For a change.  I commented on a blog, and thought I’d share what I said.  Probably said it before but hey.

“I first became ill in September, 1997 and was diagnosed February 1998. It has been a difficult and soul-destroying journey since then, I had to give up my beloved job in a group home, but I am doing pretty well right now. Yay, me. The most important thing I have learned over these years is to listen to my body. If I am tired, I lay down and read on my Kindle. If I am in a lot of pain, same thing, except sometimes, if I’m really lucky, I can sleep through the really bad pain. It’s important to do fun things, because if I’m going to be in pain anyway, why not?
There are only three food items that I can definitely tie to symptoms. First is meat, I feel better if I eat meat. I still don’t eat it a lot, certainly not every day, but when I do, I feel better. Second is sugar. Sugar is BAD NEWS. Next day is always exponentially more pain-filled. Third is artificial sweeteners (except for maltitol) which act the same as sugar. Pain, pain, pain. Maltitol is in Think Thin Bars, and does not efffect me when I eat one of those. One good thing (because I firmly believe that good comes out of everything if you let yourself see it) is that I was already mostly living in isolation, so this pandemic has not really had much effect on me at all. Except I had to give up my homemakers and I only see a friend as we do handoffs through the door when she shops a bit for me. But isolation has not been difficult, because it’s been my life for nearly twenty years. Get through today as best I can, do what I can when I can, and don’t beat myself up when I can’t. Works for me.”

The snowglobe is just to remind me that it isn’t always hot and sticky, thank goodness.  🙂