Month: March 2023

My Life Before Chronic Illness

On By Windy J Cumberbatch, CPCIn Uncategorized2 Comments

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my life before I was diagnosed with a chronic illness. I spend a good amount of time alone which has afforded me time to reflect over the last 20 years. I often wonder what my life would be like had I not gone to the doctor all those years ago in an effort to get to the root cause for being so sick and for so long. I mean, what if I would have ignored the debilitating symptoms and kept on pushing…where would my life be now?

WHAT DO I MISS THE MOST?

A few months ago someone asked me what aspect(s) of my life from before do I miss the most? Honestly I had not taken the time to consider that prior to getting this question, but I’ve had some time to think about and here’s what I’ve come up with:

  • Having a job
  • Freedom to come and go as I please
  • Going for walks in our neighborhood
  • Having energy to shop all day (Ha! I bet my husband doesn’t miss this)
  • Doing random fun things with my teenage daughter
  • Singing on the worship team at my church
  • Everyday tasks around the house

While this is a short list, there are numerous everyday things that I may have taken for granted that I am unable to do with ease anymore. These days simple tasks like sweeping the floor will wipe me out for several hours. I have to plan things out so I have enough energy. Things like going to the doctor, physical therapy & massage therapy all have to be planned out. Planning for me simply put means getting lots of rest the days leading up to any appointment. I will stay in bed and do absolutely nothing so I can make it. Not only that, I now have my husband take me to and from appointments due to my chronic illness. In the past, it would be nothing for me to hop in the car to head to an appointment, now everything is coordinated with my husband’s availability. My how things have changed!

I STILL HAVE HOPE

Although my life is not where it once was and I am unable to do certain things, I still have hope. Hope that no matter the challenge, no matter how I’m feeling, no matter what, God still has my back. My faith in God is what has gotten through some of the darkest moments in my life, when I felt I couldn’t take one more thing. God is not at all surprised by my illness, he knew I would become ill before I was formed in my mother’s womb. He has been here every step of the way guiding me, providing for me and my family and showing me fresh grace and new mercy. Great Is Thy Faithfulness!

Thank you so much for stopping by. Please be sure to like, share and subscribe to our blog so you’re in the know when we have a new blogpost. You can also find Windy’s Journey podcast now streaming on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, AmazonMusic and Spotify! We need your support to help increase awareness about chronic illness and the negative impact it has on individuals and their families.

Share this with someone who is chronically ill as it is my life’s goal to Empower | Encourage | Inspire others who are on this journey with me.

XO- Windy

And if not, He is still good! Daniel 3:18

Follow me on social media:

IG: @windysjourney

FB: @windysjourney

T: @windysjourney

The Cold Makes My Fibromyalgia Worse

On By Windy J Cumberbatch, CPCIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I have been living with Fibromyalgia for over 20 years now and I must say I never look forward to the winter months here in Texas. Around the month of February is when we start to see more traditional winter temperatures, that’s the time of year my body dreads the most. As the temps start to drop my body begins feeling the cold in my bones which makes the already intense fibromyalgia pain worse. Once I get cold it’s hard for me to warm up. The aches and pains in my entire body run deep.

Day after day my body tenses up due to the cold which causes a fibromyalgia flare up. This is likely because of the numerous sensory nerves in the circulatory system. It’s hard for me to relax because I can’t regulate my body temperature. I mean my skin even hurts if you can imagine that. When I get cold my nerves become agitated which causes the nerves to act improperly, thus causing increased pain.

No matter who you talk to, those of us who have Fibromyalgia seem to have this in common, we hate the impact cold temperatures have on our bodies. I belong to several chronic illness groups and it never seems to fail that when we get into the winter months you start to notice more and more posts where people are in increased pain due to the cold weather.

Pain Management

What helps with managing the increased pain levels for Fibromyalgia sufferers during the winter months? Here are a few things that help me:

◦ Hot bubble baths (As hot as I can stand it)

◦ Heating blanket

◦ Fluffy socks

◦ Wearing lots of layers

◦ Eating more hot foods

◦ Weighted blanket

◦ Sipping on hot water with lemon or hot tea

◦ Turning up the thermostat (This can be a balancing act with other family members in the house)

◦ Keep a sweater in every room of the house as well as in the car

I have read about instances in which a family will move to a warm weather climate to get away from the cold temperatures, however I do recognize this is not a simple solution that many can make.

Here’s a recent picture of me in the backseat of our car (driven by my amazing husband) in so much pain due to the really cold temperature. You can almost see the pain in my face and the many layers of clothing I am wearing to try and get warm.

One note of caution…you will want to be careful when trying to get warm, you don’t want to warm up too fast as this can also cause a flare up of symptoms and increase pain for getting too hot too fast. It’s a balancing act for sure and you will want to ease into any routine until you find what works best for you and your body. Remember everyone is different and what works for me may or may not work for you! Please be careful!!!

Thank you so much for stopping by. Please be sure to like and subscribe to our blog so you’re in the know when we have a new blogpost. You can also find “Windy’s Journey” podcast now streaming on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, AmazonMusic and Spotify!

We need your support to help increase awareness about chronic illness and the negative impact it has on individuals and their families. Share this with someone who is chronically ill as it is my life’s goal to Empower | Encourage & Inspire others who are on this journey with me.

XO- Windy

And if not, He is still good! Daniel 3:18

Follow me on social media:

IG: @windysjourney

FB: @windysjourney

T: @windysjourney