f-fibro

[f-fibro]

Jan 6

I got a shock weighing in yesterday morning at 63.4kg. I’m going to try eating until I’m 80 per cent full again, and drinking lots of water. 

Today, mid-morning, I clocked in just below 62kg (phew, but no idea how long it’ll last).

Pain has been sporadic, with twinges pretty much all over the body. I’ve run out of probiotics and am thinking of stopping supplements as I finish them and seeing if there’s a difference.

Breakfast: Coffee with organic Oatly oat milk

- Yoga + meditation - 

Lunch: 1/2 Saladstop earth bowl + golden kiwi

Dinner: 1/2 Saladstop earth bowl

Snack: Banana

[f-fibro]

Happy new year you all! 💛 I wish you all a good start to the year, and I hope these chibirds can help you re-center your values and provide some positivity and motivation! You don’t have to be perfect - let’s just do the best that we can!

2020 Year of Motivation Calendar! ✨

[f-fibro]

A friendly ghost rest stop before you continue your day! 💗

Loading Penguin Hugs | Instagram | Patreon

[f-fibro]

Dec 5 & 6

Dec 5

Breakfast: Half sweet potato, banana oatmeal, hot coffee with sweetened soy milk

Lunch: Filet o fish, iced milo

Watched: Ad Astra starring Brad Pitt

Dinner: Nasi lemak with ikan bilis, peanuts, ikan kuning, otah, veggies // rooibos tea

Dec 6

I felt so anxious and worried this morning about triggering the fibro flare, but gentle yoga and meditation helped so much 🧘‍♀️☀️

Breakfast: Rooibos tea, half sweet potato, iced coffee with sweetened soy milk

Workout: Unwind yoga with MC Yogi on Alo Moves 🧘‍♀️ // meditation

Lunch: Pasta & romaine, roasted pumpkin, roasted eggplant, roasted capsicum, parmesan, olives, garlic prawn & yuzu salmon, garlic mayo dressing

Snack: Dark chocolate

Dinner: Fried prawn toji, eggs, onions, salad with sesame dressing, white rice, miso soup, iced hojicha

Snack: Dark chocolate

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Meds: Nasonex, Lyrica 150mg

Supplements: Now Foods Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg, Thorne Meta-Fem, fish oil, Now Foods Women’s Probiotic, Now Foods Betaine HCL 648mg, Now Foods L-Glutamine 500mg, Blackmores Sleep Sound Formula

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Reading: Python Crash Course: A Hands-on, Project-based Introduction to Programming by Eric Matthes

[f-fibro]

Dec 4

Am slightly dreading my six-month unpaid work break coming to an end soon enough (two months to go - and I have to decide what to do soon). I miss the money but worry that the stress may cause all the fibro symptoms (ice-pick stabbing in my head, shoulder and neck pains, unable to hold up head, painful lumps popping up on my head) to return. Hope for the best...

Fibro triggered by lousy sleep, stress over insurance plan, editing husband's article, learning Python? Finger hurt like OW just pulling on my sandals. Have cancelled pilates class tmr cos I'm not sure when I'll be fine again. How am I gg to return to work? 😕 Took an X as I was having anxiety / starting of a panic attack.

Breakfast: Hot coffee with soymilk, banana oatmeal, toast with kaya, half-boiled eggs, black tea

Workout: Cycle // walk

Lunch: Salmon sashimi, spinach and lady’s fingers with sesame dressing, squid sushi // peanut pancake

Dinner: Fish noodles with seafood

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Meds: Nasonex, Lyrica 150mg, Xanax 5mg

Supplements: Now Foods Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg, Thorne Meta-Fem, fish oil, Now Foods Women’s Probiotic, Now Foods Betaine HCL 648mg, Now Foods L-Glutamine 500mg, Blackmores Sleep Sound Formula

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Reading: Python Crash Course: A Hands-on, Project-based Introduction to Programming by Eric Matthes // Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

[f-fibro]

Dec 3

Pilates killed my legs. Had thoughts of running after class but was walking wobbly 🙈 amazingly, my nuun electrolyte water helped! managed to do a little run-walking. Or maybe the muscles loosened up with walking? (:

Am reading Carry On by Rainbow Rowell for some lightheartedness after Margaret Atwood's slightly depressing The Testaments. The idea is quite a rip-off of Harry Potter! For a new generation perhaps, with quite a lot of cursing and British / pop culture references. It can be quite funny though.

Also learning the programming language python, which is rather fun! (: 

Breakfast: Sweet potato, eggs sunny side up // iced coffee with soymilk, iced black coffee

Workout: Walk // pilates reformer intermediate // walk + run/walk + walk

Lunch: Shoyu salmon poke, lemon herb quinoa, romaine lettuce, carrot, cherry tomatoes, pickled beetroot, honey pineapple, sweet corn, wakame seaweed, tobiko, furikake and umami drizzle

Snack: Egg tart

Dinner: Nasi goreng ikan bilis

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Meds: Nasonex, Lyrica 150mg

Supplements: Now Foods Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg, Thorne Meta-Fem, fish oil, Now Foods Women’s Probiotic, Now Foods Betaine HCL 648mg, Now Foods L-Glutamine 500mg, Blackmores Sleep Sound Formula

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Reading: Python Crash Course: A Hands-on, Project-based Introduction to Programming by Eric Matthes // Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

[f-fibro]

Dec 2

Exercising always makes me feel better :) I would love to run then swim at the gym! Perhaps at a less crowded time.

Breakfast: Egg tart, banana, coffee w soy milk

Workout: Mat pilates // swim

Lunch: Gluten-free bagel with smoked salmon, cream cheese, chives, tomato, onion

Dinner: Cinnamon raisin bagel with cranberry orange cream cheese

Supper: Fishball soup, banana oatmeal

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Meds: Nasonex, Lyrica 150mg

Supplements: Now Foods Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg, Thorne Meta-Fem, fish oil, Now Foods Women’s Probiotic, Now Foods Betaine HCL 648mg, Now Foods L-Glutamine 500mg, Blackmores Sleep Sound Formula

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Reading: Python Crash Course: A Hands-on, Project-based Introduction to Programming by Eric Matthes

[f-fibro]

Spoonie life

That wave of emotional instability you get when your energy levels drop all of a sudden

[f-fibro]

What fibro is like

Think back to the last tune you had the flu. Conjure up those aches that go right to your bones. That is how I feel every day, especially first thing waking up.

Now imagine you are minding your business and at random intervals during the day an ice cube is touched to your bare skin. Your instinct is to cry out and try to get it off you. But no one else can see the ice cube and you get weird looks. You get tired of people asking so you deflect. Over tune you train your knee jerk reaction so you don’t draw any attention. You still feel the ice, but you know reacting would only complicate things and it always goes away pretty quickly.

This is what voodoo doll pains are like for me. Random sensations of stabbing or throbbing pain in my body and I’ve trained myself to not show it.

Lastly imagine you have an energy bar above your head. Everything you do drains your energy. Some things are larger hits like reading scientific articles or exercising. He’ll add a second bar so there’s one for energy and one for pain. Doing things that trigger fatigue or pain drain those bars. You have to pay special attention to every single thing you do during the day to not get those bars too close to empty. If you do, it will cut into what stats you get tomorrow. And overdrawing risks triggering a flare up of symptoms.

Add together the aches and short lived sensations and pain/fatigue bars and that is the closest approximation I can get to what my days feel like. Even then I know I’m coming up short.

So please be kind to people with chronic pain or chronic illness, we’re going through a lot more than we let on

[f-fibro]

Nov 27

Bloated after the avocado orange banana juice at lunch yesterday, then lying on my belly, then stuffing myself with the prawn soup and dessert. When will I learn not to eat when I'm not hungry, for fear of being hungry later? I'm not sure which is worse, getting indigestion from 7pm or eating dinner at 11pm and not being able to sleep 🙈

Anyhoo, my bum got a really good workout at pilates. Still blacking out when I stand up, hoping the iron pills help 🤞 this got really bad late at night, when I felt unsteady on my feet and lightheaded - took some effort to walk straight and stand up.

Brekkie: Coffee with evaporated milk, half boiled eggs, toast with kaya + margarine

Workout: Walk // elliptical // pilates reformer intermediate // elliptical // walk

Lunch: Jingsyuan tea // Shoyu salmon poke, lemon herb quinoa, carrot, cherry tomatoes, pickled beetroot, honey pineapple, sweet corn, wakame seaweed, garlic chips, tobiko, furikake, honey sesame shoyu sauce

Dinner: Nasi goreng ikan bilis

[f-fibro]

Nov 25 & 26

Yesterday was to try a new climbing place, but there was a thunderstorm so it became a rest day, although I felt like a bum. Today, tried the auto belay climbing wall at a new Virgin Active outlet, got my auto belay approved, and went for pilates reformer after that. In the Himalayan salt room now, and it's pretty comfy :)

Nov 25

Brekkie: Iced coffee x2

Brunch: Kaisen don

Dinner: Vegetarian vermicelli, tofu, cabbage, taukee, cauliflower, broccoli, gravy

Reading: Gene Eating: The Story of Human Appetite by Giles Yeo

Watched: Gemini Man

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Meds: Alzytec, Nasonex, Lyrica 150mg

Supplements: Now Foods Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg, Thorne Meta-Fem, fish oil, Now Foods Women’s Probiotic, Now Foods Betaine HCL 648mg, Now Foods L-Glutamine 500mg, Blackmores Sleep Sound Formula

Nov 26

Brekkie: Banana, iced coffee x2

Workout: Elliptical // climb // elliptical // pilates reformer intermediate

Lunch: Brown rice, kale, onsen egg, curried cauliflower, cabbage with chili oil, crushed walnuts, rosemary olive oil // avocado orange banana juice with kanten balls

Dinner: Prawn soup with fishcake // white fungus and lotus seeds dessert

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Meds: Nasonex, Lyrica 150mg

Supplements: Now Foods Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg, Thorne Meta-Fem, fish oil, Now Foods Women’s Probiotic, Now Foods Betaine HCL 648mg, Now Foods L-Glutamine 500mg, Blackmores Sleep Sound Formula

[f-fibro]

Nov 23 & 24

Spent the weekend getting my Kayaking 1 Star certificate! :) I thought I could paddle okay, but learnt many new things over 12 hours on (and in) the water. We did capsize drills - the rafted TX rescue involving a rescuer and an assistant - and progressed beyond that to scenarios where everyone capsized. We tried pair rescues too, where both parties were capsized, and paddle methods such as the C-sweep to change direction on the move, stern/rudder to control direction, and J-draw and classic draw to move sideways... and more! :) I hope to manage to have energy for 2 Star in the future. Till then will try to add some climbing and abseiling into the routine.

Nov 23

Brekkie: Granola bar, iced coffee

Workout: Kayaking

Snack: Muruku

Lunch: Prawn noodle soup, otah, chendol

Dinner: Peranakan buffet 🙈

Nov 24

Brekkie: Granola bar + iced coffee

Workout: Kayaking

Snack: Muruku

Lunch: Hot milo + leftover veggie pizza and crabmeat pasta

Dinner: Hot plate squid with carrots and onions, pickled daikon and kimchi // large passion fruit yakult with pearls (ODed on pearls 😵)

[f-fibro]

Nov 19

Finished reading Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s book The 4 Pillar Plan: How to Relax, Eat, Move and Sleep Your Way to a Longer, Healthier Life. Going to incorporate elements of it into my life and hope it works. 

Anyhoo, the flare-up seems to be disappearing at last! Phew 😅

I can’t seem to muster up energy to post my daily intake on the bad days, so I’m wondering if this log won’t be of use, since it’s important to find out what gets me back on track. Well I’ll keep trying.

Did Abseiling Level 1 last weekend, which fortunately had quite a few participants who took a while, so I didn’t need to strain myself much. Signed up for Kayaking 1 Star on the upcoming weekend, to get a new licence as well as clock some Vitamin D 🙂

Also, back to reading Gene Eating by Dr Giles Yeo. This scientist cracks me up at times 🤣 And eating Blackmores Sleep Sound Formula again, which helps me sleep 😴

Breakfast: Iced coffee x2, Tokyo honey banana, small sweet potato

Workout: Walk // pilates reformer

Lunch: Wasabi citrus tuna with brown rice, corn, black beans, lettuce, avocado, furikake, tobiko // iced latte with oat milk

Workout: Walk

Snack: 99% chocolate

Dinner: Avocado miso poke, brown rice, lettuce, wakame, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, carrot, corn, furikake, tobiko, umami drizzle

Managed to get five colours of fruit and veggies! :D

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Meds: Alzytec, Nasonex, Lyrica 150mg

Supplements: Now Foods Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg, Thorne Basic Prenatal, fish oil, Now Foods Women's Probiotic, Now Foods Betaine HCL 648mg, Now Foods L-Glutamine 500mg, Blackmores Sleep Sound Formula

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Reading: Gene Eating: The Story of Human Appetite by Giles Yeo

[f-fibro]

If you find my disability frustrating, please stop for just a minute and think about how it feels to me.

[f-fibro]

Nov 14

So I’ve been missing for a while - this time due to pains, fatigue, fibro fog and, well, due to fog I can’t recall what else. I can barely hold up my head without support, and spent like three or four days without exercising. I managed to do pilates yesterday but immediately was sapped of energy. Hoping this passes soon. 

[f-fibro]

Nov 7

Frankly really fatigued. Didn't sleep as much yesterday. Another painful lump on the bottom right of scalp. Ankle injury hurts while walking. It's been almost seven weeks since it was sprained. I hope it's not a fracture. Will rest the foot more. Need to get more rest overall myself. Spent quite a few hours reading and researching on dog ownership yesterday. Guess today shall be a break of sorts :)

Anyhoo, I'm exercising heaps, but not losing weight. I suspect the medication is still causing weight gain as I'm not over eating 🤷‍♀️ this is frustrating.

Brekkie: Iced coffee

Workout: Walk

Brekkie 2: Banana, Tokyo banana, half boiled eggs

Workout: Walk // elliptical // pilates reformer intermediate

Lunch: Kimchi fried rice with seafood and egg, seaweed soup, Korean pancake

Snack: Cheezo green tea

Dinner: Spicy salmon poke don with brown rice, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, carrot, pickled beetroot, corn, wakame seaweed, tobiko, furikake, umami drizzle

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Meds: Alzytec, Nasonex, Lyrica 150mg, Fucidin

Supplements: Now Foods Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg, Thorne Basic Prenatal, fish oil, GreenLife Probiotic Pearls Acidophilus, Now Foods Betaine HCL 648mg, Now Foods L-Glutamine 500mg