Night before Admission

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PeGsOn

pegson1986@hotmail.com

Feeding a Kookaburra in my Backyard

For all you guys that haven’t seen a Kookaburra.

PeGsOn

Pegson1986@hotmail.com

My Dance Video – Canned Heat by Jamiroqua

I thought today would good for a light hearted funny Dance Video I made..If the subtitles are too small enlarge the video..

Having Trouble reading the Writing on the video than make Video bigger Click the Following Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maJQ1ls6310

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Morning Champion – short Film

Here is a short film I made while quite bored…its a bit disturbing but funny…I decided to include the film to show a side of myself other than Cystic Fibrosis. It was originally done for a online film festival..the rules were less than 4 minutes, less than 50 shots, 1 person, and the subject was random with a laugh combining reality with a third person view, a long those lines anyway..

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PeGsOn’s Cystic Fibrosis Blog – Lung Function and Chit Chat

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My constant Struggle with Weight Gain

Cystic Fibrosis and the Importance of Weight

Rejected Cover

Hey Guys I have had a busy week…I decided that I would give the internet a break and get outside some…So the five days since I last posted have been very easy going and its what I needed…..

What I wanted to talk about is Weight…

Weight is something most of us CFers have been in a constant struggle with our whole lives , and it can be expected because our bodies metabolise more and basically use 3 times as much energy… So in other terms “We isn’t to economical”…..Popeye

Until I was roughly 12 years of age weight was never a huge problem, but I guess that goes hand in hand with the qaulity of my health at the time because during the same period Cystic Fibrosis wasn’t a problem either….

When I started puberty around the 13 to 14 year mark it was quite clear I was becoming increasingly thin, its also during this teenage period where My health really rapidly deteriorated and Like I have discussed in a previous Post I put it down to numerous things but quickly recapping I put my health decline down to Puberty, Rebellious Teenager, and the topic of today’s post…My Weight…

Only in the last few years have I really began to realise the shear importance and have actually seen the proof of how being at a healthy weight and even having a few extra kilos really comes in handy for someone with Cystic Fibrosis…I was previously one of those people that thought ‘weight loss/being underweight’ was a symptom of poor health which it is but it also a cause of bad health especially for us with Cystic Fibrosis…

When I transferred over to the adult clinic (2005)  my new Doctor and team basically said in direct words “Arron your dying and you will need a transplant within months or year at the latest”…My lung function was at a pathetic 27 percent of  predicted, I couldn’t exercise, I was in and out of hospital and I weighed a feeble 48 kilos….

Now let me put 48 kilos in perspective for you…I was 173 cm tall…so lets use the Body Mass Index scale. You can try it out too >> http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

BMI Categories:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Now in 2004 when I was 48 kilos and 173 cm tall my BMI was 16 so using the above criteria shows how unhealthy my weight was…I would of fit in famously on the front cover of Vogue Magazine…..Stick figure, pale and no tits.

So when I had my world crash around me in 2004 I made  it my business to avoid transplant for as long as possible…and My first point of call was gaining weight…

Now let me tell you what I did..

I was a shocking eater, never had a regular breakfast, lunch or dinner…So my first improvement was to make sure I ate 3 main meals a day…Sounds simply hey? Well it wasn’t. It was darn right impossible…

When your crook you don’t want to eat but you need to eat to get well….so it’s a real vicious cycle…So eating 3 big meals a day sounds great but when your constantly sick and sleeping all day its not a reality…

So I decided that normal healthy regular weight gain methods were not an option..I was past this stage…by about 100 stages.. And unless I wanted to be the new Cover of Vogue Magazine I had to make a drastic change for the better.

Thus I decided I would embrace the two foods I have always been able to eat, no matter what circumstance my health was in..

Those Two Foods are Milk and Cheese…

I set out to put weight on…My goal which at the time I thought was outrageous, was to reach 72 kilos…So I embarked on drinking a litre of milk a day before slowly increasing it to 3 litres a Day….And for every carton of Milk I drank I ate 3 to 4 slices of cheese….

Did I eat anything else???? sure I did…I spent a truck load of cash on take-a-way during the is period.

On a side note I have always found that I can prefer extremely tasty foods (not spicy) when unwell. I think its do with the medication dulling the taste buds and only extremely tasty foods avoid the blandness that medications and being unwell creates.

However other than the odd KFC dinner box my main meals for morning lunch and tea diet were just Milk and Cheese…Now it sounds like an unhealthy boring diet right???? And for a relatively healthy person yes it would probably send you to a heart attack death 30 years early. But in my situation it was one of the healthiest weight gain diets I tried….because I started to put weight on almost immediately and I needed the weight on quick smart, I didn’t have 2 years to slowly increase my weight by a couple of Kilos I needed 20 kilos and I needed it now. Because at 48 kilos I had no where to fall so It was crucial that I put weight on in a timely fashion. It was a race against the clock to put as much weight on before a chest infection struck…Well atleast that how I justified and forced myself to stick by the milk and cheese diet

By mid 2005 about 9 months after starting on my Milk and Cheese diet. My weight was 61 kilos and I was feeling healthier and a lot more stable and I was also gaining confidence…

So I kept at my diet and I learnt to change it up a bit, by that I mean I tried some flavoured milks J.

At the start of 2006 I was in hospital for a Tune up and people were commenting “Arron you look good” and I felt it, well at least in comparison to 12 months prior…because my weight was now 67 kilos and My lung function had settle dat a baseline of around 55 percent…

So lets do the BMI again http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi .

BMI Categories:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

So in 2004 I weighed 48 kilos and was 173 cm tall which gave me a BMI of 16 (Extremely underweight) Now in February of 2006 I weighed 67 Kilos and was 174 cm tall which gave me a BMI of 22. Now using the scale above that put me in the healthy weight range.

But I knew that the BMI gave an Idea of healthy weight but I also knew that Cystic Fibrosis can strip 10 kilos off you in less than 2 weeks if you have a flare up..

I set out to give myself a cushion, a bonus or a buffer if you will so that I would have some extra weight for those times where you get sick and lose weight…

So I continued on with my diet and it was tough. Milk and Cheese can be very boring but I had that CF instinct that drove me on….

Every kilo gained after 70 kilos took longer and longer to put on and this was a sign that I was just about at my optimal weight for the time….It was incredible how much healthier I felt at 75 kilos with a lung function of 50 percent compared to what I felt at 65 kilos with that same 50 percent lung function….

At the end of 2007 I decided I would go back to normal eating habits, I had learned t0 cook by this stage so eating 3 decent meals filled with snacks through out the day wasn’t so hard…having stabilised my health had also given me a better appetite, so the extreme lengths I went to of having to drink 3 litres of milk and eat 20 slices of cheese was no longer needed…

In 2008 I really started exercising more and that with eating much healthier or should I say eating CF healthy ( KFC, Pizza, lollies, chips etc) I have now reached 88 kilos, which now means I’m watching that I don’ t put much more weight on because 88 kilos with a height of 174 cm comes out to 29 on the BMI which means I’m currently overweight.. hahaha..

However I know how crucial that extra weight Is, because 9 months ago I spent 3 weeks in hospital and even though I ate like a horse I dropped 8 kilos. But my recovery after hospital seemed much more smoother because my body had this stockpile of weight to fall back on and plenty of fuel to fight off infections…

So in closing I’m not telling you to go out and buy a day to sustained a diet 3 litres of milk and 20 lices of cheese a day…It worked it my case…Hopefully you don’t need the extreme measure I did.
But don’t make the same mistake I did with not realising the extent the role healthy weight plays in keeping your Cystic Fibrosis stable and much more controllable during the tough times. Because maintaining a healthy weight and even having a bit of extra weight means that your body won’t be running on empty everyday and you feel much better in every aspect of life…

Don’t forget to leave a comment…seems a lot of people having been missing the comment link down the bottom…its a bit hard to see but u can also click this link LEAVE A COMMENT

PeGsOn

pegson1986@hotmail.com

Note: All the mums out there who have recipes good for Cystic Fibrosis email me them or leave them in a comment, as I’m putting a recipe page together LEAVE A COMMENT

PeGsOn’s Top 10 Junk Foods for Cystic Fibrosis.

PeGsOn’s Top 10 Junk Foods for Cystic Fibrosis.

JUNK FOOD

I thought that today we could go with a fun silly post, about what junk food I like and recommend for CF and how it can make you feel better..lol….read on.

Coca- Cola
The Precious contents in the Red aluminium Can has been number 1 on my consumption list since before I can remember…..I’m fully addicted and can’t make it past midday without a hit of Coke. It’s not my fault my first paeds Doctor suggested Coke to my parents as an energy hit and I guess I grew up on the stuff. Coke… Breakfast, Lunch and Tea keeps CF at Bay.

Garlic Bread
We all like Garlic Bread but What gets Garlic Bread into my list is the ease to cook when you feel like crap…If your like me and can only deal with ultra tasty food after sucking on a Colliston Neb for half a day, but can’t be bothered making something from scratch than put those special little foil wrapped Garlic Bread pieces in the oven and do another neb for 20 minutes (this will increase the goodness) and when your done you will have all that Garlic Bread Delight all hot and ready to be eaten and that PICC Line infection won’t exist….well maybe it will…it’s worth a try though?

Tripe Cheese Pizza
Oh Christ….Pizza…Triple Cheese Pizza….If your Doctors is suggesting a PEG in the belly to put weight on, and your not so sure?…. Than you need a Triple Cheese Pizza….That Piping hot, dripping tasty mozzarella goodness with Puff pastry filled with Cream Cheese will fit perfectly in to the mouth of any CF’er. 4 years on the Transplant list will feel like 2 months when the Triple Cheese hits your lips..Lifes Good

Frozen Baked Dinners
Want that happy feeling of a Family baked Dinner without the stress of the family and preparing the meal. Than a Frozen Baked Dinner is what you need…6 or so minutes in the Microwave and you have a Tasty Baked Dinner….or should I say Nuked Dinner.

McDonalds
If your out and about and decide your hungry for some tucker, than as a CF’er you can’t go wrong with Maccas…You have so much to choose from…your simple Cheese Burger, to the classic Big Mac or if you feel like something different you can have a fillet-o-fish or maybe some chicken nuggets and after all that if the Doctor is still threatening you with insertion of a PEG than have some desert like a Chocolate Sunday or if your more old school maybe a hot apple pie….plus not only do you get the nutritional needs that every CF’er must have you also give your immune system a good work out  after eating a Burger made by a 14 year pimple popping kid….mmmmmm immunity.

Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes
These Little beauties have all the greatness of Cornflakes but with the Extra Bliss of Nuts and Honey….So If your finding it hard to get going in the morning, than a Bowl of Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes in Icy Cold milk will make that lung function of 53 percent feel like 54 percent. Your Ready to take on the World…….arhh…well at least the backyard steps…haha

Mars Bars
Have CF, Feeling Down, Need a Energy hit, only have a Dollar???? Don’t Worry you need a Mars Bar….mmmmmm… The nougat, almonds, caramel and milky chocolate deliciousness will make the worries of yesterdays Haemoptysis feel more like an ant bite. Plus if you can’t find a bottle of Enzymes….don’t worry you only need a couple, so check under the couch and in your man-bag. Your bound to find enough Enzymes for maybe 2 Mars Bars. Now your Set for a Mediocre Day..

Gatorade.
Did that 12 metre walk to the fridge make you feel weak and parched…Than don’t reach for a Beer… grab a Gatorade…That tangy sensational fruity goodness will make you feel almost human and give you the strength to walk back to bed and have a good nap or better still go outside and do some Exercise…argh Thank you Gatorade….your the best..

KFC
Chicken yum…A CF’ers best friend. I love the stuff, it puts and keeps the weight on, but make sure you have a bag of enzymes ready because your gonna need them unless you like spending a month on the toilet watching reruns of the view from the reflection of the TV in the mirror.

Tobi
And Finally if your feeling chesty and can barley move than you need a two week course of Tobi…I heard they now have it in Chocolate, Strawberry and Beer Flavour with designer vials to fit everyone’s needs…it’s the next best thing to healthy Lungs.

THE RESULT

Hope you had fun reading this tongue in cheek list….I had fun writing it.

PeGsOn

pegson1986@hotmail.com

Tour of the PeGsOn’s House – **Video**

PeGsOn

pegson1986@hotmail.com

What would you do if you had 30 seconds alone with CF? *VIDEO*

For a bit of fun I thought that I would make a Video on “what I would like to do if I had 30 seconds alone with CF”. It turned not to shabby for a first attempt so over the coming weeks expect a few more as it was a great way to get some of that aggression out…

Make you own Video where you lay the Smackdown on Cystic Fibrosis

PeGsOn

pegson1986@hotmail.com

PeGsOn Cystic Fibrosis Blog (tuesday 29.9.09) – Talk about Wisdom Teeth, Transplant, Death of a fellow Pulmonary rehab friend

PeGsOn

pegson1986@hotmail.com