Category Archives: Chronic Illness

Anyone Have a Charger?!

Need Charger

Exhausted today, I think I’m still fighting off a cold… I haven’t actually felt my 100% since about the 14th or so (can’t remember exactly). I’ve been pushing a little too hard on this vacation, and my body is so fatigued. Yesterday was spent mostly on the couch at my parents’ house, watching Soap (absolutely hilarious sitcom from the late 70s). Today was also rather restful. Well, Dan slept most of the day 😛 He really needs it though, because I usually wake him up a lot at night for help, so he never gets quite enough sleep. He was able to sleep most of the day because I spent most of it helping my mom get her blog and website setup! Once they’re done, I’ll share 🙂

I did get to see one of my BFFs, Krystal, and her adorable 1 1/2 year old, Lexi, today though! We had breakfast, it was awesome! I never see them enough, but it makes seeing them even more special. (But I would def be 100% okay with more!) Krystal and I have known each other since I was 14, and we’ve been pretty dang close the entire time. She’s like an older sister to me, and I really do hate not being able to see her more often. But life is life, and I’m just glad I do get to see her and we stay in touch best we can 🙂 Hopefully, someday we’ll live in the same state again (or at least only a few hours apart).

Vacation and Pain

So, the last trip I took wasn’t all that painful… it was exhausting, sure, but there were very few things that caused me pain. I was actually really surprised.

BRB Body Malfunction

Unfortunately, this time is a bit different. I’d been stiff and sore before we left for Cali… and it hasn’t gotten any better. I’ve been far more active this vacation than I have been in the past three months (well, probably more) and I can physically tell. Everything from the waist down feels like it’s been run over by a steam roller, and then my ear. I’m enjoying myself immensely, but, tomorrow is a necessary “rest” day (at least just hang around my parents’ house and take it easy).

One of my BFFs is getting married this coming Saturday, and I really need to get energy for that! I can’t wait! And I’m hoping I’ll have a bunch of photos to share from it (it should be gorgeous)!

Pain Level

The Big Allergy Hurrah! Seriously, it’s exciting!!!

I’m going to be getting allergy shots!!! YAY!!!!

So, yeah… if you knew me, you’d realize how crazy that sounds. Well, how crazy the level of excitement is… then again, if you knew me, then you’d also realize why I’m so excited.

For YEARS I have had atrocious allergies. I take three allergy medications a day (currently Nasacort, Singulair, and Xyzal), that all work in different ways… and that isn’t enough! Regularly I need to add Sudafed and Benadryl to the mix. Sometimes, actually usually, even the extra medications aren’t quite enough for people to stop asking me if I’m sick. Luckily, they’ve been slightly better recently, but it’s also not my main allergy season (and Xyzal is stronger than the Claritin I had been taking). Obviously, having allergy symptoms that constantly make people ask if I have a cold has been less than fun.

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The Pilates Morning Conundrum

I absolutely love Pilates and my studio! As I mentioned in “Things That Make Me Smile,” my studio does both physical therapy (PT) and Pilates, which is a great combination. The PT is much more focused on a whole body approach to treat the issue, and the Pilates is done with an emphasis on proper form and tailoring to your specific needs. Some of the instructors are both PTs and Pilates trained, others are just Pilates trained. All of the instructors have undergone 500 hours of Pilates instructor training… which is crazy, but really good for the students.

I’ve been working with one PT, Joleen, there since January. My body has so many issues that it’s just significantly easier to stay with a single instructor for now. Once my body starts working kind of like a “normal” person’s body, then I’ll be comfortable trying other instructors. I’m getting WAY better though.

I'm on the MOTR, a relatively new Pilates device. It's extremely versatile. This was during an open house at my studio.

I’m on the MOTR, a relatively new Pilates device. It’s extremely versatile. This was during an open house at my studio.

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The Mystery Noise

Ugh, can’t sleep despite feeling awful and needing to be awake in 5 hours… There is a bizarre noise going on outside, regularly. If we had A/C, we could shut the windows, but alas. 😦 The noise sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. You know the sound of a dripping sink? It’s that consistent, and it is a similar noise, but almost as if it’s robotic water… it sounds synthesized in some way. Every now and then, it sounds like it could be a dog, but not quite… the volume is all that changes. I’m going to need to turn my music way up so I can sleep. I really hope everything is alright out there…

Difficult Night

I wish my fibro pain would go away and stay away… permanently. For some reason, the last two days have shown an increase in the fibro pain that is in my wrists and ankles. I also think my pain level has increased all over slightly. I must have overdone it at Pilates on Monday (and then leading Dan through a stretching routine that evening). Dumb triggers.

My Struggle with POTS

(To learn who I am as a person, please visit the About Me section. For summaries of my other chronic conditions, please see the “My Chronic Illnesses” series. There are three parts: one, two, three.)

So, POTS… yeah, it pretty much sucks. This one is my newest chronic invisible illness, and has been the most debilitating by far. Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome is a complicated beast. POTS is a type of dysautonomia, which is a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system (the part of your nervous system that controls everything involuntary, like blinking, breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, etc). As you can imagine, the autonomic nervous system malfunctioning is not a good thing. Now, let’s explain the rest of this POTS thing the best that I can.

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My Chronic Illnesses (part 3)

If you’re just starting to read my blog, please read the About Me section, as well as the first and second parts of this summary.

In this part of the summary, we’re going to cover: temporal mandibular joint dysfunction, eosinophilic esophagitis, and lactose intolerance/sensitivity.

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My Chronic Illnesses (part 2)

If you’re just starting to read my blog, please read both the About Me section and the first part of this summary.

So, in the first part I covered the illnesses that I was diagnosed with (or knowingly suffered from) before I turned 18. After graduating high school in California, I moved to Colorado to begin college (August 2008). It didn’t take long for my health to get all out of whack. I ended up having ovarian cyst issues in March 2009, which ultimately ended with surgery in June 2009 to remove a large and stubborn cyst. Thankfully, the cyst problem doesn’t appear to be chronic. However, I ended up getting diagnosed with several other invisible illnesses, which are explained below in rough order of diagnosis. From oldest to most recent, this post will cover: migraines, plantar fasciitis, and fibromyalgia. 

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