Welcome to the eighteenth day of the National Health Blog Post Month Challenge hosted by WEGO Health. Every day during the month of November I will be writing a new blog post related to health and living with a chronic illness based on given prompts provided by WEGO Health.
Today’s prompt reads:
Three Truths and a Lie: Tell us three things that are true about you, your condition, your Health Activism, or your life. Now tell us a lie. Do you think we will be able to tell the difference?
So, you think you know my health condition? Let’s see! Can you spot the incorrect statement from the four statements below?
The dizziness that I experience is constant
The spastic paraparesis only affects my legs
Both hot and cold weather affects my legs
The vertigo is triggered by visual disturbances
Do you know which is the incorrect statement? Choose which one you think the wrong statement is in the poll below and I will reveal the answer tomorrow!
Welcome to the sixteenth day of the National Health Blog Post Month Challenge hosted by WEGO Health. Every day during the month of November I will be writing a new blog post related to health and living with a chronic illness based on given prompts provided by WEGO Health.
Today’s prompt reads:
Well, that was embarrassing… What’s the most awkward situation your health condition ever put you in? (Don’t be bashful, we’re all friends here). Maybe you can look back on it now and laugh, but it wasn’t so funny then
I suppose, one of the benefits of living with an invisible health condition is that when you are out of the home and walking amongst the healthy, others are not aware that you have a chronic illness and you are able to bask in the pretence that you are just like everyone else. I used to be able to do just that; walk around as if I was perfectly healthy, ignoring the dizziness, pain and weakness that was reminding me that I wasn’t like everyone else.
However, after the condition started to worsen, the awkward phase of my neurological condition began to present itself – frequent fall in public. Yes, it happened in shops, at home, at houses of friends and family as well as the centre where I used to volunteer – my legs would suddenly give way which resulted in my entire body collapsing to the floor. I found this extremely embarrassing , especially at the times when I was unable to get up straight after the fall because of the weakness in the legs. Looking back I do not think it was just the situation that I found awkward and embarrassing, which I did especially given my age and partly because at that time I didn’t know what was wrong with my body. No, it was also the attention that it caused from others who were around, the stares and the fuss that these falls caused; it was especially embarrassing when it happened in shops and being helped by elderly people who were much older and obviously fitter than myself!
Of course, this happened, not just the one time but happened extremely frequently for several years. Then, once it happened right in the middle of a popular clothes store in town when I was out with my carer, and because of the weakness in not just my legs but throughout my entire body, I was unable to get back up for approximately ten minutes and so had to be helped by several members of staff and my carer to a stool that they had lent me. The shop at the time was quite busy and there were several members of staff, so as it happened in front of so many people was very embarrassing especially given the stares and people asking me if I was alright and if there was anything they could do (don’t get me wrong I find that to be very kind and thoughtful but still it doesn’t make any less embarrassing!).
Looking back at this particular incident however, I now realise that it was an important part in accepting the deterioration in my mobility and overall condition and finally accepted the need for the wheelchair. Perhaps, it is an incident that was awkward but one which was enlightening and shone the light on an aspect of my life that was changing but could do something to help me adapt to the new situation. It also shows that awkward and embarrassing situations, although can be upsetting and distressing, they can prove to be situations that cause us to learn and grow…
Has your health condition caused you to have an embarrassing incident? Would love to hear your comments and thoughts as ever! Please leave any comments below!…
Welcome to the thirteenth day of the National Health Blog Post Month Challenge. Every day during the month of November I will be writing a new blog post related to health and living with a chronic illness based on given prompts provided by WEGO Health.
Today’s prompt reads:
Evolution: Write about how being a patient or caregiver has changed you. How have your goals changed? Have your values changed?
Patience; as a patient I have developed far more patience than I had before being a chronically ill patient. In my opinion, patience is definitely a quality you need when becoming patient, especially when waiting often weeks or even months for hospital appointments, and for test results, and everything else that being a patient entails. Although it is extremely frustrating having to wait so long for appointments and test results, I also think that having contact with other patients whether it is in real-life or via social media, can make this easier to bare as it makes you realise that you are not alone and able to support one another on the journey through being a chronically ill patient.
In addition, being a patient has also changed me in regards to knowing when to listen to my body. Often, my chronic illness leaves my body very fatigued, and when this occurs I know that I need a nap. The consequences of not listening to my body can result in overwhelming weakness throughout my entire body as well as severe dizziness and vertigo, which can then result in being bed bound for a length of time.
Before being a chronically ill patient, I perhaps held too much faith in doctors; often seeing them through rose-tinted glasses and thinking that they are able to fix all the ailments that are presented to them. However, after being a chronically ill patient myself, I have sadly had first hand experience in learning that often doctors are not able to cure every ailment and illness; I had to learn to accept that endless consultants were unable to cure or even help me. I had to evolve as a person with a long-term health condition, and instead of relying on doctors to help me with my condition, I had to learn to rely on myself and learned to adapt and introduce my own coping strategies to help me cope with my health condition and new situation. For example, recently I have learnt that mints really help with reducing the nausea that I experience and therefore as a result I know to always ensure that I have a pack in my bad when I go out. In addition, as the dizziness has been particularly bad recently, I have learnt that wearing a hat with a brim helps somewhat as it blocks out the visual stimuli that I find bothersome and can precipitate an attack of vertigo or worsen the dizziness that I already have.
In terms of goals, they have changed considerably since my diagnosis in 2010. I had thankfully, already achieved a major goal of mine in completing my University education and gaining a degree in Psychology. However, other goals such as travelling, moving out of home and getting my first job had to be put on hold whilst my illness was bad and we were still searching for a diagnosis. Now, that we have that diagnosis, and especially since last week’s hospital appointment which all but confirmed the dizziness as being neurological and being a lack of treatment or cure; as well as my current state of health then I am not sure whether I will achieve any of those goals that I so dreamed of years ago. Perhaps I will given in time, although the goal posts may have to change slightly. For example, I always had dreams of travelling to Italy, with friends, and although this dream is set to come true next year when I go on my cruise, I am not attending with friends but instead with parents as with my condition I will need looking after if and when flares occur during the holiday.
I am sure that my values have changed also; living with a chronic illness, you realise what really is important in life, and all those little mundane things that once seemed really important, don’t seem to all that important anymore. I would like to think living with a long-term health condition and disability has made me more caring towards others and as a result am less judgemental and more tolerant towards others.
Welcome to the eleventh day of the National Health Blog Post Month Challenge hosted by WEGO Health. Every day during the month of November I will be writing a new blog post related to health and living with a chronic illness based on given prompts provided by WEGO Health.
Today’s prompt reads:
Veteran’s Day: For all our veterans and family members, we celebrate this day because it marks the end of WWI, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. Do you have a task you complete every day at the same time that helps with your chronic illness? How long have you been doing this, how has it helped?
I cannot say that I complete a task every day, at the same time which helps with my chronic illness. In my personal experience, no two days are exactly the same when living with a chronic illness. In addition, life with a chronic illness can instantly change within a blink of an eye; one minute the symptoms are in the background, calm…and the next minute they are wreaking havoc amongst your body and impacting upon your life and your routines. For example, very often the neurological condition that I live with causes such severe weakness in the legs and intense dizziness that I am unable to get out of bed, and even if I did have task that I complete every day at the same time, I could not very well leave my bed to complete the task.
Keeping to a routine can be very difficult when living with a chronic illness
Making plans, whilst living with a chronic illness can also prove be very difficult as because every day is so very different, we can never tell how we will feel on that particular day. Do we dare to book tickets for a concert or play just in case we are unable to attend? We are ruled by our bodies and as a result we are governed by our conditions and its symptoms; dizziness, pain, weakness or overwhelming fatigue may result in a person with a chronic illness to cancel plans, or cease our routines to rest and recuperate.
Cancelling plans can be as disappointing to us as it is for our friends and family…
Recently, I have even been finding that the coping strategies that I do have in place regarding the dizziness, can work one day but as the intensity of the dizziness may be worse the next, these coping strategies are not proving to be effective. So, to conclude, living with chronic illness can vary from day-to-day; and even from hour to hour or in certain cases from minute to minute, and although we all would like little tasks and routines to complete every day to make us feel better, our illnesses can prevent us from completing them, ruining all of our plans and routines. Certainly, life with chronic illness is never the same from day-to-day….
At the end of this post, as it is Remembrance Day, I would like the opportunity to pay tribute to every member of the armed forces, past and present; all of their hard work and sacrifices that they make in serving our country and allowing us the freedom that we are so fortunate to have today. You are all heroes and we will remember all those from all the wars that were not so fortunate to return home to loved ones. I certainly will be wearing my poppy with pride today…
Wearing my Poppy with pride today! #lestweforget
As always would love to hear your thoughts and views! Do you have any strict routines you adhere to when dealing with chronic illness? Does it help? Please leave comments below!
Welcome to the tenth day of the National Health Blog Post Month Challenge hosted by WEGO Health. Every day during the month of November I will be writing a new blog post related to health and living with a chronic illness based on given prompts provided by WEGO Health.
Today’s prompt reads:
Alternative Medicine: Write about alternative treatments and regimens and tell us how you feel about them. What do you support? What is crazy? Have you used any?
As my condition is neurological, and the dizziness is looking like it is being caused by a problem between the signals between my brain and eyes, then I am not so sure that alternative medicines would really work in my particular case. I would not say that I think the idea of any alternative therapies however is ridiculous; if a person finds something that works for them and helps them to feel better in a world of chronic pain or illness, whether it be conventional medicine or alternative medicine than I think a person should be free to choose whatever works best for them.
Admittedly, when the anxiety and dizziness first started to become a major problem and an obstacle that impacted on my everyday life, I did try Chinese herbal medicine after someone recommended it to by Mum – sadly it didn’t work for me, but it wouldn’t stop me from trying it again for some other ailment or even recommending it to someone else for them to try – after all, our bodies are different from person to person and one treatment which works for person A, will not however work for person B. I did however find that aromatherapy helped somewhat with the anxiety, and using lavender on a regular basis helped me feel calmer and less nauseous. I have just bought a little wheat bag and have hung it my bed to help send me to sleep, even when the dizziness and pain is stopping me from doing so, and has found that it has been doing the trick!
My little lavender what bag – hung by my bed and complete with a little dachshund to remind me of Honey
Last week, I had a flare of my IBS symptoms, with bad cramping in my stomach, and a great friend suggested drinking peppermint tea. I found that it instantly calmed my IBS symptoms, and the cramping instantly eased. So although alternative therapies may not solve the entire set of symptoms caused by my neurological disorder, at least I have found something to help during flares of IBS.
Peppermint tea does wonders for my IBS symptoms
As a lot of you may know that my symptoms such as the pain and trembling in my legs as well as the dizziness and vertigo has started becoming worse of late, and a few people have suggested alternative treatments such as seeing a Chiropractor or perhaps even attempting acupuncture. Although I am not closed off from trying alternative forms of treatment, I think one of the worries of such treatments is the cost. In Wales, receiving prescriptions is free, however alternative treatments are not offered on the NHS, and can be very costly. For example, a friend of mine was spending approximately £90 a week on sessions with a Chiropractor, and perhaps one of the worries is the financial implications on using such treatments especially if they fail to work.
Next year, I am going on a cruise with my parents and am aware that they offer treatments such as acupuncture on board the ship that we are going on; perhaps I will give it a try – after all, isn’t one of the benefits of going on holiday is to try new experiences?
But for now, perhaps I shall stick to my own personal alternative regimens that for most part ease my symptoms, such as wearing a hat when out in my wheelchair. I have found doing this ease the dizziness somewhat; blocking the visual stimuli that can make the dizziness worse, or even trigger an episode of vertigo.
One thing that living with chronic illness has taught me is that whatever helps us live with such debilitating symptoms or even eases them, then we should take full advantage of, however crazy they may appear or even what other people think…
Would love to hear your thoughts on this subject! Have you tried any unconventional or alternative treatments in your quest to feel normal in the chronically ill world? Feel free to post your stories and comments below…
