Blogging Break & 2015 Schedule

Hi Everyone!

Between now & the new year, I will be taking a little blogging break. I think this is something I’ll do each year to allow myself to make the most of my time with my family. I know I can schedule posts, but I think having a little break will also allow me to evaluate where my blog is & the direction I’d like to take it in.

One of the things I’d like to do is to have an over hall of the design of my blog, so keep your eyes out for some changes!

I am also going to be starting a parenting blog! I’m going to be starting to come off my medication late March time so my husband & I can try for a family! It’s very exciting & will be completely life changing for me, so I will be taking those of you who want to join me along for the ride!

Now to 2015 & my new schedule…

Monday

Blog Post on ‘When Tania Talks’

Tuesday

YouTube Video (accompanying post on the relevant blog)

Wednesday

Blog Post on ‘When Tania Talks’

Thursday

#throwoutthursday series (YouTube &/or blog post)

Friday

Blog Post on ‘Tania Talks Health’

#SpoonieSpeak Twitter Chat (7-8pm GMT/BST)

Saturday

YouTube Video (accompanying post on the relevant blog)

Sunday

Blog Post on ‘Tania Talks Kids’ (as of March/April 2015)

In the mean time you can find me on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest & Facebook!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas & that 2015 is a healthy, happy one for you all!

Tania Xx

When Drs Can't Agree!

Hi Everyone!

So today’s post is a difficult one for me to write. I tried to film it as a vlog as events unfolded, but that was one step too much for me. The topic of this upset was my appointment with the rheumatologist, arranged by me gynaecologist.

I’d had two very difficult days prior to this. I had to leave the house at 6:15 to take a train & a bus to an 8:30 physio appointment. By the time I got home I was physically & emotionally drained. I cried & cried & cried! The next day wasn’t much better & the day ended in tears.

I was feeling nervous prior to my appointment & my Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) had flared up as a result. In all honesty, the appointment is a bit of a blur! I was weighed, measured & had my blood pressure taken, which the nurse noted was high. I was then ushered in to see the doctor.

He started by asking me why I was there. I felt put on the spot & didn’t know what to say! I found my list & picked bits out from it – forgetting the important bit about my neurologist wanting me to be seen (the importance of this will become more apparent). I told him that my sister had been diagnosed in August (as well as being diagnosed with Raynards) & that, as Dan & I are going to be trying for a family in the new year, it was important for us to know. I’m struggling to put all this into words now, so you can imagine the pickle I got myself into! He also asked me what I wanted to get out of the appointment. My answer was that I wanted help managing the pain & fatigue. When I mentioned that my hand’s & feet get very cold he told me that I don’t have Raynards - as though I thought that I did!

After an examination, I was told that I scored 1-2 on ‘the’ scale (I wasn’t told which one!) & that, though I was hypermobile in some areas of my body, I was not classed as having Hypermobility Syndrome (HMS)/Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility Type (HEDS). Less than a month prior I’d been scored as a 9/9 & diagnosed with HMS/HEDS! As you can imagine, this was particularly frustrating!

I don’t remember much more that was said as my brain was overwhelmed with thoughts & emotions, none of which I could put into words. I just wanted to get out of there & cry! I remember being told that physio could be arranged. I asked about management of the fatigue I experience & was told that there’s no one magic pill that I can take & it’ll go away. As though that was what I believed! I know that this is a condition where management is key & that, while I’ll have good days & bad days, it is a chronic condition. He went on to tell me that he could arrange for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for me to help with the fatigue. I think it was this that upset me the most. I’ve never heard of CBT being used in anything other than psychological conditions. I felt as though, having told him that I’d suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the past, his approach to me had been different to what it would have been had I not.

I got the feeling my concerns weren’t being taken seriously & he thought I’d been self-diagnosing. He told me that they could do a blood test to check for things that could be causing the fatigue, but that 99% of the time they come back normal so it was very unlikely to be worth doing. When he asked if I wanted the blood test ordered, my reply was that I only wanted it done if he thought it were necessary. I thought this would reduce (or at least not fuel) his opinion that I wanted a diagnosis for something I didn’t have. At one point, when I asked about the other symptoms I’m experiencing (sweating, palpitations, dizziness & a cold sensation rushing down my legs), I was told that everyone experiences some symptoms in their life but that it doesn’t mean there is something wrong with them! If this is the case, I’d like to know why my neurologist feels the need to refer me to his colleagues in the Autonomic department for a tilt table test & a management program as he feels there is a significant chance that I do, in fact, have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)!

I don’t actually know what he thought my pain, fatigue & sublaxes were caused by – he didn’t say! So we’ll just have to wait & see what his letter says! Other than physio, I don’t know what is being put in place for me. To be quite honest, I don’t know whether I will go to the physio as I am receiving this from the hospital that diagnosed me with HMS/HEDS & am very happy with my physio there. He is extremely knowledgeable & I feel he understands me. If necessary, I’ll go to CBT just for them to agree it’s not the right treatment for me & have it written down on paper!

I just managed to get out of the appointment without bursting into tears. Those three days were the lowest I’ve felt in a very long time & it scared me. After having two good days I’ve finally felt able to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys!).

My neurologist wants me to have non-paracetamol days to avoid the chance of me developing rebound headaches. I started this last week, taking paracetamol Monday-Wednesday, my busy days. I then stopped taking it Thursday-Sunday. I was fine to start with, but by Sunday I was really struggling & had to take 2 doses. I then remained in pain without additional relief for a few days.

I strongly suspect this is the reason for my low days. I am going back onto taking the full dose of paracetamol for the duration of the Christmas holiday & will be speaking to my GP in the new year for help manage this reduction with minimal impact on my joint pain & subsequently mood & fatigue. I’ll keep you posted!

Thank you all for taking the time to read this – it has been a hard post to write. Your continued support means more than I can put into words.

I’ll be taking a short break from both my blogs & also YouTube between Christmas & the New Year.

So all that’s left for me to say is that I hope you all have a happy, low-pain Christmas!

Tania Xx

♯BloggersXmasParty OOTN

Hi Everyone!

As you may have seen from my previous post (here), I attended the Blogging Owls’ ♯BloggersXmasParty.

Hat: H&M £12.99

Dress: TKMaxx £11 (in clearance)

Cardigan: Primark £12

Yoga Pants: The Girls at TKMaxx

Plain Black Socks

Boots: H&M £29.99

Clutch: Primark £6

There were two reasons I chose to wear a hat. The first was to reduce the amount of flashing lights I was able to see. The time of day (evening) & year (Christmas) is the hardest for me. There are a lot of lights around at Christmas & the contrast caused by darkness intensifies these. The other reason was that I had only received my Botox treatment for my migraine two days earlier. I wasn’t sure how noticeable the marks would be from this. I also leave it at least a week before putting any makeup on my forehead & wanted to minimise the amount of attention this could elicit.

You will notice that I chose to wear yoga pants instead of leggings or tights. This was to keep my legs warmer & had the added benefit of a tummy control panel.

I’ve filmed a YouTube tutorial showing the makeup I wore to the event, which you can watch here.

To allow myself to enjoy Christmas, my next post will be up on Sunday 28th December, when I will revert back to my usual schedule of posts every Sun, & Weds, with YouTube videos up Thurs & their corresponding blog post up on the Friday. Medical updates will be as & when - particularly on my YouTube channel.

Interested in what I took with me? My next post is a sneaky look at ‘What’s In My Clutch’!

Tania Xx

Thanks to Chloe (closbeautyspot) for her photography skills!

VIDEO: #BloggersXmasParty Chatty GRWM

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to show you my Makeup look for the @BloggingOwls' #BloggersXmasParty & I thought what better way than to film a chatty GRWM!

What's your go to look for an event?

What are your favourite lip combinations to create a 90's lip?

Keep an eye out for my OOTN, What's In My Clutch & 90's Lip Pics!

Tania Xx

#BloggersXmasParty

Hi Everyone!

I was lucky enough to be invited to the ♯BloggersXmasParty arranged by @BloggingOwls, made up of dream team Nadja from Throw Me Something Beautiful & Olivia from Beauty From The Fjord.

Selfie with Nadja!

Apologies for the amount of background noise, low lighting & no flash - need I say more!

Olivia

The venue chosen was the Nordic Bar, where we had a section cornered off for our own use. This included a ping pong table, providing much amusement at the start of the evening!

I met some lovely bloggers! I bumped into the very lovely Hannah of Lippy In London outside the venue, as we were both early. This gave us the chance to have a chat & get to know one another before heading in. It was nice for both of us to have someone to walk in with as it can be daunting at times! During the evening was able to catch up with Chloe (Clos Beauty Spot) & have a lovely chat with Pao (Pao Loves Fashion). Jessica (Look What I Got), founder of @fashbeautylife, was also there & it was great to chat with her, as she is someone I’ve admired since the beginning of my blogging journey!

There were a number of great prizes up for grabs in a Twitter raffle, pictured below.

Chloe won the Crabtree & Evelyn Bath & Body Duo, which was really exciting!

Each blogger was able to create their own ‘goody bag’ by choosing from an amazing range of products!

 Some of my favs are shown below.

Super cute Owls from Sass & Bell

Pretty notebook (Sass & Belle) & Green & Blacks chocolate, which I gave to my Dad as I'm allergic to one of the ingredients

A choice from a selection of hand creams courtesy of Crabtree & Evelyn, which I gave to my Mum - again, allergies!

I grabbed a chair so I could sit in line instead of standing – this caused much hilarity & at one point the chair was pushed with me on it (proving to be a little scary!). Apologies for the drunk looking pic – I don’t even drink!

After the event, Chloe, Zeynab (The Beautifully Disastrous) & I headed over to Selfridges. Chloe wanted to check out the colour of a Michael Kors handbag & I wanted to pick up a few of my favourite lip balms (Freya decided to use my previous one as a toy & lost it!). As it happened, the lipbalms are no longer stocked in store so I’ll have to order them but Chloe was able to pick up an Origins face mask to try.

Chloe & me!

Chloe & I stopped off at Starbucks before catching our train home.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Nadja, Olivia, Nordic Bar & all the wonderful brands who gifted products for the raffle & goddy bags!

Keep an eye out for my #BloggersXmasParty Makeup Tutorial, OOTN & What's In My Clutch coming next.

Tania Xx