#nhbpm

[cyclicallysick]

National Health Blog Post Month Day 18

Nov. 18

Three Truths and a Lie Tell us three things that are true about you, your condition, your Health Activism, or your life. Now tell us a lie. Do you think we will be able to tell the difference?

1. I have been experiencing CVS episodes since I was 5 years old

2. I have only been hospitalized twice

3. I was diagnosed when I was 13 years old

Answers below the cut

1. TRUE

2. FALSE ( I have no clue how many but definitely more than twice)

3. TRUE

[cyclicallysick]

National Health Blog Post Month Day 16

Nov. 16

Well, that was Embarrassing… What’s the most awkward situation your health condition ever put you in? (Don’t be bashful, we’re all friends here). Maybe you can look back on it now and laugh, but it wasn’t so funny then.

Hmm.. well I think CVS is a pretty embarrassing condition to begin with. No one likes talking about vomit or seeing someone vomit. I've thrown up in public before but stuff like that doesn't really phase me because I guess I've become use to talking about vomit and being the person vomiting.I can't really think of anything that I have gone through that was especially embarrassing. There were a lot of situations that were not pleasant and were awkward, but most of the time I was too out of it to actually care.

[cyclicallysick]

National Health Blog Post Month Day 15

Nov. 15

Favorite Fridays Who are your favorite people to follow on social media? (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.)

Favourite people to follow on tumblr, in no particular order:

myibsjourney

spooniestrong

myjourneythroughlyme

80yearoldteenager

nomorebellyaches

myillnessisinvisible

whatshouldwecallchronicillness

jessthecrohnie

lifewithautoimmune

These are just the chronic illness ones, there are a lot of tumblr blogs that don't blog about chronic illnesses but that I enjoy following.

[cyclicallysick]

National Health Blog Post Month Day 12

Nov. 12

Top Three Tuesdays Name three songs that you can listen to that get you out of a low point or lift your spirits.

1) Silhoutte by Active Child ft. Ellie Goulding

This is a serene song to me but I can see how people may find it depressing. However it really builds during the middle and at the end of the song and the lyrics "Tell me that you'll stay, Even when I'm far away, My voice will carry through, Until the end it's me & you,We can make it if we try All that I'm saying is that, You're home, you'll never be alone" bring me comfort.

2) Roar by Katy Perry

What is not inspiring about this song? If you want a good version or if you haven't seen it yet, you really need to watch the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock's version.

3) Good Life By One Republic

This song just gives me warm fuzzy's and if I am having a bad day it really helps me to put things in perspective and focus on the positive side.

[cyclicallysick]

National Health Blog Post Month Day 11

Nov. 11

Veteran’s Day For all our veterans and family members, we celebrate this day because it marks the end of WWI, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. Do you have a task you complete every day at the same time that helps you with your chronic illness? How long have you been doing this, how has it helped?

I am a naturally creative person and I find journalling very helpful. I've kept a diary since I was around seven years old or so. Of course back then it started out as silly stories from my day or rants about fights with my siblings. I still usually write how my day went and what happened, but the perspective is more mature and it helps me a lot to remember good times, reflect on my day and release emotions. Not all of my entries are formal, and I like to play with poetry but I hardly think that they are very serious poems. I think journalling is great for your memory, especially if you are like me and you forget a lot. It is excellent for your writing skills and grammar. Journalling also definitely helps with my stress levels because it is something I find calming.I know for a lot of people journalling is a hard thing to do- it is difficult to set time in your day, sometimes you don't know what to write about or how to begin, or it is something you start but never finish. I don't write as much as I use to, partly because I am so busy with life but I usually sit down to journal just before bed. It is a lot of fun picking out pretty journals. I found out a couple of months ago that I had the same styled journal as Heath Ledger ( random fact).  In the future I would like to try yoga and meditation.

[cyclicallysick]

National Health Blog Post Month Day 10

Nov. 10

Alternative Medicine Write about alternative treatments and regimens and tell us how you feel about them. What do you support? What is crazy? Have you used any?

There aren't a lot of alternative options for the treatment of CVS to my knowledge. The only treatment I have ever had was the use of anti-nausea medications to help abort an episode. Probably the most controversial is the use of marijuana to help with CVS episodes. There is a condition that is called Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, which presents itself very similarly to CVS and is caused by marijuana. I really don't know how I feel about this to be honest. I am very angry at the fact that people who use this option are treated so poorly in the ER. From what I have heard most of the studies involving CHS are a little unfair in the fact that they are very small. I also want to point out that the compulsive hot bath and showering symptom that is listed as a part of CHS, is also a part of CVS- I have done that ever since I was younger and I have never smoked marijuana. I think that is probably my biggest problem with it and there definitely needs to be more research on this. Some people have stopped using marijuana to treat their symptoms and found that they returned to normal health while others stopped and it did not help. I advocate using whatever works for you.

[cyclicallysick]

National Health Blog Post Month Day 9

Nov. 9

Just Admit It It’s taboo, write about something that people do but don’t like to talk about or won’t admit to doing. Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone

Not really taboo or anything it is just something us CVS'ers do that people who have not been in our situation do not understand. Sometimes when in an episode we like to guzzle water furiously or cause ourselves to vomit, which some doctors mistake for bulimic behavior. Now just let me explain, because I have done both of those, and we have good reasons. The guzzling water aspect, is sometimes referred to as a "guzzle and puke" behavior. After vomiting for so long, the CVS nausea does not relent, and as you are pretty much unable to keep anything down, you begin to vomit up the bottom contents of your stomach which are very acidic. It also gets harder and harder to vomit as you become more and more dehydrated, so you begin retching and retching. Both of these really hurt your throat. Guzzling water solves both of those problems. It gives you something to vomit up and makes what you are actually vomiting up less acidic and a little easier to bear. This is especially true for people that have long episodes. The making yourself vomit part is partly for the same reasons. The nausea is very intense, and we will do anything to attempt to relieve it. I think it is very important for bystanders to this illness to understand that we absolutely do not bring this on ourselves and whatever behavior we have during an episode is a result of the unbearable symptoms or in an attempt to experience some relief from them.

[cyclicallysick]

National Health Blog Post Month

Nov. 8

Favorite Fridays Make a list of 3 favorite quotes.

“Struggling to get off the floor and sobbing, I think to myself about what life was like before: before the pain, before the depression and anxiety, before I was always weak and tired, before I was afraid to leave my house for fear of something making me vomit, before I was a failure and a burden. Before CVS.”

"If you are going through hell keep going"

"I have CVS but I am not CVS"