Spoon Shares

Finding Wellness Together

A Message to All Spoonies: You Can Still Have A Wonderful Life

Twas two days before Christmas, and all through my tummy, not an intestine was digesting, not even a crumb-y. My feeding bags hung on the IV pole with care, in hopes that nutrition soon would be there. With my dogs and I laying a-snug in my bed, and Muppet Christmas carols playing through earbuds in my head, knitting a last-minute Christmas day gift, I smile, content, and my spirits do lift.

Okay, I’m not a poet, and I certainly know it. So here’s a picture of my adorable dogs to make up for it.

barkley and drake sleeping

But there is a point to my sappy spoonie story-time, and that is a message I want everyone with chronic illness to realize, that I have slowly realized in my past four years with chronic illness. [Read more…]

Fighting Nausea with Ginger Products!

Well, it turns out that Cartman was wrong. There is nothing wrong with being ginger.

I have been totally ging-ified for several years now, because, it turns out, ginger is one of my most effective medicines.

Since I have gastroparesis, one of my biggest and most debilitating symptoms is chronic nausea. And I do many different things to try and manage it (look to a future post for that one), but my absolute favorite is ginger.

Ginger. Ginger. Ginger. And more ginger.

Now, if you’re like “Oh, I’ve tried ginger ale and it doesn’t do much.” Well, odds are, you’re drinking the average mass marketed ginger ale, like Schwepps or Gosling, which means you’re actually not getting real ginger ale. You’re getting carbonated sugar water with artificial ginger taste. And sometimes carbonated sugar water can help, because of the bubbles, but you’re not getting the benefit of ginger.

Ginger is kind of a miracle plant. It has a lot of healing properties and, most importantly for spoonies with nausea, it aids digestion and soothes the stomach. So when you’re looking for something to really help your tummy aches, you want some real, honest-to-goodness ginger. And the best part is that, unlike most medicines, there are really no bad side effects to consuming ginger.

So now the question is, how do I get this ginger into my body? Well, after many years of trying just about every ginger product available in the continental U.S., I am here to share my favorite products! [Read more…]

Our Visible Fight For Invisible Awareness

Hey everyone. So, last February was the end of a very long winter for me. And facing similar struggles was my good friend Catherine Richardson. Catherine and I talk pretty much everyday, because, well, she’s an awesome sauce spoonie and always fun to talk to. We make jokes about our confusing bodies and share our constant poop struggles (true friendship, guys). We’ve never been in the same room, or even the same country, but when you can casually ask somebody, “How’s the poop coming?” that starts to become a lot less important.

I’m spending a lot of this post talking about poop, which actually has nothing to do with what I actually want to talk about. I could blame the brain fog here, but I think we all know by now I’m just a senile old woman stuck in a 25 year old body. [Read more…]

Jag Jeans Part 2: These Guys Are Awesome

A few months ago I wrote a non-sponsored blog recommending Jag Jeans for anyone who, like me, has trouble wearing non-elastic pants because of stomach bloating. Fluctuating waistline throughout the day? Have an elastic waistband that moves with it, but still looks like real-people-pants!

Well, a few hours after I promoted that post on social media, I got the sweetest email from their social media coordinator. [Read more…]

Eating Gluten Free in a Holiday Home

Renting a place (whether that’s Airbnb or a chalet somewhere) is the easiest way to make sure you have gluten-free options on holiday. Unfortunately, there’ve been other people in that rental before you & they might not share your dedication to avoiding gluten cross-contamination.

Here’s what I do to make sure I can eat safely in a rented kitchen.

It starts before you leave, really. You’ll want to bring some (dish) towels to make sure you’ve got something that’s gluten-free to clean up with in the first place. If the place you’re renting comes with linen included, make sure it’s cleaned by a dry cleaners, because they put everything in sealed plastic bags. The last thing you want is finding those clean towels sitting on the worktops in the kitchen when you walk in. [Read more…]

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Were My Best Medicine

On one episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart points out the ludicrous idea that someone should be able to deny a form of healthcare to their employee based on religion by bringing out a writer “with a flu,” and insisting that, since he believed laughter was the best medicine, a good dose of clown-style spritzer water would do the trick. Barbra Boxer then hilariously recounted the event on the senate floor in an aggressively un-funny summary…much like I’m doing now.

 

But here’s the thing, I’ve been sick for over three years now. And Jon Stewart, the laughter you gave me… well, it may not have been my best medicine, but it certainly has been my favorite.

Ever since Jon Stewart announced his departure from the Daily Show, there have been countless think-pieces about his effect on political discourse (my textbook in high school actually referred to him and Stephen Colbert as “the watchdog’s watchdog”) and how we digest the news. But I feel the need to share the effect he and the also recently departed-but-soon-to-be-reincarnated Stephen Colbert had on me as a chronically ill person. [Read more…]

Spoonie Coping Tip: Knitting, Crochet, and general crafting!

I always say I am the oldest 24 year old I know.

I wish I was that spry.

I use a shower chair, a wheelchair, occasionally a cane. I take a beta blocker, I drink prune juice, I go to bed early, I don’t drink alcohol, I wear reading glasses, and, most of all, I spend the majority of my time knitting.

But knitting is honestly one of my best and favorite coping techniques for living with chronic illness. Here’s why! (And you can pretty much substitute any kind of crafting activity in for knitting.)

[Read more…]

Tips for Those Who Have Difficulty Showering

Showers…I used to love you so. You woke me up, you refreshed me, you were like a morning cup of Joe. But since I’ve been sick…it’s been a little more challenging.

shower

I know I’m not alone. Many spoonies, for various reasons, have difficulty showering. Here are my tips for clean living when you are…hygienically challenged. [Read more…]

Reading Through the Brain Shmergh — I mean Brain Fog

Brain Fog. You know it. You love it. That thing that makes simple words like “display” or “benefit” impossible to reach (those were two words I needed help to say yesterday). That thing that makes you stare blankly at your phone for several minutes before you realize you picked it up because somebody asked you the date.

Brain fog usually accompanies other pleasant symptoms that make you seek recluse in bed…which can get seriously boring. There is only so much TV a person can watch before they start to feel their eyes melting. As a lifelong bookworm, I’ve really regretted how little I’ve been able to read since I’ve been sick. It takes energy and mental wherewithal that the spoonie life just doesn’t always allow for. So I’ve discovered a few hints and tricks to allow me to read despite major brain adfkljadfaf-ness. [Read more…]

Disclaimer

None of the opinions or experiences expressed on this site is professional medical advice tailored to your own situation. Please consult a medical professional before making any changes to your health management plan.