My Cleaning Tricks

So In order to still do the general housework I have made some changes and little tricks that help me. Now I know some might sound stupid and might not work for others but they do make having chronic health & OCD a lot better to deal with ... 

Hoover - I have three hoovers which are kept in different places which make it easier than having to carry one up and down the stairs. So I have one upstairs, one downstairs and one just for the kitchen. I keep them near the plug socket so easier to turn on and use whenever I can. 

Cleaning Items - I have a cleaning caddy in the bathroom for all the products I use upstairs and then I have products in kitchen under sink for all the products to use downstairs. I have a cupboard in the hallway which has back ups of products making sure I never run out which I get my Stepdad to reach and take out when I need to. I also have some products in my bedroom for easy access. Ideally I hate products on show but sometimes I have to think practical. 

Long Handled Dustpan/Brush - I have one in my bedroom as I have wood floor and one downstairs for the kitchen, utility and downstairs toilet. Long handled makes it easier to use few times a day without bending down or picking rubbish up ect. I have 3 dogs which mean dogs hairs and wood floor so having the dustpan and brush in reach means I can use it every time I’m in/out of the rooms.

Using Time Effectually - this might sound stupid haha so what I mean is that when I have a flare up with my bowel disease I will also clean the bathroom. It makes sense to do it as I’m stuck in the bathroom anyways. I will fold up washing while sitting on sofa, I will prepare dinner while sitting down and I will even sit on the floor to clean floors/polish, clean the bath/shower while I’m in there ect. It helps a lot to be honest as I find I get more done that way. If I had to wait to not be in pain to do these things then they would never get done. 

Ikea Bags - Totally Random but the blue Ikea bag are literally a lifesaver because of its long Handles and it’s a big bag. I use this to carry dirty washing downstairs and I will also fold up the clean washing put in the bag to carry upstairs. It makes it so much easier. 

Micro Fibre Cloths - I always keep one in reach so that if I’m walking downstairs or round the house I can easily grab it and polish ect. 

Clean At The Right Time - what I mean by this is I try to stick to the same time cleaning which is about 10 mins after I’ve taken my painkillers. I find if I wait anymore then the side effects have kicked in too far. 

Deep Freeze/Deep Heat Is My BFF - I have the roll on ones that literally are so easy to apply and I have one of each downstairs and upstairs which I put on as I’m about to clean. Okay it doesn’t get rid of the pain but it makes cleaning more bearable. 

Late Night No Sleep = Clean - I have nights where I don’t sleep til late because of pain so I use this time to sort my wardrobe out, sort storage out and do little bits in my room. 

I’m pretty sure there’s more than I do without realising but these are the main ones. To someone who isn’t ill I totally understand how stupid it might sound haha!! But you got to do what you got to do. Without doing any of these tricks I simply don’t get anything done. I have 3 dogs so I have to hoover lots and ideally I’d like hoover few times a day but I aim to hoover at least once a day which I find it easier to keep up with housework if I do it for like 20 mins a day rather than spending hours few times a week. Luckily I have a dishwasher but I wash up the dogs Bowls soon as they finished their dinner and I find doing it ASAP means it’s all done and dusted. Now I don’t really like antibacterial wipes well I do but I find it much easier to use a micro fibre cloth and antibacterial spray which probably doesn’t make sense and I’m sure wipes are more easier but my hands are quite sensitive and I was finding wipes irritate them more plus I seem to go through so much wipes so I prefer to use a few cloths instead. I don’t fill my cleaning cupboard up under the sink purely because it’s much easier to only have the products I currently using so I can just grab them easily. 

Obviously with me living at home with my mother means there are some things I’d love to do differently or change. I try much as possible to make the plan more organise, clean and tidy but it’s not as easy when people I live with are not like me lol!! Il spend ages cleaning and then I look and someone’s make it messy.. it’s rather frustrating because obviously I’ve made myself in pain in order to clean properly so it’s bloody annoying. I know if I lived alone I’d have things my way which would make things slightly easier for my health but for now with the small changes/tricks I use are working and helping. I truly believe that a “Tidy House Tidy Mind” and I feel so much better mentally when I’m doing cleaning even if my body is in agony.  My next post will be about what products I use. I tend to stick with the same products that I know work as I haven’t got time to be using rubbish products. So make sure you pop back soon to find out my top products. 

Love Katie xx 

Chronic Health & OCD

So I’ve been wanting to do a blog series for ages now about cleaning while having chronic health. I also have OCD which had way before becoming ill so it was a huge shock for me when I started to notice how certain housework/chores became rather difficult and sometimes impossible. 

I love cleaning. I always have and to be I use it as my therapy. Some people go retail therapy or cooking or exercise but for me it’s always been cleaning,tidying, clearing and being organised. I love seeing the before and after of how simply changes can make a massive difference. And storage!!! Storage is my best friend andI HATE having items in my draws without being in some sort of box or draw divider. Every month I always sort through each of my chest of draws, clean them and make sure to either chuck or Charity shop stuff I no longer have use for.

Safe to say I love clearing, cleaning and organisation but it’s rather hard when you have a disability. I’m lucky that I’m still able to do most housework and I have ways of making sure I can still manage them but having OCD thrown in the mix makes things so frustrating. My mind is telling me I have to clean or do something but my body is refusing and physically can’t. My illnesses has already taken so much away from me and has dramatically changed my life but I will not let it stop me from doing the normal day to day chores. I’ve made some changes and adapted which I think I have the right balance at the moment in order for me to be in less pain as possible while continuing to do the general housework. Obviously even with the changes I’ve made I still have days where the pain is too bad to do anything.  I thought I’d share some simple changes and tricks/tips on how I still do the normal chores with a disability. And how I try and control my OCD while having a bad pain day. I now do things differently which to some people might sound stupid but in order to still keep on top of the house I don’t care if I look or sound stupid. Not only is cleaning obviously good and I 100% go by the saying “ tiny house tiny mind” but I use it as a distraction and almost as a escape from the agonising pain I’m in 24/7. 

My next blog post shall be the simple changes I’ve made and the silly ways on how I still manage to cook/clean/tidy and organise with chronic health. I write all my blogpost via my phone as I don’t have my laptop as I hardly used it so if the layout, pictures or words are not up to scratch then I do apologise. I’m going to try and do at least one blogpost per week which I think is doable otherwise if I give myself a few a week I know it’s not possible. I do miss blogging and I think it must be at least two years since myself or Beth blogged properly but so much has happened to us both since we last blogged so our posts might be slightly different. I just thought I’d do a quick post to explain on why there will be regular posts coming soon and what they’re about ect. 

Next blog post shall be in a few days :) 

( I have about 10 posts half written that because of brain fog never get finished) haha..  I have been using the blog Instagram since last September now & do regular posts and I’m slightly addicted to doing daily stories haha.. so please do follow us on Instagram on “Essextowindsor”

Love Katie xx 

Katie’s Health Update - Ulcerative Colitis

      (Been two more surgeries since this picture) 

Hello everyone :) as you can probably tell by the photo it’s Katie here. Me and Beth have soooo much to catch up on as a lot of life events have happened since we last was active on the blog. As from next week Beth shall have the laptop back and running so expect lots of blogpost about pregnancy and mum life but for now here is a post about my health. 

When we used to update the blog a lot I done a series of “health Update” where I would share how my health was doing. I can’t remember the last time I done an update to be honest so I shall start with one of my conditions:

ULCERATIVE COLITIS- 

I was put on Predinisolone for my Ulcerative Colitis and safe to say I totally regret it. I had put on a lot of weight, got awful side effects and to top it all off it didn’t make any difference to my bowel. My Gastro team were shocking and left me few months without any medication. It was June the month of Beth’s hen and we

dding. The hen party was a cocktail night & seeing as I haven’t drunk at all for a good few years it’s safe to say that alcohol didn’t agree with me. It put me in a instant flare where that evening I spent crying in the hotel bathroom with zero sleep, the cramps were insane and the thought of food made me feel sick. We got back home and my IBD nurse advised me to go to A&E so off I went had some bloods and morphine then to be told go home and wait for IBD team to ring as it was night time. I was exhausted I went home and rested for a few days then it was Beth’s wedding. I felt awful the original dress didn’t fit I had to order new one week before wedding I felt awful and looked it. The steroid made me so swollen and puffy looking safe to safe I couldn’t of hated myself anymore than I did. The day went okay then soon as I eat the food that was it. Another flare left me spending most of the reception in the toilets. I missed the first dance, beth throwing the flowers and cutting the cake. I was gutted, exhausted and in agony but I just had to put on a smile and act normal in front of family. I had the girls for few days after as Beth and my brother went on a mini moon. I got back home and this flare wasn’t easing at all, it was the summer so heat wave didn’t help. We went out with the girls I tried to put on a smile but I was again stuck on the loo crying. I had enough. Enough of the IBD nurse/team not giving a shit *pardon the pun*. So I went to a&e again, had bloods, a canualar & morphine to be told my bloods were okay bit dehydrated and higher CRP but nothing they can do as it was nighttime aka no Gastro avalible. I went home angry, disappointed and physically drained. Finally I saw a new Gastro a few weeks after who demanded I went back on Steroids which I didn’t want to! So fed up I went to my GP and asked to be referred to another hospital. I was warned it could take months waiting but I was willing to wait. 

Yet again another thing I regret. The new Gastro is claiming I don’t have Ulcerative Colitis and it’s constipation. Now I’m no doctor or consultant but I know it’s deffo NOT constipation. I had to demand a Sigmoidoscopy which annoyingly by this point my Colitis settled down so not much was shown. I’m yet to see my specialist to discuss things but I’m so drained from everything that I’m yet to make the appointment. To be told you haven’t got an illness that you were tested so many times for and each times have evidence of it is so frustrating. Also in June I had surgery (bowel related but not UC) and recovery was harder than expected so I was fed up. 

I’m currently on no medication for my Ulcerative Colitis and weirdly am better. Not 100% but so much better than I was in the summer. I suppose I won’t see my Consultant til the new year and I so regret leaving the first hospital I was under. I feel like I’ve gone 1000 steps back from the days of being told it was just IBS. I have so much going on with my other illnesses that I haven’t really been bothered about this one if that makes sense. So much appointments, different Hospitals, lots of medication as well as brain fog so I’m finding it hard to keep up and jungle everything. Safe to safe I could do with a PA hahah!! Fingers crossed my Bowel behaves over Christmas as I don’t fancy spending Christmas Day on the toilet. Once I see my Consultant in the new year hopefully it will be a possitive appointment. I shall keep updating so do keeep an eye out and the next post from be shall be an health update on another condition of mine. 

I know these posts might not be everyone’s cup of tea and I totally understand but I think it’s so important to spread awareness and share your own stories. Me and Beth like to keep it real on our blog and we don’t pretend our lives are perfect. All of our blog posts are real life, honest and truthful. If you have got this far then well done haha. Thank you for reading and do come back for another post :)

Love Katie 

Feeling alone By Katie

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling alone

 

 

At the weekend my health messed up a family fun day Saturday which made me rather sad and couldn't help but feel alone! 

When you have chronic illness you feel so alone. When I say alone I mean because I have no one in my family that suffers with a chronic illness similar to mine so it's genuinely hard to talk out loud about my health as they do not understand. Alone because most family birthdays meals I cannot attend because I'm either in a bad flare or can't eat anything on the menu so I'm left at home alone and I end up feeling so isolated. The one thing that really upsets me about missing family occasions is when I get certain family members saying that I'm choosing to not go out and that I don't want to socialise which couldn't be further from the truth. Of course I want to go out, attend all family meals or events and socialise but I've realised that you HAVE to put yourself and your health first. I've spent many times sitting in a restaurant putting on a totally different mask and acting fine when in reality I'm sitting there with stomach cramps, my joints are in crippling pain and my eyes are wanting to close from severe fatigue. The smile I put on in those situations is totally fake. How can I smile when I'm in so much pain. Sometimes putting on an mask and a fake smile doesn't  work in my favour! Unfortunately It makes some of my family members think that I am absolutely fine and that I am lying about being ill. It leaves me thinking what is the lesser of two evils? Grinning and bearing the family meal in crippling pain or putting myself first and not going and facing the criticism of some not so understanding family members.

 

The weekend just gone, I planned to go to Battersea Old Windsor Fun day on the Saturday with Beth, my nieces and my brother, we planned this ages ago and we was all looking forward to it. The evening before I got ready to have an early night then all of a sudden my colitis really flared up big time to the point where I was on the toilet from 10pm until 7.40am so I was incredibly exhausted from just running back and forward to the bathroom. At 8am I thought lets get an hours sleep so I can have some energy for the day out but soon as I closed my eyes, my bowel had other ideas meaning I had no other choice than to cancel the plans and stay in bed instead. I was so exhausted and the toilet trips continued till Saturday evening and I was home alone so I felt even worse and more alone. 

Luckily I have my three dogs who drive me mental but they follow me to the toilet, cuddle me on the sofa, always by my side in bed and make me laugh. I am so glad that I live with my Mother, something I thought at 24 years old that I wouldn't say but honestly I couldn't be without her. 

I really hope that my health starts to improve as I hate missing out on all these family events, I will be sure to keep you all update on my health and my story.

until next time

Katie x

Katies Come back ....Sort of

Oh god!! I have no idea where to even start!! I haven't written a blog post since late last year due to health problems and I have totally lost the blogging vibe.

I used to love sitting down either on the sofa or in bed writing about my health and lifestyle which also helped with my Depression and Anxiety because just to write and express what is on your mind feels so bloody good. So when I had to stop blogging it wasn't a nice feeling. I didn't bother on our Instagram or twitter, I just abandoned the blog and the whole social media side of things. At the time Beth was moving down nearer to me so I was just happy at the fact that I am able to see my Nieces whenever. Then there is the illnesses!! 

As you all know I have Ankylosing Spondylitis and Ulcerative Colitis which I have done many, many posts about and looking back I was somehow "managing" with my symptoms and side effects from medication. With the help of mediation and LOTS OF PAINRELIEF and hot water bottles, I could sit down and happily open the laptop but now things are abit different to say the least.

Since late last year, I have NOT been "managing" and life has became very different. If I could only use one word to describe it would be "Exhaustion". Exhaustion from every little task I do, Exhaustion from stupid simple things such as shower, wash my hair and even washing my face and also from taking the stupid amount of medication I have to take and just Exhaustion of being awake. End of last year I started getting pain in my thighs then my hips then my hands and now my knees. My mobility is poor and there are times where getting out of bed is impossible. Well I say "times" but I mean mostly every day. I struggle to sleep, I get numbness and tingling in most joints, my thighs feel swollen and throb with pain and now my knees which is the newest of symptoms. I wake up and from head to toe I am stiff. Having to rely on Morphine based patches to basically live is so depressing and yet I STILL get pathetic comments from certain people. I have had physio which made zero difference I mean  does it ever work? Especially with such conditions as I have, its going to take more than a few leg stretches to cure. So now I await to hear from various of specialist. The main condition this is all being linked to which I am being tested for is Fibromyalgia. Of course I have done lots of googling (who doesn't) and have read up on this condition among other conditions. From reading I have learnt that is it hard to actually be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and have had few people tell me they was being tested for a year just to get the diagnoses so that bit scares me. I don't want it being dragged out that long, I just want to get sorted and start feeling better, I'm so exhausted from medical tests and hospitals.  

There is so much I want to write about but I can't get most out. That is down to Brain Fog, I will at some point do a post about this as it is totally life changing. My mind is mushed! and also down to the silly side effects of my medication. I will get Beth to proof read this because I struggle to make sense sometimes. I have given Bethany my laptop as it was no use to me anymore so at least she is getting use out of it but I plan to write posts on my iPhone on the blogger app or on my notes and then sending them to Beth as she is a lot more clever than me and will pick out all the spelling mistakes and the sentences that don't make any sense haha. Bethany sort of runs the blog by herself for the moment and also she runs the twitter, I run the Instagram for the blog as it still gives me a little input into the blog without it effecting my health. I have set up an new Twitter for myself so follow it if you want to hear me moaning about life or hospitals haha my twitter is @KatieAmyPricex but you can still reach me on the blog Twitter @Essextowindsor were I pop up from time to time, and Beth lets me know when there are messages for me.

I have enjoyed writing this actually but my legs are in pain, my patch is due for a change 30 mins ago haha. I am currently at Bethany's while she is at Sally's hair supplies getting some new scissors so one is on the laptop on the sofa while Bella has her nap and Ava is watching YouTube on the TV haha. I might try and get another post written if my body lets me. Thank you for anyone who has read this... and got to the end of this post and apologises if I don't makes sense!! Hope to see you all soon :)


Love Katie :)

Where Have We Been?!?

 

What Happened To Us?

 

I suppose you can say us and our blog dropped off the radar. You would be right. We stopped blogging suddenly with no warnings, not even to ourselves. I know what many people will be thinking, what makes two young girls who are seemingly very happy just stop? If we were from the outside reading our blogs we would be thinking the same. But from personal experience we can both say there can be many reasons, some being life events that you just can't see coming. The reasons to our disappearing act will be explained in depth in future posts. But we can now give you some sort of understanding.  

 

 

Katie

 

 

As you would have knew before we stopped blogging Katie had a number of health problems, a couple being ulcerative colitis and Ankylosing spondylitis. In the past few months Katie's condition has not started to improve she has got a little worse. Katie has been on different painkillers for her increasing pain, she is trying to find the right pain relief to get to her pain. She is also having flare ups very often now. Near enough every night. Safe to say she doesn't get much sleep. The side effects from medication, her illnesses and her lack of sleep have made her have severe fatigue. This leaves her felling pretty poo! she cant pluck up the energy to sit and blog ect. As you can imagine due to her illness and the effects they have on her life it gets her down leading to an on going battle with depression, unfortunately until her health starts to improve her depression prob wont either. She is very much the second half of this blog so I wish her well very soon!!!

 

 

Beth

 

 

 

 

Now we come to me, Beth. The reasons for me were all pretty much new. I had moved to a new town, I have been trying to adjust and settle in both for me and my children. This became my number one priority. It wasn't easy, It was a whole life adjustment for a number of reasons which will be explained in a future blog post. I have now also been diagnosed with depression. This is very hard to talk about. I don't like talking about it, but I feel I now have to share my experiences to help both me and anyone else that have also got it.

 

 

These reasons are the background of the fact we disappeared. I look forward into going into more detail. Katie still  isn't feeling 100% as I explained she maybe doing the odd post when she feels up to It, she is still very much involved in the blog just behind the scenes a bit more at the moment.

 

I can't wait to you are back doing regular posts Katie!!

 

 

WE ARE BACK!!!

 

LotsOfLove

Beth....xxx

Where We Have Been

So we haven't been blogging a lot over the past few months which we have valid reasons for but hopefully soon we should at least have one post up per week.

Ava & Bella loving their new home :)

Where we have been?
Me (Katie) well my illnesses haven't been too good lately to the point where I haven't opened up my laptop in ages. My Colitis flare up has no sign of settling down and I am still waiting for an appointment with the Gastro ward. The fatigue is getting the better of me. My painkillers dose has been upped which obviously comes with more side effects so I am like a zombie pretty much most of the day.

Bethany .. welll things have finally gone to plan for her and my Brother and they now are living in Berkshire so we live in the same county finally and their place is about 20 minutes away. It all happened so fast that they had just under two weeks to buy everything for the flat and pack everything up. So on the 19th October Beth, my Brother and most of both of our families all came together to help move in. For the past year they have had bad luck when it comes to finding a place to rent so it was all hush hush when they got the go ahead to move as they didn't want to temp fate.

So things have been abit manic lately and this weekend will be even more manic as on Saturday Beth and Tom are having a little housewarming party/get together, Sunday myself, Beth, Tommy and the girls are off to Harry potter Tour and then on Monday it is Bethany's 22nd Birthday and as Tommy will be working, I am staying the night before so I can spend the day with her and go for lunch and obviously a Costa. Once this weekend is over then I will hopefully well I WILL be seeing Beth least once a week and hopefully most weekends. I shall take my laptop over to hers and as she lives next to Costa we shall be having a blogging costa date most weeks haha.

I have energy for the first time today and I guess the medication and coffee is to thank for that. So I am going to try and write a few posts so I can put them up next week :) Hope you are all well :)

Love Katie xx  

Katies Health : Pushing Your Limits

Auntie & Niece Selfie

On 14th September I went to Essex to stay with Bethany for a week but that week turned into two weeks which I had the most amazing time but I pushed my limits in terms of my health. I didn't plan to go for two weeks so I only took enough tablets for a week with an extra few days of spare meds but I thought I would be okay without a few meds for few days but how wrong was I. Looking back I should of went to a walk in centre/hospital in Essex to get my medication but I didn't really think and was in a little bubble. When you have a chronic illness you try so hard for it not to rule your life but it does without you even realising and it is so out of your control.

I came home on 25th September and the train journey home was a nightmare and totally made me panic which I didn't have any medication for my panic attacks so I was literally alone trying to calm down with the help of texting Beth. I have no idea what I was sending to Beth or if it made any sense to be honest but she was doing her best in calming me down via imessage. Once I got some food and drink and got onto the train to Windsor I felt abit calm but the panic didn't really go. I was in pain with back, stomach cramps and as I am in a bad flare up at the moment I was constantly worrying how I was going to go to the toilet with all my bags and suitcase I had. I felt so alone, empty and scared. Alone that I didn't have any medication with me and that when it kicked in that my illnesses are controlling my life and I cannot do much about it at the moment.

With the constant toilet trips with diarrhoea, mucus and blood it makes me so exhausted, the lack of sleep due to back pains and then depression making everyday stuff feel worse than it probably is. My day to day routine is I get up early take my medication have breakfast and get ready like every other person but difference is after than I am exhausted I have no energy left and I don't really feel awake. The first week in Essex I was totally okay, I was eating the foods I am meant to be and I was sleeping good. Yes I was on toilet lots and in ALOT of pain but I was coping good with it but the second week totally knocked me for six. Beth and Tommy asked if I would like to stay for another week and I instantly said yes as I love being with my brother, Bethany and nieces. I hardly slept much in the second week, I was going from Ava's bed to the sofa to Beth parents bed (her parents were away on holiday, I was relying a lot on hot water bottles, gel for my back and what I had left of my medication but nothing was touching the pain. Two days with no medication apart from cocodamol which were the lowest dose literally broken me. When I got back home on Friday afternoon I went and took tramadol ASAP, laid in bed and took my usual meds and I felt abit better.

Basically these past two weeks was a massive learning curve. To never EVER go without my medications and ALWAYS take the box of meds instead of in the pill box. I think people just think Colitis symptoms are just belly related but its the fatigue and pain that make this illness so hard to do normal day to day stuff. Let alone the side effects from the medication I take which constantly leaves me feeling sick and lightheaded ect.

Apart from all that above, I did literally have the best time with Bethany and my Nieces. We all spent lovely quality time together. We baked cakes at 7am, took and picked up Ava from school, watched Celebrity Big Brother together, became obsessed with Desperate Housewives box set on sky, Costa/Tesco trips and much more fun. We all get on so much and constantly are laughing. The next time we get to spend together is in an months time when it is Bethany's Birthday and we are off to Harry Potter Tour woooo.

Has anyone with a Chronic Illness or Colitis got any tips on how to cope when you're away from home? Let me know :)

Love Katie x

Life/Health/General Update//Katie

For a few weeks now I haven't written an post, turned on my laptop, looked on bloglovin or even logged into blogger. The first week I was preparing for Essex and I had a hospital appointment to do with my Colitis so I didn't have time to use my laptop and then the 2nd week I was in Essex and although there is Wi-Fi there I like to spend family time and make the most of my time there. 3rd week so last week wasn't a good week in terms of my chronic illnesses so I thought I would just start blogging again on a Monday with a fresh mind and hopefully am back on track and into a routine again.


I've been on Steroids for the past two weeks for my Colitis and the side effects are bloody awful. I go back to the Gastro to see if I will carry on with the Steroids or another type of treatment. I will update and speak about this more in another post. Last week I visited the Dietician and gotten loads of information and have totally changed my diet so might do a post about that as its been hard and interesting. I had the best time in Essex the other week and it was so good to just free my mind, clear my mind and come back to Windsor with a fresh mind-set.

When I came back from Essex I felt motivated and although I had a bad train journey home with illnesses but I felt good but then when Sunday came I totally lost that motivation. It was a mixture of depression, anxiety, colitis, Ankylosing spondylitis, family being dicks and general being pissed off so I thought I am not in the right mind frame to blog or basically be human and socialise. Next Monday I am back to Essex for a week again and now that the kids are back to school I am going to let Beth do lots of blogging while I look after Bella for her... I haven't told her this but I'm sure she will be okay with it haha.

So this week I have to get my shit together! I have a doctors appointment on Wednesday, collect my monthly prescription, pack for Essex and try and blog as much as I can. Saying that it all depends on how my Colitis and back are. This post is just to explain where I have been and that I am back with a fresh mind :)

Love Katie

 

Katie's Health Update #9

So my last health update was only a few a weeks ago here but since then I have a few things to update you all on.

COLITIS
Yesterday I had an appointment at the hospital for a check up and instead of the appointment being under the Gastroenterology clinic, it was under the general surgery clinic which I didn't understand why to be honest and nor did the Doctor. Luckily the doctor I saw is someone I have been under for nearly 3 years now so she knew my history and what was going on. She looked at my report from my last colonoscopy and explained where my Colitis is and told me a lot more than I ever have been told. I explained to her how I don't think Asacol are doing much for me anymore and my flare up is so unbearable at the moment. She wrote me out a prescription for Steroids (not sure what they called) and has put me under the Gastroenterology department and for them to see me urgent/in few weeks time. I took my Mother with me and I am glad to be honest as it is always different from a doctor explaining my condition rather than me. So although my flare up is bad at the moment, my fatigue is horrible, still loosing weight and eyes are being affected but I felt like finally the hospital are doing something about it. 

ARTHRITIS
My Gabapentin medication have been upped to 300mg and the side effects from the 200mg was affecting me a lot so now it is higher the side effects are worse. The side effects are worth it to be honest as the medication itself does help with my back pain. I get  days where my back is in bits and then days where it is manageable with painkillers but never a day where I am not in pain. Over the past few weeks the pain has been going back of bum, legs and near my hips which happens every now and then. When the weather gets cold my Arthritis plays up a lot so although I love the cold weather, I am not looking forward to it.
  
ANXIETY/DEPRESSION/PANIC ATTACKS
My depression hasn't been good to be honest, I've had more down days than up days this month. My GP has upped my Sertraline to 200mg and have referred me to an Psychiatrist. My GP explained that because he has upped my dose of Antidepressants and I haven't heard back from Therapy than he feels that me being seen by an Psychiatrist will be more helpful than waiting for an Therapist appointment. I told him how the more pain I get with both of my illnesses that the more depressed I feel and as I can't control any of my illnesses/they wont get cured that I feel like I need to learn how to control my depression ASAP. As for my Anxiety that is always there in the back on my mind in some way or another. Whether if I am not in an anxious place, I will always feel on edge. I wrote a post HERE about fear and Guilt of an Chronic Illness and in this post I explained what fear I have lately and part of that is feeling anxious. As for my Panic Attacks, I haven't really been in any panicky environment to make me panic lately. I went to Essex at the beginning of August and obviously I've mentioned how I used to have a fear of trains ect and that is where my panic attacks started but I have gotten over the fear but I still do panic as I think it would be totally impossible of me to stop panicking while I am on the tube/train. My Brother picked me up on the way there and on the way back I got the tube and train back and luckily the tube was there quick and so was the train so I didn't have any time to panic.

OTHER
I wrote a post HERE about my Eye dramas over the past few weeks so read that if you want to know what happened. I am still on eye drops and to be honest the eye pain has gone but both of my eyes are still so red. The eye Doctor did explain how he was worried as people with Colitis/Ankylosing Spondylitis do get bad eyes so he did say he was going to send me to an specialist so I guess I shall have to wait for that appointment letter to come through. That's pretty much it for my health this month and I have no more appointments left for this month. In September I have Dietician which is to do with my Colitis as I am struggling with what to eat lately and then I have my Monthly GP app middle of the month.

I shall keep you all posted on how I get on with the Steroids for my Colitis which I haven't got yet as the chemist had to order them in. Also touch wood my eyes start to get better.

Love Katie xx  

Eye Problems//Katie Health

On Thursday night, I started getting pain around my left eye and then looked in the mirror and noticed on the lower eyelid it was very swollen and red looking. I have had this lots of time throughout this year but usually goes in a couple of days so I never been to the doctors about it. I thought lets see how it is in the morning to decide if to go to the doctors or not.



Me in the waiting room at the doctors for the second time this week haha

I woken up on Friday morning practically wanting to rip my eye out with the pain and it was swelled up like I have been punch and very red. I rang my GP at 1.30pm to see if I could get an afternoon appointment as my Mother was out till late afternoon so tried to get latest as possible so she could come with me. The only appointment I could get was 4.40pm with an Doctor I never seen before but I took the appointment and booked a Taxi to get there as by this point I was getting blurry vision. I thought because I've had this before and it's almost gone within few days that it will just be an normal eye infection and the GP would prescribe me eye drops but I couldn't be more further from the truth.
 


Waiting again outside in the rain haha

As soon as I mentioned my Ankylosing Spondylitis and Colitis, the GP instantly rang up the Prince Charles Eye Clinic at King Edward Hospital in Windsor. She done all the normal test and sent me back out in the waiting room while she was waiting to get through to the eye clinic. By this point I thought right okay then it must not be an eye infection but I didn't google before I left home so I didn't have anything in mind of what it could be. The GP called me back and I have to say although I never seen this Doctor before, she was obviously young so a newish doctor but she was so good, understanding and professional. She explained why she wants me to go to Eye Casualty tomorrow morning (Saturday), what to do and where to go if my eye gets worse and she wrote out an letter for me to take with me to the Eye Clinic. She didn't really give me an diagnosis but she did say its defiantly inflamed which is why she is worried. I didn't even know the Eye Clinic opened on a Saturday to be honest and I've been to that hospital most of my life haha.

That night the pain stayed the same but the blurred vision did calm down a lot which I was so relieved as that was what I was worried about the most. As I wear glasses anyways, but it bloody scares me not being able to see as I rely on my glasses so the blurred vision was scaring me a lot. I woken up early went to put make up on as normal then realised that eye make up was a no go so it literally took 5 mins to get ready haha. My mother came with me to the Eye Clinic and I think I was the first person in the waiting room but it soon got busy. I was feeling really nausea and lightheaded then I got the urge to be sick so I ran to the toilets and was sick. It was totally my fault as I taken my morning medication at 7.30am without any food so I fully accept it was my stupid own fault but soon as I was sick I felt better.

An Nurse from Eye Casualty called me in for an eye test so I sat down on the chair and it was very open, there was no curtains and although it was only like 3 nurses and 1 doctor near by, it still made me abit anxious. I read out the numbers as directed and the got sent back into the waiting room for the doctor to call me and luckily the Eye Doctor called me within 5 minutes. The Eye Doctor looked very young, fit and that made me even more anxious haha. He examined my left eye and then my right eye, the he put some sort of yellow dye into the eye which bloody was the weirdest feeling ever. He pretty much diagnosed my left eye as Chalazion which is a cyst like nodule inside the upper or lower eyelid caused by blocked oil glands. He wrote out an prescription for a steroid type eye ointment and the he began to get some more dye and I was abit confused as he just told me what was wrong.

The Eye Doctor explained to me because of my Ankylosing Spondylitis and Colitis eye problems are very common and he can see more inflammation in both of the eyes so wants to just put another type of dye in to see more so he put the dye in and said he is going to refer me to an specialist that can have a proper look. He said my right eye looks like it is in the early stages of a Chalazion so to apply the eye ointment in the right eye when it starts to cause pain. He also told me to do hot compresses on both eyes which is basically just get an clean hot flannel and firmly press on the eyes for 5 minutes and for about 3/4 times a day so I have been doing that which does help the pain.




My left eye and obviously another foot selfie in the casualty

I have applied the eye ointment and then few hours later while cleansing by face, I noticed my right eye is extremely swollen, red and very tender so I have applied the ointment in hope it clears that up aswel. If I said I wasn't worried the I would be lying but to me anything to do with my eyes is a big no no. I rely on my glasses, I get up and first thing I do is put my glasses on and they are basically my security blanket so if anything was seriously wrong with my eyes I would be a bloody mess. I always knew what Colitis and Ankylosing Spondylitis can do as I have obviously fully researched a lot but I guess you just never think it will happen.

So now I'm on the steroid ointment for 7 days and will do the hot compresses each day from now on and then await for eye specialised which I have no idea when that would be.

Has anyone else got Ankylosing Spondylitis and Colitis and got eye problems? Let me know :)

Love Katie x

Katie's Health Update #7

I didn't realize my last health update post was in March!! OPPS. I did write some health update HERE in May in a life lately post but I haven't really gone into detail about everything health wise.

image from pinterest 

COLITIS
I haven't really got any updates on my Colitis as I am still waiting on having another appointment with my specialist. I'm on Asacol 400mg twice a day which have been working but in the past two months I have been having flare ups more often than I was before. My symptoms of this is abdominal pain, blood loss when passing stools and loss of appetite. I feel sort of stuck as in March I was diagnosed put on medication and that is it, I am still waiting for a follow up to get more answers. 

AS/ARTHRITIS
It's been over a year since I was diagnosed with Ankylosin Spondylitis which I wrote about HERE and to be honest I have literally only just been able to learnt to cope with it. My symptoms are back pain, stiffness, joint pain with most recent being my right write and fatigue which makes me have zero energy. I'm on Co-codamol 30mg/500mg  x 2 three times a day, Tramadol 50mg x 2 twice a day and my latest medication is called Gabapentin 100mg x 2 three times a day and also Voltarol Gel which I apply to my back every night before bed and also on any joints which aches/when needed. It is alot to remember and I'm forever going back and forwards to the doctors and chemist but touch wood this medication routine is doing the best it can do. That isn't to say it don't hurt because it bloody hurts so much but I think I am getting better at dealing with the pain. I wake up every morning stiff without doubt and it takes about anything between a hour to two hours before I'm not stiff. Hot water bottles are my best friend when I'm having a bad flare up but also a good old cry helps haha. The fatigue and lack of energy has been the biggest thing to deal with lately. Although my insomnia has gone which means I am getting a good amount of sleep and waking up at 8 am every morning without fail, I am feeling so tired and no energy during the day and lately I have been making myself stay awake and do something because before I was going up to my bed and falling asleep and not waking up til early hours of morning which was making me crazy. 


Other illnesses stuff.. I will do another post on my depression, anxiety and panic attacks otherwise this post will be so long ha. Although it has been a few months since my last health update, not much has changed to be honest. Apart from one new medication, colitis getting worse and pain in wrist. I have an health assessment next month which I am very worried about to be honest, even though I know I'm clearly not well to work but I panic sooooo much. If anyone has had or have any tips on this assessment please let me know. This no energy is meaning I am taking double the time to do simple tasks so a normal few hours of basic housework lately is taking me a whole day. Once my morning Tramadol kicks in I literally try and do some housework and literally soon as I feel the painkillers wearing off I will stop and try and rest but some days the painkillers don't do their job. Another example is this post, now this would usually not take me long but I started at lunch time, had to sit down for over an hour then I have to sit up and down and so on and now it is 4pm so 4 hours to do this post grrrrr. I promise I will not leave my next health update for so long next time :)


Love Katie x 

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Dealing With Negative Comments #2

It's been over 5 months since I wrote this blog post HERE about dealing with negative comments. That post had so much amazing feedback on Facebook, twitter and emails and also the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society Facebook shared the link to my post there and I had amazing comments. It is one of our most read post and I think the reason why is because its one of those things that chronic illnesses people get 99% of the time but yet no one really talks about it.

Since that post I have been diagnosed with Colitis which I have written about HERE. So I have had a whole new experience of different types of crap comments. It has been harder to deal with it this time to be honest as I think I have gotten used to the comments about my Back but with the Colitis it is all sort of new to me. I have all new symptoms, medications with side effects, have to watch what I eat and have canceled so many plans because of a flare up. I still get the "exercise and your back pain will be cured", "You're too young to have arthritis", "You don't need your medication", "Take Painkillers and your be fine" but now I have a whole new type of comments related to my Colitis such as "Just take your Asacol and eat whatever", "You're eating the wrong food", "It is just IBS", "It will just go away if you loose weight". It has only been a few months since I was Diagnosed with Colitis so I don't really know how it will be controlled and treated. I am on a trial medication and then I go back to see my consultant to see where I go from there.

There is one comment that I have even been told by a "Doctor" and family members ect.... Oh your Depression and Anxiety are the reason you have a bad back and bad stomach. I went to see a doctor at a Pain Management Clinic and I never felt so small and offended in my life. He said it all down to Depression but if he read hes notes properly he would of seen that I was not depression for the past 3 years and my depression has only come back at the start of this year because I'm finding it extremely hard to deal with illnesses ect so its made me very depressed. I'm very very lucky my GP is the best doctor I have ever seen, he is so understanding and makes me feel like he is generally worried and concerned. My GP made me realized that going back on Anti Depressants are going to help as I spent ages being against going back on them and since I have been on them, I have felt like I can cope better. He always books double appointment so He can go through all of my illnesses and make sure my medication is up to date and right ones ect. I truly don't think I would cope if I had another GP. 

I'm finding it a lot harder to blog weekly as when I have a back and colitis flare up, I'm in agony and last thing I can do is sit on the comp and write. The NASS Facebook page is really helpful and also on Instagram there is lots of people suffering with chronic illnesses and it helps knowing that we are just normal people who post random pictures on Instagram ect. I've had someone say " Why are you on Facebook, twitter, Instagram and using your iPhone when you're sick" and I was like what you on about and they replied "Surely if you in pain you can't use your phone"... People like that are so uneducated and bloody rude who don't think before they open their mouths. 

Having a blog with Bethany has really helped me cope with my illnesses and knowing I'm not the only one. If you have chronic illness please email, twitter, Instagram or comment on the post as I would love to speak and know all the tips and trick to ignore negative comments and rude people. 

Love Katie x 

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Being Diagnosed With Colitis

If you have been reading my "Katie Health Update" post you would of know I have been having bowel problems for a long time but I never really went into too much detail. Without sounding gross its hard to explain bowel problems as you can imagine to be honest. 

A bit of a background.. I was diagnosed with IBS many many years ago so always suffered with bloating and had to watch what I eat ect then about 3 years ago I started getting other problems which in those 3 years its results in me having three operations, treated for various things and being put on many treatment/medication but still nothing seemed to help. In January of this year I had an operation which I wrote about HERE. During that operation a few biopsies was taken and I didn't really think much about the results as I have so much other illnesses going on that I didn't worry at all. On 20th February, I went to see my Surgeon and because I've not got any answers for years I simply didn't expect any news. Mr George (my amazing specialist) just came out with it but Im glad as he didn't beat around the bush and literally explained everything so simple and clear.. He diagnosed me with Colitis. I finally got the answer I've been wanting for so long. I now can rest knowing they know the cause to all the pain and trouble I have suffered with. You can click HERE to learn more about what Colitis is as to be honest I still don't know much about it but basically Colitis is inflammation of the inner lining of the Colon. It is such a relief to finally know the reason to all my symptoms over the past few years but its a weird feeling as I slowly begin to realise that this is a long term illness and treatment will be needed for a long long time. I've been given Asacol and seeing my specialist again next month to go through things properly and put a proper treatment plan into plan. 

image from pinterest 

So it is a weird feeling of being happy you finally got diagnosed but then also confused and sad about what the illness actually is. Having Ankylosing Spondylitis (I done a post HERE explaining everything) was such a shock that I've sort of became used to being told crap things about my health. Having a Chronic Illness it sort of makes you stronger in a weird way, I feel like I've put up with some much crap from people and so much pain than I have made myself more strong and I don't give a crap about things I use to worry about now. I suppose it hasn't really sunk in yet and maybe I should be worrying alot more than I am? Chronic/long term illnesses makes a MASSIVE impact on yourself and feelings, my head is always all over the place. I never know what to say, do or feel and guilt is a massive part of my life at the moment. Guilty for feeling ill, for being in pain and for moaning..  I always think I shouldn't moan as Im lucky to be alive?! Arghhhhhhh am I the only who feels alot of emotions and guilt about having illnesses? 

Love Katie x 

Katie's Health Update #5

Pics from my last operation.

Opps!! Its been well over a month since I done my last update here. I have honestly had so much going on that I have forgotten lol!! So my last update I told you all that I was getting ready for my next operation on the 29th January and I posted about it here. Click on that link to hear more but without going into too much detail it hurt so much, the actual operation and recovery itself was so painful. I get the results from this operation and my operation in December on 20th Feb so soon which I shall keep you all updated on. 



I also had my back specialist appointment few days before my last operation and I didn't get any answers I thought I would of gotten. The specialist I never seen her before and in all honesty I didn't like her, she didn't ask much questions, didn't read my notes properly and basically she has forward me to another specialist. That is only problem with my back people is that I never see the same person which is annoying. The first person I saw who is my actual main doctor for back she was brilliant but I never saw her again. My back is same and as always getting worse, it was a year the other day that I started getting this pain and nothing has really been done, I've just been given loads of medications and I feel abit fed up. So lets hope the other specialist they have referred to can give me answers. 

Bandage.. rather attractive haha 

Another thing that has recently started.. Few weeks ago I started getting pain and aches in my right wrist and just put it down to slept funny on it/cold weather but it was getting worse and seeing as I had a doctors app the week after it started I thought I would mention it to him. He has given me some gel and told to apply a bandage type on which helps alot but have to go back next time I go to see if any better if not he going to do a xray. He said it might be related to my back problems which is why he wants to keep an eye on it. The gel doesn't seem to do anything to be honest as I don't notice the pain go when I apply it. Sometimes the bandage helps alot and sometimes it makes it worse. It's something I never really suffered with and because it is my right hand as seeing as Im a righty I think it makes it worse because naturally I use that hand more. Its made simple tasks seem harder. I hope it just a pain that will go soon to be honest. I went bowling the other weekend for Beth's mum birthday and no idea how but I won bowling even though I was in alot of pain with my wrist and back lol 


I didn't know whether to write about this because it quite personal but I thought I might help someone. I was first diagnosed with Depression 10 years ago this year and while at my last doctor check up, the doctor just randomly ask me how I was feeling? and I sort of poured my heart out to him and thought I might aswel be honest to him. He is a newish doctor to me but I trust him as he has been so good with my back. I've been feeling depressed, anxiety and getting alot of panic attacks over the past few months, although I had all above for ages but recently it has got worse and I didn't want to admit it. The doctor booked a double appointment for the next week to speak more, so I went to the appointment and weirdly I opened up easily. He suggested talking therapy but its something I don't feel that would help at the moment, I've had therapy on/off since I was 12 so I didn't feel like it would help right now. Im not saying it doesn't help because it does but in my life right now I don't feel like its for me. I have Beth in my life now who I can talk to about everything so I know she is sort of my way of "therapy". So he suggested going back on Anti Depressant and at first I was like Hmmm... But think I thought to myself there is no harm of trying them again, I've been on so many types but my life is alot different now so why not give them ago. He has prescribed me ones that I was on few years ago and ones that are safe for me as Im on a few other medication. So I only been on them a week and obviously from previous years I know they take ages to kick in so I can't say much about them. I urge anyone who feels low or down to tell your doctor, I wished I done it months ago to be honest. Just telling your doctor takes a massive weight of your shoulders. 

image from pinterest.

Another thing that I haven't told the doctor about but Im going to mention it because its turning me into an emotional wreck. I've been having Insomnia for so long now. I haven't told doctors as I thought it would go but its getting too much now. I have tried so much to help but nothing seems to work. I could have the busiest weekend and still not sleep arghhhhh. 

That's all for my #5 health update, I will do it next month in the first week rather than leaving it for so long like last time. opps! Got my bowel specialist on Friday so hopefully I will get some answers :) 

Love Katie x 

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