Birthday Balancing - Gastroparesis (Strikes Again)

Hey Hey Hey.... 

It's a 22 year old now talking to you! Does that make me more mature now I'm a year older? 

HAHAHAHA Doubtful! 

I may be physically paying for the last few days now, but they sure were worth it! Our birthday only comes round once a year and I was going to make sure I had fun for my birthday. Gastroparesis can suck my ding dong to be polite! 

They even got the Spice Girls in there .... KINDA!

I've had a fun-filled 4 days of birthday goodness starting by going to see the #NoFilterShow with one of my bestest friends who lives all the way over in Scotland. It starred 3 hilarious Youtubers who I LOVE; Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart & Mamrie Hart. They created a comedy show and were kind enough to bring it over to the UK just in time for my birthday week. The show was absolutely hilarious and my cheeks and stomach were killing by the end of it. Definitely a good work out and they say laughing is the best exercise... don't they? I filmed the whole thing without even realising it because I was too busy wetting myself laughing which I'm uploading (or maybe even uploaded by the time you read this - who knows with Youtube Uploads haha) to Youtube. So if you would like to watch their London #NoFilterShow then head over to my Youtube channel by clicking HERE. 

"AIR" - I think we went on this about 4 times?

Next up was 2 days at Alton Towers Theme Park. I'd never been before and had wanted to for ages as I am an adrenaline junky! My best friend took me for part of my birthday present. She'd booked the hotel, the park tickets and even did the two and a half hour drive whilst I sat there half asleep from the night before. How lucky am I?! Although the weather was pretty darn - well.... shitty to be quite honest, we didn't let it stop us having an awesome time. Saying that, I must tell you that going on upside down or fast roller coasters whilst it is pouring with rain does feel a bit like you have daggers going into your eyes at times! OWCH! Weather aside, we had an amazing time and got on all the rides we did without almost any queues which was even better as I am VERY impatient. We got some hilarious pictures and have some amazing memories from it! I also have some very sore legs from it as Alton Towers seemed to be a very large park that was VERY hilly. There were definitely more hills than flat land which is great exercise but leads to a very achey Sophie. At least I walked off all those donuts I may or may not have eaten over the two days ;) Whoops. My tummy behaved itself relatively well which was the best birthday gift I could have asked for.

"THE SMILER" - It is a pretty epic ride thats for sure :)  

"NEMESIS" - one of my favourite rides for sure!!!

We came back just in time for my actual birthday! My birthday consisted of opening presents, shopping, eating donuts, eating frozen yoghurt, eating pizza and eating more donuts. I think I may have a donut problem. I have eaten and treated myself to way too much food and none of it being healthy or low in fat. Before anyone says anything like you don't need to lose weight... I am fully aware of that and don't look at fat content to make me slimmer but it is because fatty foods take longer to digest and therefore tend to block my inside up and cause more pain! But it was my birthday ... and I like donuts! My mum and I went shopping to the Stratford Westfield Shopping Centre to spend birthday money I was given and well... who am I kidding... we are female and do not need an excuse to go shopping! We spend around 5 hours wondering the shops and had nice girly time. I did very well in the end and got some nice things to go with all the amazing generous gifts I received! We tried crazy hats on and went crazy on the PinkBerry Frozen Yoghurt toppings. *Mouth watering just thinking about it*. I ate the whole pot and am still claiming that there was a hole in the bottom of it and it disappeared before our eyes.... my mum isn't buying it and reckons I pigged out. Then to finish the evening off, my brother created a lil' something for me. I have never particularly liked birthday cakes (yes, I know, I'm weird) even before all my health rubbish so he made something just for me out of a plain sugary donut I had bought back from Alton Towers. He added some jam and some icing sugar with a candle and BAMM..... my very own donacake? Or in English, a Donut Cake. That baby slid down very nicely may I add :P! 

The Dog Has NO Chance!! 

Thank him above, my stomach behaved pretty well for the most part over my birthday weekend/days! Now, I will suffer the consequences knowing that I had a pretty fantabulous birthday and spent it with the ones I love. What more could I ask for? Well, besides a nice big diamond but you know... I'll let that one slide this year :P 

On a serious note, even though I am most certainly suffering now with a very achey body, painful stomach and exhaustion, I had a really good time and am proud that I managed to walk round all the parks and then the shops. I had a great time and am very grateful for everything I received. As for Gastroparesis, I believe I won this battle so it can shove it where the sun don't shine! :D

I have an appointment with my pain specialist coming up this week so I'm hoping he has some sort of plan because although I did have a fab time, I am in a lot of pain now and struggling to eat a single thing now that every things builds back up. I know I ate all the wrong things and maybe too much and just had adrenaline making it feel like I wasn't in as much pain as I was, but I can't deal with this pain all the time. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't in anywhere near as much pain as I can be at times, but the pain was certainly there and did get quite bad at times. I was always thinking in my mind of what the consequences would be and trying to balance out everything in order to try and keep myself stable and not drop.

I'm trying to be more fit and active. Trying being the key word mind you. All the walking may have made me exhausted and achey, but it certainly helped my tummy when I did eat. Or at least I think it did. It may have been just a good period and luck or it may actually help the digestive system because of gravity and all that jazz. So, I've been doing some exercises and right after posting this will be going on a nice long walk with the dog and my bestie. I even did a handstand today!! Don't ask! I am most probably going to pay for this A LOT but I used to love dog walks and gymnastics and almost joined a cheerleading group twice. I love cheerleading and would love to join a group so that is my target. All be it potentially well out the question but I really want to so.. tummy... screw you. I don't mean cheerleading like 'give me an A.. A', I mean like the full on proper American flips and stunts and all that good stuff. I know, I know.... I'm mad and probably being totally unrealistic but it's good to set targets right? Besides, we only live once!!

Rightio, just before I go for now, I want to say a huge thank you for my family, my bestest friend and to everyone who made my birthday special. Thank you for the generous gifts and even just for the texts or Facebook comments wishing me a Happy Birthday because it means a lot that you would take the time to do it for me. 

My question for the post is, are you an adrenaline junkie and if so, what gets your adrenaline going?

Stay Strong

<3

6 Things About Chronic Pain You Didn't Know You Knew!

Hey Hey Hey

I want to share and adapt on a blog post I read that gives a great insight on what dealing with Chronic pain is like. What it is like to deal with Chronic Pain everyday, is something you can never fully understand unless you have experienced it. This post, will hopefully help you understand how it feels and affects people both physically and mentally! I know some of you may have seen a post like this already, but it never hurts to get it out more and more to try and explain in any way we can. 

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Chronic pain isn't just constant pain, though, that would be more than enough for anyone to handle. The truth is, chronic pain always brings 'friends' along. These added challenges are obvious when you think about it, but are rarely taken into consideration by "healthy" people unless it slaps them in the face. Remembering that like all bullies, chronic pain travels with a gang may help you better understand the life of someone in chronic pain.

Pain is exhausting. We have all had a bad headache, a twisted knee, period pain (assuming you're female..duh!), or a pulled muscle, and by the end of the day it is a monumental effort just to read a text message. You may not have consciously realised it, but the pain that has relentlessly nagged you through out the entire day has drained you as bad as any flu would. Even when you try to ignore the pain, it stays in the back of your mind, screaming for attention whilst draining away all of your energy. With chronic pain, this is amplified because it isn't just one day, it is months or even years of struggling to live with this very demanding money on your back. It all builds up and catches up with you BIG time. I'm tired just thinking about it to be honest.

I'm so tired... I'll don't mind where it is!

Pain causes poor sleep. You would think that after a long day of fighting with constant pain, sleep would be a great relief. Unfortunately, that is just a dream (pun intended). For starters, chronic pain can make it hard to even get to sleep let alone staying asleep. The pain will pul you right out of any deep sleep leaving you spending the rest of the night tossing and turning (and getting tangled in your duvet). Many pain patients take medications to sleep because of how vital sleep is to your health, with or without chronic pain or illnesses. Even when you do manage to sleep, the pain signals continue in your brain and can cause the sleep to be broken, restless and funnily enough, exhausting!

Pain makes you cranky. Chronic pain sufferers aren't (all) just cranky buggers by nature. Pain drains you physically and mentally. When you are in pain, even the simplest things feel overwhelming and people tend to react accordingly. You may have only asked your chronic pain spouse if they would like to go to a movie, but in their head they have considered if they can sit still that long, how much medication it would require, if they have the energy, if they will stay awake through the movie, how high their pain is now and how it might increase, if the go will it make getting through tomorrow harder, and most importantly, give all this, will it be any fun. They didn't grouch at you for the fun of it, pain just makes it very hard to remember that everyone else is coming from a totally different perspective, where a movie is just, well, a movie. 

I'm NOT cranky!

Pain kills your concentration. Most chronic pain patients fight like crazy to live a normal life. They try to ignore the pain and go about their days, but it's just not that easy. Even when you ignore pain, push it to the back of your brain and focus on, say, work, pain doesn't give up. You can sit at your desk working on your computer trying to concentrate, while your pain plays the part of a toddler or a dog, desperate for your attention. Pain will poke you, tug at your clothes, spill juice of your keyboard, scream your name and try to use you like a punch bag. No matter how hard you try and forget about it, part of your brain is always processing the pain and it often pull your concentration to terrifyingly low levels, or to no concentration at all.

Pain damages your self esteem. The pain has made you tired, cranky and killed your concentration. Being exhausted all the time makes everything more of a challenge than it should be, your quick temper has strained or destroyed a once strong interpersonal relationship and your inability to concentrate has hurt your job performance. You can't do what you want to do with your time, even when you try and it seems like everyone is mad or unhappy with you no matter your efforts. Life as you know it is crumbling and all because of.... you? Most pain sufferers blame themselves for these failing, remembering that they used to be able to do everything. They see chronic pain as a sign of weakness or a personal defect that they should be able to overcome. The end result is that on top of everything else, chronic pain damages your self esteem.

A smile & an appearance can be deceiving! 

Pain causes isolation. When you're in constant pain, the last thing you want to do is attend the company party, the neighbour's backyard barbecue, or even small gatherings with your closest friends and family. In fact, it's the last thing you'd even consider or think about. Your friends and family are still the light of your life, but the physical and mental energy it requires to go out and be social can just be too much to handle. You start to bow out of parties and cancel plans but not because you don't want to go, but because you just can't. Eventually people stop inviting you, calls to make plans decline and the scary thing is, you don't actually mind. The pain has slowly but surely isolated you.

What are some other affects of pain seem obvious, but aren't?

Remember, just because someone is smiling on the outside, it doesn't mean they are okay on the inside. Don't make assumptions that just because the person looks fine that they are not struggling!

Stay Strong

<3

Original Post/ Credit To:  

http://invisibleillnessbattle.wordpress.com/2013/09/07/6-things-about-chronic-pain-you-didnt-know-you-knew/