Fibromyalgia: why I had such a hard time getting diagnosed

First of all, what is Fibromyalgia (FM)? Emerge Australia, a national organisation that provides education and support for people associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), describes Fibromyalgia as: "A condition with symptoms that include widespread, pervasive and chronic pain and tenderness in the body, and muscle stiffness, often accompanied by fatigue (hence a relationship with ME/CFS), cognitive …

Fibromyalgia: A reminder to pace yourself while on holidays.

I've reached the end of my holiday and have finally worked out how to pace myself while on a break. I have fibromyalgia; a condition that causes widespread chronic pain and tenderness in the body, as well as sleep disturbances and fatigue. Before my condition really became noticeable (and subsequently diagnosed), I fully believed that …

Hiking at Yanchep National Park

I'm so unbelievably excited to be going to Yanchep National Park tomorrow! Yanchep is a suburb about 50 minutes drive North of Perth, and a relatively short, scenic drive from my own suburb. It happens to be one of my favourite places in Perth, for so many reasons. I've lived in Perth for most of …

Finding myself on a swing set: so cliché that I cringed.

Yesterday morning I remembered myself, and it was so cliché that I cringed. It was one of those see-the-light moments that I always scoff at when I see them in movies, but I'd never really been that lost before so it was easy to dismiss those movie moments as dramatising. I didn't realise just how "lost" …

Making my way out of a funk.

I'm in a funk and it is one of the funkiest funks I have ever been in. I am currently going through a pretty major upheaval in my life, which I won't elaborate on just yet out of respect to the others involved. This upheaval was planned. I knew well ahead of time what was …

Cheap, bulk, crockpot meals: Spicy cider pulled pork

I love recipes that are versatile, where you can add any combination of herbs or spices and make multiple different meals from it. I love these recipes even more if it takes little effort for me to make them. My chronic condition makes my joints ache- and this is especially true for the joints in …

Improving your mental health: Five enjoyable things to boost yourself when you’re at a low point.

I've been AWOL for quite some time, but a friend of mine recently linked this blog on his much more professional blog and now I'm feeling some pressure to get content out. It's not that I've been too busy or lacking in ideas. In fact, I've been overflowing with ideas but I've been through some significant …

I’m a sucker for luxury: the things that make my life easier.

Despite growing up in a lower income, single parent household (or perhaps because of) I've always had a taste for luxury. I don't mean designer handbags or expensive clothes- I enjoy op shopping too much to care about those- I mean pampering, comfort and convenience. There's a fairly simple reason for this; the consistent pain, …

A weekend getaway of tension, water guns, food poisoning and pretty places.

  The more you try to plan something, the more likely it's going to go far off course. My trip to the South-West was a slap in the face reminder of that and I'm grateful for it. I've made it to the other side of an intense month, feeling relieved, completely drained, and satisfied. As …

Chronic pain and illness: 3 gradual changes to regain control of my mind and body

We're really good at kidding ourselves, aren't we? I had my first proper counseling session recently and realised that I really do need to make some big changes in my life. My counselor told me plenty of things I already knew but simply put to the back of my mind because habits are hard to …