Susie's 2022 campaign

[purpleorc]

Mind also got to a ghastly state. So much so they swelled and the skin split allowing infection to get in. I then got two bouts of cellulitis, Not something I recommend I felt dreadful. I was leaking constantly leaving puddles wherever I went. I had to sleep on a bath mat to protect a mattress. I from the cellulitis had awful ulcerations on my legs. One was a real doozy at 5 inches by 4 inches. I was a nurse so I taught hubby to dress legs. It was the height of covid and I thought it would be prudent not to have strangers coming in each day to dress my leg when we could do it between us. It use to take us two hours. we have just about healed the wounds but like you it is a constant battle to keep skin healthy When they were at the worst I need help for virtually everything. it was then I decided I want to try and turn my life around but it took over 6 or 7 months before I was well enough to tackle my eating habits. It has been a great source of motivation for me not wanting to get into such a state again. My eat was out of control eating things of very nutritional value. I still have a treat a day but only a small one under 100 calories. I feel so much better than I did.

 

[ladyfelsham]

We’re twinsies! I had 5 lots of antibiotics for cellulitis, leaking so much I had to change the mattress, ulcers, the works. I still have water dripping slowly out, but the stockings do reduce that. But at least I’m not in bandages any more, I really feel for you hun, big hugs xx

Awake for much of the night so been pootling round the house doing little chores. Just felt really hungry and had a slice of cheese, which hit the spot! Cooking when I get up properly in a couple of hours.

 

[purpleorc]

My leaking has stopped, but on antibiotics permanently at the minute a low dose to try to prevent another bout of cellulitis. These bandages I wear go from my knee to ankle and one for my foot. They have velcro strapping. They certainly pushed the fluid out my leg. But i couldn't wear the top contraption from knee to top of thigh. It cuts in to the back of my knee causing sores. So forget that for a game of soldiers. But due to covid only had phone consults for a year and a bit. So not really had the opportunity to see if there is anything else that will suit.

It is nice to speak to another person who knows what it is like as I do not know anybody else with the same condition. So I fully understand how hard it is and the constant battle you wage to keep your leg healthy and infection free. The past few weeks in the area which had the worst ulcer I have been experiencing pain like it was when the wound was damaged. I am wondering whether the ulcer/infection damaged the nerves. But I do have MS and get some weird sensations due to nerve damage you get through MS.

We definitely must be twinsies I didn't sleep well last night. up at 6am didn't go to bed till 3.3opm so like you been pottering around. Going to anticoagulation clinic this morning for a blood test for INR which is your clotting factor as I am on Warfarin permanently after having a pulmonary embolism probably due to sjogren's which like to dry out all your secretions so they think it did this with my blood making it sticky forming, numerous clots in my lungs and a 9 stay in hospital.

 

[AliGal]

The only time I have been in hospital as an adult was in Las Vegas - with cellulitis. Grim. I am waiting for an appointment at the lymphoedema clinic. l wish I'd been referred years ago. We have a national disease service not a health service. You twinsies are impressive strong women.

Please keep me posted on yr scratching panko making adventures, Susie!

 

[purpleorc]

Thankyou @AliGal, I hope you get an appointment soon at the lymphoedema clinic. They were wonderful. I never thought my legs would look so skinny after the tree trunks they swelled to with lymph fluid. I was at a low point in my life when I went there, They made me feel there was light at the end of the tunnel. They measured me with a tape measure for the compression bandage and then had to stand in this contraption that calculates the amount of lymph fluid. On returning several months later as the bandage was too big > i was measured again this is where i was calculated that I had lost 5.5 litres of lymph fluid. They were over the moon with my progress. They took photos of the ulcer as well. They could not believe how I had got this healed with my kind husbands help and patience.

 

[ChilliQueen]

amazing stories of recovery ladies, you're all fabulous x

 

[ladyfelsham]

Aren't you all just so lovely! I really treasure having this amazing support network in my own living room xxxxxxxx

Well Team Fab, am sat here in (happy) tears after a two hour KFC workshop on self sabotage. It was very NLP based and very emotional for me, but I got a lot out of it - the importance of self love and self compassion, and to "start happy", to be as happy as I can be. I took notes so am going to type them up and will post them in here. You can always scroll straight past if it's not of interest . But I am totally convinced that this sort of stuff should be on the national curriculum!

@AliGal I actually can't wait to make my own panko - what a fabulous way to let off some steam, by bashing the living daylights out of some innocent pork scratchings .

Day 5 and I am doing great, not even got to 20g carbs today yet and it's been really enjoyable food -

B - 2 chicken thigh fillets in pork panko with a little mayo, and coffee - I'm using coffee whitener so that's 1g carbs per cup
L - a Megga roll with 2 Bratwurst sossies (really love them!) and mayo
T - It's T for Tea and not D for Dinner because I'm a Northerner now LOL - cheese and dried basil omelette - managed to burn the bottom and set the fire alarm off, but still tasted lovely. I only had half but thought to myself, "You can have the other half later, it's there, it's not going away", rather than gobbling the lot down - and I am a bit peckish now, so will heat it up for a late supper.

i also took delivery of 5 bars of Montezuma 100% cocoa chocolate. DEFINITELY an acquired taste, especially if you're coming away from sweet milk chocolate, but I think it will become a favourite. Just had one square of the orange one and that was enough - for 0.25g carbs! The other flavours are plain, mint, hemp and sea salt, and almond. they were expensive but if I'm only having 1-2 squares a night, they will last a fair while.

What's interesting is that I'm not missing veg at all yet. Don;t be alarmed by that, I can absolutely have veg (lowish carb ones at least, not below ground ones), but I just thought I'd do a bit of carnivore eating first, to help clear my system of carbs.

With lots of hugs and waves of positive thinking for you all xxx

 

[Rindaloo]

Well! KFC caught my eye (for all the wrong reasons, LOL!!!). Best wishes with your plan. I love it when I get a plan that inspires me, It sounds like you are happily exploring yours. Jealous really because I am still wallowing in the carb pigoout bog. And now, I am on day 4 of a bad back.....

ANYWAY, looking forward to your updates.

 

[ladyfelsham]

It is nice to speak to another person who knows what it is like as I do not know anybody else with the same condition. So I fully understand how hard it is and the constant battle you wage to keep your leg healthy and infection free. The past few weeks in the area which had the worst ulcer I have been experiencing pain like it was when the wound was damaged. I am wondering whether the ulcer/infection damaged the nerves. But I do have MS and get some weird sensations due to nerve damage you get through MS.

We definitely must be twinsies I didn't sleep well last night. up at 6am didn't go to bed till 3.3opm so like you been pottering around...

@purpleorc - always here to talk about it if you need an ear hun - it's been a miserable time for us both but we're getting there and I couldn't be prouder of you for handling it with such grace and aplomb. Message if you like, and I'm happy to give you my phone nunber xxx

 

[ladyfelsham]

Well! KFC caught my eye (for all the wrong reasons, LOL!!!). Best wishes with your plan. I love it when I get a plan that inspires me, It sounds like you are happily exploring yours. Jealous really because I am still wallowing in the carb pigoout bog. And now, I am on day 4 of a bad back.....

ANYWAY, looking forward to your updates.

Lynne hello there my friend!!! If you like KFC you'll love the names of their cookbooks - "OMG", "FFS" and "WTF?"....really, that's what they are called LOLOL.

So sorry to hear about your back - did it just go ping?

Would you consider doing low carb? Apart from the lovely bread, Turkish food is quite heavy on protein isn't it, so maybe that would make it easier? Just a thought.

 

[ladyfelsham]

Here we go folks - it's all a bit random, but I would love to know your thoughts. I put it in first person to make it feel a bit more real xxx

Self sabotage – Ian McGill

Self sabotage is caused by thought patterns that hold me back - something’s wrong – it needs action – so I self medicate (with food, here).

Have to dissolve it –

• love myself
• take care of myself
• deal with boredom
• tell myself a story that works

Develop a compelling picture of how I want to see and be seen in the world and my unconscious self will work towards that. Every cell of my body is listening to what I’m telling myself.

Self sabotage makes me feel in control of things – sabotage = rescue = temporarily thrilling – but then guilt and unhappiness. Boom or bust.

Five steps in changing my thinking –

• recognise my self sabotage behaviour
• understand the emotions that lead to that behaviour – feelings are the barometer but we choose to respond with substances of one kind or another
• notice the thinking that causes the emotion – don’t give it extra meaning
• change behaviour through awareness – positive self talk – challenge it, change the emotions and thoughts, always look for a good feeling
• develop self supporting behaviours

There’s a reason why we do anything so the answer “don’t know” is wrong – we DO know, just sit quietly for 30 minutes and think about it.

Actions

Find three things that light me up like a Christmas tree.

Work out what’s important for me, then make small steps towards that.

Look at the space before the self sabotage happened. I have it inside me, it’s there – don’t think it away – just make sure they are creative thoughts, not destructive ones.

Challenge my behaviour and develop positive thoughts – but I have to let go of all the noise in my head – “the shitty committee”

Questions

What am I self sabotaging myself from?

What are my inner values? What is my chosen life direction? Eg happiness and inner peace. These are hot buttons for behaviour.

Goals are different – they are planned achievements

I know when I’m not following my goals and values because I feel uncomfortable inside – but DON’T let it steal my joy!

Start happy and be happy after it.

Life throws us curve balls, but be as happy as you can be.

In one hour/day/week/month I’ll do XYZ and be happy – and at each stage, reassess and reset – and do it again.

Remember – the emotions won’t hurt me. But if they are dragging me down, go and do something else – don’t think, don’t plan, just do.

Mantra

I am made of love. What is important is self care, self compassion, self love.

 

[tipperary]

oOoOO Nora Batty

 

[tipperary]

Love that Susie about self sabotage. I really relate to the boredom part, that a habitual behaviours. Boredom bit right now as I'm not very mobile so can't keep myself occupied with the garden or even cleaning the house. So Netflix an wine seems like a good option.

 

[ladyfelsham]

Yeah boredom is a big one with me too!

Had relentless RLS last night from midnight to 5am, it just wouldn't let up, despite the meds, the electrolyte drink, mag oil for my knees and mag/potassium/iron tablets! Don't know what caused such a huge flare up but am sitting here like a wet rag but have to do a phone interview, groan. Bed after that.

But on the plus side, i did get lots of jobs done, including getting loads of recycling out for collection (which they have just picked up, and takern all of it yipee), and cooking up some mince. I was going to make bacon cheeseburger pie but coldn't be bothered following all the steps, so just fried the mince in a little oil, then added a tub of cracked black pepper cream cheese (Morrisons) and 40g grated cheddar. It made three portions, for 5g carbs each, and just had one serve for B - lovely!

 

[purpleorc]

Great article with many excellent points. Like @tipperary i can relate to being bored, but I know my triggers are also fatigue and pain. I have always liked to keep busy but now that I have MS I can't can't go round pottering all day doing jobs my body won't let me so I have to try and fill my days with less energy sapping things. I like word games so they keep me occupied somewhat but other two not so easy to deal with definitely a work in progress job lol

 

[ladyfelsham]

I love word games too and things like sudoku, but for the last year I've been completely obsessed with a couple of Merge games, which I've got on my iPad - EverMerge and Merge Fables - which IMO are the best two, and you don't need to spend any money on them if you are a little patient .

 

[purpleorc]

I play 3 word based games. Word chum, lexulous and two birds ( not the animated film. it is a bit like word search. You look for your best word in a grid that initially looks like a word search board. once you make your play those letter disappear and letters once at the top of the board drop further down, Then your opponents go to find their best word they can.) This is my favourite game. if you are bi or multilingual they do the game in other languages They do a daily puzzle and a weekly league game but these are optional. The first two game are very similar to scrabble. I have been playing these game for over 7 years. Keeps my mind active and distracted from pain

 

[ladyfelsham]

Evening all - been a good day in many ways. Did a couple of really good interviews for case studies, and wrote another up and sent through for approval. I've got 9 in total to do - all a bit of dosh in the bank account, and just the right level of work for me now. I couldn't go back to full time - and luckily don't have to, right now.

Food has been nice - cheesy mince for B and L, and coconut chicken casserole - I put in a packet of frozen green veg (Morrisons green medley), even though it's horrendously high in carbs - and made each of the three serves 15g carbs - but my carbs otherwise were so low, and the carbs came from veg, so I'm good with that.

Hope you all had a nice day - despite the rain!

 

[tipperary]

I find frozen green beans a good lowish carb option for veg when I've nothing in or am too lazy to prepare anything. Once cooked I drizzle with either butter or olive oil, whichever suits the rest of the meal, and then sprinkle with some garlic powder.

 

[ladyfelsham]

Oh thanks @tipperary that sounds lovely, will give it a go today!

Well ladies, I am over the moon with a week 1 loss of 8lbs! It is such an easy eating plan to follow, and fun too - oh and my sleep was miles better last night - 7 hours in 3 lots, only one small episode of RLS, and 3 hours of that sleep was in one go, which hasn't happened for a while. Long may it continue!

Got quite a few leftovers for today's menu - in no particular order, cheesey mince, coconut chicken, and a LC pizza using a KFC base, with cheese and pepperoni.

Have a lovely day xxx