Tag: symptoms

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My Chemical Romance

[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”

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Animal Magnetism: Ear Acupuncture & A Chemical Menopause

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”

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3 Reasons Why The Chronically Ill Will Relate To The Big Sick

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”

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Someone Snatched My Security Blanket!

You never really know how close you are to the end of your tether until someone or something starts hacking away at it.  To the outside world it may seem like an overreaction to something innocuous, unimportant or even frivolous; but for those of us hanging from that tiny thread, it is the whole world – or at least the only sliver of the world in which we feel we can survive in. Continue reading “Someone Snatched My Security Blanket!”

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3 Reasons I Am Grateful To My Fibromyalgia 

A recent Roller Derby training session had left me needing crutches just to get around my poky little flat; and, no, there was no injury involved – merely a compounding of the pain that had been gradually increasing over the previous few days.

Usually painkillers, sleeping pills and rest would allow me to return to ‘my kind of normal’, but this time the pain was persistent.  Two days later I was still hobbling and exhausted.  Eventually noticing that I had barely left the bedroom for most of the weekend, my husband came to keep me company on Sunday afternoon.  As I struggled to find a comfortable position as we watched the remake of Pete’s Dragon on the laptop, I muttered the words ‘kill me.’ A sharp jab to my upper arm made me realise that I hadn’t spoken as quietly as I had initially thought.  Once the film was over, my husband returned to his duties in the mini ‘studio’ and I turned to a playlist for solace. Continue reading “3 Reasons I Am Grateful To My Fibromyalgia “

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It May Not Seem Like It – But This Is Progress

Desperation is something that the chronically ill experience on a regular basis.  It is often the driving force behind our endless internet searches, our impatience with cloth-eared medical professionals and our, apparently, ‘finicky’ eating.  But it is also often what leads us to accept a seemingly pointless, or downright risky, treatment option; even though we know it probably will not provide that fiercely desired light at the end of the tunnel.
Continue reading “It May Not Seem Like It – But This Is Progress”