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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…
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One More Surgery
I talked about getting my wisdom teeth removed over a month ago. The last several weeks have been crazy busy. Finally, I have it all set up to get my wisdom teeth removed. It couldn’t have had better timing either because my jaw is really starting to ache. I’ve had conversations with my doctor. As well as an anesthesia team, and the oral surgeon. We are moving forward with surgery at the hospital. This will ensure my safety. When I got my tonsils removed, I had significant uvula swelling. The swelling could’ve been a result of the trauma to my mouth or an angioedema reaction. Anytime the culprit could be…
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How to Confront Perfectionism
My OCD continues to improve with ERP therapy. Lately, my perfectionism has been my most difficult challenge. I started to strip away habits and compulsions. Now there’s an underlying anxiety to ensure things are perfect. Even if you don’t have OCD, perfectionism is very common. Our society has trained us that we need to always be at our best. For me, when you factor in chronic illness, that’s just not possible. I have some days where I struggle to function. It’s taken me my entire chronic illness journey to realize that it’s not a weakness to ask for help. In battling perfectionism, I’ve found some tricks in daily life. These…
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How to Stay Focused in Zoom Classes
I have discovered that Zoom lectures are extremely difficult to focus in. I know that I’m not the only one with this problem. I’ve come up with a few ways to keep myself focused. They aren’t always 100% effective, depending on the lecturer. Although, they can definitely help when I’m struggling to stay away or off my phone. Take Notes This is huge. My professors will post their lecture notes in the class. It’s easy to just avoid taking notes and keep their power points for reference. Avoid doing that. Take notes in class. It will help keep you present and focused on what is being taught. Even if it’s…
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An Update on My New Diagnosis
If you follow my blog regularly, you know that I got a new diagnosis recently. I have been diagnosed with Bile Acid Malabsorption. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go check out “A New Diagnosis.” Since being diagnosed with BAM, I got started on a new medication. I wanted to give you an update on how things were going. To help process all of the excessive acid in my stomach, I started taking a new medication. It’s known as Cholestyramine. I take it before lunch and dinner. I couldn’t tell you one thing about this medication besides the fact that it tastes like chalk. All and all though,…
