Day 11: Polka Dots and Curls

My housemate said to be a tiger. So I tried.

Today's NNBPM post topic is to write about your favourite thing that is not health-related - so of course I'm writing about my passion for vintage fashion. I've written about it before in this post.

I love hunting for a bargain and finding something that fits you perfectly in a print that they don't make these days. I also love knowing that by buying second hand I am contributing less to landfill. I'd say at least two thirds of my wardrobe is secondhand. I tend to buy new only when I absolutely have to (jeans, singlets, etc), or if it's something I absolutely love.

I picked up this bargain polka dot dress yesterday at Canberra's Fash'n'Treasure markets along with 4 other dresses, 3 lovely cardigans and a polka dot pussy bow shirt. Since Canberra doesn't have a terribly good op shop scene, I tend to go all out when Fash'n'Treasure is on or when I head to Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide.

This song has recently gone viral and I love it - a song all about my favourite thing to do!

(Frequent coarse language warning.)

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This month I will be taking part in National Health Blog Post Month. Check back every day to see the new topic and learn more about endometriosis. Today's topic is: Write about your favourite thing that is not health-related but likely improves your life.

Day 10: Posting about health on Facebook - a do or a don't?

Before I started this challenge I was a bit shy about this blog. I wanted to raise awareness about endometriosis but I didn't want to annoy everyone by filling up their feeds or by bombarding them with information so they just shut down. It was also scary to put my hand up and say that I have endometriosis, and associated anxiety, particularly because of reactions I have gotten in the past.  So I kept it off Facebook. I hoped that it would reach the people it needed to through word of mouth or that indispensable thing called Google.

However, since posting my blog on Facebook for this challenge, the response has been far from negative. I've had a lot of people (who I didn't realise were reading my blog) contact me and tell me that they are enjoying reading. Thankfully I also have a very supportive family who have been following along and reading, and even spruiking it (as my brother says) in their feeds. At least a few people have learnt that endometriosis existed from this blog, which I count as a success, and I hope that everyone is learning more about what effect it has on people who have it.

Not everything on Facebook (and in life) should be about health of course. It needs to be balanced, otherwise it can get annoying, really become too much information and the person can go into a negative spiral. I don't really put statuses up on Facebook about my endometriosis experience for those reasons, and instead keep it to this blog where people can make the choice to read. However, as a society I think we need to be more open and communicative about health. More knowledge benefits everyone. There is too much shame and secrecy surrounding so many illnesses when there need not be.

At the end of the day, if I don't speak up about endometriosis, who will? It has to start with the people who are suffering. So posting about health on Facebook? I say it's a do (within reason).

PS - Please comment if you have any questions you'd like me to cover about endo - I'm open to it all :)

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This month I will be taking part in National Health Blog Post Month. Check back every day to see the new topic and learn more about endometriosis. Today's topic is: "Should people post about their (or loved ones') health on Facebook? Why/why not?"

Day 9: Endometriosis survival kit

With the highs, come the lows. After feeling really good the other day, I'm feeling totally out of whack again. I'm on edge - like I have a constant small adrenaline rush, I'm headachey, I'm feeling uncomfortable in my body, I'm dizzy and spacey and my back is really aching  So today is the perfect day for this themed post from the NHBPM challenge.

1) A hot water bottle or wheat bag

I use this every day, multiple times a day. I even take one with me when I travel. I have a wheat bag for work, and I sleep with my hot water bottle every night. Nothing soothes muscle pains or makes you feel cosy more than heat.

2) Medications

I don't use these so much anymore, but I still never leave the house without paracetamol or ibuprofen. Others use harder drugs such as codeine or Mersyndol (which has been a lifesaver for me in the past) but now I find that they tend to do more harm than good to me.

3) Something to distract you and focus your attention when the pains are bad

This window helped a lot when I was recovering from surgery

When the pain has been really bad in the past I have been known to call someone just to get them to tell me a story, but with a more constant pain that is not so sharp a book or some music will do the trick. Anything that you can absorb yourself in and forget about what you are feeling at that time.

4) A comfortable mattress, nice pjs and nice linen

If you're going to be spending a lot of time in your bed, you should really make it your sanctuary. When I had surgery I got a new pair of pyjama pants because I knew that I would be spending so much time in them and I wanted to be comfortable and have a cute pattern that I could look at. (Ignoring the fact that these things often get ruined when you bleed too much, but they still look cute if you disregard that...)

5) Something to look forward to

I always try to have something to look forward to so I don't get too bogged down in the present discomfort. Unfortunately I tend to push myself too much and end up wrecked with no break in sight, but I'm working on that...

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This month I will be taking part in National Health Blog Post Month. Check back every day to see the new topic and learn more about endometriosis. Today's post is to create the perfect care package for people with your condition.

Musings {11-08-12}

I had a very good day yesterday and got very excited about all the things coming up - Harvest, Christmas, Sydney, Jakarta.

I have also gone back into my regular phase of wanting to dye my hair red. If I didn't have my natural hair colour, the hair in this pic would pretty much be my dream hair. I'm still too worried about wrecking my natural colour to actually do it, but for now I can dream...

Music I've been enjoying lately:

Flight Facilities - Clair De Lune (feat. Christine Hoberg) (full song link)

alt-J - Tessellate (in fact, the whole alt-J album is worth listening to)

Something for Kate - Miracle Cure

Day 7: A conversation with my doctor

"I think the Mirena is giving me anxiety."

"Anxiety is not a recognized side-effect of the Mirena."

This is a conversation that I had with my gynecologist 3 months after my surgery and diagnosis.

I was waking up in the middle of the night feeling uncomfortable and anxious, like the room was swallowing me whole and something was just not right.

My doctor was not seeing the whole picture. I don’t know if it was the hormones from the Mirena* the shock of the diagnosis, or my body’s response to some fairly serious surgery, but in the end, that doesn’t really matter.

What matters was that I was giving a cry for help – I wasn’t sleeping properly and I wasn’t coping with life and the after-effects of my diagnosis and surgery.

However, my doctor wasn’t seeing it that way. He just saw me as a uterus, disconnected from any other process in my body.

I am not the first person to experience anxiety after diagnosis with endometriosis/surgery/Mirena. I will not be the last. I eventually went and talked to my GP about it and she's been helping me out.

I’ve had to think about whether the Mirena is for me. At the moment, since I have no treatment backup plan, the last thing I want to do is remove the Mirena even though I think it may be causing some of my problems. I can't go back to missing at least a day of work a month.

However, life is pretty good at the moment, and it feels like I'm finally getting the swing of things. So there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

In light of this topic I will be posting some tips for when you visit the doctor sometime this month. This is partly to remind myself for when I get disheartened, but I also hope that if you are out there and in pain, that it will help you get treatment.

*Mirena is a T-shaped plastic device (known as an intra-uterine device or IUD) placed in the uterus that releases progesterone into the body and lasts up to 5 years. It can be used as a contraception but is also currently thought to be the most effective treatment for endometriosis.

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This month I will be taking part in National Health Blog Post Month. Check back every day to see the new topic and learn more about endometriosis. Apparently I like to break all the rules, so today I am writing about Day 3's intended topic, "A conversation with your doctor".

A tribute to my great-aunt, Babe

Today I learnt that my great-aunt Babe had passed away. Hanging out with Babe was always a highlight of my visit to see my dad’s side of the family in Nebraska. She had a wit, independence and cheekiness about her that I always loved and admired. She also had killer fashion sense – she was always impeccably dressed. One of the last times I saw her I showed her a lovely new cape I had bought from a vintage store and she was very impressed. It was the ultimate compliment!

I may not have been able to see her very often, but I had a special connection with her and she will be dearly missed.

No one can pull off orange like Babe can.

Day 6: Celebrities with endometriosis

Here are just a few of the celebrities that have spoken out about their personal experiences with endometriosis (or that have been reported to have endometriosis):

Emma Bunton (diagnosed at 25).

Susan Sarandon

Hillary Clinton

Jillian Michaels

(The Biggest Loser personal trainer)

Marilyn Monroe

(endometriosis has been noted as a contributing factor in her problems

with depression, addiction to painkillers and death)

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This month I will be taking part in National Health Blog Post Month. Check back every day to see the new topic and learn more about endometriosis. Today I'm going to try and fit this in to the News-Style post theme.