Category Archives: Lists

Infection Survival Guide for the Chronically Ill (and “Normal” People, too)

Respiratory infections, sinus infections, ear infections – oh my!
Gastrointestinal infections, viral infections, bacterial infections – oh, die…

Currently, I’m extremely ill. I have some sort of awful infection in my head and GI system. I’ll spare you all of the TMI details, but let’s just say I’m a giant ball of disgusting. Lots of phlegm is involved, nausea, and too many trips to the restroom. There’s also severe full body aches and bone crushing fatigue. It’s not pretty.

It got me thinking, what are some must-haves for surviving a nasty infection like this? Here are my product recommendations (and why I recommend them) for surviving an infection while dealing with chronic illnesses. Continue reading →

Five Awesome Gifts for the Chronic Illness Warriors on Your List

People with multiple chronic illnesses (like myself) have slightly different wishlists than “normal” people (or those without chronic conditions). They’ll still have normal wishlists, but these are some things that most of them would absolutely love but may not want to actually ask for because they may seem “odd.” Even if one of these isn’t on the wishlist they gave you, getting one of these gifts will likely light up their entire day and become a most used item!

For this list, I will try to put the types of conditions that may benefit from these presents with each item. Also, if these is an asterisk (*) next to any link, I will get a small commission/referral/affiliate payment if you purchase – however, these links will never cost you any more money to use, you’ll just be helping me out a little (almost like giving two gifts for the price of one). Anything from FindingTheSilverSun on Zazzle comes directly from my own Zazzle shop and they are my designs (so I get paid when you buy them, thank you)! This list is not in any particular order. Continue reading →

Top 6 Tips for Dealing with Summer Pain Flares

beach-1867524_1920For me, summer equals significantly more physical activity. I’m sure most people that live in an area that experiences winter will agree: when the weather is “nice” we do as much as possible to try to make up for being inside all winter. When you are chronically ill, however, more physical activity can also equal significantly more pain.

My fibromyalgia is the main cause of my pain in the winter, but I experience different pain in the summer. I haven’t been able to figure out how big a role each of my conditions plays into the summer pain, but I have developed a few tricks for dealing with it. My summer pain is extreme muscular fatigue, joint pain, and an all over bruised sensation; I do experience nerve pain, but it’s usually do to a pinched nerve thanks to my joint problems instead of due to my fibromyalgia. I also have to juggle my dysautonomia which includes a lot of problems with temperature regulation (leading to overheating) and swelling. Continue reading →

Valentine’s Day: The Day to Celebrate Love

I love holidays, all holidays! My mom always made a big deal out of them when I was a kid: the entire dining room would get completely decorated (every bit), and there would be other small decorations scattered about the house; there would be some sort of present, even just small little goodies like some candy or fun socks, to open with breakfast; even special meals, like green eggs at St. Patrick’s Day or pink pancakes for dinner on Valentine’s Day. The holidays were some of my favorite times, and not just because I was a kid getting presents. Each holiday was special, just the excitement of family time! (Every time I test for my “love language” I flip flop between being word based and action/quality time based. ) My family would play games or watch movies together, and I loved that. Because the holidays were always so special to me, I do my best to continue the celebrations now that I have my own house and husband!

valentine-594389_1920

Continue reading →

How to Clean with a Moderately Severe Dust Allergy

I’m allergic to dust. Yes, you read that properly, dust. Everyday house dust. (Read post 1 and 2 about this allergy.) As you can imagine, this makes things very complicated. Doctor’s orders say I’m supposed to stay away from dust, especially airborne dust, which also means keeping my house as dust free as possible. Do you see the catch?

Cleaning is very complicated due to the dust issues. First of all, let me emphasize the importance of good air filters if you have a dust allergy or sensitivity. Air filters are CRUCIAL!!! They are also necessary when cleaning. airfilterI have two different types of air filters, three filter units total. I have two Winix True HEPA filters, and love them. After we got them, we cleaned thoroughly, and it took significantly less time for a dust layer to accumulate. They also automatically sense air quality and will adjust the fan speed as necessary (if on “auto”) and can be put on a quiet “sleep” mode for overnight. We have one Winix on the main level of our house, and one in our bedroom. We also have a small Holmes HEPA mini-tower air purifier (I bought it from Target about 5 years ago). We buy the best filters we can for the Holmes, and it runs 24/7 in the office. All the air filters run 24/7. I’m not getting anything for these links, but these are the ones we use and I definitely recommend the Winix ones.

How to Clean and Dust Your House When You’re Allergic to House Dust

Continue reading →

Some Realistic 2016 Goals

I hate doing resolutions, really hate them. Growing up, I always felt like they were silly; why are all these people making these lofty promises that they couldn’t keep even if they tried?! However, being online means I’m assaulted by wave upon wave of resolutions from every corner of the internet. They are still (usually) crazy and out there resolutions, but they make me think about what I would like 2016 to look like for myself. So here is a small list of realistic goals (I refuse to call them resolutions) that I would like to accomplish in 2016.

Continue reading →

Goodbye 2015…

I can’t believe 2015 is already almost over!!!! There are 3ish hours left, and a few minutes (number will continue to change until I publish, so no point haha).

Let’s take a quick look back at my year, if my brain fog will let me.

fireworks

Continue reading →

Tips for Supporting a Chronic Partner

Last night I stumbled upon a post on Pinterest that made me cry. It made me cry because it is fantastic, so it was tears due to a display of true love. It was written by a guy who has been married to his wife for almost 14 years, and his wife suffers from chronic pain. He gets it. He gets it in a way I never thought anyone other than the sufferer could get it. The article gave me a lot of hope: It just takes time and patience but the two of us (Dan and me) will learn to conquer this together.

23 Tips For Men – On Supporting A Partner With Chronic Pain

I'm Here For You

The article isn’t just for spouses. Really, it isn’t. It has perfect tips for any support person. It works the same if the roles are reversed (husband has chronic pain), if it’s a parent/child relationship (either direction), if you’re the best friend of a single friend, etc. Anyone that has to take a primary, or even secondary, caretaker role can benefit from reading this article.

Continue reading →

Tips for Winter Pain Flares

The links in this article are not affiliated links, they’re just so you can find things quickly if you are interested. I literally get nothing from them being in my post (sadly, hehe).

I’m sure many people with fibromyalgia (and probably other chronic pain conditions) experience discomfort when the weather changes. For me, cold weather causes a lot of discomfort: extremely overstimulated nerves, painful joints, muscle stiffness, muscle aches, extreme fatigue, etc. I think part of the overstimulated nerves comes from the dry skin I get in the winter.

Even though I only got officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia in January 2013, I have been having symptoms for most of my life. Thankfully, having symptoms most of your life helps you come up with some tricks. I’m still working on an effective routine, but I have a few things that will help when I need some relief.

Chronic Pain Relief in Winter – at Home

Continue reading →

First Road Trip With POTS – Short Thoughts

This has been my first road trip since my POTS diagnosis, and it has been a learning experience. I’ll write more about it later, but here are some quick points.

  • You will be too hot and too cold… Sometimes at the same time.
  • You are going to get crazy dizzy because road trips are dehydrating
  • Clothing is obnoxious
  • Fast food and soda are simultaneously awesome and evil
  • Bladders are tiny
  • There is no such thing as being over prepared