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. 

                                                    

Monthly favourites - May - Chronic Illness Edition

I am an avid make up, fashion and beauty blog reader. Originally, before I contemplated starting a blog on chronic illness, I debated on focusing my energy into something similar to the above. However, there are thousands of amazing blogs already in that field that I felt I couldn't really compete with. It felt like a difficult task for myself to break into.

One of my favourite blogpost's to read and YouTube video of choice to watch is other people's monthly favourites. You get to see individual personality, different opinions, new ideas and find some pretty good bargains too! So, when I was thinking of what more I could bring to my blog I felt like I needed to start bringing forward aspects of what makes me happy when my illness feels it consumes every part of me, things I find comfort in and things that have helped me through my month.

From here on out, I will now hopefully be uploading three times a month and giving you,

 My monthly favourites

Obviously, I will try to base the majority of items around what I find has been helpful in relation to chronic illness and chronic pain. However, I will also be sharing some other personal favourites that I've found interesting too. Disclaimer- All opinions are my own. 

Demi Lovato Staying strong 365 days a year - 

This book was bought as a gift for me for my 20th birthday last year. I've been a fan of Demi for many years and knowing that she had been through hard times, I wanted to take a look at her words of wisdom. Demi Lovato has had her own fair share of things thrown at her in life from a very young age, so she has always seemed relatable in that sense. However when I received this book, I was in quite a bad place with depression and anxiety. The feeling had been there for many years and I was struggling to see any positive path in life. I would read the quotes in the book but they would never seem to stick in my mind or make any sense to me at that moment in time. It wasn't until very recently where I had been putting into practise rational thinking that I tried to read through the book again. I have been working on trying to get my head space into a more positive and present way of thinking. Demi's daily chosen quotes are adapted and broken down into everyday life. I went through the entire book with sticky notes writing how these quotes connected to aspects in my own life with chronic illness. I like that Demi admits the feeling of struggle and welcomes the feeling of growth. It is something that I have taken inspiration from and continue to to try and adapt into my own life.

Once Upon A Time - 

By chance I happened to start watching this show one sleepless, insomnia ridden evening and now I am hooked! Based upon classic fairy tale characters who find themselves transported to the real world with no idea who they were in their past, the story unfolds and is gripping. 

This is a must watch for any Disney or fairy tale

fan. I'm three seasons in now and have found its a great show that has been keeping my Disney World withdrawal symptoms at bay. 

Orthopaedic V pillow -

This has been my must have illness item since I was 15. Usually, its for people who are pregnant. However, when my mum told me to try this a few years ago I was slightly confused, I thought there was no way it would be suitable to my situation. Recently, after many years, I realised just how lost I  become when I am without this pillow. On a two week holiday, my sleep was even worse than at home. I was waking up with more neck and back pain, more dislocations and I couldn't get comfortable at all in the bed. I couldn't wait to return home to my own bed and my beloved V pillow. Even though it's awfully hard to sleep with chronic pain, at least you can get semi comfortable in you're own bed with your own comforts. This pillow is so soft and wraps around the shape of your body. I highly suggest anyone with Ehlers Danlos, back problems or nerve issues to try a pillow of this kind. It is worth the money to search for a long lasting, good quality V pillow.  Grandma problems indeed!

Warm Baths- 

Something so simple has nearly reduced me and my EDS body to tears of joy. If you follow me on twitter, you would've seen my tweet praising the Lord (and my handy dad) for my new bath that has been installed. Being a POTS patient, you don't know how life changing this is, it beats standing in a shower 365 days of the year and collapsing daily, put it that way. I was draining myself of limited energy standing in the shower every day, then fainting from my blood pressure and heart rate dropping, everyone with pots knows the drill of the dreaded shower. I can now soak my joints and muscles as well as not worrying as much about fainting in the shower. I am so grateful for this bath and to my dad for his hard work. This has saved me an extra pots episode a day.

Post-partum Stomach Support 3 in 1 - Stomach, Waist and Pelvis 

I recently ordered  a new post-partum stomach splint. I've been a fan of these for over a year now and have heard that some EDS specialist physiotherapist's have recommended these to their patients. One of my main issues within EDS is my internal organ problems. The constantly shift position, drop, swell, move and are highly uncomfortable on a daily basis. I usually walk around with a pillow surgically attached to me stomach for some comfort. I ordered a pack of three from amazon, which arrived promptly. They really are such good quality, the best quality I've had and I've tried a lot. They keep position, don't shift up throughout the day and keep their stretch as well as shape. There is a splint for the bottom part of your stomach, a larger splint for the majority of the stomach (up to just under your ribs) and finally one for around your hips. It doesn't help with the pain inside the stomach, that is obviously still very painful, however this belt makes the organs feel more compact, as a normal body should feel. I feel like this keeps my organs slightly more supported and slows the digestion process down abit more appropriately, in the sense that I don't feel the organs move as much or the food and drink sitting too heavily in my gut when wearing this. These supports can also correct your posture, which is helpful when you are prone to dislocate and sublux.

Hope you enjoyed the first of this new monthly 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.