. Been feeling really rubbish so haven't had the motivation to blog =\ I am, in the next month, having my wisdom teeth out, an appointment with my neurosurgeon, an eye appointment, a pain clinic appointment. Fun times!

I'm so sorry

I'm sorry I've been absent. I've been feeling really run down and terrible over the past few weeks. I'm now on my 3rd coldsore since the day after the wedding, all 3 in various stages of healing and they are not helping make me feel good! 

In health news I've been back to my eye doctor twice in the past week and I have finally, almost, been referred for my strabismus (squint) surgery. I've just got to go back in 3 months to see the consultant and have a thorough check that my squint is still relatively stable and I will be put on the waiting list! FINALLY!

Chiari news: my low pressure headache continue so I will probably be having the blood patch done again soon =\ my chiari type headaches are getting worse and I'm dizzy and sick just standing up or laughing or sneezing or rolling over in bed. I'm not sure what will be done, if anything about them. Fed up of them to be honest. They are worse now that presurgery in the intensity and frequency. Ah we'll. 

In better news my little brother started school on Monday. (Yes I have a brother 21 years younger than me) he loves it! I'm not working in the build up to going back to study so am bored but using it as we'll earned rest as I seem to be tired even after 15+ hours of sleep. I will be seeing my doctor as I wonder if it might be to do with my B12 as the tiredness and mouth sores are signs that I'm low, it was so common before I started on the injections. 

I'll start updating more now. My laptops been playing up and wouldn't charge and apple are arsing around trying to fix it, so to make do I bought a new ipad so am now able to be online much more frequently and with much more ease. 

Anyways, I miss blogging so speak soon!

An apology

I'm gunna be unable to post on this blog for the next week or so, I know I've already been quite this past few weeks what with work and my blood patch, so sorry.
I've got my BFFs wedding this weekend so will be quite and for the next few days I've got work and then loads of little bits to do before Saturday. One little thing, when talking about the blog over dinner at the 2nd hen do last Friday I got moaned (not moaned, but asked why I hadn't said anything about it lol) at for not mentioning the wedding enough so I'll do a post about it in a week or so.

Chiari wise I am feeling oky ish. My headache are actually worse than before the blood patch. It almost feels like they have reverted to being high pressure, rather than low. Maybe it worked too well. Neck is still sore, standing up, bending over, turning, rolling over in bed ect is still able to induce a headache. It makes my vision go black and flash and this morning I woke up with real blurred vision. I should probs phone the eye hospital to get that checked as it was rather odd and also prolonged, I just haven't got time lol

See you in a week or so and I will back to doing reviews and weekday posts.

All done

So yesterday I went into hospital to have my blood patch done. Got there at 7.30am after not getting to sleep till 2am the night before because I had to stop some of my meds in the lead up to the surgery and that made me uncomfortable.
Get seen by an anaesthetist, a registrar and my neurosurgeon before 8.30am. They then try and take blood from me.....an fail, like badly lol. Finally get it and all good to go once the result get back to show no infection in my blood, something that is ultra important for this procedure apparently.
Go down to theatre, well actually just the anaesthetic room. They then try to get a vein to put an IV in....and fail. My veins are buggered after all the antibiotics I had. Finally manage it after someone holds my wrist so tight I am still bruised. Get into position, my back hurting already. Due to the large number of lumbar puncture I have previously had and the lumbar drain my back is very very sensitive. Anything touching this area causes horrid pain. Get all the local in, which hurts big time. By this point  realise that my sensitive back + a massive needle will = too much pain for me to handle.
I get rather upset at this thought. They stop for a bit, my neurosurgeon comes in (he wasn't doing this procedure, the anaesthetists are far better as they do so many) He chats to me about how crappy I have been feeling and how this procedure has a chance at making me feel great. Finally agree to carry on after getting a little something to chill me out, not loads but I was very upset so did need something.
Procedure goes oky, blood all went in without too much hassle.
Recover with a little bit of IV paracetamol (my favourite IV med by far) as I had a stinker of a headache. Then go back to the ward, 2 hours after leaving. Then have to lie flat for 2 hours. NOT FUN!! I had to do it overnight (6pm-10am) when I had my lumbar drain and I hated it, and this time was no better. It is very hard to get comfortable when totally 100% flat, even in bed pillows raise your head quite a way. Finally over, feeling headachey but oky I get to go home.
Last nights sleep was painful becuase everytime I rolled over I woke up due to pain in my back.
Feeling oky today, sore and stiff but nothing a day n bed won't fix. Now to hope this works by the time I see my neurosurgeon in a few months.

It's oh so quiet...

So sorry for being so quite recently. I've been busy busy busy. My best friend is getting married in 2 weeks and I've been doing bridesmaid stuff and getting ready for that! Such important things as testing spray tans, having dress fittings and having girly lunch days.
Anyway, the 13th is creeping up on me. I'm going to hospital to have a blood patch on Tuesday to help (hopefully) with my low pressure headaches. Now this is something I am not looking forward to. I hate lumbar punctures with a passion and after so many of them as well as a lumbar drain for a week my back is now littered with tiny scar and is really tender. If I have my back itched the lower back area needs to be avoided. Even carrying a backpack which is pressing there hurts, big time. SO imagine having such a sensitive area then having a needle stuck into it like 10cm deep or something. So yeah, stoked for Tuesday =/
I should be out of hospital on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at the very latest as long as it all goes to plan (which with me it has a tendency not to)
I will update either in hospital or when I get home. Actually, if I am allowed I will update half way through with the needle in my back, if my NS allows it. I also wanna get a photo!

Funny things kids say #4

#4
I guess it isn’t your fault you look like Frankenstein’s monster.

Funny things kids say #3

#3

Do teachers all get to pick their last names before they start work? You’re name can’t really be Miss G, what is your REAL name.

Funny things kids say #2

#2
Does a pencil get upset with me when I scratch it’s head off on paper? (the lead)

2 year anniversary!

Today marks 2 years since my brain surgery! 

Day out review: Playzone

So today I went on a day out to playzone which is in Portsmouth. They have another location in Swansea I think. 

It is located on an industrial estate out the outside of Portsmouth, only about 5 mins from the motorway and really easy to find with satnav. It has free car parking on site but the spaces don't leave a lot of room to back out comfortably. 

Entry is £6.95 for 5-14 year olds and it costs £1.25 for adults. They offer no free entry for carers which is annoying for me.  This allows for unlimited play on quiet days and 1.5 hours on busier days. I've been twice in the past month and have always got unlimited play. 

Walking in it looks impressive, with a huge soft play area and 5 slides which vary in scare factor. 

There is a a slide which looks like a typical sack slide, which is slow and bumpy, perfect for younger ones. 

There is a tube slide which is steep but not massively scary. 

Then there is a bigger slide with a fall into a ball pool. This is scary but not the worst!

The worst is the red slide. This is a vertical drop from the ceiling to the floor. This has 2 levels (one about a meter lower than the other) and propels you to the ground at a real speed, leaving your stomach to catch you up! You really have to psych yourself up for this and is scary for adults as well as kids. You can go on both levels from the age of 6 (but if I see anyone younger doing the lower level they are braver than I ever was!) 

For adults they have an area of seating right by the play area or a quieter area upstairs. The chairs are not bad, even after a few hours! 

They sell a good range of food (5 piece cold pick and mix lunch for £3.95) and also sell massive jugs of squash which are great for keeping the little ones hydrated after all that running around! They don't allow any food in that isn't bought on site, which is annoying. 

The only downside is that it feels a little rundown and could do with a lick of paint (it looks the same as when I came as an adolescent 15 years ago)  

Overall a good price for a day out and if you catch it on a day it isn't busy can be a fantastic full day treat, boredom isn't easy here and the normally eye catching arcade games are left untouched and unasked for!

Brains out of 5 (pictures to be added when I get onto a laptop)

4

Funny things kids say #1

#1
Even if your face is ugly and your hair looks horrible, miss, at least you’re ugly but nice.

Funny things kids make me say #9

#9
The lion king play will not have real lions on stage acting, don’t worry.

Pre-op appointment

Had my pre-op appointment today. Went fine, they took loads and loads of blood for standard blood tests and blood cultures. As long as I have no infections in my blood I'll be having my blood patch in 20 days time!

Funny things kids make me say #8

#8
Please don’t flick snot into my tea.

Funny things kids make me say #7

#7
You don’t need to stroke my bum everyday!

Funny things kids make me say #6

#6
Willies do not come out of trousers during maths.

Music Review: Wilful Missing Scarborough Fair

I LOVE Wilful Missing. I mean really love them. I have their CDs, TShirts ect. So I was very excited to see this was available. It is 4 tracks, with a cover of "Scarborough fair" and 3 B-sides. Another bonus is that download is available via a Pay what it is worth scheme. This is fantastic if you are just wanting a taste of the album or the band. I would however, always recommend paying more, this is a lot of work and recording costs gone into it, so give at least a few quid! Wilful missing are not a huge band who can afford to not have day jobs and just live of their music!

So track 1is their cover of "Scarborough fair". Many covers of this exist (Simon and Garfunkel being the most well know I would guess) This is a beautiful folk song which is about a man giving a series of impossible tasks to a lady, and if she achieves this he will take her back as his partner. Such tasks include making a shirt with no seams and washing it in a dry well. It is beautiful in many versions, but this one is outstanding. It has such a hauntingly beautiful sound and Sam, the singer has such a nice tone to his voice it just makes me want to listen to it again and again. This song will feature in a film called "I know what I'm doing" The video is below which includes clips from the film.

Track 2 is an acoustic version of their song called "Powerful Pill"This song was featured on their album "Molehills out of Mountains", which is an album that gets blasted in my car weekly, at minimum! This was recorded live at St Bartholomew's Church. This songs AMAING. Must have great acoustics in the church as it has a great sound. You know a band is good when they sound better in a live version than on an album. The album version is good but this just has a great sound.

Track 3 is called "Blue poetry". This was supposed to go onto the "Molehills out of Mountains" album but didn't make the cut. So this is the first "New" song on this. The intro makes it sound like it will be a totally different type of song. I was wondering in the first 30 seconds if this would be in the typical Wilful missing style, but after that it kicks into being beautiful, just the way I expect. One of the things I love about Wilful Missing is that each song they do sounds so different but so similar. I am not sure how to explain it, but it is distinctly them but also sounds different. I really like it, if this is a taste of the album they are currently writing then I am impatiently waiting for it!

Track 4 is called "Thirteen". It is a cover of the song by "Big Star" It is a song which I have heard before but didn't realise that I had, so it was nice to be able to sing along. I find the original a little nasally in singing which does grate on me a little. It is a epic song however. This did cause me to worry as it was voted #406 out of Rolling Stones 500 greatest song list, how can a small UK band live up to that. I have to say they did fantastically. It is strange to hear it being sung in such a distinctly British accent but within 30 seconds you had forgotten that and I was just enjoying it. The harmonies are beautiful and I will be listening to this song again and again. 

So overall this is a fantastic 4 tracks. My one complaint is that it is only 4 tracks and not a full album!!

Please check out "Scarborough Fair" at http://music.wilfulmissing.co.uk/album/scarborough-fair

Check out Wilful Missing at their website http://wilfulmissing.co.uk

or facebook https://www.facebook.com/wilfulmissing

Brains out of 5:

 

 

Funny things kids make me say #5

#5
Don’t worry; covering your pencil will not make it suffocate!

OUCH!

Today at work I bent down to unplug a laminator and smacked my head on the edge of a book display in the library. Not only did I hit my head but the exact spot I hit was the part of my head missing skull because of my ICP. That make my eyes water. Now I have a pretty substantial headache going on!
Doesn't help that work was horrid today including assaults and temper tantrums. 2.5 days left, I can't wait for summer but I am really sad to be leaving my class. I will miss them SO much!

Funny things kids make me say #4

#4
Don’t wee on my laptop.

Product Review: Sennheiser/Adidas CX 680 High-Performance Noise-Isolating Ear Canal Headphones (Sports-Optimised Design)

I use a lot of headphones. When I was in hospital I went through many pairs in my many months inside. I like the in ear ones but am quite fussy about comfort and as such I have tried many, expensive ones and cheaper ones but none have lasted. I don't treat them as well as I should, putting them in my bag, draw and other places and this causes me to go through as many pairs as I do.
I read lots about headphones and watched lots of YouTube videos and finally decided to get these.

Upon opening the packaging is pretty big, seems a fair amount of waste. The headphones are bright yellow and come with a 3 different size in-ear buds. The main special feature of these are the fins which  sit outside the ear, along the inside rim of the ear, keeping the earphone in, stopping it pulling out if the wire gets snagged. You get 3 different of sizes of these as well. I played around with the sizes and ended up with the medium buds and fins.

I find the fins are great, they really do stop them falling out, perfect for running or other exercise. The buds fit really well. They don't allow for much noise leakage, stopping others hearing your music too, which I like.

The noise quality is good. Has a good base tone, but it doesn't come across as having too much base, which many can. There is also no tinniness to the sound, it is clear and accurate to the actual sound and has a great depth.

The headphones have black fins and the area around that, as well as the control section. The buds and wire are a bright yellow colour. This is nice, not too bright and quite unique.

The wire is great. It is Kevlar reinforced, meaning pulling and snagging of the wire doesn't damage the wire. The headphones are split to a good length and there is no way to adjust this. I actually prefer this as I tend to fiddle with the cable when you can adjust and end up slitting the cable too far and getting myself in a pickle, tangled around everything. The join where the wires meet is strong. I can't be the only one who sometimes chews this part?! (told you I don't treat them well, but makes for a better more unique review lol) This part is so strong I have not chewed it and this is great. There is no volume control when you're just using the standard wire, but this is oky as the wire is pretty short, perfect for attaching to an arm band hen working out. The extension is provided and this adds a huge amount of length, enough to have your player in your pocket and not have a pull when walking. The control included the volume and a clip, which is yellow.

Other handy features include the fact that the headphones are sweat resistant, making them great for a work out. They include a cleaning tool for removing wax build up. Also included are a cable clip and a storage pouch which is large but doesn't have the best closing mechanism, meaning the buds can fall out. Sennheiser also provide a 24 month warranty.

The one downfall is that there is an area near the ear buds, just where the wire goes over your lobe that has snapped on mine, but this doesn't affect usage, just is annoying. This appears to be a common fault. However, this is not a reason not to get these headphones.

These are on sale on amazon for £27.99 but have an RRP of £59.99

Brains out of 5:

 

 

Funny things kids make me say #3

#3
Get out of my classroom if you’ve taken off your trousers and boxer shorts.

Pre-op/op dates

I have my preoperative appointment next Wednesday 24th July at 2.30.
Then on the 13th August I am going in for my blind epidural blood patch. GULP!
This means that for 3 years in a row I have had a procedure done during the summer holidays. 29th July 2011 was my decompression. 25th (ish) July 2012 was my intracranial pressure monitor and now this. I am so done with my brain being rubbish!

Have I told you guys this...?

I am not sure if I have mentioned this. I am rather scatterbrained and with it almost being the end of the school term I am more so than normal.
My best friend, Claire, is getting married in just over 1 month. 24th August. And.....I will be a bridesmaid. I am so excited. Like, so excited. Can you tell =D
We have a second hen do coming up and then it is full steam into the wedding. Ahhhhh.

Product review: Compeed Blister Plasters!

I already love the compeed brand as they do awesome cold-sore plasters. I suffer a heck of a lot from cold-sores, in spring I normally go only about a week between getting them, especially when I am run down or finding my chiari hard.
I was sent some free compeed blister plasters to try. This is my honest review of them. Whilst I was given the item for free the opinions are my own based on using them.
These are AMAZING. I suffer from blisters lots, especially in summer. I do a lot of PE at work and wear shorts in the summer. However, if I am not wearing trainer socks and just fold ankle socks they often slip and then rub. Normally plasters don't stay on or don't offer enough protection over a big enough area.
These plasters stick on, I mean really stick on. They last over a full day. They are skin colour, they are big enough to protect if your shoes are ill fitting and slipping. Basically I would 100% recommend them!

Brains out of 5

 

Funny things kids make me say #2

#2

Please don’t tell me you have a wee censor in your underwear.

Product review: Danone Danio Yogurt

So recently Bzzagent.co.uk sent me voucher to get 3 different flavours of Danone Danio Yogurt. These were sent to me for free as I am a bzz agent.

I was excited to try the yogurts as I have seen the adverts with the spoon bendingly thick yogurt and I was intrigued to try it as I honestly couldn't see how it could be made thick without feeling far too odd. My hopeful expectation was that my spoon would stand up in the pots!

So I picked up the passionfruit, the cherry and the strawberry flavours. I love anything passionfruit or red cherry flavoured so was excited.

I was happy to read that the yogurt is high in protein, with 26% of your GDA and it is almost fat free. This made me happy as I am currently following the insanity diet and fitness plan (on and off, mostly off at the moment as I've been unwell) and protein is a big thing as it helps build muscle.

I opened it and it was very white, I stuck my spoon straight in and.......it stood up!!!! YAY! I tried some of the yogurt first, this was creamy and slightly bitter but not too bad as I eat natural yogurt daily so am used to the tang.

I then ventured to the bottom of the pot to try the fruit. This was amazing. It was sweet and crunchy as there were still seeds left in it.

I then (after stopping myself from eating all the fruit) ate it working down through to eat both yogurt and fruit together. This was nice, however about half way through I felt myself growing less fond of the strange texture of the ultra thick yogurt. I had to stop eating it in the end, I just couldn't enjoy the taste when the texture was bothering me so much. I have, however, always been a little funny with my food and if something doesn't feel right, even if it is yummy, I cannot eat it.

My boyfriend, therefore, ate the rest of that pot and over the next few days ate the others too(helped enthusiastically by Jacob). I also handed out vouchers to family and friends. They all really enjoyed it and best of all felt full up after eating it. So even though I didn't like it, everyone else did!.

Brains out of five

Chiari crisis!

So after experiencing what can only be described as the headache from hell last week my chiari is playing up.
I felt rough last Tuesday and had a meeting at 5pm which I had to get Richard to drive me to. I got home and flopped before going to bed at 8.30pm. I woke on Wednesday morning at 7am as normal to go to work. I immediately had a strong headache and took my morning meds. I made my lunch and actually put my lunchtime meds in my lunchbox so I would take the as soon as lunch started rather than when I went back to my classroom for at the end of lunch.
My headache got increasingly worse, to the point people were noticing I looked unwell. I looked like I was in pain apparently. I battled through a very long morning, which in reality was a very easy morning with only 5 children in my class as the rest were away on a trip!
I had my break and didn't touch the large amount of cakes that are ever present in the staff room as I was feeling very nauseous at this point.
After break I was told by a few people I needed to go home, but me being me and being terrified of admitting I had such a massive headache, ignored them, but did take the next two lessons on my own as my class were busy. I managed to get nothing done and found myself close to tear in pain. I was at this point very very scared as not only did I feel like passing out and kept walking into walls, I realised this was a very very bad headache, like I hadn't had since the meningitis times.
I finally decided to go home, when the head teacher walked into my classroom (not because I was ill, to be honest I never found out why lol) and looked very concerned asking me if I was oky. I promptly burst into tears and told her I really needed to go home but was too scared to drive myself as I felt so unsafe even walking properly.
She was awesome, she took me to her office, and within 3 minuets I was in a car on my way home as she found a free member of staff (not easy in my busy school, full of very needy pupils). There was no one at home and the head had told the member of staff to not leave me on my own. After 45 minuets, a very teary phone call to my Mum and Richard, a cup of tea, my lunch time meds and a call to the doctor Rich came home and I went to the doctor.
I was given a full MOT and it showed a pulse of 147, clearly I was in pain and my body was fighting it. I was given 2 diclofenac suppositories ( yeah gross I know but I am giving a honest account and to be honest I didn't care at that point.) and given 60mg of codeine (my normal is 30mg) My doctor was concerned enough to mention me going to hospital and that the next step is morphine at home (which I don't want, at least whilst I am still working) I was told to rest up, take the meds and return the next day if I was still feeling no better.
I took the new meds plus my normal medication ( minus the codeine and diclofenac, as I had them in much higher doses) felt not too much better but very relaxed and drugged up so that made it a bit easier to handle as I wasn't so panicked.
I went to sleep over night, waking to take more meds which isn't something that happens often. I often wake but can normally fall back to sleep without additional medication and didn't expect to as the new medication seemed to have a sedative effect.
Awaking the next morning I took the meds again and still felt rubbish. I obviously took the day off work and got another appointment at the doctors. I explained my reluctance to take morphine and was instead given Meloxicam. This didn't do much but it did seem by the end of the day my headache had run its corse and I was starting to feel better.
The friday I was off work again, just because I felt rather hungover from the new medication and didn't feel I would be safe in a class of kiddies and my head was still having niggles now and then.

So after 3 days of pain my baseline headache is higher, my meds have changed, I have been told I take the maximum medication I can without taking morphine but I am oky =D

Product review: Veet® EasyWax™

I was sent a Veet® EasyWax™ to review by bzzagent.co.uk This is a site which sends products out in return for honest reviews and word of mouth feedback.

I am always excited to test new products and this was no exception. I have a bit of obsession with having smooth legs after being in hospital and having nothing better to do than shave my legs using all the different products I was brought as there were no flowers allowed on the ward. I would shave my legs everyday and eventually found a combo that I love and still use today! 
However I don't enjoy shaving my legs now I am out of hospital and hate the fact it needs doing so often, so the idea of a home wax kit that is tidy and easy to use really appealed to me. Plus the weather means I want smooth legs all the time. 

I used the kit on a Saturday morning when there was no one home (to hear my screams of pain haha) It stated I should leave it to heat up for 20 mins but it took much longer than this (about 50 mins)
I spread the wax on my leg according to the instructions and timidly stuck on the fabric wax strip, realising that once it was on it had to come off and the only way for that to happen was to pull, hard!

It took me a few minutes to get my nerves in check, I put on an episode of switched at birth to distract me (I am obsessed with this show!) Then I realised I looked like a total wimp and just grabbed it and pulled. Now I was expecting agony, but there was only a small amount of pain. Maybe that was because it only pulled out a small amount of hair.

I tried again and again but ended up waxing only the front of each leg before I ran out of strips. It did say they could be reused but it got so messy I just used the back and front of each one once.

So overall I wouldn't buy more strips so I could use it again, I just stick to my normal routine of using covent garden spa exfoliator and some exfoliator gloves, washing it off, using foaming lime shower gel and shaving (with a mans disposable razor, so much better!) then finishing with warmed L'occitane almond shower oil to finish. Baby soft legs for a few days! Much better than messy painful waxing. If I want to wax again I would go to a salon.

Brains out of 5:

The charcoal challenge

So this week the lovely people over at money supermarket.com gave me £50 to throw a budget BBQ. And what perfect weather to enjoy such a gift!

We hosted the BBQ but invited some family so in attendance was myself, my boyfriend Richard, my mum, my 3 year old brother Jacob, my big brother, his girlfriend and their daughter, my lovely 1 year old niece Gracie!

We love a good BBQ in our family and myself and Jacob who both have summer birthdays have one each year with all the extended family. 

We only used the £50 and used nothing else that we already had to get into the real swing of the challenge. 

And here is what we brought

This includes:

Burgers

Sausages

Pork steaks

Chinese chicken

Salad bits

Rolls

Gaelic bread

Snack bits (crisps and cocktail sausages)

Fizzy drinks

Ketchup

And loads more

It really is amazing what you can get for £50, well actually £49.17 to be precise =D

As it always seems to be the BBQ cooking turned into a mans jobs, with the ladies prepping the food and the men doing the cooking

We put the radio on and had a little dance and sat under our big gazebo whilst the food was cooking and Jacob and Gracie were playing (my brother is a plonker)

Once the food was ready it was about 5pm but still about 27* so we all sat under the big tree and chilled out and stuffed ourselves to bursting!!

Gracie entertained herself by eating sand and stealing the sausages out of my rolls and nicking everyone's garlic bread, the monkey!

My favourite part of the BBQ is alway the bananas we put on the BBQ at the end to cook whilst we are eating. 

We split the bananas right down the length whilst keeping the skin on and then stuff them with chocolate and marshmallows. We the wrap them in tin foil and stick them on the BBQ. I like to leave them on till they are really mushy, but in my excitement I took them off a little early this time =[

The chocolate melts and the marshmallows ooze and it all gets into the banana. Pure heaven!!

This is my entry into the charcoal challenge with money supermarket. I received £50 from moneysupermarket.com which I used to buy the products listed above. I will also be entered into a prize draw to win £250 to host the ultimate BBQ! http://www.moneysupermarket.com/home-insurance/competitions/the-charcoal-challenge/

Funny things Jacob says #1

I'm sitting putting face cleanser on with Jacob chatting to me!
Jacob: can I have one of those?
Me: why? They are just cotton wool pads
Jacob: oh, I thought they were prawn crackers!

Quick post

Just a quick post to say my headache is beyond what I can control so I am off work and off to the doctors =/

Headache!

Headache bad tonight! Have my pre op on 24th July for my blood patch. Apparently they will do blood cultures to see if I have bugs in my blood and if I don't they will do the blood patch just after!

Neurosurgeon appointment.

Had my appointment with my neurosurgeon on Monday, it went fine.
Going back in to hospital for the blind blood patch thing in August =[

Neurosurgeon appointment

I am seeing my neurosurgeon on Monday at 4.30pm , they phoned last night. Will update after.

Monday morning update.

Been feeling pretty rubbish this weekend but I think that might be because it was thunder storming over the tail end of last week and into the weekend. It was my birthday on Friday so had a fun but hectic day at work, followed by a pizza night with the family, which was nice!
Saturday and Sunday were chilled.
Felt crappy at work today, just lethargic and sickly with a headache but was still able to maintain the  work level.
This week includes a school trip to a theme park (chiari will love that) a belated birthday meal with my brother and his partner and Richard.
Oh, and because of my recent MRI scan and having to remove my painkilling patches before each one and apply a new one afterwards, I have used them up far quicker than I would normally and my doctor won't give me any more until the 20th of June, which would mean I would be without my patch for 8 days by the time this one runs out. Thus this week will also consist of me chasing my GP surgery for more drugs =D

MRI yesterday and eye hospital on Monday.

Had a brain and full spine MRI yesterday. It took a couple of hours to do but was actually relatively pain-free! I was surprised as my last one was horrible and this one was even longer.
Not sure when I will have the results.
I had an appointment at the eye hospital on Monday. It was fine, my vision is still changeable. I am having a visual evoked potential test done again soon (had one end of last year) and these will probably be an, at least, annual event.

Yet another MRI

A month since my last MRI of my brain and orbits and I am having yet another. This time one of my brain and full spine so it will, no doubt, take hours. No appointment yet but had an answer phone message from my neurosurgeon to say it is in prep for the next procedure that he want me to have. Wonderful!

Tummy turns

Nausea is hitting me big time the past few weeks. My tummy feels like it is turning by lunchtime everyday. Doctor is contacting my neurosurgeon tomorrow =/

6/5/13

So I had an eye appointment 2 weeks ago. It was fine. My eyes have got worse again, vision wise but they think it is not due to a refraction error but something neurological. SO they have phoned my neurosurgeon and he will be in contact. My next eye appointment is 3rd June so not too much gap between appointments.
Headaches have been getting worse and worse. Neck pain has also been really bad and so I am still needing a max dose of painkillers everyday.
Also have a hen do weekend at the end of the month, so that will need lots of rest prior to going as I will be VERY tired!
Not too much else to update on, will update again after my next eye appointment.

Quick update!

I have an MRI scan next Tuesday at 5pm GMT. It is of both my brain/c-spine as well as my orbits and optic nerves. I will then have another eye appointment on Monday 22nd of APril at 9.15am GMT. I would appreciate good vibes, getting annoyed at the endlessness of this so would like an end to be in site! Has only been a few weeks since my last eye appointment (about 3 weeks ago I think) so getting seen more and more regularly due to deterioration!

Neglect

I have been neglecting my blog for a while now!
I am doing oky, not great but it'll do. Still having horrible chiari pain, still waiting to see my neurosurgeon again, still having to see the eye clinic all the time ect ect.
Good news is I have a friend with chiari coming to visit me from New York, I pick her up from London in 5 days =D
I will be sure to update properly after her trip

Blergh!

So been sleeping really really badly and having more and more pain. I am actually getting upset at the thought of getting out of bed because I know by 10am I will be hurting. I am back to taking codine, paracetamol, tramadol, diclophenac many times a day as well as wearing my pain patch. Doctors visit in order I think

Happy new year

Have had a headache all year! Can literally say that. Woke up this morning and after lifting my head from the pillow my first words were "OUCH" So sick and tired of my head being sore all the time!!