The Martian Princess Chronicles
A Martian Princess living with the hidden disabilities caused by residing on planet Earth
It’s been a while. A long while. So long in fact, WordPress doesn’t recognise this site on my desktop anymore. Bummer… Anyway, for those who still pop back here, or follow any links on The Mighty, here’s an explanation. A couple years back I reignited my love for fiction writing, and, when I started my … Continue reading So Long, Farewell
The fatigue that comes with chronic illness is so much more than just feeling tired or sleep deprived. Continue reading Coffee From A Broken Cup
People outside the UK might not know this, but we had some pretty serious weather a few weeks ago. Red warnings and rhyming nicknames have been in abundance (‘beast from the east’ anyone?…) but the majority of the freezing my weather vanished almost as quickly as it arrived, taking London from sub-zero temperatures to our more expected temperate-climate chilliness. Snow days were over, home offices were closed and the water pipes started to burst in celebratory fervour. Continue reading “Water! Water! Part 1”
[DISCLAIMER] I am not a doctor and all of the suggestions in this post are entirely based on personal experience and personal research. Always consult a medical professional if you are considering an alteration in your medication in any way.
We hear a lot of chatter in many circles about the use of medical marijuana and CBD Oil in the treatment of chronic illness, and chronic pain in particular; but for those of us who are being crushed under the weight of fatigue there is another psychoactive substance that can actually offer relief, but is often left out of the conversation. Nicotine. Continue reading “My Chemical Romance”
This is not a rhetorical question. Can somebody please help me to understand how to utilise talking therapies? Because in all truth and honesty they have never made sense or been of any use to me. Continue reading “I Have A Penchant For Rejecting Talking Therapies. How Do I Overcome This?”
Due to some unfortunate experiences over the years I would usually say an emphatic ‘no’ to any medical treatment that that upsets my body’s hormonal balance. But after my last trip to the emergency room, I realised that I had to reconsider my position.
This was not my first dance with the drug PROSTAP, but unlike so many of the other hormonal treatments I’d had in the past, it didn’t exacerbate my symptoms (everything else caused excessive bleeding) or create a slew of hideous side effects (the Mirena Coil issues are a blog post unto themselves). PROSTAP in effect creates a chemical menopause, switching my ovaries off (or turning them down to a point where their effects are negligible) and thus curbing most of the worst symptoms of Endometriosis.
I was still quite reluctant when the idea was originally floated, but it was made quite clear to me that it would be disastrous for my internal organs to continue being bathed in hot, trapped menstrual blood on a regular basis. So even though I was technically being offered a choice between wrecking my internal organs or disrupting my hormones, it was clear that only one option was actually viable. Figuring that perhaps enough time had passed since my last dalliance with this kind of medical intervention, I took the plunge. Continue reading “Animal Magnetism: Ear Acupuncture & A Chemical Menopause”
Ever heard the phrase “The only disability in life is a bad attitude”? It looks implies that everything, every damned thing, is merely a case of mind over matter. Continue reading Forget Coffee And Grab Yourself A Tee!
Having suffered from Endometriosis for far longer than Fibromyalgia, ‘flare-ups’ were something that I really only associated with my deeply damaged reproductive system. They were excruciating and crippling, but also familiar and understood – I knew, for the most part, what to expect and for how long I would be a non-functioning lump of flesh. On the other hand, I would think of Fibromyalgia in terms of good or bad days and (or) weeks, but it never truly occurred to me that I was experiencing mislabelled cluster-eruptions of Fibro-specific symptoms. My almost blissful ignorance finally came to an end a couple of weeks ago. Continue reading “Feeling SO Martian Right Now…”
I usually shy away from writing movie reviews because I’m terrible at dealing with the spoiler issue. It’s either “Oh, it was so good, and their use of Foley was amazing” or “It was brilliant, and that bit at the end when he accidentally kills….”, so you can see the problem.
BUT… I just knew I had to write about The Big Sick. I was lucky enough to see it at a surprise screening a couple of weeks ago (Odeon Screen Unseen – if you live near an Odeon cinema and love surprises, this is definitely for you!) and, as always, put out my little 140 character review on Twitter. However, there are so many themes in The Big Sick that will resonate with chronically ill people and those who are close to us chronically ill folks that I thought I would attempt to write a review that would shed a little more light on why I enjoyed the film so much.
(Scroll to the bottom of the post for the trailer…) Continue reading “3 Reasons Why The Chronically Ill Will Relate To The Big Sick”
There is a disturbing scheme that is being rolled out by the British government across GP surgeries in the north east of England, but anyone and everyone who uses the NHS in the United Kingdom should be worried. Continue reading “Substandard Medical Treatment Will Be Their Legacy”
The Martian Princess Chronicles 