Thankfully, so far in this dreadful and tragic pandemic I haven’t contracted Covid-19, which is a big relief. However, the actions I’ve taken trying to avoid the virus have changed my life a lot. Due to being fed intravenously and being chronically ill from EDS / POTS I’m considered to be ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ to […] The post COVID-19 Update appeared first on A Reluctant Contortionist ..read more

Did you enjoy the lovely hot weather we had a few weeks ago? I enjoyed the sun but unfortunately I became dehydrated, which led to a kidney infection and a couple of days in hospital. I should have managed the situation better, but controlling your hydration levels in 80+ degrees heat when you can’t drink […] The post My Summer Holiday …in Hospital appeared first on A Reluctant Contortionist ..read more

I’m writing this article feeling dizzy, hot, and sick, plus I’m shaking, sweating and feeling a bit confused. The cause of these unpleasant but temporary symptoms is rebound hypoglycaemia. I doubt many people have heard of that term, so despite my confusion I’m going to try to explain it, and how someone who can’t eat […] The post Rebound Hypoglycaemia appeared first on A Reluctant Contortionist ..read more

November 2020 was the tenth anniversary of when I lost the ability to eat. It was an odd landmark in my life which I didn’t mention to anybody, but it has been on my mind so I thought I’d try to write a blog post about how I feel about it, and how my body […] The post Ten Years Without Food appeared first on A Reluctant Contortionist ..read more

Are you enjoying the coronavirus lockdown? Surprisingly, I know quite a few people who are. For some it’s given them unexpected time off work, time with their family, and they’ve been doing activities they haven’t had time for for years. But for others it’s been a truly awful period. Many people are miserable and scared, […] The post Coronavirus Lockdown appeared first on A Reluctant Contortionist ..read more

In 2015 I was diagnosed with osteoporosis, which is a common side effect of living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. EDS causes joint pain, which makes it difficult to exercise, and inactivity over many years can lead to weak bones. I was diagnosed after a bone scan, which is a brief non-invasive process that measures a person’s […] The post Dem Bone Scans – Update 2 appeared first on A Reluctant Contortionist ..read more

This article is the 33rd I’ve posted on my site, but the first for nine months. I wrote sixteen posts in the first year, but progressively fewer in each year since. So what happened? Did I lose interest and motivation? To some degree yes, but mostly I got very distracted. Article number nineteen – ‘Could […] The post 5 Years of ‘A Reluctant Contortionist’ appeared first on A Reluctant Contortionist ..read more

The 12-24 film has been shortlisted for the final of The Charity Film Awards! This means we did very well in the public vote. Thank you so much to everyone who voted, we’re very grateful. The Charity Film Awards have been great publicity for our campaign and have helped raise awareness of EDS. The post The 12-24 Film has been Shortlisted for the Final! appeared first on A Reluctant Contortionist ..read more

In 2016 I wrote a blog post titled ‘Could Nutritional Supplements Improve the Symptoms of EDS?‘ It’s the most viewed post on this site and has generated the most comments and emails by far. There is no treatment for EDS, so I was very intrigued by the idea that supplements could reduce symptoms. I sent […] The post The 12-24 campaign has raised £201,000! appeared first on A Reluctant Contortionist ..read more

The ’12-24′ film has been nominated for The Charity Film Awards! We made the film as part of a fundraising project for research into the benefits of nutrition on EDS, supported by the charities EDS UK and The Ehlers-Danlos Society. You can read details about the project and how it began here (link). Last year […] The post 12-24 in The Charity Film Awards! appeared first on A Reluctant Contortionist ..read more