Chronic Illness Beauty Must Haves

I know for me that showering, doing my hair and makeup, and pretty much anything related to getting ready to go out is physically difficult for me even on a "good" day.  However, a bad day it makes it all about a million times more difficult and exhausting.  For as long as I've been sick I've pretty much always had more bad days than "good" ones, but recently the bad days are even more frequent and the the "good" days are few and far between.  As I'm sure you can imagine this all means that getting ready to go out has gotten increasingly harder for me, but looking good (or even just decent at this point) when I'm out and about is not something I'm willing to give up on.  It's no secret that I'm a beauty aficionado so it's probably not a surprise that I've found a few products that help me to get ready quicker and make it a little bit easier for me.  

Below I'm sharing the products that help me to streamline my routine and cut down on the time and energy used.  While these are all amazing for people with chronic illness they're also great for healthier people who need to cut down on their routine (like Moms or college students) or who are feeling lazy when getting ready!

1. Dry Shampoo

I would have to say that dry shampoo is definitely the #1 beauty product you need if you're suffering from chronic illness.  For me washing my hair is one of the most physically challenging things I have to do and dry shampoo helps me to go days between washes and makes my hair still look (and smell) good.  Even on those days that I really need to wash my hair, but feel way too sick to do it this saves me from having greasy hair and leaves me feeling fresh! (Pro Tips: Apply at night before bed so that the product absorbs better and doesn't leave behind the look of residue in your hair.  Also make sure to use it each night before a day that you won't be washing your hair.)

2. Air Dry Hair Styling Product

Styling my hair after it's been washed (blow drying, flat ironing, etc.) is also incredibly difficult for me.  When I wash my hair and know that I don't have something coming up that I would want it "done" for (an event, blog photoshoot, etc.) I let it air dry, which in addition to being easier physically it's also so much healthier for my hair.  In order to allow your hair to air dry, but still look good you need some product to style your hair, especially in the summer.  I love an air dry cream like this or sea salt spray like this to give my hair a pretty, but super low maintenance, look.

3. Aquaphor

There are so many uses for Aquaphor that it can be used in the place of multiple products, which is a great time saver.  You can use it as a lip balm, to moisturize your skin, to calm any skin irritations, to help with a cut, to remove makeup, to tame your eyebrows, and so much more.  Having this multitasking product is a necessity for me and I make sure to keep it close in case I need it.  If you would like a more natural alternative to Aquaphor though I absolutely love this from Farmacy.

4. Facial Spray

My Crohn's disease makes my skin really dry so I am constantly looking for ways to help soothe and moisturize it.  This facial spray is a quick and simple way to add some hydration to my skin without the energy it takes to put on more lotion.  It also calms down irritations, can be used as a toner (and since it's a spray it's easier than using a toner with a cotton ball), and feels great to use when you have a migraine or headache.

5. Micellar Water

After dry shampoo micellar water the #2 beauty product you need if you're suffering from chronic illness.  Micellar water uses molecules to remove dirt, oil, and makeup from the skin.  It can be used to remove makeup or as an all in one cleanser/toner.  You just apply some to a cotton ball or pad and swipe it over your face, you don't have to scrub at your skin or rinse it afterwards.  I like to use this in the morning to wash my face; eliminating a traditional cleanser and using this in its place is physically much easier for me and it helps me to save energy.

6. Wet Brush

Wet Brushes have super flexible bristles that don't get caught in your hair.  They make brushing your hair easier and help you to avoid tangles and pulling your hair.  This is great because it takes less energy to brush your hair and prevents it from becoming painful.  Since the bristles are so flexible they will also not pull out your hair, which is important if you're having issues with hair falling out (from illness, medication, etc.).

7. invisibobble

When I get a migraine I want my hair off my face, but using a traditional hair tie can make my headache worse.  I picked up these a few months ago at Sephora and was instantly hooked.  The shape of this unique "hair ring" was created so that it would not feel too tight or leave an indentation in hair.  However, I love it because the shape of this also helps to avoid headaches from forming due to having your hair up and I've found that it doesn't further aggravate my migraines either.  Additionally, I find these easier to use than a traditional hair tie and it doesn't feel like a wrestling match to put my hair up, which in turn uses less of my limited energy.

8. Powder Sunscreen

Many people with chronic illnesses take medication that makes their skin extra sensitive to the sun and in addition to taking several of those myself I have crazy fair skin.  To be honest the sun makes me feel pretty sick, but I do like to get out in it from time to time.  As you can imagine I always need to be careful when I'm in the sun and take the proper precautions.  One thing that has always deterred me from heading out in the sun was having to lather up in sunscreen, but this year I've found a solution to my problem: powder sunscreen.  This stuff is amazing you just dust it on and you're good to go sans that gross greasy feeling from traditional sunscreen and the loads of energy it takes to apply.  Now I don't use this when I go to the beach or pool because it would be insanely expensive to use on my entire body, but it's perfect for when I head out and need to protect my face, chest, shoulders, etc. (which is anytime I do anything outside for more than ten minutes).  It's been a major energy saver for me and has helped me to better protect my skin from the sun.

9. dpHue ACV Hair Rinse

Above I mentioned that for me washing my hair is one of the most physically difficult things I have to do.  Shampooing and conditioning my hair is so exhausting, however I've found a way to cut down on that and use just one product without sacrificing the health of my hair.  dpHue ACV Hair Rinse can be used in place of both shampoo and conditioner to cleanse and condition your hair.  You just wet your hair and squeeze out excess water, use the bottle tip to create a few small parts in your hair and gently squeeze the product onto your scalp, scrub your scalp, leave on for a few minutes, and rinse thoroughly.  Using the ACV Rinse makes my hair super clean and soft and it also makes washing my hair so much easier for me.

10. Hair Towel Turban

This is handy for so many reasons and is a total game changer.  First off if you can't bend over to tie your hair up in a traditional towel hair wrap then this is your solution to that problem and it's very easy (read: not labor intensive) to use.  Next the microfiber material the towel is made of helps your hair to dry a lot faster which means if you want to blow dry your hair you'll have less work to do.  Lastly these are more gentle on your hair then a traditional terry cloth towel and that is important if you're having issues with hair falling out.  Since using this I've had less hair fall out and it also helps me to take better care of the hair I do have.

11. Scented Body Cream

So I know that some people who have chronic illnesses are sensitive to scents, however if you are not one of those people this is a basic must have.  I am really sensitive to floral scents so I make sure to get fresh and sweet scented lotions and perfumes and you can play with what scents work best for you.  A scented cream is really important for days that you don't feel well enough to shower, instead apply scented lotion all over your body (use deodorant too!) and then put the dry shampoo in your hair and you'll smell like you've showered.  Lotions are also very helpful to those of us who get dry skin from their illness and I love this rich, yet easily absorbed option from Bath and Body Works.

Whether you're chronically ill or not are there products that you use to speed up your beauty routine?  If so share them in the comments below so I can check them out!

                    

Today I'm linking up with Style Sessions, and Confident Twosday.

Life with Chronic Illness: 9 Reasons I Say I'm Fine When I'm Far From It

I sat down at my computer last night intending to write a Friday Favorites post and this post happened instead.  This is a post I've been wanting to write for a while and last night for reasons I'm not completely sure of I felt compelled to write.  I apologize in advance for it's length, I wanted to make sure that I included everything and once I started writing I just kept going until it felt finished.  It's a part of my effort to write more about my personal life and to share what living life with chronic illness is really like.  I also created a new tag for here called "Life with Chronic Illness" so you can just click that at the bottom of any post like this and see all the previous posts I have written on the topic.

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When you you ask how I'm feeling or doing you'll most likely get one of two answers "I'm fine" or "I'm doing ok."  You'll get this answer unless you're a close friend or family member and even then you still might get this answer.  If you want to know the truth though, 99.9% of the time I'm far from fine or ok.

You're probably wondering to yourself then why I say "I'm fine" or "I'm ok" when I'm far from it.  The answer to that is kind of a loaded one and has many different aspects to it.

1. After being sick for thirteen years it's the answer I've trained myself to say.  In all honesty, I sometimes don't even realize I'm saying it when it comes out of my mouth.  It's essentially become an involuntary response that I don't have to think about because I've said it so many times before.

2. Most people honestly don't care.  People ask me how I'm feeling or how I'm doing because they know I'm sick and feel obligated to, they think it's the "polite" thing to do.  We've all been there before, we exchange niceties with someone and ask the questions we think we're supposed to to be seen as considerate and oblige societal norms.  However most people don't really want an answer beyond "I'm doing well, thanks."  I'm not doing well though and I'm not going to completely lie so years ago I just started saying "I'm fine" or "I'm ok."  To me it's code for "I feel like shit," but to other people it's a passing answer for when they ask me how I am.  If I were to say "I'm actually doing terrible" or something along those lines then I would either feel obligated to explain why or the other person would feel obligated to ask why, but to most people "I'm fine" or "I'm ok" is an acceptable answer to the question and can even correlate in their minds to "I'm doing well" and sends them on their way because they heard what they wanted to.

3. With some people saying something more then "I'm fine" opens a whole can of worms.  This part of the answer itself breaks down into several parts:

a) So many people think they're self taught naturopaths or homeopathic doctors (and in by no way am I knocking real, educated, reputable naturopaths or homeopathic doctors because I've been to so many of them), but I'm talking about the people that are Google or random uncredited website educated, self declared naturopaths or homeopathic doctors.  They have a list full of these random things to try because they read X,Y, and Z about people with autoimmune diseases or migraines or this or that.  Well that's great, but do they know if I can take that with my medications and other supplements?  Usually not.  Do they know the short and long term side effects of what they're suggesting?  Again no.  Do they know what happens when the person taking this remedy has multiple autoimmune diseases plus so much more?  Once again, no.  And so on and so forth, but you get the picture at this point.

b) You get so many people who's aunt's sister's mother-in-law did this specific thing and it "cured" their occasional migraines or arthritis and I should just do that and I'll be fine.  Or someone's who's friend of a friend has Crohn's disease too and they just smoke marijuana and they're fine now so I need to do that and I'll be fine too.  I'm not trying to put down what other people do to feel better by any means at all, it's just that a lot of the times things people suggest to me don't even have to do with what's wrong with me or aren't feasible for my situation because of other circumstances.  Furthermore, a lot of people don't understand that what worked for that one person they heard about isn't a one size fits all solution and most likely isn't going to magically make me feel all better.  Another frustrating thing is though on the occasion that people have an idea that I'd like to try they almost never actually follow up with the information on said idea that they were going to "send" me.

c) Some people get really weird about medical stuff.  The world of medicine is a tricky place and those who Google educate themselves on the world of medicine tend to make it an even trickier one.  Some people have really strong opinions on medical things and they are not interested in hearing other sides of the argument and instead will just argue with you that they're right.  I completely believe that we all have the right to have our own opinions, but I don't appreciate someone without a medical degree or knowledge of my condition telling me that what I'm doing is wrong or not enough or not ok, etcetera.  I also take some pretty controversial medications (that I would love to not take) and because of things going on in our country people will straight up judge you for that without taking the time to understand why you have to take these medications.  (This is something I'm thinking about doing a whole post in itself on, but if you're interested in the meantime in what I'm talking about check out this article and this article.)

d) People are mean.  I know this is something that both people with and without chronic illness experience, but some people can be extra mean to people who struggle with things they don't understand.  People tell you you're being a baby, that you're lazy, that you're faking it, that you just need to suck it up.  People make "jokes" that they think are funny about it, but are actually just cruel.  These people have zero idea what you're going through, don't really care, and certainly don't want to hear about it so they just tell you the first thing that comes to their mind.  There are also the people that are quietly mean who want to know just because they're nosy, not because they care.  They want to know so they can tell their friends what you said and gossip about you and make things up and spread around rumors.  However, whether people decide to be blatantly mean or quietly mean I don't need that negativity in my life.

4. I don't want to come off as a "complainer," a "Debbie Downer," "needy," etcetera.  Let's be honest everyone wants to be around positive people, no one wants to be around the girl they think is "whining" all the time about how they feel, even if that girl is one thousand percent justified in that "whining," "complaining," or whatever the hell else she wants to do or say about her chronic illness.  Can this really suck sometimes and not be fair?  Of course, but unfortunately it's the reality of things and how the world works.

5. Some people feel the need to list things that they think I got in life as a consolation prize for being sick.  I can't tell you how many times I've had this conversation with people: 

Person- "How are you?" 

Me- "I'm not doing so well, this, this, and this is going on with my health." 

Person- "Oh wow that sucks! Well at least you look good!" or "At least you're pretty!" or "At least you're smart!" or at least a million other things. 

Pretty much any of the other things you're going to list that you think are a consolation prize for me being sick are really not and it's actually quite insulting to say them.  It's really nice that you think I look good, but I would rather look terrible and feel good and I can say that to pretty much anything people come up with.  Not to sound like a super bitch, but there's thinking positively and then there's saying stupid things that you just think sound positive and this falls into the latter category.

6. Some people feel the need to tell you about what health problems they may have and some people get this weird competitive thing going like "who's sicker," which is something I really don't want to get involved in because it doesn't do anything for either person involved.  Additionally, it's not that I don't care or am not compassionate, but it gets very difficult for me to sit there and listen to someone complain to me because they have a cold, or that one time six months ago they got a migraine, or how bad their knees hurt from arthritis and they had to switch from running to speed walking because of it and that's just been so hard on them.  It's not that I don't doubt that any of these things are difficult for people, I mean having a cold sucks, having a migraine (even for just one day) can be mind numbingly awful, and having to give up one thing you love to do because of pain in one place in your body isn't fair, but I'm often dealing with things on so much greater of a scale that I sometimes have a hard time being very sympathetic to things that seem minor to me.  What I'm trying to say is that I would be thrilled if I just got a migraine every once in awhile and while I'm not trying to belittle how having that happen affects your life by any means, when you're complaining it to me and trying to sympathize with me (or want sympathy from me) it just doesn't make sense because there's really no comparison.

7. People just don't understand.  Unless you live with chronic illness everyday it's something that is hard to understand and something that is unimaginable to most.  I can sit here and try to explain how I feel until I'm blue in the face, but it's not really something that just explaining helps - it's something you need to see, talk about, and be around constantly to even start to try to understand it.  And to be honest as frustrating as it can be for me (and it's definitely frustrating) I don't fault people for this at all because I am happy for them that they don't deal with chronic illness everyday and that they feel good and that they don't have to go through the hell that people who have chronic illnesses do.  I don't mind attempting to explain it to people who care or are genuinely curious, but it's not something that I can do by answering "How are you?" and it's far from the simple or quick response that most people are looking for in response to that question.

8. If I answer truthfully most people just land up feeling sorry for me, which I don't want.  Not to sound mean, but someone feeling sorry for me doesn't do anything to help me and honestly just makes me uncomfortable.  It's a funny thing when you get sick you actually spend a good amount of your time comforting people when they're trying to deal with their feelings about what you're going through.  I know that sounds strange, but it's so true.  Every time I make a new friend who genuinely cares and we take the time to talk about my health I almost have to go into counselor mode and help them process it all.  I don't mind taking the time to do this at all, but it's not something that I'm going to do with everyone as it's hard for me to explain and can be emotional, confusing, etc. for the other person involved.

9. It gets boring to talk about for both me and the other person (or people) involved in the conversation.  I don't want to spend all my time explaining medical stuff and how I feel and people don't want to hear me talk about that stuff all the time.  This is partially why saying "I'm fine" or "I'm ok" has become such a knee-jerk reaction for me because it gives me that little bit of normalcy I so crave and it gives me an out to not have to get into this stuff that I have to get into with so many other people.  Most days, even if I am having the worst pain day ever, I want to just say "I'm fine" and get that part of the conversation over with so we can talk about clothes, or nail polish, or a television show, or blogging, or anything to distract me from how awful I feel.

So after reading all of this you're probably thinking to yourself "well how the hell am I supposed to respond to her when she says, 'I'm fine'?!"  There's actually a very simple answer to this: if you genuinely want to know how I am, what's going on with my health, have earnest questions, and have a little time to really talk then just say, "No really.  I want to know how you are."  However, if you don't want to know, don't care, don't have the time for the full answer, etc. then just keep going with our conversation, don't dwell on it, or think about it more then you would with another person.  And guess what?  If you fall into that second category I don't fault you for that at all, just talk to me about whatever else and distract me from how I feel and I will completely appreciate that.

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I do want to thank the people in my life though that do genuinely want to know how I am, who let me whine and complain to them all I want, that let me talk all things medical just to get it off my chest, who serve as my sounding boards through everything I go through, and who never hold anything caused by my chronic illnesses against me.  You all mean more to me than you'll ever know and my appreciation for you is more than I can put into words.

I also want to thank all the incredible people that read the posts I write about chronic illness, leave me sweet notes, and reach out to me.  You taking the time to do all of this just means the world to me.  These posts typically land up being much longer than I intend them to be (this one is just another example of that!), but they can be so therapeutic to write and I am so grateful that anyone takes the time out of their day to read them.  Last, but not least, if you have any questions, as always, please feel free to ask them below.

                    

Where I've Been

Well I'm back - and hopefully for good!  I cannot believe I haven't posted on here in over four weeks, that is the longest I've ever gone without sharing something on here in the almost four years that I've been blogging (and hopefully it'll be the longest I'll ever go!).  I wish I could say that I've been gone so long because I've been doing so many fun things that I just haven't had time for this space, but unfortunately I've had to take some time off because of my health.

I realized that to start up again after such a long break I wanted to take the time to explain to all of you what's been going on with me.  As I've mentioned on here before I'm a deeply private person so opening up on here about my private life isn't always the easiest thing for me, in fact it's actually taken me some time to write this post because I don't love talking about myself and have been putting it off.  However, I think that when I started my blog I did make an agreement to share things on here and I always want to be completely transparent with everyone who is kind enough to take some time out of their day to follow along here.  I also feel like after being gone for a while I owe an explanation to those of you who have stuck around through it all.

I love that when I need it to be this space is an outlet for me and I can share what is going on in my life with a group of people who have done nothing, but support me, which means more to me than you'll ever know.  I also think that it's important to use my platform from time to time to raise awareness for what life with chronic illness is like.  I started this space as a "break" from my "real life" - doctors' appointments, medical tests, medications that are sometimes worse than the illness itself, etcetera.  However, I think that I do need to use the voice I've developed to speak up for those who are in the same situation that I am who can't and give you all a glimpse into what life is like when you feel like, for lack of a better word, shit, all the time.

I think that even though it's hard for me to write about I'm going to try to share more personal posts on here a little more frequently than every six months.  I think it's important to show what's going on behind the scenes beyond my favorite skincare products and what clothes I'm wearing.  Not that I won't be sharing plenty of that because let's get real that's what I love and what I started this space for, but I'm just going to be a little more liberal with sprinkling in posts like this, which I hope is something that will interest all of you.

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So now that I've gotten all of that off my chest it's time for me to explain what's been going on that's kept me from here the last few weeks and what's been going on in my life the last few months that led up to it.  If you're new around here, don't remember what I'm talking about, or just want to refresh your memory you can checkout this post which is a big life update from November and a smaller update at the end of this post from December.

For a little recap, incase you don't want to reread the post from November, I have suffered from two medical conditions for years.  The first condition is Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD, which is also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, CRPS).  RSD is "is a chronic neuro-inflammatory disorder. It is classified as a rare disorder by the United States Food and Drug Administration.  CRPS occurs when the nervous system and the immune system malfunction as they respond to tissue damage from trauma. The nerves misfire, sending constant pain signals to the brain. The level of pain is measured as one of the most severe on the McGill University Pain Scale" (RSDSA) and I've had that for thirteen plus years.  The second condition is Crohn's Disease which is an autoimmune "lifelong inflammatory bowel disease [which causes] parts of the digestive system [to] get swollen and have deep sores called ulcers," and I have had that for the last nine years (WebMD).

Then in April 2016 I began suffering from migraines, which very quickly became chronic migraines as they went from a few days a month to a few days a week to every single day.  And finally this past September I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Rheumatoid Arthritis is "a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect more than just your joints. In some people, the condition also can damage a wide variety of body systems, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart and blood vessels.  An autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body's tissues." (Mayo Clinic).

The chronic migraines leave me with terrible headaches, light sensitivity, nausea and more.  Nevertheless, I consider myself fortunate that they didn't develop until about a month before I graduated from college.  While they're difficult to deal with at least I was able to get through almost all of college without them (and I'm always looking for the positive side of things 😉)!  I had a rough nine months dealing with the migraines, with the month of February 2017 being the worst as I had a no break from a mind numbing headache for more than thirty days.  However at the end of February I had my first round of Botox injections for the migraines and the results were literally life changing and within a few days I was completely headache free! While I was still dealing with all of my other health issues not having an incredibly terrible migraine was so amazing.  I was lucky enough to have my first treatment last for a full eight weeks and I maybe had two headaches in that time, which was incredible for me. Unfortunately after the eight weeks it did start to wear off and you have to wait a full twelve weeks between injections, but thankfully the migraines I had in those four weeks I had left until my next injection appointment weren't as bad as my pre-Botox headaches.  I have since had my second round of injections and while they aren't working as well as the first round did I still see a huge improvement to what my headaches were like prior to Botox, which is great.

I wish I could say that the Rheumatoid Arthritis (R.A.) treatment has been going as smoothly as the migraine treatment, but that has not been the case.  The R.A. gives me relentless joint pains and stiffness (including severe TMJ).  I already take Humira for my Crohn's disease, which can also treat R.A., but it does not completely treat mine so I needed to add in another medication.  I tried one that made me really sick (I was so nauseous I couldn't eat or really get out of bed) so we moved onto Methotrexate, which is used to treat R.A. that hasn't responded to other medications.  Methotrexate is a very strong medication that really takes a toll on your body and is a medication in which you can get worse before you get better, which has been the case for me.

My doctor prescribed Methotrexate as an injectable and there are two types of injectable Methotrexate, one with a preservative and one without.  The first dose I recieved of Methotrexate at my rheumatologist's office was the one with the preservative, after leaving the office my face and tongue began to swell and my throat started to close up.  I was able to force some Benadryl down my throat and was rushed to the hospital where I had to spend the whole day under observation.  This form of Methotrexate stays in your body for one week so for an entire week after the initial injection my throat would spontaneously close up, but thankfully the doctor at the ER sent me home with all of the medications they would give me there so I did not have to keep going back everyday.  After this ordeal I had to undergo allergy testing to determine if I was allergic to Methotrexate or the preservative in Methotrexate and it turned out that I was allergic to the preservative so I now take an injection of preservative free Methotrexate once a week and have been for the last several months.

As I mentioned above Methotrexate takes a toll on your body and has side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and drowsiness, just to name a few.  In addition to these it can damage your organs so there is a whole list of symptoms I have to keep an eye out for.  Additionally for the first three months I had to get blood work once a month and was just told this past week that I can now get bloodwork every three months 😊.  Each week when I do the injection I feel really sick for several days, but as the months are going on the side effects are beginning to lessen, which is good.  The other issue with R.A. is that it can affect so many different parts of your body so because of it I have been having to go to so many more doctors to get things such as my eyes and heart checked out.

Both the Humira and Methotrexate are immunosuppressants, which means I have to be very careful with germs, I get sick very easily, and it takes me a long time to get better when I do get sick.  This is where my problem for the last few weeks comes from.  The third week in May I developed a stomach bug and it stuck around for almost four weeks.  Thankfully I wasn't vomiting, but I had extreme nausea (which nothing was helping to get rid of), stomach pains, exhaustion, and just generally felt very run down.  I was also having a really hard time sleeping, which was just making everything worse.  I had little to no desire to do anything and simply posting on Instagram would take up all of my energy for the day.  Due to the way I was feeling I just had to take a break from blogging because I could not even write a blog post I felt so sick.

Finally at the end of last week I started to feel better (which felt like a miracle) and have been spending some time on everything I fell behind on in the past month.  I really couldn't do much of anything so I have had so much stuff to catch up on.  I am such a Type-A personality so not being able to do basically anything at all was making me incredibly stressed and anxious so it was nice to be able to relieve some of that and get some stuff done.  I also decided that I wanted to wait until I was feeling completely stomach bug free to start posting on here again so I wouldn't have to start and stop and I can thankfully say that yesterday was finally that day!

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I'm sorry that this post landed up being such a long one, I didn't really intend it to be this much, but there was really no way for me to explain things without explaining everything.  While I am stomach bug free (and so happy about that!) I am still dealing with a lot, as I'm sure you can tell, so I can't make any promises that I won't have to take a break again, but I can say that I will do everything I can to make any breaks much shorter than this one has been.  I also want to give you all the heads up that my goal for myself right now is to post on here three days a week and possibly four if I'm having a good week (so I hope there are lots of four post weeks!).  I am so excited to be back to creating content and have some great posts and fun collaborations coming up that I can't wait to share with all of you!  Also if there's any posts that you would like me to do please let me know!

Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck around during my break and for reading to the end of this crazy long post.  I hope I was able to give you some insight into what's going on in my life and if you have any questions, as always, please feel free to ask them below.

                    

Tuesday Ten: Gifts Under $30 + Life Update

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Each of these adorable presents cost $30 or less, making them perfect gifts for just about anyone on your list.  These are great for coworkers, friends, or anyone else you want to give a little something special too.  They are a sweet way to show your love and appreciation without spending a ton.  I love everything on this list, but I cannot get over how adorable this water bottle is!  I'm also on a big slipper kick right now and think these look so cute and cozy (and they're on sale!). No matter which ones you love any of these picks will make for a fun gift and are sure to make a big hit!

SHOP THE POST HERE:

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At the beginning of last month I gave a little glimpse into what has been going on in my life here.  Before ending today's post I wanted to share a little update on what is going on with me since I've still been posting a little more sporadically then I would like to.  Since that last post I have unfortunately been diagnosed with Temporomandibular Joint Disorders, which is more commonly known as TMJ (if you're curious you can read more about what that is here).  This developed as a combination from two things, the first was that I developed a nasty sinus infection, which caused me to grind my teeth while I was sleeping (I didn't even know this was going on).  The second was that I had an upper endoscopy and the way my mouth was open combined with the length of how long it was open furthered the problem that began with the sinus infection.

I had this awful pain in my jaw (by my ears) and it got to the point where I could barely talk or eat.  I have a pretty high tolerance for pain due to the chronic pain condition I have (check out this post for more on that), but the fact that I couldn't really eat, talk, or smile was making me miserable.  At this point I broke down and went to the doctor (which was an ENT, I thought the dentist, but my Dad said an ENT and was right) and was diagnosed.

To treat the TMJ the doctor put me on a soft food diet (hello lots of pasta!) and sent me to physical therapy.  Now I had no clue that "mouth physical therapy" (as I call it) was a thing.  I have been going to PT twice a week for the last three and a half weeks and have seen a great improvement in the pain.  Unfortunately this week I am having a little setback, but am still pushing through.  This issue combined with all of the health problems I already have has been really taking a physical toll on me, which is why I've been on here a little less than usual.  I'm hoping that soon this TMJ will be gone though and that I can get back on here four to five days a week.

Thank you so much to everyone who comes here and for all of your support.  It truly means the world to me and helps me to continue pushing through every health issue I encounter.

  

                

Make sure to add me on Snapchat - @kthomp22!

Welcome to Tutu Tuesdays a linkup with The Blush Blonde and The Fairy Princess Diaries!  Linkup whatever you'd like and make sure to do a little mingling - our goal here is to create a community of bloggers where we can all connect, find new blogs, and support one another.  We love new friends, supporting other blogs, and meeting fellow girl bosses!

There are just a few rules we ask you follow to join in on Tutu Tuesdays:

1. Please follow both Jordyn and me, your lovely hosts, on Instagram and/or Bloglovin.

Kristin: The Blush Blonde  |  Bloglovin'  |  Instagram

Jordyn: The Fairy Princess Diaries  |  Bloglovin'  |  Instagram

2. Link to your specific post, not your blog's main page.

3. Grab our super cute button or share a link to Tutu Tuesdays in the post you are linking up so everyone can know about the party!

4. Have fun and mingle with other bloggers that have linked up!  Like I said we want everyone to make new friends!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.theblushblonde.com/" title=“Tutu Tuesday"><img src="http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab203/blondi52145/button250_zpsnqtszhlp.png" alt=“Tutu Tuesday" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Life Update

I share a lot on this space and while you may know quite a few things about me from my different About Me posts there is a large part of my life that I rarely post about on here or social media.  I'm a deeply private person and am careful to only share certain aspects of my life with the public because of that.  With that said, you may have noticed that lately I've been a little MIA on here and it is due to that part of my life.  Since I have shared so much on here I think that I owe it to my readers to give a little life update and share what has been going on with me even if it is difficult for me.

In July of 2014 I shared a long post on here explaining my life situation.  In that post I explained that have some serious health issues that affect every part of my life.  You can read my the whole post here if you're interested.  The very short version of that post is that I suffer from two medical conditions.  The first condition is Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD, which is also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, CRPS).  RSD is "is a chronic neuro-inflammatory disorder. It is classified as a rare disorder by the United States Food and Drug Administration.  CRPS occurs when the nervous system and the immune system malfunction as they respond to tissue damage from trauma. The nerves misfire, sending constant pain signals to the brain. The level of pain is measured as one of the most severe on the McGill University Pain Scale" (RSDSA).  The second condition is Crohn's Disease which is "a life long inflammatory bowel disease [which causes] Parts of the digestive system get swollen and have deep sores called ulcers." (WebMD).

While both conditions are difficult to deal with I have to say that the RSD is by far the most difficult.  It leaves me in constant severe pain, which is exhausting.  Recently my pain has been worse than ever from the RSD and I have depleted vitamin levels and inflamed Crohn's markers from the Crohn's disease.  In addition to all of this I have developed chronic migraines in the last few months that give me terrible headaches, light sensitivity, nausea and more.  Furthermore, I was recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, which is "a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect more than just your joints. In some people, the condition also can damage a wide variety of body systems, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart and blood vessels.  An autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body's tissues." (Mayo Clinic).

Due to my declining health I have been feeling really terrible lately and have needed a little more time to rest then usual.  Additionally I have been undergoing medical tests and attending numerous doctors appointments all of which are exhausting.  I graduated from college this past May and my original plan was to apply to grad school to start in Spring 2017; however with everything going on right now I have decided to postpone that and will begin in Summer 2017 or Fall 2017.  While I desperately need this time off it gets to be difficult when people are constantly asking what I am doing after graduation; I know that people mean well and are genuinely curious, but what I'm doing and why I'm doing it can be difficult to explain.  

Right now I'm just trying to rest as much as possible and work on my blog even though at times that is difficult for me too.  At the moment I am trying to take everything one day at a time, listen to my body, and take care of myself, unfortunately doing all of this sometimes requires me to step away from my computer, which is why I have been a little MIA recently.  I am hoping to get back to a more regular blogging schedule because I love it too much not to!  The one adjustment I will make is I think for the next few weeks I will commit to doing four posts a week instead of five just to give myself some extra time to rest.  I want to thank all of you for your support and patience with me, it means more then you will ever know.

  

                

Make sure to add me on Snapchat - @kthomp22!

Today I'm linking up with Tutu Tuesdays, Style Sessions, and Confident Twosday.

There are just a few rules we ask you follow to join in on Tutu Tuesdays:

1. Please follow both Jordyn and me, your lovely hosts, on Instagram and/or Bloglovin.

Kristin: The Blush Blonde  |  Bloglovin'  |  Instagram

Jordyn: The Fairy Princess Diaries  |  Bloglovin'  |  Instagram

2. Link to your specific post, not your blog's main page.

3. Grab our super cute button or share a link to Tutu Tuesdays in the post you are linking up so everyone can know about the party!

4. Have fun and mingle with other bloggers that have linked up!  Like I said we want everyone to make new friends!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.theblushblonde.com/" title=“Tutu Tuesday"><img src="http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab203/blondi52145/button250_zpsnqtszhlp.png" alt=“Tutu Tuesday" style="border:none;" /></a></div>