final weight

my final weigh in was on Monday and i was 13st 8lb that is a total loss of 13 lb not as much as i would have liked but still nearly a st and there is always next years challenge for the rest.

i would like to thank everyone for the support they have given me and for all those that have donated to this worthy cause thanks again.

sorry i need a vent

every day is the same and i just don't know how much longer i can go on like this.
I wake up and my head feels like it is either filled with concrete or helium and my eyes are going to pop out of my head until i am violently sick. this becomes bearable throughout the day. then around mid afternoon i am overcome with drowsiness so much so i have been known to fall asleep mid sentence. when i wake up 2 hours later the process of the morning starts again except more intense pain in the eyes. as the evening comes and it comes to bedtime i can not settle at first if i lay down i feel sick and my head starts to pulsate if i prop myself up after a while i get this intense sharp pain under my shoulder blade running up my spine through my neck and into the base of my head which then does not go away. when i finely do fall asleep i wake up every 2 hours throughout the night, and then it all starts again. oh and that is not mentioning the fact that all the time there is an incessant ringing in my ears with the occasional whooshing noise when it gets real bad. these are the symptoms that i get every day, don't get me wrong i have a lot more symptoms but these are the symptoms that do not give me a day off and this is how i feel on a good day.

more weard stuff

i woke up to go to the loo this morning and as i was about to get back into bet i passed out again landing accross my boyfriends legs. then as i was trying to read a few hours later i had to close one eye to read as when i looked out of both i was seeing double.

weigh in

well i am still passing out and my head is still thumping. The other day, i landed on my wrist funny so ended up at A&E when i told them what had happened they seemed more interested in the "Drop Attack" (as they called it) then my wrist or cheek finally they told me they would x-ray my wrist but i would have to speak to my neuro about the "Drop Attacks" as they believed it to be neurological (like i had told them when i first got there i was not there for the passing out i was there for my wrist.) and there was nothing they could do for the drop attacks so i should not do anything like cross the road or go swimming or cook unsupervised you know anything that could kill me or others if i pass out whilst doing it (it's a good job i can't drive). oh luckily it was just a sprain no brake on my wrist.

that was Thursday i had had on before that on Tuesday and after it on Saturday after I got out of the bath.

so far this week touch wood i have not yet had one but it is only Tuesday afternoon and i do feel like i have been sucking on a helium balloon so you never know i think i should spend the rest of the day at my boyfriends mums just in case.

on a lighter subject i weighed in yesterday at 14st 2lb which means we are back on track any loss from this point onwards is a proper loss for the challenge whoopy

weigh in

well i weighed in at 14st 4lb that is a lose of 2 lb so i am on my way back down 2 more lb and i am back on track. since last week things have not been good i have been passing out every other day and the headaches are getting more and more intense i have given up on taking pain relief as when i do take them they do nothing the only drugs i am taking are the topamax, the thyroxin and some anti sickness if i can take them in time.

that morning feeling

well again i am awake after 5 hours of restless sleep if you can call it sleep i would call it laying in bed trying to get comfortable only to get snatches of unconsciousness until i could take it no longer. my head feels full of helium today i know this feeling i would get this feeling a lot before i started the started taking the diamox or the topamax i know tonight i am in for a bumpy ride and it is not migraine but we shall see. i think this is what some of the girls on the haven mean when they say that it takes a long time but you learn the difference between the feeling of high pressure and migraine. i have not had this expanding head sensation since the lumbar puncture. it is the exact feeling you get when you are on gas and air and i hate it. don't get me wrong the first time it happened i thought it was fascinating quite a buzz until the headache started and i passed out and every thing started to flicker like the light bulb is about to blow constantly and then it didn't go away they that pressure builds up so much that you'r sick.

more weirdness

so i was in the kitchen talking to my mum when suddenly i loose all the fealing in my right leg and my right arm starts to twitch like mad. i mean odd ha? one minuet i am standing there and the next i am on the floor and my leg has properly gone to sleep. assume it is a migraine it lasted 1 and 1/2 hours. i am just gonna make a note of all this weird stuff now and take it with me to my next appointment rather then panicking and calling the hospital every 5 minuets or i will be told to come in and then sent home once the have pumped me with what ever steroid they think will help and i don't want to end up loosing this challenge. so this blog is now going to log my symptom changes

pain

ok so i woke up today and i felt like i had done 10 rounds with Tyson. my face is puffy my right eye is slightly bigger then my left and the ringing in my ears is so loud it is drowning out the hum of my pc. is this a migraine or is it IH i don't know any more the neuro says migraine now but surly if it was migraine i would get a day off from this pain and the insistent clamour in my ears. last night i managed to get about 4 hours sleep, i just cant get comfortable any more. if i lay too flat my head hurts more, if i sit up i get a stiff neck and back ache. my joints are hurting so much now of a night it is stupid i just don't know what to do any more.

been a while

i know it has been a while, i have had some stuff going on. well i was getting these odd visual thing of a night where anything that moved had a trail behind it and i was having these odd fits in which apparently i would zone out and have no knowledge of it after and i was getting slower and slower in everything i did. my neuro took me off the diamox saying that it is a side effect of both my meds but the topamax treats both migraine and IH and the diamox just tends to treat the IH and as my discs are normal at the mo and my lp was only 25 he thinks that my pressure is down for now.

so i was off the diamox for a week and then it started on sat i was angry at everyone my head was pounding my ears were extra sensitive to sound and i could not take my sunglasses off the light was so painful. when i woke up Sunday morning it looked like it was snowing twinkly lights and i was finding it difficult to speak (i sounded drunk) my mum rang Queen Mary's Hospital as that is where my neuro is based and they do not have an a&e so she rang Kings Collage Hospital as that is where i when for my lp and the last time i went to my local a&e they did not have a clue when it came to ih and wanted to treat me for meningitis when i had low pressure after my lp cos they didn't have a neuro on call.

so we went to King's. by the time we got there i sounded like i was having a stroke i could not form a whole word let alone a sentence. after tests and anti sickness meds the neuro told me it was a severe migraine and dosed me up with steroids and pain meds i am dredding next weeks weigh in. it took till wed to get my speech back and then today i passed out so i have another migraine on the way if the neuros are wright and this is all migraine now they are lasting for 4 days and i am getting an other one as soon as i get over the last each time.

day 15 and weigh

well i have had a bit of an odd few days. I am still to go to the loo even since wed i think it is a mix of the new dosage of topamax the co-dydramol and the diamox last night i took six spoons of lactolose in an attempt to shift something and all it has moved so far is wind fingers crossed something will move soon.

on a far less gross story our cats have adopted a cat of their own it seems during the cold winter we noticed they had befriended a cat that seemed to spend a lot of time in our shed. we did not it cos we thought it was someone else's cat and she was just coming over to play with our cats. then last month i noticed that even though she looked like a big cat cos she has such long bushy hair she was acutely on the brink of starvation so we put a comfortable out in the shed for her and put food out for her. first of all it was little and often and then she was fed at the same time as my cats. now she is at a stage that she is at ease with us we took her to our local vets to see if she had been chipped and no she had not no-one had reported her missing with the vet either. they then told us that they did not deal with strays and we would have to go elsewhere to get her checked out we went to see a friend who is a fosterer for Batersy Dogs and cats home to get some advice. and whilst we were chatting one of her dogs a female cross staff that doesn't normally sit on people for a fuss she always sits on the floor for you to pet her but for some reason she resided to jump up next to me and lay across me like a baby so i could not move whilst the other dog of the house was after my attention too i had to rub both their bellies then suddenly i a funny turn you know the ones where the everything becomes very trippy. it was was odd it was almost as if the older dog new it was coming and that was why she had me pinned down cos the closer it the turn got the more weight she applied she did not want me to get up. lol must tell my neuro about that maybe we are barking up the wrong tree with migraines for the fainting.

well weight= 14st 4 lb as for the rest i will do it next week i can't look at this screen ant longer

missed breakfast could not face it

lunch half an apple and goats cheese sandwich calories unknown

day 10

woke up and i can see my pulse my visions is rippling in time with my tinnitus again. oh happy days.

breakfast a 50g bowl of purple berry crunch

258 cal

7.7g protien

37.9g carb

8.4g fat

4.4g fibre

0.25g salt

lunch

left over maroccan chicken

606 cal

6.6g fat

14.6g added sugar

0.6g salt

day 9

woke up not feeling too bad today had a
beacon sandwich for breakfast well king of i made it with 2 slices of toast 3 of panciette ham and 3 cherry tomato's
total nutritional value
315 cal
16.9g fat
0.99g salt
32.6g carb

went over to a friends later that day and day a big argument with them i had to walk it off, so i went to the shop (it's a ten minuet walk) i could feel my head buzzing as i walked i got some bits. some that he wanted some that i wanted and when i was in the cue to pay there was this man in the que behind me that reeked on alcohol so bad it made me feel like i was going to be sick. i had to get out of there as quick as i could i paid got my change without checking and left the shop. at that point my friend rang to see if i was ok and i am glad i did i felt dizzy and sick he talked to me all the way back. i felt as if i had drank a bottle and a half of vodka by the time i got back i had bumped into 3 bin's and a brick wall, i sounded like a drunk too. then after sitting for 20 minuets and a pint of water i was back to normal again just like that when suddenly i had this feeling above my left eye like the worst bout of brain freeze you could ever get and then some so bad it made me cry out. it was gone as fast as it came and i was left with my usual headache behind the eyes and at the base of my scull, i went home.

for dinner i did
moroccan-style chicken
serves 4
1 tbsp olive oil
325g pack chicken thigh fillets
2tbsp runny honey
1 clove garlic
40g root ginger
3 medium carrots
410 tin chickpeas drain off the water
400g tin or carton chopped tomato's in juice
1 chicken stock cube 1 tomato cut into wedges
350g couscous
1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
freshly ground black pepper

nutritional value
606 cal
6.6g fat ( 1g of which is saturated fat)
14.6 g of added sugar
0.6g salt

total days intake

921 cal

23.5g fat

1.59g salt

Day 8

ok today is the day that i have upped my dosage of topamax to the full 50mg in the morning 50 in the evening lets see how much they effect me now. Are they going to make me any more doppy then i already am let's all i hope is that they work and i get used to them enough to get back to work as soon as pos. The Neuro who i have every faith in, believes these are the answer they just have to get into my system.so i have to give them a chance.
well today the ringing in my ears is joined by a sharp ache in my ear like someone has been poking things in my right ear sure i will be told it is nothing bit i will write it down to ask the neuro.

Breakfast
one slice of toast topped with a mashed banana
total nutrition
183 cal
0.7g fat
46.3g carb

lunch
1 hot cross bun
187 cal

bit later
a bacon sandwich oh no i have no idea how many celeries i am sure it is too many will have to be good tomorrow and strict the rest of the week i feel quite sick now though is that the topamax? i don't know. i will have to see how it goes.

well managed 10 min,s on treadmill got to 5 min and felt like i was in a sceen from saw with someone drilling farther into my right temple with every step but from the inside but pushed through until at ten min's i needed to be sick that is enough torture for now i will try to push a bit further tomorrow.

I am sorry i need to vent

Day 7 and weigh in

I have had a bad couple of days. Not abel to get out of bed much. So the food diary starts again today and now for weigh in:
Weight = 14st 2lb
BMI = 35.16
WII FIT AGE = 34
Neck = 13.5"
Bust = 45"
Back = 34"
Waist = 39"
Stomach = 48"
Hips = 47"
Left thigh = 25.5"
Right thigh = 26"
left bicep = 14"
Right bicep = 14
for breakfast i had a bowl of allbran and a banana
lunch one serving of smoked salmon and leek risotto
recipe serves 4
1tbsp olive oil
350g leeks finely chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
350g arborio rice
1 chicken stock cube
1 pack soked salmon trimmings
25g light soft cheese with garlic & herbs
1 lemon
fresh ground black pepper
method
1. in a large saucepan, heat the oil and gently fry leeks till soft, then stir in the garlic and rice and cook for an other min.
2. make up 1.3 litres of hot stock in a pan an add 1 ladle to the rice and stir till absorbed then repeat this process until all the stock has absorbed by the rice (should take roughly 20 mins)
3.just before serving stir in smoked salmon and soft cheese squeeze over the lemon and crack the pepper.
nutrition
per serving
442 cal,
8.8g fat
1g saturated fat
3.2g added sugar
1.6g salt

dinner one serving of 2 sausage and jacket potato with half a tin ratatouille
nutrition
per serving
696 cal
30.6g fat (of which 12.5g saturated)
10.1g sugar
3.4g salt

day 4

woke up feeling like my head was being swashed in a vice at 09:00 took thyroxin and glass of oj. at 10:00 had bowl of readybreak with a sliced banana washed down with tow diamox, 1 topamax and a glass of lemon squash
lunch was 14:00 a shall bowl of chilli and rice with 1/4 of a garlic bread baguette glass of water
15:00 did 15 min's of exercise before i got dizy and my headache got much worse making me sick
19:00 4 riveters with cheese and cucumber
02:00 i realise i have forgotten to take my meds so take 2 diamox and 2 topamax then go to bed

day three

well i got up at 08:00 took thyroxin with glass of water could see this blob in my field of vision and felt reel sick (it was like i had looked at a light blob or something. at 09:00 had breakfast slice of toast with clover marge washed down with diamox, topamax and a glass of water. bout 10:00 called the opticians and asked them for advice about blob they told me to go straight to eye casualty my nearest would probably be moorfields. 14:15 got to moorfields they did a sight test blood pressure and blood sugar test told me that it would be 3 hours before i saw a dr and that i needed to find something to eat something to eat now at my sugar was low. my dad went and got me a cereal bar covered in yogurt i eat half of it i felt so qweesy i could not stomach any more. bout 16:00 fel light headed so had th other half of the cierial bar 17:00 saw optharmologist after examination they said that i had a floater and i could do with new glasses but my discs were clear and there was no sign of a pap coming back (thank god. 17:45 got th london bridge station and had half a baigle 21:30 had chiniese take out tblsp king prawn chowmian, tblsp deep fried shredded beef, tblsp mushroom stirfry
went to bet 02:00

second day of the IIH UK £ for lb challenge part 1

5:30 alarm went off to take thyroxin took that with a glass of oj and rang my boy friend to get him up for work. went back to sleep.

09:00 got up had for breakfast two slices of toast topped with clover sliced apple and banana washed down with 1 diamox, 1 topamax, 1 codydramol and 1 ponstan and a pint of water

mid morning snack 11:00 was 1, 2oz slice of apple pie with 1 cup of coffee with milk and 2 sugars

lunch at 14:00 was 1, 4oz piece of quiche and salad made with apple, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot and cheese with low fat French dressing

mid afternoon 15:00 2 hot cross buns with cup of tea and codydramol and ponstan

day1 part 2

well i know i was meant to come back on here yesterday to tell you what i had eaten and when. you see the thing is i got so bad i went to sleep at 16:30 and didn't get up till 09:00 this morning.

so lets go through yesterday anyway.

Breakfast was at 09:30 after weigh in on wii 1 slice of wholemeal toast topped with mashed banana no spread, 1 pint of water, 1 codydramol and 1 ponstan.

mid morning snack 11:30 1, 2oz slice of apple pie with a cup of tea.

lunch 14:00 1, 4oz slice of quiche with lettuce tomato spring onion grated carrot 1/2oz of grated cheese and a drizzle of sainsbery's French dressing (only 0.3 g of fat )

desert 15:00 1, 3oz slice apple pie

16:30 went to sleep

21:00 was woken to take 2diamox and 2 topamax large glass water

whent back to sleep

first day of the IIH UK £ for lb challenge

well i woke up at 08:30 and took my thyroxin and a glass of orange juice. my head is pounding and my ears are ringing it sounds like there is a dentist drill in my head (wonderful). I go down stares and put on the wii fit so i can weigh myself and discover the batteries in the remote are dead. so i run around the house looking for more but in vein there are non. i call one of the neighbours and she says she will have a look for me. so i get back into bed and go on the pc (i have to wear my tinted glasses as my head is starting to throb. i try to log on to a sight and realise that i have forgotten all the login detail that i set up last night (this illness is destroying me one day at a time). at 09:30 i take 2 diamox and 1 topamax washed down with a glass of water. then my neighbour comes over with the batteries so i get on the wii and do the fitness test .

my BMI = 35.94

Weight = 14st 7lb

Wii fit age = 34

now for the tape measure

Neck = 14"

Bust = 46"

Back = 35"

Waist = 38"

Stomach = 51"

Hips = 48"

Left thigh = 26"

Right thigh = 27"

well that is the painful bit now and that will be repeated next week so we can see if there is any change.

i will post later to give you a break down of what i have eaten today until then

well here we are 1 year and 3 month later and it turns out my fears were well founded. since i last spoke on here I left uni in Jan 2010 due to my job at The O2 being to demanding and did an NVQ2 in gambling operations and in June I started at a casino in London. In Sep I had a ruptured ovarian cyst and whilst i had that i could hear a familiar whooshing sound in my ears which i tried my best to ignore a dull headache began when i went back to work from being off with the cyst and i began to make mistakes that trainees make not someone with my 5 years experience they were mistakes i would never make under any ordinary circumstances. then one night I fainted and the same thing happened the next night and i spent the rest of the night feeling as though i was on gas and air, i could not concentrate on anything, especially dealing cards or roulette. the next day as i was getting ready for work my mum noticed i was slurring my speech as if i had been drugged. she called NHS direct who told her that because of my history i should go straight to casualty and explain the circumstances and then my history. they then sent me to the ophthalmologist who in turn said my gp needed to refer me to the neuro. so not as urgent as the first time but i knew right then that it was defiantly back.

by the time i saw the neuro i fainting pretty much on a Daley basses i couldn't sleep because of the claymore in my head from both tinnitus and pulsatile tinnitus i was being sick after every meal my left eye was swollen my short term memory was shot to pieces i constantly felt as if i were out of it on drugs without taking any and of course there was the pounding headache.

they confirmed my suspensions.

diagnosis benign intracranial hypertension but he also added in migraines with it. he has put me on diamox and topamax which are both treatments for this condition my weight at that point was 15st 5lb. the reason i am starting this blog again is because BIH (Benign Intracranial Hypertension) or IIH (Idiopathic Intracranial hypertension) as it is mow widely known now is such a rear condition that there is not enough information for patients and not enough Dr's know about the disorder or its symptoms so people can go overlooked not knowing they have it until they need drastic action. we need to raise awareness and fund charities like iih uk so more research is done to find a cure for this debilitating disorder. so myself and a few other sufferers off this thing have decided to do the IIH UK £s for lbs Challenge and starting tomorrow this blog will be used as it was original planed