Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart - E.M. AND M.E.
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In May 2012, I finally had to leave my job, my career, my social life. Almost a year after I got sick, I was officially diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) in the rest of the world
Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart - E.M. AND M.E.
2w ago
I haven’t written an update in over 7 months, which boggles my mind. It was the same amount of time between my two previous blog entries, too, so I’m not doing a very good job of keeping my friends and family up to date, but I find the speed at which our lives zoom by ..read more
Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart - E.M. AND M.E.
8M ago
I haven’t had spare anything (time, energy, bandwidth) in about 20 weeks. Wow, 5 months — for this long, it’s been one event after another. And January through March was a haze of bare-survival after my husband’s knee replacement surgery and the resulting toll on my body. (His body bounced back pretty well, thankfully.) In ..read more
Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart - E.M. AND M.E.
1y ago
I’ve reached a new physical low and I don’t have any idea of the best direction to go from here. When it comes to my health, I don’t do well emotionally without a plan of action. I can only rest easy when I have prepared for all eventualities to the best of my ability, whether ..read more
Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart - E.M. AND M.E.
1y ago
I finally had most of the colon testing done that I needed and I think I will put off or ignore the other proposed GI tests because I have one big anatomical* problem that is at the root of all of my bowel troubles and it needs surgical intervention. *My surgeon always says ‘anatomic,’ but ..read more
Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart - E.M. AND M.E.
2y ago
A note about my eye exam today: I need to update my blog more often — for myself, more than anyone else. This morning, I had my first eye exam in 7 years and I looked back here to see if I’d said anything about the last time and saw I’d had a reaction to ..read more
Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart - E.M. AND M.E.
2y ago
I’m going to start with the last things first: In the next month, I am having a colonoscopy under anesthesia, a fluoroscopic barium defecography, an anorectal manometry, an ACTH (Cortrosyn) stimulation test, a transvaginal ultrasound, a thoracic MRI, skin prick allergy testing, a teeth cleaning and exam, an eye exam, and two blood draws. As well ..read more
Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart - E.M. AND M.E.
2y ago
A DECADE A decade since I felt well. A decade since my body and health were not on my mind. A decade since my last cold, flu or bronchitis. A decade since my last vaccination. A decade since I enjoyed Halloween, my favourite holiday. A decade since I was in a lake or ocean. A ..read more
Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart - E.M. AND M.E.
2y ago
Yesterday, I was in a very dark place. I was (and am) beaten down by relentless bowel symptoms that eclipse all others and continue to monopolize every day. What food to buy, how to prepare it, when to eat and * whether to eat it, how much to eat and how much to blend it ..read more
Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart - E.M. AND M.E.
2y ago
Wednesday night, I spent 3 hours in an MRI tube getting brutal imaging done of my brain and cervical spine. In general, I actually enjoy MRIs — I find them soothing and almost always fall asleep (the keys to making it relaxing are really good earplugs and eye shades that you never take off ..read more
Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart - E.M. AND M.E.
3y ago
20 years ago today (I started writing this on May 27th), I stopped taking health for granted. It would be another decade before life as I knew it abruptly disappeared with the collapse of my immune system and the descent into severe ME/CFS, but this day in 2001 was the beginning of the end of ..read more