For life's little ups and downs.

A rather quirky, funny and sometimes daunting look in to the life of someone who has a lot of health problems but does their best to keep positive. Punctuated by guinea pigs, anime, superheroes, transforming robots and cross stitching.

I started this blog to tell my story, about who I am and what I do. On top of the health problems and raising awareness for those, I also use my blog as a way to help promote other causes, particularly ones which affect the most vulnerable. I live with a number of different and complex health problems but I refuse to let anything get me down. I know how it feels to be discriminated against or thrown aside. This is me. This is my life. I live it and do what I want with it. Nature sets the limitations. We set the boundaries.

About Me:

A blog about life. I live with Type 1 Brittle Asthma, Bi-Polar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as well as Various Allergies, Neutropenia, Crohns Disease (my IBS was rediagnosed as Crohns), Osteo and Rheumatoid Arthritis, PCOS and Osteoporosis and Heredetary Spastic Paraplegia. I have recently also been diagnosed with Sleep Apnea (which makes me stop breathing in my sleep) I live with these conditions, but I refuse to let them keep me down and out. I still try and make the most of my days despite being so poorly and having to rely on my wheelchair, nebulisers, nearly 50 pills a day and 2l/min of oxygen and CPAP.

I'll flap my broken wings and erase it all someday... You'll see.

Sunday 22 February 2015

Numbers

One thing that people ask me about is the readings and numbers I have to check and keep an eye on and what those readings mean. Taking readings and clinical measurements is important when it comes to monitoring and managing a condition. Certain ones can show how serious things are.

The most important reading that any asthmatic should know and measure is peak expiratory flow. This is a measure as to how well your lungs are working at any given time and can point out whether things are suddenly getting worse. It is a reliable tool to show how well the medications are working rather than word of mouth. Its measured in litres/minute and a reading is taken by blowing as hard as possible in to a plastic tube or meter. I use an electronic meter device called a Piko-1. I find it more convenient and reliable than the plastic tubes you get from the doctors.

For someone my age, sex and height, a normal value would be 450 l/min. My personal best is 400l/min when I am well. My 75% mark (which indicates that I am starting to become unwell) is around 300l/min. Usually from here, I have to start being cautious and keep a close eye on things. If it goes below 250l/min, this is where we really start worrying and look at seeing a doctor asap. My 50% mark, anything below there is considered "critical" is 200l/min. Usually if things fall below there, I'm going to start showing signs of slowing down. My oxygen levels become unstable after the 150l/min mark and the usual protocol is to nebulise first and if things get worse or I drop suddenly, call 999 and get an ambulance. This is the point where things start getting life threatening so calling an ambulance is more than appropriate.

Calling an ambulance isn't something I take lightly. I'm not the sort or person who calls them for little reason and when they are called, they are always the first to say that I did the right thing, if not a bit later than I ought. I know a lot of people would say "its only asthma, why are you calling an ambulance out? They're for life threatening emergencies" and to them I say "my asthma is a life threatening emergency. Had I not made the call then I could have died." There's been times when the person who was with me has had to be warned that either an intubation maybe on the way or that there was a chance that I could die. Its a scary thing and knowing how close it's come does tend to make me worry but I try to do what I can.

Over the last few days my peak flows have again dropped to below the 50% mark and although I'm keeping on top of it, I can't deny that I haven't been at all well. I've been sleeping a lot, barely interested in food (its been a recent worry that I've not been asking for meals due to no appetite and my breathing has been worse) as well as a cough that's become quite weak. It'll be alright though, I know my limits and when things are getting too much I know what to do. Although I am really hoping it doesn't come to that.

Loves
Wendy xx

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for your comment. I will review it as soon as possible!

Labels

ABG (2) acceptance (5) Adventures (1) Alphonse (2) Ambulances (5) Amusement (1) Angry (3) Animals (2) Another Day In Midgar (2) Appointment (1) Art (4) Asthma (22) Asthma Attack (12) Asthma UK (2) Awareness (2) Bad Attitudes (1) Bass (1) Benefits (3) Birthdays (3) Blogs (2) Blood Pressure (1) Books (1) Bucket List (1) Busy Day (2) Calming (1) Catherine (2) Childhood (2) Chocobo (1) Christmas (4) Cleaning (2) Close Calls (1) cold (1) Comforter (1) Compensation (2) Creativity (1) Cruelty (1) Custody (1) Cute (1) death (3) Debt (2) Depression (4) Design (1) diary (1) Disability (1) Disgust (1) Disney (1) Distraction (2) Doctors (4) documentary (1) Dr Pike (1) Dreams (1) Drugs (1) DWP (1) Dye (1) Eating Patterns (1) ESA (1) Exhaustion (3) fair share (1) family (1) Films (1) Final Fantasy 7 (5) Flu (2) Fluid (1) Food (1) Friends (7) Gaming (2) Gizmo (2) glass half full (3) goodbye (1) GP (5) guidelines (1) Guiniea Pigs (6) Guitar (1) Hair (1) happiness (6) haters (1) Help (1) HND (2) home (3) home use (1) Honesty (3) Hope (4) Hospitals (8) Housework (1) Human Nature (1) Illness (5) Infection (5) inspiration (1) Instincts (1) Joke (1) JP (2) Judy (1) Labas (1) Life (2) lost cause (1) love (1) Luke (1) Lungs (3) Lush (1) Me (2) Medication (7) Memories (1) Mike (1) Mind (1) MSN (1) Music (6) My Past (1) Nathaniel (1) Nebuliser (8) Needles (1) neglect (2) Neighbor (2) new look (2) New year (1) NHS (2) Noise (5) Omen Shadow (2) One day's supply (1) Organ Donation (1) Pain (3) Patch (1) PDSA (1) Poem (1) Positivity (1) Pred (3) quotes (1) Rachael Wakefield (1) Rachy (1) Random ideas (1) Rant (1) Recovery (7) reinvention (2) Reporting (1) Routines (1) sad (1) salmonella (1) scared (1) Sean (1) Selfishness (1) Sephiroth (4) Sephy (3) Simon's Cat (1) Sims 2 (1) Sleep (6) Sorting it Out (1) Spite (1) Steve (1) Store Room (1) success (1) Support (2) Survival (4) Tattoos (1) tears (1) Technology (1) Temparature (1) Thank You (4) The Crow (1) Therapy (1) Thoughts (1) Thrash (1) Tired (1) Toys (1) Transformers (1) Transplant (1) Veins (1) Vomiting (1) warnings (1) West Midlands Ambulance Service (2) winter (1) work (1) Year (1)