H’ok, I’m now on Twitter, and I’ve added the Tweet button to each invidual blog post – let’s see what that does :-s
Now I’m definitely going to bed 
Archive for September, 2010
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Bell’s Palsy sucks ass, day 9
– September 4, 2010Posted in: Personal
Well, thanks to a lovely anxiety attack yesterday (due to the steroids I hope), driving is out for me at the moment. I’m feeling very shaky most of the time, but not weak shaky, it’s more like my torso is vibrating occasionally, it’s most odd.
I’ve been getting lots of rest which is good, but it’s during the day which is why I’m still up at 1:37am. I’ll be going to bed in a minute, and I’ll be sporting a pirate eye-patch, gaarrrrrr.
Incidentally, The Hurt Locker wasn’t really worthy of an Oscar, and Hot Tub Time Machine is nowhere near as funny as The Hangover. Feel free to disagree.
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PlayStation Portable ID added
Nothing much to report, I’ve just added my PlayStation Portable ID to the footer, have a look.
And yes, I know I’m not much of a gamer :p
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Exercise good for fat, sorry, obese people shocker!
– September 2, 2010Posted in: Health And Fitness, Personal
The Telegraph reports on a shock finding that exercise is good for fat people and it is extremely unlikely that fat people’s genes have a pre-disposition to weight gain.
The report was produced by the “Medical Research Council’s Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge”, by “analysing the genes of over 20,000 men and women aged 39 to 79, looking for 12 genetic markers known to increase body mass index (BMI) and the risk of obesity.” (note: items in quotes and copied and pasted from main article, I’m lazy).
Oddly enough, they found that “our research proves that even those who have the highest risk of obesity from their genes can improve their health by taking some form of daily physical activity.”
I’m sure this comes as no surprise to any sensible person. The body is a machine – feed it too much fuel and not burn it off, and it stores it. As lard. Eat 2,500 calories a day, burn off 2,500 calories a day – no weight gain.
I know this from personal experience: I like my food, but I’m careful what I eat and exercise regularly to keep my weight down. When training for both of my black belts, I increased my level of exercise to kickboxing 2 – 3 times a week, and jogging / running 40 minutes 2 -3 times a week. My weight went down from 12st 10lbs (way too high) to an even 12st. In other words, by exercising, I lost weight – amazing!
Now I’m not training as much, the weight is creeping back up to 12st 5.5lbs, which is no good at all. What’s worse is that I’ve been signed off work sick for two weeks with strict instructions to rest, not even jog. So, what am I going to do? Restrict my food intake, of course, and do some gentle walking.
I’m staggered that we (the rest of us who earn a living) are paying for people to have obesity operations on the NHS, when they should have some self-control and stop shoving pies down their throats. Education (or a lack of) has a huge part to play as well, with some fat people not knowing what foods are healthiest.
Incidentally, we’re now allowed to call obese people fat 
I’ll sum up this post by what my late father always used to say on the subject of people’s weight: “There were no fat people in Belsen”; he was right.
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Bell’s Palsy sucks, day 6
– September 2, 2010Posted in: Personal
So, Wednesday of last week, I noticed a funny taste in my mouth (no sniggering at the back), and my gums and teeth felt a bit odd. This carried on for a few days and on Saturday morning, I couldn’t curl one side of my lip back to do my teeth. I thought nothing of it, and went of with my wife and son (and my wife’s mum) for a fun day on fossil-hunting on Barmston beach near Bridlington, which was great. We also had a fantastic meal at Rags, Bridlington as well.
So, Saturday night comes round and my face starts feeling really funny and I lose the ability to speak clearly – well, as clear as usual. A quick peek in the mirror and a shocked looked from my wife confirms that the left-hand side of my face has dropped quite a bit, and my left eye doesn’t close any more.
A quick look online led me to believe it was Bell’s Palsy (not a stroke) which affects the facial nerve and can clear up in anywhere from six weeks to nine months. Understandably, I went to bed a bit dejected and visited Derby’s Walk-In Centre on Sunday. After not too much of a wait, I was seen by a couple of doctors and they confirmed it. On the plus side, my blood pressure and oxygenation was perfect They decide not to give me any treatment, and tell me to see my GP on Tuesday.
Tuesday rolls around with no improvement, so I go to my GP to make an appointment. This, apparently, can only be done over the phone and not in person, but after a bit of haranguing from me, the receptionist sees sense and puts me in to see the triage nurse who then makes an appointment – complicated, eh?
When I see my GP, they definitely confirm it’s Bell’s Palsy, I’m seen by another doctor who confirms it, and by a fifth-year student who also thought the same. I’m then put on a max dose of a steroid (which should have been done by the Walk-in Centre apparently), and sent out to buy “liquid tears” for my eye, and eye patch, and worst of all, artificial saliva. I mean, ugh.
So, I’m not sure what’s caused it, it could be stress as I’ve had a lot recently with my job, but I resigned recently, so stress over. It could be illness as Bell’s Palsy i’s linked to herpes simplex, the “cold sore” virus and I had a sinus infection recently (I think). It can also be caused by nerve trauma, and I did get punched in that side of the head recently in sparring. By a girl :s
It’s also a real pain that I can’t pronouce my Bs and Ps correctly, as telling someone you have Bell’s Palsy is a bit difficult. Fortunately, there’s not been too much drooling, but drinking is a real pain, I do like my tea but most of it ends up on the floor now. I’m having to drink through a straw, which requires me to hold the left side of my mouth shut to use. Fortunately, I have my sense of taste back and my gums and teeth no longer feel anaesthetised, so that’s always good.
Anyway, more updates on my condition to come, or maybe not, as really, it’s not that bad. The steroids I’m on could lead to suicidal tendencies and hallucinations, but no signs of those yet 
