Crickey Oh Riley – had a Eureka moment about ten minutes ago.
I shall start from the very beginning as that is a very good place to start …
(now I was going to digress and add a funny ‘apple anecdote’ … but as all fellow academics (and googlers) know the Eureka moment does not apply to the apple falling from the tree, but from the discovery of the purity of gold – duh)
- Due to a change of arrangements I had a rare unsupervised shopping trip. Usually someone is with me, not in an odd ‘I can’t travel alone’ way, but in a ‘woooose I am a bit worried about falling over’ way. A bargain pair of shoes and a bargain beautiful impractical creamy floaty dreamy dress later, and I ended up in a supermarket trying to work out how I would carry everything up the hill.
- Got a taxi home and had a supermarket tiny sandwich for lunch.
- Then proceeded to print and check my odes for my first ‘proper’ Parkinality Poet (yes, really) performance tonight – more about that properly when I have set up the Facebook page etc.
- This took ages and I was engrossed in it. leading to school-girl error number 1 :
ERROR 1 : forgot to take lunchtime 2.30pm medication. Suddenly realised when I started to switch off. I actually took it at 5pmish – two and a half hours late. Usually I would have switched off way before then. I think the meds possibly lasted longer because had a tiny lunch (so not a lot of food to get in way of meds absorbing), I was sitting down so not using much energy, and I was enjoying what I was doing so my brain maybe using it’s own supply of dopamine for a change ?! Obviously this is merely a guess – PD is so flipping unpredictable and unroutineable (good new word) that it is almost as likely to be because the ‘moon is facing north east’ and ‘Gordon is a moron’.
- Then suddenly realised had also run out of time to make tea. So Fish and Chips it would be. No great problem there – it is lovely from my local chipper and fisher. BUT meds didn’t kick in properly as I must have been so depleted in dopamine. So had to walk backwards and listen to the Strokes, Reptillia quite (very) loudly, trying to navigate the steep hill, commuters and general rubbishness down to the fish and chip shop. My lovely man appeared as if by magic and helped me with the food and helped me and encouraged me back up the hill. Leading to school-girl error number 2 :
ERROR 2 : as meds didn’t kick in so after about half an hour took an ’emergency’ dispersible med to try and get the main drugs to kick in. This was quite close to taking the other meds.
- Tried to eat tea but, to be honest, was so mega excited about forthcoming evening, and so much still to do. I went through my odes read them out to those at the table.
- Meds still not kicking in after probably half an hour and I am now really struggling, we are late and will be late for the evening performance (of which we are part of). So this led to school-girl error number 3.
ERROR 3 : at 7pm took next lot of meds, which bearing in mind I was very late taking my lunchtime ones and now taking another load of medication, over the period of 2 hours.
- Meds gradually kicked in. Taxi to the pub venue. Negotiated timings of performance so that I could judge my medication. Leading to school-girl error number 4 :
ERROR 4 : at 9pm took another single levodopa, All kicked in.
- I hadn’t eaten dinner, had had no breakfast, and only a tiny lunchtime sandwich, that combined with the ton of meds meant probably the majority of their dopamine dollop got to my brain.
- I performed at 9.45pm, twas good fun and people seemed to like my poems.
- I was due to perform again about 11.30pm, so I wanted to be tip top, even though I had been all evening, I didn’t want to chance becoming twaddle. Leading to school girl error number 5.
ERROR 5 : I took another emergency dispersible to keep me going. Performed again, twas very exciting and I was very happy (again producing more dopamine in my system, this time real dopamine.
- Booked a taxi and travelled home. Read odes to poor taxi driver who was very patient.
- Got back home, didn’t eat. but had a bedtime CR medication around 1am.. School girl error number 6.
ERROR 6 : took the CR even though I didn’t appear to need it.
FLAMING HECK
I was totally – I believe the word is not appropriate for parental/child conversation ;)’. I was hyper awake, not tired at all.
- Went to bed and was totally awake. Crikey wrote a huge long ode about Ukuleles at about 3am as you do. Spoke to PD people awake on messenger. In the end had 10 fishfingers, ketchup and tiny roll. Could be a school- girl GOLD STAR.
GOLD STAR 1 : The idea, (which I only thought of after I had cooked and eaten half of them), is that the protein in the fish fingers which interferes with the dopamine absorption from my meds, is used to my advantage. What I mean is that instead of eating TEN fish fingers and fingers crossing that they don’t interfere with the dopamine absorption. I now wanted them to interfere – I needed to use up some of that dopamine.
IT IS KEEPING ME AWAKE (I think)
So as always I am not a medical professional this is all guess work, but the facts are as follows :
- Had tiny lunch
- Forgot to eat dinner
- Didn’t drink much liquid and it was very hot so probably dehydrated
- Took lunchtime meds far too late, so they bunched up with other meds.
- I was happy and positive so probably producing some of my own natural dopamine.
- I really didn’t want to have PD interfere with my evening, sooooo I probably took too many meds.
- Fish Fingers do contain protein and protein does slow/reduce dopamine absorption.
It is now 5.44am and still no sleeeeep. Off to neurologist today, that should be interesting …
I really don’t need any meds yet either – flaming heck.
toodle twaddle
