Hi guys!  It’s been quite some time since my last post and it feels so good to connect with you again.  I had a relapse at the start of 2018 which caused me to get really sick.  I needed to take time to take care of myself and work with my doctors to try and get into remission.  While I’m not 100%,  in fact I’m still in treatment, it is important to me that I try to get pieces of my life back and this is part of that effort.  Just a heads up, my posts will not be as frequent as I would like for them to be due to my illness.  You see, I suffer from chronic fatigue, cognitive issues (memory loss and brain fog), pain and weakness in my hands that make it difficult for me to compose a post.  With that said, I may take several weeks to compose a single post or I may use a guest blogger who will be able to share his/her thoughts on chronic illness and offer a different perspective.  Either way we will keep you informed and bring you along the journey.

Over the last year a lot has happened.  In addition to the Chronic Lyme Disease, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue and allergies to gluten and lactose.  I must admit that when I learned about the gluten allergy I was quite devastated.  You see, I consider myself (and my husband) to be a self-proclaimed “foodie”.  We love to find new places to eat and would plan date night around the newest restaurant to try and with the gluten intolerance, all of that has come to a screeching halt.  Instead of trying new fabulous foods, you can now find me reading labels, studying menus online and questioning restaurant staff to determine what I can and cannot eat.  It takes the fun out of eating when you have to be super careful about every single ingredient in a particular dish or if you have to question restaurant management about the kitchen process for keeping gluten free food from getting cross-contaminated by coming in contact with regular food.  As a result, we eat at home more, mostly due to the fact that I don’t have the energy to go anywhere, but even if I felt ok I would rather eat at home where I am in control of what I eat and likely not become ill.  Not as fun, but much safer for me this way.  More to come on my gluten journey in a future post.

With the Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue I am always extremely tired and always in some sort of pain.  While I do my best to get as much rest as I can, at night it is hard for me to get to sleep.  My brain doesn’t seem to shut down enough to allow me to fall asleep so I have bouts of insomnia which leave me up watching my husband sleep wishing I could join him.  Of course this cycle leaves me more and more exhausted the next day and I eventually pass out when my body has decided it can no longer keep going.  I will go into more detail about Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue to help those who might be suffering with either of those illnesses.

Well, that’s it for this post!  Again, it’s so good to connect with you and I look forward to your comments and/or suggestions for future posts.

Until next time,XO

Windy