When pain or illness keeps taking over your life, it's amazing the things you come to love better even than sliced bread, and the new ways you learn to use things around you to improve your situation. Here are a few of those little joys for me, in no particular order:
smartphone
Whether it's fibro-fog or pill confusion or just plain exhaustion, it's easy to lose track of things. Not only does the smartphone offer entertainments in any location, even for a child who has to tag along to yet another doctor's appointment, it can work as a second brain! I have repeating alarms set to go off at particular points of the day so I don't mess up timing (wake up, send kids to catch the bus, don't forget lunch!, kindergarten bus, early out day -- don't forget to be home in time, etc.). I use an app to track my heart rate, which tends to be rather high. I keep my calendar agenda handy at the push of a button. I have even used apps to track my pain levels, sleep patterns, pill reminders, etc.
heated car seat
Just recently we got a new mini-van (SO much easier and more comfortable to get in and out of than a sedan). One of the features included is heated seats. That sounds like a lovely feature for a chilly morning, but it's also a great therapeutic feature no matter the weather! The heated seat does warm my bum (not bad when IC leads to tender nethers) but it also heats my lower back. Riding or driving in the van can be upgraded from "necessity" to "comfortable". The newer, more ergonomic, setup of the seats is considerably more comfortable than our previous van, though it was only a few years older.
jetted tub
I've always loved a good soak in a hot bath. When we were finally purchasing a home for our family a jetted tub was a big selling point. Even my husband enjoys a good soak in the tub! People kept telling us that we'd never use it as much as we thought because they never did... but we're just tub people. Even a year after moving in our jetted tub is used 3 or 4 times a week at least. Often more!
essential oils
I get soooo sick of taking pills. Sometimes a little local relief is, well, a relief! I have been learning how to use some essential oils where appropriate to ease pains or problems without taking more medicines. Essential oils are strong, though, so you really do need to research and talk with your doctor so there are no unexpected complications.
shellac nail polishes
I promise, not everything I enjoy has to do with highfalutin' big ticket item things! I suppose this is kind of in that area as well. Oh well. When I was younger I loved having pretty fingernails. I never had professional mani/pedis, but I've always dreamed of them. As a mother and a dedicated tub-soaker fingernail polish tends to start peeling off within days or maybe even hours. That just makes it not feel worth it to go through the work only to have it look a mess again!
A few months ago I discovered a product sold at WalMart. It wasn't cheap initially (about $50) but if you've been budgeting professional mani/pedis this will quickly pay for itself. It's a kit by SensatioNail that includes everythign to do your own shellac / gel nail color. It took me a few times to figure out how to make it last, but now it stays put for up to two weeks without ever looking like a mess. It even includes the LED curing light which means there's no dry time. Nothing like painting your nails and suddenly realizing you need to pee! This is simply a fun way to feel like I"m pampering myself.
A few months ago I discovered a product sold at WalMart. It wasn't cheap initially (about $50) but if you've been budgeting professional mani/pedis this will quickly pay for itself. It's a kit by SensatioNail that includes everythign to do your own shellac / gel nail color. It took me a few times to figure out how to make it last, but now it stays put for up to two weeks without ever looking like a mess. It even includes the LED curing light which means there's no dry time. Nothing like painting your nails and suddenly realizing you need to pee! This is simply a fun way to feel like I"m pampering myself.
foil baking pans
Several months ago I started working on improving our family meals. It just isn't reasonable to expect my body to handle perfect Cleaver Family meals every evening. So I started making meals for the freezer. Using foil baking pans I can make double or triple of a recipe one night and put all but the one we're going to eat that night in the freezer. Then on a flare day I can send one of the daughters or the hubs to put one of the freezer meals in the oven and still enjoy the nutritional and emotional benefits of a home-cooked meal without putting my body through more than it is ready to deal with.
pill cutter / sorter box
These two inexpensive items have done more for accuracy in medication dosage than any other gizmo or technique. How many afternoons have I suddenly wondered whether I remembered to take my morning pills and risked either skipping a dose or double dosing. With a pill sorter I am able to put the right number of the right pills in the right box. If I cannot remember whether I took them or not it is as simple as pulling the pill sorter out of the cupboard and checking if the correct box is full or empty.
There are also a few pills that I have to or can take a half dose of. Not all pills are easy to split though! I pain a couple of dollars for a little pill cutter which has made my dosing much easier with no crushed or inaccurately split pills.
A couple of tips for pill sorting: if you organize your pills once a week that gives you a chance to see what pills need to be refilled before the next sorting day. Request refills RIGHT THEN so you don't forget! I use Walgreen's Pharmacy and have their app on my smartphone. I can scan the barcode on the side of the bottle and request a refill without having to do anything fancy or complicated. When the prescriptions are filled I can then go through the drive-though to pick up the new bottles. I also have changed from one pill sorter with boxes for "am" and "pm" each day to that sorter plus another one which has a locking system. The large one carries my morning pills and the pills I can take if needed in the afternoon. It lives in a handy out-of-children's-reach shelf in the kitchen so it is convenient when I remember first thing in the morning. The locking box keeps my nighttime pills in a handy drawer in my bedroom. Several times I accidentally took my nighttime pills in the morning or vice-versa. The number of pills was similar enough that I didn't notice until I was either super tired all day or super awake all night! Keeping the pills in separate rooms keeps me from mistaking them again.
What little joys have you found that helps make your life a bit easier or more comfortable?
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