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Why My Health Will Always Come First
Having a chronic illness comes with some difficult balancing acts. When I was in the thick of it, my only focus was my health. Now, I am doing better and I don’t have to focus on my health as much. That’s relative to how much vigilance I had before. Still, I’ve gotten to take a step back and relax a bit from the rigid life I was living. That comes with mass amounts of relief but it also has come with it’s own learning curve. As I’ve gotten busier with school and a social life, my health has fallen into the background. With Crush by my side, it’s easy to…
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Five Businesses That Spread Dysautonomia Awareness
It’s still Dysautonomia awareness month!! I wanted to highlight a couple businesses that are run by those living with Dysautonomia. This is a great way to spread the word about Dysautonomia. It also supports those who live with a chronic condition. I really hope you find something you like, if you don’t go over and support their social media. All of their links are below! Spoonie Sister Shop This Etsy store is tailored to spreading awareness about rare chronic conditions. All of their items are cute, fashionable and affordable. Personally, I’m a big fan of the “Pumpkin Spice and No Unsolicited Medical Advice” shirt! Grace and Brace I bought my…
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How to Prepare for Removing Your Wisdom Teeth
I only recently got my wisdom teeth removed. I will be the first to say that I didn’t prepare super well. Unlike most surgeries, I assumed this one would be easy to recover from. I wasn’t wrong but I wasn’t right either. It still took a tremendous toll on my body. I forgot to stock up on everything that would’ve helped me recover. In an attempt to save you from my own mistakes, here’s how to prepare for your wisdom teeth surgery. Buy Soft Foods I’m sure that your oral surgeon will warn you about this but I missed the memo. It didn’t even cross my mind. Luckily, I bought…
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How to Stay Consistent with a Busy Schedule
The Fall semester is in full swing. I’ve already had multiple papers due. I’m filled with to-do lists. Throughout this semester, it’s been difficult to be consistent with my schedule. This has caused me to be living in a reaction state rather than a proactive state. It has been a trial and error process of finding ways to keep consistency. I have not mastered this but I’ve found what works. More importantly, I have found what doesn’t work. Know How You’re Motivated This is really important. I am a self starter. If I tell myself I’ll do something, there’s a 90% chance I’ll do it. Knowing that about myself, I…
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Why I'm Open to Changing My Plans
Right now, I’m sitting in a place of discomfort. I always have a plan. I’ve always known what I wanted. Suddenly, I’m clueless. I’m in my final year of school and up until a couple of weeks ago, I was going to Canada next year. That was my destiny. I got home from Ireland and made it law that I would once again leave the country to study. I still want that. I still want to go to graduate school, but I’m not sure if it’s what I want right now. I haven’t given up on Canada by any means. I will still apply. Fingers crossed, I get in and…
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Four Ways to Stay Warm in Fall
The weather is changing and whether you’re a fellow spoonie or not, you may be feeling the effects. I always struggle with the changing weather. For me, my circulation becomes a big problem with cooler temperatures. Having Raynaud’s phenomenon, if I don’t stay warm enough, my limbs will turn purple. That’s the best case scenario because once they start going numb, I know there’s a problem. Here are five ways to stay warm in the fall! Layer Up! This is obvious but there are lots of options you may not know about. When I started having issues, I’d end up sweating through clothes. I layered too much. Then when I…
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How to Prepare for Interstim Surgery
Recently, I had surgery to implant a battery into my back. This connects to a wire that stimulates my sacral nerve. This process of getting to this point was extensive. I started with PTNS, which is nerve stimulation that goes through your foot. After having success with a few trials, my best option was to move forward with Interstim surgery. I had no idea how to prepare for this. I decided to jot down a few ideas here. I hope you find them helpful. Track Symptoms I saw my surgeon only a day or two before surgery. At that point, they asked how my symptom tracking was going. I don’t…
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A Review of Native Deodorant
Recently, I started trying out new natural products. I had heard a lot about Native Deodorant. They sponsor multiple Youtubers that I enjoy watching. I also appreciated their brand focus. After running out of my previous deodorant, I took the plunge. I bought both their new non-plastic deodorant in the scent Coconut and Vanilla. In addition, I got their travel mini deodorant in the scent Pumpkin Spice Latte. I bought them both from Target but they had to be ordered. I got the non-plastic one with two day shipping. The mini one took a week to ship. There’s not much to say about the ordering experience since I went through…
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Why I switched To All Natural Products
The past few years have been quite the journey. A journey with chronic illness. A journey of self discovery. A journey of finding out what is right for me. In my experience, I’ve found that buying natural not only makes me feel good but is better for me. After a year of being sick, I made the choice to become vegan. Going from vegetarian to vegan wasn’t difficult for me. It made an extreme difference for my body and mind. Since I had a positive experience becoming vegan, I wanted to try more natural based products. Of course, not everything I use is natural. Not only is it expensive but…
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Dysautonomia Awareness Month
It’s Dysautonomia awareness month! October is dedicated to spreading the word about Dysautonomia. My personal journey with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome has been extremely turbulent. At its worst, it took away my ability to walk and function properly. I am grateful for the tremendous amounts of help I received from doctors, family, and friends. Everyday I am symptomatic in one way or another. Despite this, I continue to thrive as I learn to work with my disability, rather than against it. Unfortunately, not everyone has had a journey parallel to mine. Millions of people live with Dysautonomia. POTS specifically has a significant diagnostic delay. This leaves patients struggling to find…
