LAST Friday I found myself sitting in casualty recovering from Anaphylaxis. This was brought on by a sudden allergic reaction to an anti inflammatory that I have taken for years.
I am including this story in my column as I believe we can all benefit from being prepared for these things. I began to feel strange roughly half an hour after I took the medication. It started with itchiness and very quickly developed into a full blown reaction.
I thought at first that I was possibly imagining things or over reacting to the itchiness. When I caught my reflection in the mirror and noticed how bloodshot my eyes were, I knew this was very real. I rang my mum in a panic and even as I spoke to her I could hear a lisp forming as my tongue was beginning to swell.
I quickly rang my doctor who immediately phoned for an ambulance. By the time I hung up the phone with my GP the skin on my hands, arms, neck and face had turned completely pink. This entire process took less than three minutes.
Thankfully the ambulance arrived and administered a shot of adrenaline and things began to settle. I am incredibly lucky that I live so close to the hospital as the next stage of anaphylactic shock is the closing of the airways.
What surprised me the most was the fact that I have taken anti inflammatories many times over the years and never experienced a bad reaction. It shocked me to learn that the body can just stop tolerating them. In telling my story I hope to have passed on some valuable information to you and if it ever happens, please act fast.
INVIGORATED
I am pleased to say that my week wasn’t all doom and gloom! Training went very well this week and I felt thoroughly invigorated after each session.
I love the feeling you get when you know you have done a great workout. It is a mixture of pride and general happiness but I admit it can be difficult to motivate yourself at times. We have all been on a health kick at one stage or another, usually the 1st of January is a good date to start! What often happens with exercise is that people get bored.
They start out with great intentions. Diet plans and strict exercise regimes usually feature quite heavily, but then life gets in the way. You come home from work tired and disinterested with motivational levels at an all time low.
The last thing you feel like doing is leaving your warm, cosy home to go outside to exercise. For this reason I believe the morning is a great time to get a quick workout done and dusted. Once it is over you can spend the rest of the day feeling smug in the knowledge that you have done your bit for that day. I am also a big believer in the power of exercise classes versus exercising alone. Personally I hate exercising alone as I find it dull.
Time goes by a lot quicker when you have people with you. There are dozens of boot camp style classes available in Donegal and I have to say I think they are great.
I know many people that run these classes and I know even more that attend and the general consensus is that these classes work.
You get the results you want in a fun and highly motivated environment. I was having a conversation with three female friends the other day and I realised that the majority of the conversation was dominated by talk of training and keeping fit. They were each discussing various classes they attend and I just sat back and thought how nice it is that so many people are actually enjoying fitness now.
It has become a way of life for people and long may it last.
Nikki Bradley is the founder of Fighting Fit For Ewing’s, a campaign to promote awareness of Ewing’s Sarcoma. Nikki is sponsored by All Sports in Donegal Town. Support her campaign by giving ‘Fighting Fit For Ewing’s’ a LIKE on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @nikkibradley59
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