Monthly Favourites - June - Chronic Illness Edition

Trying to stay true to my word, each month I am going to attempt to find new, slightly informative, chronic illness related products or items that have helped me through my month, therefore being, 

my monthly favourites. 

Being housebound can be very tedious and testing, it's not the easiest of tasks to find outlets to occupy yourself with when you have been housebound for 8 years.  

Here are some things that have made it into my top 5 this month;

Apple TV-  A housebound girls dreams have been made! Weirdly, as my symptoms have gradually become worse, I've become not much of a TV girl. I prefer to go for things that are at a slower pace such as, reading blog posts, browsing the daily mail (haha), writing my own posts and like everyone else, have a good nosey scroll down my twitter feed. I find it so hard to focus on something fast paced with all of the pain I experience so this was definitely an impulse buy! Netflix, YouTube, BBC iplayer and more are now just a click away with this little bargain!

Radox Muscle Therapy Bubble Bath  - I came across this whilst completing an online food shop and like any other person with joint problems, the word muscle instantly drew me in. As I said last month, my new bath has been a god send for soaking my dislocated and painful joints as well as my seized muscles. The scent of bubble baths often irritate my mast cell and gastrointestinal symptoms. Luckily, I haven't yet had this problem with this item. For my Ehlers Danlos Symptoms, skin wise it was also very gentle with lack of break outs or skin issues. The ingredients are herbal based with a blend of black pepper and ginseng which when mixed with the warmth of a bath, are apparently meant to stimulate the muscles to relax. It doesn't move mountains just yet but in the meantime, it does the job for a few hours of coating my limb pain.

Ariana Grande Albums - I was fortunate enough to be in the presence of Ariana Grande at her concert at the 02 arena at the beginning of June. I have been a huge fan since early 2013 and was so happy to eventually find some disabled seats. I couldn't quite believe the notes that came out of this petite pop star, I was in awe of her range and have had both of her albums on loop again since the show. I love that when I go to a concert it then gives me a stage visual and imagery to also correspond back to the songs. Although the occasion was quite difficult to get through, in hindsight, I am thrilled I have been able to see an Ariana show. My favourite live performance was 'My Everything', it's a tear jerker if you can find it on YouTube.

Nosh Gluten Free Book by Joy May - 

I was advised at the age of 13 to cut out wheat, gluten and dairy due to how much pain I had in my stomach and bowels. Meal times since my early teens have been a dreaded occurrence. With a mixture of my Gastroparesis issues, Ehlers Danlos slow dysmotility issues as well as taking into consideration foods low in histamine levels for my Mast Cell issues, I have a pretty awful relationship with food and drink. Every single time I sip water or eat a bite of food, the pain that is in my stomach is enough to make me not want to move for the rest of the day and it has been this way since as long as I can remember. I've had more stomach and organ investigations over the past 10 years than I'd like to acknowledge. I despise these symptoms to be quite frank. It's been that way for so many years that I become so envious when I see others enjoying their food, I am so intrigued by how it makes them feel good inside. Earlier this month, my mum bought me this. I was kind of apprehensive as wheat free/gluten free/dairy free products seem really hard to make from scratch, in my own opinion, they don't taste particular pleasant either. I also didn't know whether my body and pain would allow me to have the patience to help out with making a meal catered to my preferences and dietary needs. This recipe book claims to be hassle free and is surprisingly simple. It also contains many photographs of the dishes, for some reason this always seems more appealing to me when it comes to trying new recipes. I am a visual person and like to see the end product. That being said, I still have to slightly adapt the recipe to suit my needs but overall, it has inspired me to branch out of my military set meals I have become accustomed to.

Batiste Dry Shampoo - Girls with chronic illness and long hair will feel my pain in this next favourite. I feel awkward even typing this as it's something so simple to healthy beings yet highly difficult for those of us with chronic illness. Not only does washing your hair alone become impossible when you have a chronic illness, sometimes you are so fatigued that it's hard to even shower without help that day. My hair is down to my hips now and although I don't want to cut it because it's finally at a stage where I like, it becomes an issue with attempting to wash myself. If I know I am not seeing anyone for a week, dry shampoo becomes my best friend to get me through until my mum can help me to wash it properly. I used to be the girl that washed her hair daily during year 7, how I managed that one, I will never know. A quick spray into my roots (and the mighty task for my weak arms of rubbing this in) the majority of the time will see me through an extra few days. My favourite scents and texture pay off that seem to work well for my rather thick hair are the tropical and original types.

Hope you enjoyed the second instalment of my monthly favourites instalment on my blog.

I am always interested in knowing what everyone else's' favourite chronic illness items of the month are. Please feel free to leave your favourite items below.