Liebster Award 2018

Hey guys!

So despite my lack of posting throughout January (being reminded why Fibromyalgia and winter do not mix), I’m delighted to let you know that I have been nominated twice for the Liebster Award 2018, first by Afternoon Tea 4 Two and secondly by Mrs. Ram’s Jams, two great blogs I would thoroughly recommend you pop over to when you have finished reading this post! Thanks for the nominations guys!

The purpose of the award, which you have to be nominated for, is to encourage others to discover new blogs that they may find interesting and to congratulate fellow bloggers for their hard work by sharing their blog with your followers in order to boost traffic to their site. This award is especially directed to bloggers with a smaller following than others. So you can imagine I feel very lucky to have been nominated twice.

If you are nominated and you accept you then go on to list 10 random facts about yourself along with answering the 10 questions posed to you by the blogger that nominated you. You then go on to nominate 5-10 bloggers whose blogs you particularly enjoy to continue the chain.

As I received two nominations I am going to choose 5 questions from each blogger, otherwise you may get bored reading 20 answers! Haha!

So here goes!

10 random facts about me

1. I’ve been qualified as a midwife for 13.5 years and now specialise in pregnancy loss, and love my job.
2. I spent my last three months of midwifery training in Stockholm, Sweden where I learnt so much and had the most amazing time.
3. I’ve been published in midwifery journals twice.
4. I own two cats (used to be three, RIP Poppy) and a hamster, and just today chose a puppy to join our family at Easter time.
5. I have 7 (nearly 8) year old twin girls, that took nearly five years to come into our world after a long battle with infertility and IVF.
6. I love to knit, sew and cook (although that last one isn’t a mystery).
7. We have a large allotment and throughout the summer are pretty much drowning in strawberries.
8. I’ve completed 4 London Marathons and countless other races prior to being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia a year ago.
9. I can stand on my head despite not being an avid yoga practice.
10. I currently have an unhealthy obsession with Swizzels Squashies.

Now onto the questions given to me by Afternoon Tea 4 Two and Mrs Ram’s Jams.

1. What prompted you to write a blog?

November 2016 through to last spring saw a difficult winter for me, and after a long time being unwell I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I decided I didn’t want to dive straight into strong medications to treat my fibro yet could only find snippets of information about how to treat naturopathically. I also couldn’t find that many personal accounts of treating fibro with natural therapies. So I decided to bring my own journey and experiences in trying out different remedies and so far it has proved successful (on the most part!).

2. Why do you blog?

I continue to blog in the hope of helping others with chronic illness, whether newly diagnosed or long time warrior, to approach their illness holistically and to consider other roads away from the pharmacological route that they may find useful. While many people need medicine to help them manage their illness, I offer insight into complementary therapies that may also help, particularly nutrition. I know first hand how difficult it can be to cook when you have a chronic illness and how daunting dietary changes can be, so my aim is to make it less scary and super simple.

3. Where was your last holiday?

Our last holiday as a family was to Cornwall, on our traditional summer holiday in August. We stayed in a great place called Mudgeon Vean within our favourite part of Cornwall, the Lizard Peninsula.

4. Cat or dog?

Very difficult question, given that I’m a long time cat owner and soon to be pup owner! I’m going to have to annoy you all and say I can’t choose!

5. What would your advice be to a new blogger?

I would say not to get too caught up in how much you post, or the traffic to your site. The main aim of blogging should be to share something you enjoy, and if you write from the heart then your enjoyment will speak volumes to your readers. Much preferable to blogging to be fashionable or to get traffic. While it is nice to know that people are reading your blog, for me it is much better to have people reading that you can genuinely reach out to and have a positive effect on their lives.

6. What genre of book would you be and why?

I would be a nature book. There is nothing I love more than losing myself in a book that transports me to a peaceful and beautiful place, so well described that I can smell and feel all of the book enveloping me.

7. What is the one battle you struggle with daily?

No surprises here but it is my Fibromyalgia. More specifically the changing nature of the pain and levels of fatigue. Each day I wake I never know what lies ahead, and I get particularly frustrated when I can’t reach my potential because of heightened pain and fatigue.

8. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

This changes ALL of the time. At the moment I have a real craving to visit Copenhagen, but anywhere Scandinavian is right up my street,

9. What TV show is your guilty pleasure?

Again I go through phases, but generally anything dramatic and/or uplifting. I really enjoyed The Last Post when it was on, and at the moment am particularly enjoying Call the Midwife and The Crown. The husband and I are really big fans of animated comedy too! The sillier the better!

10. What makes you smile?

Always a good one to end on and there are many things in my life that make me smile or laugh everyday. For this blog though I would say anybody who gets in touch to let me know that what I have shared has inspired or helped them in any way really makes my day.

Now for my nominations!

michelleslife2017 – I’m really hoping to start running again soon and Michelle is really helping by being one (or many) step ahead of me, really enjoying her journey into running again!

brainlessblogger – for ever informative informative and advice for dealing with chronic illness.

puddlesplashing – enjoying reading about positivity and beating fibromyalgia!

trippingthroughtreacle – Love reading positive posts about living with chronic illness!

fibromystory – great place to start if you are thinking about using exercise to fight your fibromyalgia!

My questions (trying to ask some thought provoking questions to find our more about you!) should you choose to accept are…..

1. What inspires you to blog about your chosen subject?
2. How old would you choose be if you didn’t know how old you are?
3. If you had the opportunity to get a message across to a large audience, what would your message be?
4. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
5. Have you done anything lately worth remembering?
6. If you could start all over again, would you change anything?
7. Which activities make you lose track of time?
8. If you had to teach me one thing, what would you teach?
9. When was the last time you tried something new?
10. Time or money?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post! I hope you have all had the best weekend!

See you in 2018

Dear all,

Apologies for my major lack of posting on here for some weeks now. However it is with good reason….!

With a lot of hard work and determination I have recently been successful in a new job which now see me working hard to establish myself in that role. Which is leaving very little time for blogging at the moment.

However, I am really keen not to let the blog fall completely off my agenda as I so enjoy writing and sharing my fibro experiences with you all.

So for now, what with the new job, working out what the hell I’m doing, and the festive season I’ve decided to press the pause button for now, and restart in January when I should have a little more time and energy!

So I guess this is a ‘see you soon’ but definitely not goodbye and I look forward to sharing my second year with fibro with you all.

Lastly, thank you to everyone who has supported me in this last year, you are all amazing and I definitely couldn’t have done it without you!

Big hugs and love to you all!

Sarah xxxx

Fragrant Fridays – Fibromyalgia Massage Blend

Welcome back to another instalment of Fragrant Friday…. its been a while!

Anyway, following on from my first three posts looking at the benefits and use of Lavender, Peppermint, and Black Pepper, I would like to share with you an easy and effective massage oil blend to help with those niggling symptoms of Fibromyalgia, or if you don’t suffer with fibromyalgia, any niggling aches and pains you may have.

This massage blend is for me, effective in easy any joint and muscle pain I may have and it is super relaxing, so I find it best to use after I have had a bath and when I’m winding down to bed. I sometimes use it for a little bit of self massage, particularly if I have pain in my joints, and if I’m good, my husband will give my back a good run for me, which is where I get the worst of my pain, mostly because I can’t reach it to do anything about it.

I’ve already been through the benefits of these three essential oils in my previous posts, so will mostly concentrate on sharing the ‘recipe’ with you today, but I will leave the links to these posts for you to read should you wish to. This is just one way of combining and using these three essential oils, but as you will see in the original posts there are so many ways you can use them!

 

Fibromyalgia Massage Blend

• 100mls base oil – I like to use sweet almond oil
• 40 drops of lavender essential oil
• 40 drops of peppermint essential oil
• 20 drops of black pepper essential oil

Simply mix into a glass bottle and use! This blend smells great too and works really well if you pour a little of it into a bath!

If you would like to know more about the essential oils I have used in this blend then please visit these pages –

Fragrant Fridays – Lavender

Fragrant Friday – Peppermint

Fragrant Friday – Black Pepper

Are there any massage blends you find helpful? Share your recipes here!

Toodle pip!

 

 

Fibromyalgia – Riding the bumpy road to acceptance

As featured in the June 2017 Edition of Fibromyalgia UK Magazine

I’d been waiting what felt like a lifetime to find out what was wrong. I’d been poked, and prodded by numerous professionals, had to explain my symptoms what felt like a thousand times, and each time the doctor thought they had cracked it. Then results came back negative and they were just as stumped as before, what was wrong with me? After going through this cycle a number of times, I finally reached a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, then what?

I went to my diagnosis appointment, like all of my appointments, alone. I went hopeful of an answer, so that I could begin to get better, to take action to battle against the pain and fatigue, yet when I got that answer, I didn’t reach the climax of relief I thought I would. Instead, I was scared, lonely, and confused. It was like somebody had pulled the plug on my future, my career, and my whole being, I felt like I had been sentenced for a crime I didn’t commit. Being on my own made my head go into a complete spin, and I’m not even sure how I got home. What I do know is that when I did the hopelessness flooded out of me like a tidal wave and I was in more pain and more fatigued than ever. The diagnosis rollercoaster was about to begin.

I spent the first part of the ride figuring out what to do. The process I followed could be likened to grief, I even doubted that the doctors had got the diagnosis right at all, which is a classic denial symptom. I longed for the person I used to be, I felt like I had lost all my identity, and that I would never regain it. Anger and denial came hand in hand for me.

I had already discussed with my rheumatology consultant my wish to treat the fibromyalgia as naturally as possible, I’m not somebody who likes to take paracetamol, let alone any serious medications. I had agreed that I wouldn’t rule out taking medication, but for now I wanted to start gently and work my way up, working holistically with my body, and seeing how I got on. Was this too much to ask? When I said this it became quite clear that this was a path that I was going to have to pursue on my own, after all, holistic naturopathic care is not something the NHS currently, nor in the near future will provide. I asked if there was anything at all that could be done and made suggestions on how they could help me, knowing full well the answer would be no as the services simply aren’t available. I bargained hard but bargained with the wrong people. A few days later I even emailed my rhuematologist with some suggestions for further tests to rule out other possible conditions that had a more robust treatment plan, desperation and bargaining at its worst.

I felt that I had to be proactive. I had to use the pain and the desperate need to not be defined by the Fibromyalgia to my benefit. The first thing I did was to do A LOT of research into exactly what fibromyalgia is believed to be, and the evidence that can be used to base my treatment on. Was the research reliable, and had other people, those with Fibromyalgia symptoms similar to mine found benefit? The information available was overwhelming, I spent far too much time doing this and it made me focus negatively on my diagnosis, which was not the best, both physically and emotionally, I was drained. I enter a depressive state, I felt like I would never get better, that nobody could help me and feared that I would lose my job.

Then I began speaking to others who live with fibromyalgia about their symptoms on social media sites and forums and soon realised that while no one fibromyalgia warrior is the same, we do all have one goal – an urge to get better and to live our lives to the fullest extent possible. This will look different for each one of us, but on the whole we all have the same aim in mind. To do this we all need different treatment regimes, some with minimal medical support and some with very heavy medical support. There is no treatment plan that fits everybody and so to find out what works for you, you need to try a number of techniques, one at a time and find out which ones work and which don’t.

This was the point where I accepted my diagnosis and I began to feel more positive and hopeful. I need to stress that this cycle of grief, denial, anger, bargaining and depression, took place over an incredibly intense period of time that only lasted about 2 weeks, but was tiring. However, it takes time for the heart to accept what the mind already knows.

As I accepted my diagnosis, I started to become honest with people that I knew about my diagnosis, not to gain sympathy, but so that they could begin to understand why I wasn’t quite my old self. When you share, news very quickly spreads, like a wildfire actually, but while some may perceive this to be gossip, I found it very useful. Why? Many people, as a result of hearing my news, shared their own stories with me, or knew somebody with fibromyalgia that I could speak to, living with the beast that could relate to me. There were also a number of people, who upon hearing my news would offer up their skills and expertise, or those of a relative or friend, to help me on my journey. This is the point when I no longer felt alone and the positivity flowed throughout me, I finally felt that maybe, one day, I would be a new sort of ‘well’. Optimism was now a word in my vocabulary again, which was difficult to find in the wake of a fresh diagnosis, when things were scary, uncertain and I lacked control. Without the support of my peers I would never have reached this point.

So here I am today, flitting somewhere between buoyancy on some days and frustration on others, and thats ok. People will tell you to be positive, upbeat, and that everything happens for a reason, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be excessively happy. For me part of having a chronic illness is learning to deal with the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with it, riding the waves if you will. Along with simply going through the motions, part of accepting a chronic illness is being able to articulate just how terrible somedays are to family and friends, without the fear of judgement. Being falsely happy all of the time, for me, is actually somewhere close to denial of the beast that lives inside you, and while you remain in denial there is no way of moving on. My loved ones now know that while on the whole, most days, I can be positive and bright, there are the occasional days when I just need the fibromyalgia to be acknowledged and take a step back to get myself back on track. What is important is that I don’t allow myself to wallow in a cycle of negativity, by being mindful and acknowledging my symptoms but then being hopeful that this shall pass and a good day will come again.

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it helpful. If you would like more information about how to get help with a fibromyalgia diagnosis then please do give me a shout either in the comments below or on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Toodle pip!

You can find my blog and many other amazing blogs over at Fibro Blogger Directory

 

 

The Fibromyalgia Sleep Chronicles #8 – Post Sleep Routines

In the last instalment of The Fibromyalgia Sleep Chronicles we looked at how pre sleep routines can help you to better drift off to the land of nod without too much reliance on the sandman, but have you ever thought about your post sleep routines?

If you are anything like I was at the beginning of the year, your phone will wake you up with its pre set alarm, and through bleary eyes you will take at look at any notifications that have come through while you have been sleeping (or attempting to sleep). One of them is bound to excite you and warrant a closer look by logging into your phones screen and seeing what is happening either on social media or in the news. Occasionally this may lead to happiness but more often than not it leads to a buzz of activity in your brain leaving you feeling over excited, stressed, or worried. You may find yourself getting caught up in what you see and before you know it you haven’t got time to have a nice long shower or even worse, to eat breakfast.

I’ve learnt that that is how I used to be, and I now shudder at how tied I used to be to checking my phone as soon as I awoke. I used to wake up and be immediately sucked into life outside of what I could control, or even thing I didn’t need to know first thing in the morning. My attention needed to be on getting myself up and ready for the day, my children, and my wellbeing.

I now look at waking up as ‘warming up’, getting myself ready for the workout of a day I have ahead. I guess my post sleep routines are my cool down, from the workout of a day I’ve had. By warming up to my day I am able to gentle move my body from a sleep state to a fully alert and awake state, and this helps me to tackle my day, head on, positively. I generally allow myself at least an hour for this, and this hour needs to be before I am responsible for anything or anyone. So I’m generally up and about before my children wake up at 7 for at least an hour.

Stay away from the light!

It’s not just about being awake for an hour before the kids get up. It about what I do with that hour thats important. Like I’ve already said, being awake and sitting on my phone for an hour is not the best start to the day.

Using a phone, or any technology, in that first hour of waking up, does not allow me to process my thoughts very well. My brain is not thinking 100% clearly or rationally, and therefore staying away from anything that might warrant a negative response or that might worry me is generally the best thing for me. It’s a bit like responding to a text when you are blind drunk. I know I certainly feel drunk when I’ve just woken up! Rarely do I jump out of bed full of the joys of spring (see this post as to why!).

Eat Breakfast

There’s a reason why they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day…. because it just is! If your evening meal was at 7pm and you wake up at 7am, then your body has literally gone 12hours without food. You need to refuel. Without eating breakfast you simply will not have to energy to start your day off positively. You’ll likely make bad food choices throughout the day, drink more caffeine than you actually need, and this could have a negative impact on your sleep the next night. So ALWAYS eat breakfast. If you find eating breakfast difficult then don’t make it the first thing you do when you wake up, but rather leave it towards the end of your post sleep routine. Keep it small, maybe a light yoghurt, a smoothie, or a slice of toast. Once you start doing it you will gradually have a bigger appetite on waking and be able to plump for bigger and more energising breakfasts as time goes by. If you follow me on Instagram, you will know that breakfast is by far my favourite meal of the day, and breakfast generally doesn’t have many rules!

Exercise

I exercise pretty much every day as part of my post sleep routine, usually yoga, to wake up my body gently, and to stretch out all those fibromyalgia aches and pains. I usually exercise before breakfast, but after I’ve had a drink. Exercise in the daylight is all the better if you can manage it (see this post for the benefits of daylight on sleep and wellbeing). I generally do my yoga in my bedroom where the sun shines in, in the morning, but only because I’m too embarrassed to do my yoga in the communal garden! But if you are a confident yogi, do it on the grass! I also go for a walk every morning, whether it be taking the kids to school or walking to work.

Challenge your brain….. gently

My engagement with the world usually begins right at the end of my post sleep routine. I will put on the radio to listen to the days news (after my breakfast, exercise and shower when I am fully awake and won’t get to drunkily emosh about it), or maybe listen to a podcast on my way to work. Anything to get the brain thinking. I also make sure that I make my bed, wash up the breakfast things, and get the girls things ready for school (with mixed success…. I usually forget something!).

So in short my morning generally looks like this….

• Wake up at 6am
• Have a cup of herbal tea and practise mindfulness (mindfulness is a great way to awaken your senses to the day!)
• Yoga
• Shower, dress, hair, make up
• Breakfast with the kids
• Wash up breakfast things while kids get themselves ready for school, listen to the radio or a podcast
• Get things together for work/school
• Walk children to school
• Catch train to work, USE PHONE!!!
• Walk to work from train station, listen to music

By the time I have done all of the above it already feels like I have done a lot with my day and made the most of my time, My day is gentle, my morning relaxed and usually stress free, which gets me off to a great start. I generally feel able to tackle anything life throws at me in a calm and collected way, and feel like an all round hero 🙂

So thats it! Do you have any post sleep routines that your use that you would like to share? If so then as always I would love to hear from you, either on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter! Please also feel free to comment below!

Toodle Pip!

You can find my blog and many other amazing blogs over at Fibro Blogger Directory

Fibromyalgia – Don’t Suffer in Silence

As featured in the May Edition of Fibromyalgia UK Magazine

Fibromyalgia can be difficult to explain, and even more difficult for people to understand, but this doesn’t mean you have to suffer in silence.

You may be reading this as somebody who is wondering if they have fibromyalgia, or maybe, like me, you’ve just been recently diagnosed, after a long time of feeling truly terrible and wondering what on earth happens next. Perhaps you have known for some time now that you have fibromyalgia but those around you don’t quite get it. You could even be a close friend or relative of a fibromyalgia warrior who just wants to try and comprehend what all this means.

Its hard to explain to somebody who has never experienced a chronic condition quite what it means to be plagued every single day by pain, or extreme fatigue, especially when you look fine on the outside. Sometimes it feels safer not to tell people how you are feeling because of the fear that although they hear the words you are saying they just cannot understand, or perhaps you just cannot even begin to find the words to explain to somebody how you are feeling, how your body feels like it is breaking down and how weary you have become.

If you are just beginning to wonder if you have fibromyalgia, please, don’t suffer in silence, begin your journey to understanding your pain and fatigue by going to the doctor. If you don’t like the first opinion, or feel dismissed, then seek a second opinion. You could have been suffering for years, and just getting on with it, but I live by one of my favourite quotes by Albert Einstien “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”, so why not go to the doctor and see where it may lead? If you find it difficult to get across how you are feeling then book a double appointment, chances are once you start talking you won’t be able to stop.

If you have just been diagnosed, then explain to people your diagnosis as best as you can. Especially to those close to you. Fibromyalgia can be a solemn lonely journey if you do not share it. You don’t have to tell the world, just somebody, anybody, who will help you. There is no shame is asking for help. Don’t keep your suffering inside in the fear of it destroying those around you, because ultimately you could end up destroying yourself.

For those of you who will be told by your loved one that they have had this diagnosis, remember, it is not your job to understand the journey they have taken, after all, it is not your journey but theirs. It is simply your job to say ‘I believe you, how can I help you?’.

Lastly, if you have been suffering with fibromyalgia for many years, don’t just survive, live. Your head may tell you that some days appear impossible, others risky, based on previous experiences, or maybe even pointless, but open your heart and face your fears head on, preferably with somebody you trust. Tell them that you are scared, and let them help you to let go of your fear instead of suffering the familiar. You never know, with the right support, you may well surprise yourself.

I have been lucky enough to have been offered the opportunity to write regularly for Fibromyalgia Magazine, a UK based magazine that offers worldwide support to Fibromyalgia warriors. Please click the link at the top of this maple to access this and more wonderful articles!

Fibromyalgia and Me – Holidays

Welcome back lovely readers!

I have somewhat neglected you all over the last two weeks, but not without good reason.

As explained in my last post, I had a bit of a fibromyalgia flare, a nasty cold, and a busy week at work just two weeks ago, and my main aim in life at that time was to simply just get through it. Then, last week, I was on holiday with my beautiful family and we needed time to be together and I realised that despite the plans to blog while I was away, I really just needed the time to recuperate following my flare and illness.

The week away was just what I needed. I wouldn’t say it was restful, at least not in the physical sense, but it was restful for the mind. I felt like I had some much needed time to do the things I love, be active and just to focus on our little family unit.

By the end of the week, I’ll be honest, I hurt from head to toe, and felt more tired in a physical sense than I have in a long time, but that what happens when you throw yourself down one too many waterslides! However, the pain and fatigue was worth the pleasure of having the fun, and after a very restful weekend at my parents (god bless them) I now feel recovered from my holiday antics.

The thing with holidays and other fun times with fibromyalgia, is that the fibromyalgia can often leave you feeling scared to have fun, scared to let go, and scared to delve into the unknown. You worry that your actions will bite you in the ass the next day, and that fun for one day will make you pay for a week or more. You worry that by being ambitious with your actions too soon into the holiday will ruin the rest of the holiday, not only for yourself but also for your family.

Half the battle for me is not worrying about what may or may not happen if I decide to just let go and have fun. I find it hard not to wake up the next day and automatically scan my body for aches and pains. I worked really hard on this holiday to pretty much push the pain and other symptoms aside for the short time we were away, and to say ‘sod it’, but I did this within reason and dropped in some things that were good for the fibromyalgia here and there.

The holiday had a welcome spa session mid way through and this most certainly helped. 3 hours of relaxing and using all of the things that I know help my pain like aromatherapy, heat and mindfulness, most definitely undone some of the damage of a little too much fun. As a family we also made good use of the pool every day, and hot whirlpool too, and this helped my symptoms enormously.

By taking the time to think about your holiday, recognising the upper limit of your abilities and looking at what you have on offer to help with your symptoms, you can make so much more of your holiday. Also being honest with your fellow holiday goers helps to control their expectations of what you can achieve. And yes, it may hurt like a bitch when you get home, but by taking a little time after to reset (remember if you are employed to factor this into when you return home and then to work) you can recover. For me this meant enlisting the help of my parents, and actually not being at home where I would be tempted to unpack, do the laundry and the housework.

While it is important to mentally ‘let go’, it is equally important not to let go of all the things that you know help and you are able to easily continue. I maintained my sleep hygiene, my step count, my physiotherapy and my anti inflammatory diet (with the exception of one dairy ice cream) throughout my holiday which enabled me to do far more than I ever anticipated. I returned from holiday feeling tired, but accomplished, and that I had achieved something amazing for my first holiday away since being diagnosed. I now can’t wait for the next one in 7 weeks.

I’d like to know from fellow chronic illness readers what you have learnt about making the most of your holiday? What works for you and how do you feel about letting go? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, or over on my social media channels.

Toodle pip!

Fibromyalgia and Me – Normal Service To Be Resumed

Dearest Readers,

Hugest apologies for the quiet blogging activity this week. Its been a challenging week. This is just a short post to explain why and to show you I’m still alive!

This week I got my first cold of this year after working hard on repairing my immune system following last years insult. While on the one hand I was celebrating not getting a cold in so long, I was also feeling sorry for myself as when I get a virus, my Gilbert’s Syndrome kicks in and makes me tired, and my fibromyalgia loses the run of itself a little. However, it was short lived, no time off work was required and despite my laziness in the kitchen I have still managed to remain gluten and dairy free. Every cloud…..

Coupled with this was my last week of a phased return at work and a ramping up of activity as I am no longer wrapping myself up in cotton wool and avoiding stressful situations. After all, I am there to do a job and do it I will. I am learning it is not the stressful situation itself that causes a peak in my fibromyalgia symptoms but rather the way I handle them. I am almost at full time hours and this is making me more tired than I would like to be, but think this is mainly because I have been poorly too. My main thing to work on when I get back is taking an actual break now my hours are going to be full time, I’m terrible at taking a break and I know it will make me unwell. I get so into things that I find it hard to walk away for the short 30 minute break I need. Any suggestions would be welcome!

In order to get thorough the week I decided to just focus on getting over the cold and getting through my week at work. I can honestly say I haven’t done much else, but I did get through it. However, it meant that I had to withdraw myself from social media, blogging and awareness raising for just a little while. I also had to skip my submission for a magazine article in July.

Do I feel bad about this? Hell no. My blogging and social media awareness activities are not my job, midwifery is. My health and family equally come first and without either I am not very much at all. Midwifery comes up very quickly behind in third place. So these three things had to be my priority this week.

I am now on annual leave (yippee), and all packed up for a few nights away with the family. Countryside, walking, family, and fun awaits, and so does my blog. I’m planning on using a little of the time on blogging, without the time constraints I am usually against, but the holiday fun will of course come first.

Over on Instagram I will be sharing some of the highlights of my holiday to demonstrate that despite chronic illness, spoonies just want to and can have fun. It doesn’t come without its challenges but the fun will far outweigh the consequences.

For now, I am relaxing with the tigers, on the sofa, dreaming of the country. I’m planning my next weeks posts, and reflecting on the week that has just been. I’m focusing on how I can use my week off work to get a better handle on the fibromyalgia as I have kind of lost my grip on it with being ill this week. Finally I am hoping that ALL of you have had a blessed week and are happy with life.

Toodle pip!

Fibromyalgia and Me – This is me

With fibromyalgia awareness day this week, tomorrow in fact, I’ve been trying my hardest to work out what to do away from my usual blog posts to raise more awareness. At present my blog is aimed at those who already suffer from fibromyalgia and some of the gentle, naturopathic things we can all try in an attempt to keep the fibromyalgia under control. Some of this information may be useful to others but it doesn’t really get under the skin of what fibromyalgia can do to a person. I realised today that apart from my initial posts around diagnosis, see here and here I haven’t really done too much about how fibromyalgia affects me, as a wife, mother, worker, friend, keen socialiser, and human being.

So I thought I would start a series of posts about how fibromyalgia has affected my life in order to raise awareness, paying particular attention to the different aspects of life that fibromyalgia can invade as part of its wicked plan to knock us warriors off our feet. My aim with this series of posts is not to simply talk about myself, as although I am ready to share openly when people ask I’m not one to just rabble on about myself all the time, but to raise awareness into just how crippling and down right annoying fibromyalgia can be. This invisible illness is so unpredictable, and I don’t think anyone can ever have it truly under control but it can be managed. I would so love the world to understand, empathise, and be aware of just what figromyalgia is. Over time I am also hoping to use this space to share your stories, and highlight the truly evolving nature that fibromyalgia has for each individual affecting us all so differently. We also manage things very differently and although I am treating mine naturopathically there are warriors out there who have to use medication and have other chronic illnesses alongside fibromyalgia.

The aspects of my life I am hoping to cover include, but not limited to, family life, friendship, mental health, exercise, and work. For this week I thought I would share a little more about the me before and after fibromyalgia made an appearance and in the following weeks I’ll get more into the nitty gritty of it all, as well as talking about some things that help me to manage these aspects of my life as a fibro warrior. Obviously I can’t write about everything but I will write about the things that I think make me who I am. So here goes…….

My name is Sarah and I was born in Portsmouth, UK, in 1983. I have been blessed to have two brothers, Paul and Graham, and 4 step siblings through parents remarrying. I grew up in a working class background, and although I won’t dwell on it my childhood wasn’t the most stable (only through fault of one person who doesn’t deserve to be named let alone make an appearance in this positive space). I am still thankful for many things from that time of my life. I went to a state school and had a happy school life with friends who I am still in contact with today.

At 18 I met my husband and at 21 spread my wings and moved to London. I had just recently qualified as a midwife and was desperate to move to an exciting new place and to escape the hum drum of white working class life. I wanted to be surrounded by equality, acceptance and cultural differences. I began working at a marvellous busy central London Hospital and carried out many midwifery roles there. I am still part of this amazing team today in a Midwifery Sister position with incredible colleagues and surrounded by amazing women going through a life changing journey every day.

At 22 I married my beau, and we have been married for 11 and 1/2 happy years. After a long battle with IVF we found ourselves expecting twins, Edith and Emily, who were born in 2010. They make me proud (and frustrate me) every day.

In 2012, we sadly lost my younger brother to a chronic life limiting condition at the age of 19. I can hand on heart say that this is the most difficult experience I have ever had to journey through. Bereavement is exhausting.

I am a keen runner and have completed more races than I care to remember, along with my husband, and these races include four London Marathons. My last marathon was in April 2016 and my last race in June 2016.

I love to bake, cook, sew, knit, garden, read, walk, eat, socialise and generally be out in the daylight.

In 2016 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia after months of being unwell. Many people take years to be diagnosed but I am forever thankful to the support of my hospital colleagues without which I wouldn’t have been seen and assessed super quickly so that I could grow and move ahead with my life. Second to losing my brother, this is the most difficult journey I have ever had to experience, as prior to this I had always been healthy with no complaints except the odd niggle.

Fast forward to today. I still love to do all of the things above, but cannot do them as often as I want, if at all. I still work as a midwife but my days have to be very prescriptive and protected from risk to allow me to continue this work. I am obviously still a mother, wife, and friend, but find my tolerance levels lowered and I’m generally more antisocial, not through choice but through necessity. I do my best to save my grumpiness for close family and myself. I’m good at smiling. 

Today I have a desire to share more than I have ever shared in my life. I want to learn. I want to love. And I want to live. I want to share this journey with you all, as the things I have learnt throughout this journey have almost served as an awakeneing. Anybody can benefit from what I have learnt and am still learning, whether you have a chronic ill was or not. I want to reach out to the chronic illness community and get to know you all. I am more content today than I have ever been in my life, and that doesn’t mean that each day isn’t a struggle, believe me it is, but with the right mindset and support I am able to manage this to the best of my abilities. Am I well? No. Will I ever get well? Probably not. Am I happy? Most definitely. 

So this is me. Please pop along and say hello either in the comments section below, on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. I would love to get to know you and for us to go through this journey together, to learn from each other and to find peace and happiness with the hand we have been dealt in life.

This post can also be found along with many other inspiring blog posts on Fibro Bloggers Directory.