Money, money, money....MONEEEEEY!

It has been a big couple of weeks for me!

I've tried to start getting back to work. I'm a freelance editor and writer, mainly in comics...the publishing side, but a bit of journalist stuff too. I've missed working. I have tired to keep up with a bit of it, but to be honest it's just been too much.

It's odd how this heart business has affected my work. It's the fatigue that has had a massive knock on effect, I have days where I'm too tired to get out of bed, let alone stare at a laptop screen, intently looking for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors (I know I'm guilty of that in this blog) 

I finally think I'm going to have a regular writing gig, which will help so much at the moment. I was due to go back to work the Monday after I went into hospital. This was a big deal. I'd spent two years struggling with freelance after being too ill to do an office job.

I suffered (unknowingly) with endometriosis for six years, after having my operation in February I'd started feeling so much better (I used to pass out from the pain at random, with no warning) and I decided to go back to work.

Before getting into publishing I worked in the theatre, my first love. I was a producer and events type person, I wanted to go back to that and keep comics on the side. No chance of that now. Events is a really high pressure and time consuming job that my body just isn't up to any more.

I get a little sad about that, but I love working in publishing so I'm going to just keep pushing that forward.

I want an Eisner by the time I'm 35.

With the high of work came the low of the NHS. I have had a huge blow up with them. We are not friends. My follow up appointment with my cardiologist was moved from October to JANUARY! My scan is in September...I am not waiting until January to get my results. 

This scan will show if my heart is definitely improving, staying the same, or (God forbid) getting worse. If I have to wait 4 months for my results I will go insane.

I'm going to try and make sure my heart nurse can go over the results with me at the end of September...and if she can't then I'm going to be belligerent and move my scan to December/January time, and if they don't like it...TOUGH TITTIES.

Right...I'm off to write other stuff and eat more heart shaped strawberries. Laterz y'all

Healthy eats, for healthy hearts!

I know I said I'd do this post on healthy eats yesterday. But I have had a truly poop couple of days.

My Gran (who has dementia) keeps forgetting about my heart condition and constantly bitches at me about how I don't do any of her cleaning any more. And someone I loved dearly discarded me like an old sandwich. 

As if that wasn't crap enough...

I woke up on Wednesday night with a stupidly sore chest and a heart rate up in the 100bpms again. My doctor thinks I may have a virus and this sucker has really wiped me out. My chest still hurts and my heart rate has settled, but I'm keeping an eye on it.

But onwards and upwards. I shall keep you all updated. Fingers crossed it's all calmed down now.

Anyway...FOOD STUFF!

Salt!
If you've had heart failure your body retains water and salt is not your friend, because it makes you retain water. If you're on diuretics you especially need to avoid salt for this very reason...or that pesky heart failure thing will happen again.

DO NOT USE SALT SUBSTITUTES! These are even worse at making you retain water...RETAINING WATER IS BAD! I cannot stress that enough...or use the words retain and water enough either. 

Salt intake for a normal human should be about 6g a day.

Fish!
Eat oily fish, Omega 3 is good for you. Not necessarily directly linked to heart health but I was told to do it by a doctor, so I'm gunna.

Oily fish listed in a couple of my heart booklets includes; fresh salmon, fresh tuna (none of that tinned crap), mackerel, sardines, herring, trout and pilchards (yuck).

Nice quick east recipe for you: Get a salmon fillet. Stick it on some foil, cover it in lemon juice and pepper, wrap it in a foil parcel and bake for 15-20mins at 200°C or gas mark 6. BOOTIFUL!
Avoid smoked fish as this can be very salty!

Fruit & Veg!

Eat 5 portions at least a day! They are full of good vitamins and make an excellent crappy snack substitute. Try and have veg with at least one of your main meals every couple of days. I have it every day.

Stick some blueberries in the freezer, they taste amazing. Cut up a pineapple, stick it in the oven on a very low heat for 15mins...again NOMMY!

Make low fat ice cream by freezing some bananas then blend them with some other fruit or peanut butter/nutella for a delicious frozen treat (unless you hate bananas...then that would be disgusting)

Cut up some carrot sticks and make your own hummus, this is a great recipe. 

Dairy!
Substitute your dairy stuff for low fat dairy products. I know that skimmed milk tastes like watery crap but it has a much lower fat content. Fat clogs up your arteries and this is bad!

Frozen yoghurt is a great alternative to ice cream! Cut down on the cheese, cheese also has a lot of salt so keep your portions low.

Use low fat spread on your toast! And try some vegan baking, these choccy orange cupcakes are actually really delicious!

Saturated Fats!

These are not good at all for anyone, they're in all sorts of food that tastes really good; like sausages, cakes, biscuits, cream, SAUSAGES, cheese, butter and other fatty meat...I like sausages.

I've switched to lean meat (chicken and turkey) and I now eat veggie sausages. Quorn mince is now a staple in my recipes. I use it in my chilli, bolognese, lasagne and cottage pie.

Saturated fat is linked to heart disease. This shit is not good for your body. If you have a high fatty diet it'll end up clogging up arteries or you'll get fat and put more pressure on your ticker.

This stuff has been the most drastic change in my diet...because I really LOVE cake and I am overweight thanks to years of eating crap. I've lost a couple of stone since mid April and it is making a huge difference in how I feel.

But.......OMFG DO I MISS DOUGHNUTS!

Alcohol & Caffiene!
Do not have any of this if you are on heart drugs. Alcohol can damage your heart OR react badly with your heart medication and caffeine pushes your heart rate up, so cut that shit out!

Finally, drink water. About 5 glasses a day. I have a 1.5ltr bottle and I drink one of those a day. It helps keep your metabolism going and keeps clearing crap out of your body to keep your kidneys happy.

This little card is a list of what you need to look out for on the packaging of your foods. This has been a huge help to me if I've been caught out and want to buy something quick to eat. It is amazing how much salt is in EVERYTHING!

Well, that's all for this one. I hope it helps even one person, because when I came out of hospital I had no clue what to do with my diet.

I'll start posting some proper healthy recipes soon and maybe even a one week food diary so people get an idea of how I plan my meals out for the week.

I MADE IT TO 28!

Hello all!

Sorry it's been a while between this post and the last. I needed a break from everything heart related. ALSO I thought it'd be fun to try and re-decorate my entire house in a week.

Turns out this was not fun...but my downstairs looks amazing (not talking abut my vagina, but that looks great too.)

I turned 28 on July 3rd. All I could think about when I woke up was "FUCK YES, NOT PART OF THE 27 CLUB!" I am sure I'd be mourned just as much as Winehouse or Cobain by the plebeian masses.

To celebrate not dying I held a BBQ on Saturday and had all my favourite people turn up (well most of them, a couple of the sick ones were kept away) 

I bought enough meat to feed a small country and buns to feed about six small countries, then let other people cook it all for me.

I had such a wonderful day, all the people who mattered were there, my best friends and close family, who have helped me through this shitty ordeal.

Everyone got me amazing and thoughtful gifts (the ones who didn't were thrown on the BBQ) and I felt thoroughly spoiled and content.

Look at my Vivienne Westwood wellies!!! ADMIRE THEM!, GO ON!

I had a couple of supposed close friends who just didn't turn up. Which has upset me and got me thinking about the people I've barely seen since coming out of hospital. Those fair weather friends we all seem to accumulate.

I keep scolding myself for being upset over it, but this type of shit really does let you know who your true friends are. I may be broken, but that doesn't mean I can just be discarded until I 'work' again or can come out dancing all night on tables.

I was scolded by one who didn't turn up, who told me I was being ridiculous for being cross with him. He didn't understand how much my birthday meant, even though I'd told him about being so frightened I wouldn't make it to the next one and that I had been putting all my energy into making sure I was well enough to even have a bloody celebration.

He won't be invited again...and if he does turn up he'll go on the BBQ with the people who got me shite presents.

But anyway. No more negatives! I am enjoying feeling loved and also celebrated as a decorating genius (the living room is a lovely shade of mint and teal. Very zen innit). 

I will do that post on good healthy heart food next time! It'll go up on Thursday, I'll be the next Nigella!