The Blogging Platypus

Living with chronic pain that is not adequately addressed by traditional pharmaceutical medications means that we often look to alternative treatments for relief. Aside from gentle stretching, doing the best I can with stress management (a perpetual struggle), and warm Epsom salt baths, I use cannabis to help me to have some semblance of life. For those who have not ventured into the world of cannabis, there are several different strains that can be helpful in mitigating the often debilitating pain that chronic pain patients experience, often on a daily basis. I like having a variety, as I use cannabis as my medicine cabinet, in a sense. Here in Colorado, where recreational cannabis is legal, there are several dispensaries in our area. Just avoid the touristy areas, because those often have higher prices, which do not necessarily mean that you are getting a better product. We typically pick up $5 grams, along with 10 pre-rolls, which typically lasts us two weeks or so. Medicine tha...

Cannabis has been a part of my life for the last couple of years. I started out with my medical card when we lived in New Mexico. I still remember the first strain I bought. Let me tell you, after not having used cannabis in a decade or two, starting out with Gorilla Glue may have not been the best idea, but it gave me a good couch lock. For those outside the chronic illness community, couch lock may sound like a boring vegetative state, without the artificial life support. However, for me, and I would guess many others, the couch lock effect is exactly what I need at times. In some of the research I have been doing to figure out what exactly is going on with my body, I stumbled across something that made total sense. In addition to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and hypermobility, there’s something called autonomic dysfunction, or dysautonomia. The autonomic nervous system regulates so many of our automatic responses that keep us alive. From breathing and blood pressure, to digestion a...

A month or so ago, we picked up a dresser during the trash pickup for large items that we have about twice a year. Matt saw it while he was out and about, then he came home and told me about it. We jumped into the car and away we went, down the street. Well, it wouldn’t fit in the car. So, back home we drove to get our dolly and walked down the street where the gem was waiting. It is a little rough around the edges, but who isn’t, right? Matt and I have downsized our clothes over the years, so now we share a three drawer dresser and a small closet. It is an older dresser, so, much like older homes, it is smaller when you compare it to more traditional, modern-day dressers. As such, in order to ensure that all of our folded items fit, I started folding pants and shorts in thirds and it seems to be a perfect solution! Over a dozen pairs of pants fit in a drawer when folded in thirds! There are still a few things we want to do with it in order to bring it back to the show stopping conditi...

Have you ever felt like you caught a vibe, feeling, or energy from someone as easy as some people catch colds? If you enter a room where there was an argument between two people, can you pick up on that emotion? It has been suggested that these sensations could indicate that you are a highly sensitive person, or HSP. It can be really easy for highly sensitive people to become overwhelmed with not only what’s going on in their lives due to a deeper processing of information, but also the emotions and energy of others. The differences in processing information also means that those who identify as HSP are often more creative and empathetic. You can’t have a blessing without a curse, right? Self-care is an integral part of our overall health. However, due to the high levels of stress that HSPs experience, self-care is an essential step. Fortunately, there are some self-care steps HSPs can take to combat the emotional and physical effects of living with the stress and energy of othe...

Coffee has been a part of my life for, gosh, nearly half of my life. However, over the years, I have cut back on caffeine, only consuming it before noon for the most part. Coffee and caffeine can sometimes lead to anxiety, irritability, and sleeplessness in some, but others may report no undesirable side effects. Just another example of how different one person can be from the next on a molecular level. Undesirable side effects are nothing new for us in the chronic illness community. The medications some of us have to take can be accompanied by some uncomfortable side effects that may require an additional medication or two. It seems like a laundry list of potential symptoms that could occur, with some of them worse than the initial symptoms for which you are taking the medication. It becomes a vicious cycle. Due to what seems like playing a medication shell game, I have started to look for non-traditional approaches to health. It started first with cannabis a few years ago when we...

As the temperatures rise, so does our need to quench our thirst. With warmer weather, the risk for dehydration becomes quite real. I have lived in all sorts of weather, from the midnight sun that graced the skies in Alaska, to the instantly drenched humidity of coastal cities such as Boston, MA and Portsmouth, VA. The heat, albeit of the dry variety, of Texas and New Mexico are thankfully a thing of the past since our move to Colorado. Our goal from here on out is to live places where having air conditioning or a swamp cooler is not necessary for our comfort. We use fans and open and close windows/blinds/curtains in response to the weather and location of the sun. Seems to work well. While we may not need an air conditioner to be comfortable, the risk of dehydration is still quite present. In addition to the temperatures, some medications may increase the odds of becoming dehydrated, so making sure that you drink enough fluid during the day is essential to our overall health. While s...

For those of us living with chronic illnesses, we often look for alternative methods to address our symptoms, as many times, medications just don’t cut it. Sure, there are so many new medications that are coming out in an attempt to treat a growing population of patients, but it often feels as if medications never do enough to fulfill the promises the television ads makes. So, we search the aisles and shelves of natural food stores, big box stores, and online in hopes that we can find something, anything, that will help us to live our lives with fewer symptoms that like to thwart our plans. I have seen so many snake oil companies that tout that their product will regrow your hair, help you lose weight, and let you live your life in peace and harmony, with a steady supply of butterflies fluttering around your head like some Disney princess. Sadly, many times we end up wasting our money on these false and empty promises. Why? Because we are desperate. Desperate to feel better. Desp...

Some may enjoy their coffee as black as their winged eyeliner, while others prefer adding a little sweet and creamy extras. Neither one is better than the other as a whole, but those who drink their coffee in a more “pure” form may have it a little easier when it comes to the accouterments needed to enjoy their morning brew. For those of us who like to add a little something to liven up our cup of Joe, it can be difficult, especially when you have a restricted diet. I have been living the gluten free and vegan life for a few years now and cannot see myself going back. However, one issue that I had when switching over was a lack of tasty coffee creamer options that didn’t cost an arm and a leg (either literally by how much sugar they contained, or how hard they hit the pocketbook). I tried a few recipes that I found online, but many of them seemed to take too much time and effort, not to mention more than a few ingredients. I was looking for something easy that was affordable ...

Coffee. That warm liquid that gives many of us life. There seem to be just as many different ways to make coffee as there are roasts of the bean. You can go with the old traditional drip method, or the single use pods that are pierced by magicians living in the machine. I was a drip girl for most of my life. I came from a family of drips. There was an occasional percolator while camping, but for the most part, it was drip coffee. The science and mechanisms of use were rather straightforward, which is a good thing, because complex procedures prior to coffee would not bode well. About 10 years ago, I switched from the tried and true drip method, in favor of the even MORE simple method of using a French press. I use an electric tea kettle that is close to 10 years old and it’s still going strong! We use the kettle at least twice a day, one for my morning coffee, then for our evening tea. It boils rather quickly too, so the part of the process that is the most time consuming is the s...

Okay, so maybe it won’t change your life, but your taste buds will thank you, as will your gut! I ran across this recipe on Pinterest and have made it a few times. One of the things I love about it is how easy it is to customize. It’s also a no-rise bread, so you don’t have to worry if your yeast is still good. But there is a setting period that you will want to plan for when making a loaf of this delicious bread. I have been having two slices of this bread for breakfast lately, but originally made it before we took a road trip to ABQ. I wanted to have something that was tasty and would hold up well. Traveling with a special diet can be tricky. Sometimes I am limited to peanuts, some types of chips, and fruit, as those are typically the only vegan and gluten free options at gas stations along a route. Like I said, you can customize this in so many ways. Just make sure that you set aside some time for the loaf to set before baking, and you may want to bake it a little longer, depend...

Making life easier is my jam as of late. Not that I want to be lazy and rely on hacks, but rather my energy is often limited by how many spoons I have to do my daily tasks. If I can make my life easier and still be able to do some of the things I want to do, I’m about that life. Here are three things that make my life easier: Using a file folder holder to organize cutting boards Meal prepping for the week Being green and clean with reusable/washable sponges and rags We are a mixed household, in that there are meat eaters and a vegan living under the same roof. Cross contamination is a big risk, be it gluten or animal products, so to make my life easier, we have a variety of cutting boards. They can take up a lot of space or be difficult to organize. However, using an upright file folder holder has been my savior! This way, I can easily grab the cutting board that suits my needs for what I am making. Now, that’s what I call an organization lifehack that is worth my time! The...

Disclaimer: I live in a state where recreational and medical cannabis is legal. I have lived with the symptoms of several chronic pain conditions for a number of years. From fibromyalgia and scoliosis, to neuropathy and connective tissue disorders, my body is in pain daily. The only thing that seems to change about my pain are the locations and intensities. Unfortunately, very little can be done in regards to effective pain relief. I have tried a variety of pharmaceutical prescription medications, often experiencing significant side-effects, which preclude me from even reaching the therapeutic dose. I often get gastro side-effects, but also have experienced a total mental numbness, lack of appetite, and swelling of my hands. I recently started a new medication for my ice pick headaches, which I hope will help to alleviate those annoying and painful sensations. Before it is suggested, I have completely changed my life after getting sick. I switched to my current diet of gluten free...

One of my hobbies lately is cooking recipes I come across on Pinterest. I can scroll Pinterest on my phone for hours a day, selectively pinning everything from Tiny House Awesomeness, to a board I call Nothing But Carrot Cake. Somewhere in between those I stumbled across a recipe for BBQ Pulled Jackfruit. If you don’t know jack about jackfruit, it is time you learned! I find it to be tastier than any vegan meat substitute out there. You’ll typically find it in the canned food section of your local health food store. We pick up ours from our local Natural Grocers. When cooking with it, just make sure to rinse it THOROUGHLY. Otherwise you might get stuck with a brine-y tasting and smelling dish. I ended up making two baking dishes full of BBQ pulled jackfruit, which I later used to make some delicious taquitos. Dinner was delicious, but the mess it left in the baking dishes were not. We tried soaking them overnight to see if we could get the sticky BBQ sauce remnants off the pans. No l...

For the past few years, I have been getting what I can only describe as headaches that feel as if a sharp ice pick is being plunged into my head. These headaches typically last less than a minute, so it is hard to take something, because as soon as I do, the pain will be gone. But, more will come. They always do. I also get hatchet-type headaches, which sound just how they feel. Living with chronic pain, we become used to pain 24/7, with some pain easier to ignore than others. When it comes to my ice pick headaches, I would get, on average, a dozen per day. They are brief but incapacitating. They literally make me stop what I’m doing for a brief period of time. A visit to a neurologist confirmed what I had described. I have now been diagnosed with ice pick headaches and have a prescription for indomethacin, which should help to reduce the severity and frequency of such attacks. So, what exactly is indomethacin? According to the trusty WebMD, it is a medication that can help to reli...

The term self-care seems to have taken over social media over the past few years. This buzzword is easy to find, from product packaging to social media influencers touting the need for this thing called self-care. But what is it and why has it spread like the floating island of plastic trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? If you were to ask me five years ago about self-care, I would not have an inkling about what it is, what it entails, and why I should practice it on a regular basis. I was attending graduate school and working as a freelance writer, hustling for as much work as possible. I had no time to even think about such a thing as self-care. Little did I know at that time, but in a few years, self-care would be an integral part of my life. These days, self-care happens each day, in different ways. Being kind to yourself counts as self-care. Treating your body with the care and respect it deserves and needs counts as self-care. Relaxing in a warm Epsom salt bath counts...

Sometimes the simple option is the best, and other times, well, you kick yourself for not taking the other options before finding yourself in a jar of pickled pigs feet somehow. My face felt like it was running a risk of ending up with those poor trotters, as the skin on my eyelids, under my brow bone and the outside corners of my eyes was determined to fall off. It would be red and flakey, like biscuits covered with ketchup. Just as tasty too. I tried a variety of things to encourage my skin to stay, you know, where it belongs. I don’t wear makeup, so it wasn’t a new product. I tried cleaning my face with a cucumber witch hazel product, followed by 100% aloe, even neosporin and anti-itch stuff. Nothing was helping and I know that my doctor couldn’t do anything soon because it would have to be a tele-health appointment with the VA in ABQ. Then if a cream was needed, it would be mailed from ABQ to my home, with the whole process taking up to a month. I eventually ran out of the ...

There was a time, not too long ago (days, hours even) where I would never consider wearing these shorts, let alone take a picture and post it online! But, sometimes you just have to say FUCK IT and wear a piece of clothing that strikes fear in your heart. Granted, it’s not like I am going anywhere other than the backyard, but it still helps me to get used to appreciating my body, rather than loathing it. Having a chronic illness means that you get to develop a new relationship with your body. It is easy to feel as if you are not dependable when it comes to doing what you used to, before “getting sick.” However, the blame should not rest upon you, but rather your body is on it’s own schedule and we’re just along for the ride. My hips pop in and out a few times a day, but on the bad days, where they pop out a lot, the next few days are full of so much pain. I have to literally relearn how to move, twist, bend, and where my limit in regards to range of motion SHOULD be, rather than...