I want my life back.

Feeling low. I know my vit D dose is due tomorrow, so some of it will definitely relate to that. So tired. So anxious... Sad... Scared... Tired... Frustrated... Sick. Everything hurts. I can feel almost normal after sufficient rest, but doing something as little as sitting up and eating puts me back into ME mode …

How Mari Kondo’s system helped me grieve the life I lost

I've seen a lot of criticisms of the Konmari method of decluttering your life. Most of the criticisms I've read are either based on the idea that it's supposed to be one size fits all, that it suggests that everyone should be decluttering and living a minimalist lifestyle, or that throwing stuff away is bad …

Kicking it old school: Payback is a b***h

One of the major difficulties with managing ME, is the way our bodies deal with any form of stress. It can sometimes be hard to predict how much Post Exertional Malaise (PEM) will knock us out. For me, my symptoms are usually roughly predictable as the symptoms on day 3 will equate to the symptoms …

Virtual ME sanity

I was having a conversation recently about how isolating ME can be, especially for my severely ill friends, when the person I was speaking to said something that got me pondering: "Social media must have made life so much more connected for people who are unwell. I can't imagine the isolation prior to email, computers …

August 8 – International Severe ME day and my ME heroes

I'm fortunate enough that my ME is currently only in the 'Moderate' range, meaning I can stand up on my own most of the time. I do sometimes use a walking aide/wheelchair as a way to manage my energy levels and prevent further deterioration, but I can usually stand and walk without assistance. I have …

Spoon theory vs Energy Bucks

I have read many descriptions and metaphors to describe what it's like to live with an energy sapping chronic illness, but I find that none adequately describes what it’s like for me, living with ME/CFS. I have a metaphor that I think fits me and my ME which I wrote about in my epic post of …

Growing around my grief

Yesterday I buried a friend, Lois. Well, I didn't literally bury her, I left that to other more able bodied people, but I was there when it happened. She died on Monday, both suddenly and not. She had cancer; an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer which was only diagnosed, at stage 4, earlier this year. …

Today was a good day, so why am I crying? AKA Show me the money!

Ok, I'm pretty tired, having reached my step limit today, but it's more than that...it's the millions missing, including myself, and our invisibility in the world of medical research. It all comes back to Florence Nightingale. For a few weeks the mere mention of Nightingale's name has been enough to set me off. Last week …

So… My boob exploded. That was fun.

Take 1 bout of flu (substituting a cold may not work as well) Add 1 weekend on feet running a stand at an expo, Mix in a dash of terrorist attack and fear for Muslim friends. Mix well. Fold in an MMR vaccine and sprinkle with bronchitis. Allow to rest for 5 days, applying heat …

Follow up on the bujo

Earlier this year I started tracking my symptoms, triggers, and activity in a simple Bullet Journal. After about a month of tracking I decided to have a look for patterns. I took my raw data and entered it all into an MS Excel Spreadsheet. Next, I added up the total values of the groups and …