I'm back with a surprise

Hi all,
I thought I would explain myself. I haven't blogged since June and I have severely neglected the blog. I'm Sorry! I was rushed off my feet quite literally over Christmas and had too much on my plate then I got a big surprise......

Yep that's right I did four tests in total and still didn't believe it. Just after Christmas I'd visited the doctors with what I now know were pregnancy symptoms, to be told it may be Endometriosis and to come back after the new year for an ultrasound! I was convinced I was infertile.

On the 1st January, something- (call it divine intuition, a hunch or just bored curiosity) made me do a pregnancy test and lo and behold I was pregnant! I stated that I wouldn't believe it until I had a handful of positive tests and a doctor saying congratulations. By the end of the day I had all that and still couldn't believe it until my first scan.

That little blob changed everything!

 

My first trimester was god awful, I had to come off the majority of my medication cold turkey and overnight, I had nausea, vomiting, anxiety, insomnia, mood swings, sore everything and severe fatigue. I was even hospitalised due to my POTS skyrocketing out of control. There were times I could barely function as a human being let alone do anything else. Luckily this passed and I made it to 12 weeks with a lot of support from my amazing husband.

12 weeks

My second trimester was wonderful! the nausea and fatigue gradually wore off, suddenly everything wasn't sore anymore, my POTS calmed down I had energy to actually do things, I wasn't in constant pain and I began to enjoy been pregnant.

It was during this time that my business loan with the princes' trust was approved and I re-launched sending spoons, this time with a new name- Chronic Comforts. If your interested in the Princes' trust and what they do I wrote a post about it here.

Now I had an embroidery machine and was able to do much more. I've been concentrating on getting to know my other baby (a Brother Innovis F440E) and working on new products.

https://www.consciouscrafties.com/handmade-gifts/magical-unicorn-hoodie/

I'm now into my third trimester and the chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and POTS have returned with vengeance. My joints are struggling and I'm doing daily physiotherapy and having monthly manipulation to put everything back into place. hEDS and pregnancy hormones don't mix! I still don't feel as bad as my first trimester but its really hard work for me now. On the Bright side I found out we are having a girl. We're naming her faith and I'll leave you with some of the more recent scan photos to show what a little cutie she already is:

20 weeks

28 weeks

 

As always thanks for reading and check out www.facebook.com/chroniccomforts for new products, links and news.

Laura :)

 

Managing pain

Following my last post on Managing Medications I thought I would write about managing chronic pain. I have fibromyalgia and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome amongst other things so I'm no stranger to pain!

I tend to use a pain scale to judge how much pain I'm in and then decide on pain relief accordingly. At this point I'd like to mention I'm no doctor. I'm just sharing my experience of managing pain.

The chronic pain scale. Unsure of source

Anything between three to five is a good day and normal for me. To be more comfortable day to day I utilise things like epsom salt baths, cannabis oil (you can read my review here), heat packs and I use orthotics on my most troublesome joints such as my wrists, knees and hands.

Between 5-7 I use things like hot/cold therapy topical pain relief like muscle rub or ibuprofen/diclofenac gel. Over the counter Medications like paracetamol and ibuprofen (careful not to use two of the same Medications at the same time. E,G. Ibuprofen/diclofenac gel and ibuprofen tablets.)

7-9 I use prescribed Medications such as naproxen and tramadol 10+ I have oramorph 14+ is a hospital trip for me.

It's worth knowing that if you have exhausted all your pain relief options to no effect and haven't taken paracetamol, if you can, you should. This is because paracetamol works like a stepladder for other Medications enabling them to work better.

A doctor in A&E told me this when I had gallstones, Because of my chronic pain I'm tolerant to most pain killers and they began to run out of options so started me on an IV of paracetamol alongside the morphine and entenox  (gas and air).

Coping emotionally with pain is a different matter. It's important to have a good support network and healthy coping methods. I'm lucky to have a good support network both at home and online. I also use journalling to express the anger, frustration and hopelessness that comes with been in pain everyday. I did a post on emotional self care a while ago, you can read that here.

Do you have any questions or tips on coping with chronic pain? Feel free to leave a comment below.

As always thanks for reading.

Laura :)

Unplanned trip anxiety!

I'm been brave this September.  I normally don't go anywhere without my trusty rucksack armed with all kinds of things to help me with heat intolerance, cold intolerance, pain, dislocations, asthma and more. Even with all that I Then have to know where I'm going and know where toilets, disabled accessible facilities are and have a plan B for everything.

I think this is typical for most with a chronic illness. Either that or I'm just an anxious control freak! It now comes naturally to me to go out prepared for almost anything my body can throw at me. This enables me to enjoy myself, relax and know that if anything happen I wont have to go running home or ruin the day.

All this goes out the window when I have to go somewhere I don't know. My dad has planned a suprise trip for me. It's a lovely exciting idea BUT it's left me quite anxious. I don't know where we're going. I've to turn up at my Dads house on a specified date and time and he will hand me information about where I'm going, a postcode for my satnav and booking information. All I know is its camping and its for 4 days.

I don't know how far a drive it is, if there's blue badge parking, how accessible places I may need or want to visit are. I don't know if there's pharmacys or doctor's nearby. I don't even know where I'm staying.

Will it be big enough for my power chair?

Will it have accessible bathrooms?
Will there even be somewhere to charge my power chair!?

Will I be able to make myself comfortable and give myself some self care if I have a flare up?

What activities will I be able to participate in?

Will attractions I want to visit be accessible?

I have to be brave and put trust in my dad that he knows my needs well enough to have thought of all this. But then there's the other issue its CAMPING- I'm extremely sensitive to temperatures, too hot my POTS doesn't like it, too cold my Raynaud's and Fibromyalgia doesn't like it. I cant exactly have air conditioning or heating in a tent. My air bed is not that comfy and I wont have a sofa to lay on if I'm having a bad fatigue day.

To tackle this I'm taking lots of pillows and blankets so I can make my own nest of comfy to crash in, this will also help if it gets cold. I hope the campsite has a pool so I can cool down if its too hot. Once I know where I'm going I can do some research and find some places to visit or activities I can do. Whatever happens its my holiday and I'm determined to enjoy it.

It made me wonder how many other spoonies out there have anxiety around unplanned / unexpected trips? Am I the only one?

Of course once I get back I will post about how I got on and how I survived!

As always thanks for reading,

Laura :)

Cannabis oil vaping for chronic pain.

So after all the hype that followed the medipen release I found myself curious. I wanted to know could cannabis oil really help my pain, fatigue and insomnia?

I did so much research on why cannabis oil was different to the cannabis that's normally smoked and the science behind it. I tried to research the disadvantages as well as the advantages.

For the basics check out:

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/essential-oils/cannabis-essential-oil.html

The downside is you don't know how your body may react to it, your other medications may interact and the stigma, as soon as you say the word cannabis it conjures up images of spliffs. In the UK cannabis is illegal. Luckily cannabis oil isn't. Finally It goes without saying:

!!!! Please don't try any new treatment or medication  without consulting your doctor first!!!!!

I couldn't afford the £49.97 for a Medipen starter kit and £24.97 for refills so I set about looking for a cheaper version.

I found the CBD king starter kit for £28.99 on amazon. It arrived within 3 days despite the delivery estimate putting it at 5-10 days.

It was fairly easy to work out and the vaporizing pen  came with a charger, two cartridges and a metal storage case. I don't smoke so inhaling took some working out too but then I was off.

I found the best way to use it was to inhale 3 short puffs of about 2-3 seconds three times a day. I then had more short puffs if I felt my pain levels increase. This is what worked for me but you may want to experiment to find what works for you.

I've been using it for 2 weeks now. My pain is still there (it's not a cure) but it seems to lessen it. The most positive effect I've found is that I'm less anxious and sleeping better. I can't say I've noticed any improvement in my fatigue but it's not deteriorated either.

After a few days one of my cartridges stopped working. I contacted CBD king and they responded the next day and sent me a replacement out and a free cartridge no questions asked. The Strawberry and custard flavour is amazing and so is the lemon and lime.

In short I've found cannabis oil has helped my anxiety and insomnia and has lowered my pain levels. I'd recommend CBD king as their pen is the same as medipen and their customer service is amazing.

Do you have any questions or Have you tried cannabis oil for chronic pain or other illness' have you found it helped?

As always thanks for reading,

Laura :)

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this honest review I just really liked the pen and the company.