Southend and last weeks trip in an ambulance

I'm delivering training for a couple of days in Southend, this evening after training I walked along the sea front and took these pictures of the sun set. They are in reverse order here though!
I really wish I had my proper camera with me but i had to make do with my iPhone.
It's been a funny week really. This time last week I had just been released from A&E. Last Tuesday started out pretty average. I had a bit of a head ache and felt a bit sick after being on the train to London but it wasn't any big deal. I arrived at my meeting with the Met Police at 10:00 the meeting lasted an hour and a quarter. It was just a final evaluation meeting, noting stressful, very easy. My headache was growing worse and I began to feel nauseas so I popped into a cafe near the MPS office in Earls Court. I ordered mint tea and a breakfast. I ate some toast and egg but felt a lot worse.

I decided I needed fresh air so got up but as I walked towards the door I felt a lot worse. Outside I just felt even worse, I couldn't see properly, my head was swimming, I wanted to lie down, my face felt numb, my hands were tingling, I couldn't breath. I tried to call Jason but could hardly speak to him. I felt I would collapse any minute. I told him I'd call an ambulance. I sat on a chair outside the cafe and everything went black. The next thing I can remember I was slumped across the table. I felt like I was going to pass out again and I still couldn't see so I called an ambulance.

I don't know why I didn't ask for help, nobody asked me if I was ok and I must have looked a complete state sprawled out on the table. But hey its London weird stuff happens. I'm sure if I'd collapsed on the floor it would have been different.

The ambulance arrived and I didn't even notice, I was so out of it. The crew were fantastic, they got me on to the ambulance and to sit down. They took my blood pressure which was on the low side so they got me to lie down. within a few minutes of lying down it began to rise ever so slightly. I've never been in an ambulance before. I wish I could remember more of it but I don't, I was so out of it.

At the hospital I remember they said I was the "flat lady" who had to be kept flat. The paramedic assured me that they hadn't said the "fat lady!" I ended up at Kensington and Westminster hospital on Fulham Road. The nurses and Drs were great. I had loads of tests even one of those ECG heart things. Everything seemed normal apart from my blood pressure being on the low side but they then got my blood tests which suggested I had an infection of some kind because my white blood count was up. (though that could have been caused by the stress of fainting.) So after 5 hours I was allowed to go home but had to report to my GP for further tests re my blood pressure and blood work.

Consensus from Drs at hospital and GP is that it is some kind of virus but I have to have further blood tests on Thursday just to make sure. As I have been feeling faint, dizzy, achey and exhausted for about a week. Today I have felt a lot better which is brilliant so I'm really hoping it was just a virus that's clearing up now. I had been feeling pretty run down since February so maybe this was all just because I was a bit run down.

New Garden

Having moved to a new build house in December I am faced with the prospect of starting a garden from scratch. Its daunting and exciting. I'm thinking of playing it slowly, seeing how the garden is through out the year and using pots and tubs to brighten up the garden until next year when I can plan a border. I have lots of ideas but have started small with the brightly coloured tub above and the panda planter below.
I also planted some tomatoes and onions into propagaters for indoors until the weather is better. I'll keep you updated with how the garden grows and develops this year!

Hope for Japan

As regular readers of my blog will know I have been to Japan twice in the last 3 years, in fact it's nearly 3 years since my first trip to Japan and the start of my blog. Japan is a country of such beauty, peacefulness, and calm which is totally contrasted with the breathtaking bustle and business of Tokyo. Words can't really express the shock and sorrow I have felt watching the news of last weeks huge earth quake and tsunami and the destruction and devastation it has caused. On top of this natural disaster is the terrible nuclear crisis at Fukushima.

The picture above is of sakura (cherry blossom) which is a symbol of spring and hope in Japan. My thoughts are with the quietly dignified people of Japan.

Giving up caffeine

Coffee: I love it. A nice cup of tea: I think I may love that more. Chocolate: my favourite thing in the world! I love cola, Dr Pepper, anything fizzy with caffeine in it! So imagine my horror when my GP suggested that I cut out all caffeine. I pointed out to her that I had given coffee up once for about 6 months in the past and it didn't help me.

You see my GP and many medical experts and sensible people know that caffeine is a major trigger for migraine and headaches generally. There is also a lot of evidence that too much caffeine can increase anxiety.

I had been keeping a diary of food, mood, headaches and activities for over a month and my GP surmised from it that I needed to cut out the caffeine, everything this time. Not cut out coffee and make up for it by drinking gallons of tea and consuming buckets of chocolate. This time everything not event green and white tea that contain small amounts of caffeine. Nothing.

What would I do!!! My only enjoyment in life (slight exaggeration) is popping into a coffee shop and having a latte and some chocolate donut or muffin. I couldn't even pop into starbucks or Costa for a hot-chocolate, chai tea or even one of those Starbucks herb infused green tea! What would I do in the summer I had only just learnt about the frappe in the last year and the Surfin Cafe in Biggleswade do a mocha coffee frappe to die for!

But I want to get better. I am sick of being plagued by headaches and anything that might reduce my anxiety is worth a go. I was advised to come off the caffeine gradually so I didn't get any withdrawal symptoms. But after cutting down slightly on the first day I got an almighty headache and I thought blow this for a game of soldiers I'll go cold turkey. So I had 4 days of headaches, feeling grotty like I had a cold and craving coffee, pepsi max, a nice cup of tea.

I had discovered that you can drink redbush tea with milk in it. I'd only ever had it black and usually drinking enough of it instead of normal tea would induce a caffeine deprivation head ache. But now I tried it with milk and it was lovely and really got me through the worst few days of withdrawal. And yes redbush tea is totally caffeine free!

After 9 days of no caffeine most people are officially "clean" from the stuff. I'm on day 14 now and I have noticed some improvements. When I get up in the mornings whether its at the crack of dawn as it was on Monday or after a lie in, I don't feel groggy and my head is far less foggy than it used to be in the morning. I seem to feel more evenly balanced through out the day energy and mood wise. Plus buying a herbal or redbush tea in a cafe is a lot cheaper than a latte! It's too early to tell about the headaches but so far head ache free for a week.

So I think I may stick with this for good.