The Illest: Life With Chronic Pain & Fatigue

Chronic pain can make your favorite sexual positions uncomfortable, but this does not mean you have to completely give up on being intimate with your partner or keep you from having a fulfilling sex life. The key to being happy in your sex life is...

     The connection between chronic illness/mental illness and personal hygiene goes way deeper than most people may realize. Brushing teeth and bathing is second nature to most people, but if you are struggling, these are the tasks that are the hardest to complete.

     If you find yourself struggling with self-care, here are a few tips to make things easier for you...

     Chronic pain patients hide our pain so well, you cannot go by how we look on the outside. We have to learn how to function with pain, we don't have the luxury to wince and scream in agony all day.

     Medical gaslighting is when your doctor dismisses your health concerns by refusing to take you seriously or by ignoring your symptoms. They may have even told you that your symptoms are “all in your head."

     Can I just start by saying, dealing with Fibromyalgia and all of its weird symptoms is annoying (AF!). One symptom of Fibromyalgia we are all VERY aware of is “widespread pain”... But if you live with the condition, you know Fibromyalgia pain is way more complex than it sounds. Fibro pain affects any and every part of the body. Sometimes, it’s difficult to explain the types of pain we’re experiencing.
Well, now you can put a name to some of those aches and pains, some are medical terms and some are well known amongst the chronic illness and spoonie community.



Hyperalgesia   

     Hyperalgesia is the medical term for

     Living with a chronic illness is a constant cycle of changing symptoms and you’re forced to find new ways to deal with pain and fatigue.

     Changing my perspective was key. Changing the way I viewed my situation and limitations wasn’t easy but definitely beneficial.

Dear Healthy Friends,

Here's what you can do for me:

-be thankful you don't have a chronic illness.

-be thankful you don't have to deal with pain every second of your life.

-be thankful you don't have to choose between making breakfast and taking a shower before you leave the house..

-be thankful you don’t have to plan your life around your physical limitations.

...going as far as leaving notes on cars parked in handicapped spots trying to shame them for parking there, assuming they weren’t disabled based on the way they looked. 

     If you’re looking to get into the natural pain relief game, I’m here to help. I will break it all down so you can decide which choice would be a good fit for you.

     Many people are taking the natural route when it comes to healthcare; Cannabis is one of the more popular options for natural pain relief.

     Cannabis, also known as marijuana can be a great alternative to traditional pain-relieving medications. Figuring out which marijuana strain, Cannabidiol (CBD) or tetracannabinol (THC) product is the one for you can be “a bit much”, so let’s see if I can help.

     Living with a chronic illness is no walk in the park. When you’re sick with a cold or the flu, you know that eventually, you’re going to get better and life goes back to normal. A chronic illness is very different. It’s 24/7 and most likely may never go away. You have to reframe and redirect your life and thoughts to support a different narrative. Here are some tips to not only help you live a better life with your chronic illness, but help you thrive.

For a lot of people, the Holiday season is “the most wonderful time of the year,” but everyone doesn’t feel that way. For some, this time of year can be stressful as some may be experiencing SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), financial issues, or experienced a loss.

     Self care should always be a priority, but practicing self care around the Holidays is a MUST. You can do more for others once you’ve done right by yourself. Remember, you can’t drive other people around if you don’t have any gas.

1. Remember to Laugh

     Living in chronic pain has made my sense of humor pretty dark to say the least. I can laugh at pretty much anything. Remember this when things aren’t going your way. Sometimes you have to literally laugh to keep from crying.

2. Create a...

I KNOW that getting multiple declined invites may have you thinking we aren’t interested, but nothing is further from the truth. We are sick about having to miss yet another gathering and are most likely having a pity party of our own. We don’t want to let you down and most of all, we do enjoy hanging out and having fun every now and then, it’s just that it it’s very painful to do so. Please don’t be upset if I have to cancel AGAIN. 

Well Warriors.... I did it. I went to a different country... a whole other continent by myself. I still can’t even believe the “solo-cation” actually happened.

     Weeks before departure time, my entire family was nervous for me; I wasn’t the least bit bothered until the day it was time for me to board. I had tears in my eyes as I was leaving my mom and headed through airport security.

     When I arrived in Bangkok and checked into my hotel, I found...

Rock climbing, walking around downtown Pasadena, and exploring the Santa Monica pier…that is how my now-husband and I spent our very first date. At the time, I wouldn’t have imagined that my life would look much differently only a couple years later.

When I met the man I would eventually marry...

     At that moment, the spoon theory was born. Christine quickly grabbed every spoon on the table; hell she grabbed spoons off of the other tables. She looked at her friend in the eyes and said “Here you go, you have Fibro (or Lupus or      any other chronic pain condition)”. Christine explained that the difference in being sick and being healthy is having to make choices or to consciously think about things when the rest of the world doesn’t have to. The healthy have the luxury of a life without choices, a gift most people take for granted.