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    I’m proud of myself today!

    I did good today. I walked into the town centre with my sister and my nephew, AND walked back, too! Normally, I can only make it one way, so I’m super proud of myself. (Altogether it’s just under 3 miles).

    AND, not only did I meet my daily step goal of 6,000… I also walked a further 3,096! I feel so good for it. I am so determined to lose this weight. I need to. I’m going to. I’ve got this! 💪

    #ChronicPain #chronicillnesswarrior #POTS #EDS #InterstitialCystitis #Diabetes #DiabetesType2 #NAFLD #LiverDisease #obese #Overweight #Exercise #Walking #Feelinggood #happy

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    I feel weird...

    So, I have quite a few chronic health conditions, but the two that give me the most pain are Ehler's Danlos Syndrome and Interstitial Cystitis.

    As a result of this, I live in pain every day of my life. But I have good days and bad days. I have flares.

    Today, strangely, is a very good pain day. It's nowhere near as far as it usually is. If I were to put it on a scale with one being the lowest and ten being the absolute worst... I'd give it a 3. On the average day, I tend to be around 5 or 6. So being feeling like a 3 is... Weird.

    I'm so used to the level of pain I'm usually at. But today I feel so strange. It feels like something isn't quite right and it honestly makes me feel very nervous. And I have no idea why. I feel ridiculous.

    Does anyone else feel like this when their pain is better than usual? I feel like an idiot.

    #chronicillnesswarrior #ChronicPain #POTS #EDS #EhlersDanlos #posturalorthostatictachycardia #InterstitialCystitis #BladderPain #Jointpain #IBS #cramps #NAFLD #LiverDisease #Depression #Anxiety #BPD #Weird

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    I'm really enjoying exercising!

    My health issues make it really difficult to exercise - particularly the Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. I faint pretty often, and because of that, I've always been terrified of doing any major exercise.

    But in the last few weeks, I've been slowly building up my tolerance when it comes to walking. Any time my sister comes over, we go for a walk that usually lasts just over an hour. I monitor my heart rate on my Fitbit, which is an absolute god send since it also helps me keep track of my weight loss progress and how well I sleep.

    My sister, despite being 5ft 1in, walks VERY fricking fast. I sometimes have to tell her to slow down, because I just can't keep up with her, haha. And I'm 5ft 7in! I have stumpy legs, damn it. But the fast pace means I lose more weight, so I try my hardest to catch up to her, hah.

    I'm really proud of myself. My step goal on my Fitbit is 6,000 steps a day. Which probably doesn't seem like a lot, but for me? With all my issues? I'd say 6,000 steps is ideal. Last week I managed to reach my step goal twice! Today, I walked into town (about 1.3miles), and reached 6k steps again! So, this week, I'm aiming to reach it three times, and maybe next week I'll try and go for four!

    I'm loving being close to my sister. It's only in the last 18months that we've bonded. I love what we talk about when we're out walking. I love my nephew and all the cute little cooing noises he does, like he's butting into the conversation, haha.

    I'm really proud of myself. My GP always says; "Remember, it's important to celebrate EVERY victory - even the little ones."

    So... I'm going to.

    #chronicillnesswarrior #ChronicPain #posturalorthostatictachycardia #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #NAFLD #Diabetes #IBS #InterstitialCystitis #GERD #EnlargedSpleen #Migraines #LiverDisease #Dysautonomia #BPD #Depression #Anxiety

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    Is there something wrong with my stomach?

    Hey, everyone. I hope you’re all okay and staying safe and well.

    I have a bit of a strange question. I have several chronic health conditions, including Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Dysautonomia, Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome, IBS, Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Diabetes, Interstitial Cystitis, Migraines, Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease and some mental health difficulties. So there’s a lot of stuff going on.

    Anyway, I regularly get stomach aches, or just an iffy stomach in general. I’ll sometimes go 2-5 days with a very minimal amount of food because I’m just not hungry and I feel sick. I’ve had lots of tests and scans and beyond having a Hiatal Hernia and some inflamed blood vessels in my stomach lining, they can’t find a reason behind this. But I’ve recently discovered that when I feel like this and/or I’m bloated… I can get it all to go away by drinking something fizzy. Doesn’t matter what it is, but as long as it’s fizzy… It almost instantly makes it better.

    Does anyone have any idea why this is? I do struggle to burp a lot - I always have. When I burp, they are tiny and don’t make much difference, even after I’ve drunk the fizzy stuff. I’m completely open to suggestions. I take all kinds of medication for my IBS and GERD. Antacids, Buscopan, Mebeverine, Metaclopramide (an anti-sickness). But they have a minimal effect when I have these stomach aches, bloating, nausea and loss of appetite.

    Thank you all in advance! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Stay safe!

    #ChronicPain #chronicillnesswarrior #POTS #EDS #Dysautonomia #GERD #IBS #nausea #NAFLD #LiverDisease #InterstitialCystitis #Diabetes #Migraines #BPD #HiatalHernia #Advice

    3 reactions 8 comments
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    I really hate my crappy immune system.

    So, for years now my immune system has been awful. My doctor says it’s because of the variety of health issues I have. A heart condition, liver disease, kidney damage, enlarged spleen, diabetes, etc… When the pandemic started, I was told by every single doctor that I am at “extreme risk”. Tomorrow I’ll be having my 5th vaccine. I’m not looking forward to it.

    Anyway, since my nephew was born nearly a year ago, I seem to be catching ever bug, virus on infection that’s going around. I’m always careful - I wear a mask where I can, I wash my hands many many times in a day, I use hand sanitizer, and I still do social distancing.

    Last December I had a nasty cold that took nearly two weeks to go. Then in February I caught another one that knocked me on my ass. In May, my nephew passed on a particularly nasty/severe stomach bug that landed me in hospital. Five weeks ago I had ANOTHER cold… And now…? My baby nephew has passed on Bronchitis to me. I’m so exhausted. I haven’t felt this rough in a very long time. Before you ask, yes, I’ve done COVID tests. I’m negative.

    My fever keeps going up and down, with the highest being 39.9°C. I saw a doctor today, who said my lungs sound like Rice Krispies, what with how much they’re crackling and popping. I’ve been given antibiotics and two different inhalers today, since I keep coughing so bad I end up choking.

    Is there a way to improve my immune system? I can’t exactly get mad at a one year old baby. He really loves to play with me (mainly because no one else does - not even my sister), so I absolutely hate it when I have to stop because I’m in pain with my other conditions or feeling too unwell. I put him above everything else. I just want to try and find a way where he won’t get me sick all the time.

    Any advice you have would be GREATLY appreciated. And thank you all in advance.

    #chronicillnesswarrior #ChronicPain #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #Dysautonomia #LiverDisease #NAFLD #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #EDS #BPD #Diabetes #Migraines #InterstitialCystitis #WeakImmuneSystem #Immunocompromised #Advice

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    Does anyone else get really emotional when they're unwell?

    I know that a lot of us feel unwell most of the time. That probably wasn't a very well phrased title. But what I mean is... Do you get easily upset when you have a cold/flu/infection?

    As an example, back in May I picked up a very nasty stomach bug (that my baby nephew ever-so-lovingly decided to share)... And for the entire day, I just kept breaking down into tears. For pretty much no reason. I don't know if it was frustration or if I'd just had enough... But I've noticed it happens every time I'm unwell.

    I've had a cold for about a week now (several COVID tests have come back negative, despite me being certain this isn't an ordinary cold), and I just keep breaking down at the drop of a hat. My sister brought me a slice of my favourite cake from my favourite bakery and I burst into tears. The level of emotion is crazy. I don't like crying even when I'm feeling okay, so when I suddenly start sobbing, I get angry at myself and then usually end up crying more... I keep wondering if it's simply exhaustion? I'm immuno-compromised, so what other people would call a mild illness, is usually something that knocks me off my feet.

    I'd just like to know if there's anyone else out there that's like this? And if you know of a way I could maybe minimise the tears? I feel so silly.

    #chronicillnesswarrior #ChronicPain #POTS #EDS #NAFLD #LiverDisease #Diabetes #InterstitialCystitis #cold #Flu #BPD #Migraines #IBS #exhaustion #tired #emotional #unwell #immunosuppressed

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    I'm having my Loop Recorder taken out!

    In October of 2017, I had a loop recorder inserted to keep an eye on my heart. For those of you that don't know, a loop recorder is a small device (about the size of a small USB stick) that is basically an internal ECG.

    But since I've had it in, I've had pain around it, and spontaneous bruises that really hurt and come out of nowhere. Thankfully, I just received a call saying that they can take it out! And I'm so happy. But I'm worried about the procedure.

    Having the thing put IN was bad. I ended up with an infection and the pain was really bad. They had to sedate me to put it in because I was panicking so much.

    From what I've found online about how they remove it, it looks like it's really gonna hurt. Has anyone had it removed? What was your experience? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

    #POTS #posturalorthostatictachycardia #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #looprecorder #ecg #chronicillnesswarrior #InterstitialCystitis #ChronicPain #LiverDisease #NAFLD #Migraines #Diabetes

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    Guess who managed to break her foot by WALKING!

    Yeeeeah… I went to a nearby city to do some shopping, as I desperately needed some new tops and whatnot.

    Normally, because of my POTS, I make several stops throughout the day because I have to rest and make sure I don’t use up all of my spoons (energy) at once. But this time, I was alone and I wanted to prove I could do it fine by myself.

    After walking around for nearly four hours, I was starting to limp. By the time I got home, my foot was very swollen and uncomfortable in my shoe. By Saturday, it was aching like crazy. And by Sunday, I couldn’t put any weight on the pads of my foot or my toes.

    Today, I went to Minor Injuries and they took an x-ray. They’ve said that the ligament has been torn, and where the ligament anchors to the bone, a bloody great big chip of bone has come away. 😬 It fricking hurts.

    So, I’m stuck in this wonderfully GLAMOROUS and STYLISH shoe for the next 4-6 weeks!

    #chronicillnesswarrior #ChronicPain #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #NAFLD #Diabetes #Migraines #LiverDisease #InterstitialCystitis #IBS #Dysautonomia #BPD #BrokenFoot #BrokenBone #sarcasm

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    Transplant Evaluation

    I’m scheduled for an initial evaluation for a liver transplant (due to cirrhosis from autoimmune hepatitis) in a couple of weeks. What should I expect from this set of appointments? How can I prepare? What questions should I ask?

    #AutoimmuneHepatitis #LiverTransplant #LiverDisease #OrganTransplant

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    Wellness Wednesday: Non-Alcohollic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

    Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is caused by a buildup of fat in the liver that's unrelated to drinking alcohol. The extent of fat buildup can determine the extent of liver damage. NAFLD can progress to cirrhosis (chronic scarring and damage) and liver failure. Having NAFLD can cause inflammation, which damages liver cells leading to cirrhosis. Cirrhosis can lead to liver failure and liver cancer. It can also increase the risk for heart disease and stroke

    NAFLD is becoming increasingly common; in fact, it's the most common type of liver disease in the developed world.

    It's also a very complex condition.

    There's no one specific cause, but it appears that this disease is linked to:

    • Being overweight or obese

    • Having insulin resistance (a condition whereby the body doesn't use its own insulin properly)

    • Having high blood sugar levels (prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes)

    • Having high levels of fat, called triglycerides, in the blood

    • Having sleep apnea

    • Having PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome)

    Statistics show that at least 50% of those with Type 2 will develop fatty liver disease, and some research shows that figure may even be as high as 70%.

    In addition, NAFLD is more common in older people, men, people who have Type 2 diabetes, and people who have excess weight around their middle (like a “spare tire” or a “muffin top”).

    Normal liver function tests can indicate other liver conditions besides NAFLD. An ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI can indicate if your liver is enlarged. In some cases, a liver biopsy is ordered to look for extent of inflammation or scarring.

    There is currently no medication that treats NAFLD. However, lifestyle changes can help.

    Losing between 5% and 10% of your weight can do wonders for your liver health. Exercise can indirectly prevent and help treat NA FLD by helping with weight reduction and improving insulin sensitivity.

    Dietary supplements, medications and a liver transplant may help NAFLD. Omega-3 fatty acids (aka "fish oil") can lower triglyceride levels and can reduce the risk of heart disease. Probiotics and ginger are other supplements that show early promise.

    Mediterranean-style eating is helpful for both diabetes management and reducing the risk of heart disease. Limiting saturated fat intake and trans fat intake can improve insulin resistance and lower inflammation.

    Studies have also showed that coffee drinkers who have NAFLD had less liver damage than non-coffee drinkers.

    Source: Diabetes Self Management

    #Diabetes #DiabetesType2 #prediabetes #ChronicIllness #Health #Lifestyle #NAFLD #SupportGroups #MightyTogether #PolycysticOvarySyndrome #SleepApnea #LiverDisease

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