#spoonie hacks

[thebibliosphere]

Something I've been recommending a lot to my fellow MCAS + POTS-sufferers at the moment, has been investing in a soup blender.

Apart from beta blockers, the primary treatment for POTS is increasing salt and water. A really good way of combining both and upping your nutritional value is by drinking things like bone broth or veggie stock.

But if you're like me with a ton of allergies (so you can't buy anything premade🙃) and bone broth raises your histamine, then you're left with the energy sapping task of making your own.

And I don't know about any of you, but when my nervous system is throwing a wobbler, the last thing I am capable of doing is standing up for long periods at a time over a hot stove.

Some people get around this by using a slow cooker, which is great if you can. I personally can't because slow cooking raises the histamine content of food (especially meat) and also, the clue is in the name, it's a slow cooker and sometimes my POTSie, ADHD butt needs food now-ish or as soon as possible and not 8 hours later. Instapots can be good, but they take up a lot of counter space and also I don't know if you've ever tried to release a pressure cooker valve when you can barely stand, but I genuinely think that's the closest I've come to dying and I've experienced both megaloblastic and hemalytic anemia.

Which is why we got a soup blender. They take up less space, are generally easier to clean, and also easier for me, at least, to use. All you need to do is roughly chop your ingredients up, dump them in the jug, add seasoning, fill the jug with water, hit the soup function and then sit your ass down for the next 20 minutes while this magical fucking thing both cooks and blends you some liquidy goodness.

I will say, don't invest in the instapot one. It's not worth the price point, and the motor burned out on mine after about six months. It was also a pain in the ass to clean. (The self clean was more of a "swish water around for 30 seconds" function and I can't tell you how many times I hurt myself trying to get gunk off the bottom.)

The one I currently have is a Ninja HB152 Foodi Heat-iQ Blender, which was a little more expensive, but in my opinion, far superior and better made. It's faster, makes either chunky or smooth soup, really good consistency dips, ice cream and smoothies. I've also used it to make alternative milks like oat milk and it didn't jam the blades.

It also has a great cleaning system that actually takes a full 6 minutes to run and really gets any residue off the base, and it also alerts you to things like the jug or lid not being secure, which is great when I'm brain-fogged and try to blend things without the lid on.

Anyway, this post brought to you not by Ninja but by @mothman-etd making me some leek and potato soup laden with enough salt to make this POTS episode manageable.

Just throwing the info out there. Hope it helps someone.

[teapartyfordeux]

As anyone with chronic pain/illnesses that have very little energy can attest, I wish bathing didn’t take up so much energy! I love treating myself to a nice bath, relaxing, taking my time with it, but it’s just so exhausting. I have to rest after taking a bath/showering and I’m honestly sick of it.

Anyway, rant over, but if you have any energy saving hacks, I would love to hear them.

[spooniestrong]

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A post shared by The Scaredy Cat Gardener (@thescaredycatgardener)

Love these hacks! Great for low spoons!

[cozycoffeereads]

Calling all chronic illness friends!

I saw this hack on Tik Tok by the user chroniclexi_ that I thought would be helpful to share with everyone else in case they haven’t seen it!

She took a book cart and turned it into a chronic illness cart that she keeps by her bed. It's filled with meds, drinks, snacks, and medical equipment. This is perfect for days you can't get out of bed due to bad pain or feeling sick. Just wanted to pass this along in case someone hasn't heard of it. I've been using one and it’s been helpful.

[desertwaterwitch]

I did it! I got a shoe thing to hang next to my bed like this post suggested for spoonies!

It came with two. I got smaller ones because I can’t fit a longer one there and I don’t need a ton, anyway. Also they’re on Amazon.

I’ll go from top to bottom:

1. Hygiene (not a huge deal if I can’t always get to it)

2. Medicines for colds and all that crap that I get all the time. My immune system hates me.

3. Other things like thermometer, ibuprofen, cough drops. I need ibuprofen quite a lot for my lovely conditions.

4. Bottom left is all for nausea. I have nausea patches, Dramamine, a nose thing that doesn’t really work well, and one of my medications I use for extreme nausea when I can feel a flare up coming for one of my conditions. I am always trying to feel around for it and now it’s there. I often knock it over.

5. Fruit snacks. And other food will go there. It’s for when I need food for several conditions. I’m not going into it, but yeah.

My daily meds are in their container on my table still. And my water bottles are next to my bed on the floor. I may add something else but I don’t know if I want to have that there or not. 🧐

PS: it’s crooked but I used too many spoons to care lol

I also keep ice packs in my mini fridge next to my bed.

[daltongraham]

Need spoonie device help

Anyone have a link for a big neck pouch I can use when walking around with a cane?

What I need is basically a big bag with a long strap to go around my neck to carry things around the house when I have to use my cane to hobble around (like I have the last few days when my back went out). I usually don't have pockets and even when I do, sometimes I have bigger things I need to carry.

My amazon search is only bringing up bags big enough for a phone. I need something I can, for example, put a 32 ounce water bottle in.

[hillbillyoracle]

got a Philips Hue lightbulb for my lamp today and I’ve got to say it’s a little bit life changing being able to turn a light on and off from my phone

I mean the color stuff is neat too - I really like the night light setting - but on a higher pain day like today, it’s so damn nice not to have to get out of bed to turn it on or off. I’d still be sitting here in the dark 2 hours after my nap if I couldn’t. 

[bubski-mcboo]

Just taking a moment to remind myself that when someone is wrong on the internet, that; A: It doesn't matter. B: If it does matter, it's another thing to write about in a story, which is a far more productive use of my keyboard warrior energy.

[thefundisorderdiary]

Ahhh finally some good fucken…

PEACE AND QUIET

[spooniesolutions]

Ideas?

Help my arthritic hands out! Our freezer drawers are ridiculously heavy and you have to pull the top one out by that thin wire edge right there--it kills my hands! Not only is it heavy and painful to pinch/pull, but the cold hurts even more.

I have this half-baked idea of using a section from a pool noodle and then sewing some kind of fabric around it to stabilize it... Does anyone have any better ideas? I feel like there's a simpler solution and I'm missing it.

(I could just use a towel or some kind of tool each time but it would be nice to have a permanent solution)

[wistsandmagic]

Cheaty sufganiyot for those of us with no spoons to make it = Krispy Kreme raspberry-filled doughnuts. Works just as well, dammit.

[eclectic-ways]

They should publish books in this format.

FYI: There are apps and plug-ins of this Bionic Reading for Google Play, Chrome, Microsoft Edge (Internet Explorer), Firefox, iOS (Apple) and on WEB

[betrayedbycinnamon]

Bought a Walmart cake to decorate.

[desertwaterwitch]

Hey all you spoonies! 🥄👋🏻

I have a suggestion for you, if you can make it happen.

🙌🏻 Mini-fridge in your room. 🙌🏻 Even better if it’s close to your bed.

It’s a life saver for me. I keep two ice packs in the tiny freezer part and water and drinks in the main part. I often need ice packs for my conditions, since I overheat sometimes. And also, for the epilepsy, which is only one of my conditions, I’ll get massive headaches after, even for the small ones. So I just grab an ice pack and when that’s no longer cold, I switch it for the other.

I’m aware not everyone can get one, but if you’re able, I recommend it! I got mine at Walmart in 2017 and it’s going strong! It’s so much easier than having to constantly call someone to your room to get you a new ice pack or whatever it is you may need in there.

Keep going! You got this! 💪🏻