Not only is it a really helpful and powerful essay, but the spoken piece is cool too, and I had the honor of participating (anonymously). Check it out – you may find it resonates with you too.
And if you like that, you might want to check out Brianne’s podcast. Many of the podcast episodes have transcripts, and she is working toward having them all transcripted, for accessibility. [I have been interviewed for this podcast, and I’ll let you know when my interview/podcast episode is available.]
Remember, you might be a “problem patient,” but you aren’t alone. There are a lot of good resources available to you, and the chronically ill/disabled community has a strong and vibrant presence online.
A COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card, with two doses recorded
ICYMI, I tweeted about my experiences with the first and second doses of the Moderna C-19 vaccine, and I thought I’d share those experiences on my blog as well.
I am pro-vaccine, and very grateful to have been able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and for Spousal Unit to have been able to get vaccinated as well.
Crew Dog, onesickvet.com
Spousal Unit & I were able to get our vaccines through the VA, for which I am grateful.
EDIT: Spousal Unit & I did not premedicate with Tylenol, NSAIDs, or antihistamines, due to cautions from the CDC that doing so could blunt the immune system’s response (and antibody development) or mask an allergic reaction. We waited at least 24 hours before taking any NSAIDs or Tylenol, although I took my normal antihistamines as prescribed.
After our first doses, Spousal Unit had a sore neck and shoulders starting about three hours afterward, and lasting about a day-and-a-half to two days. They also had tingling in their arms and hands for several days. My injection arm was very sore for several days, but I was otherwise fine.
However, as expected due to my health conditions, I had a much stronger reaction to the second dose.
Here’s how I reacted during the first 24 hours after my second dose of the Moderna vaccine:
We received our second doses of the vaccine in the afternoon. Initially, I felt fine, but I became increasingly tired as the day went on. About five hours after receiving the shot, I started having mild intermittent dizziness/vertigo. Eight hours after receiving the shot, I was very tired and went to bed, but I woke up frequently throughout the night due to muscle soreness.
I woke up eight hours later (sixteen hours after receiving the shot) to use the bathroom. I had been noticing a mild to moderate headache during the last few hours of intermittent sleep. I developed mild to moderate chills (shivering and teeth chattering) while using the bathroom, and promptly returned to bed and piled on extra layers of blankets.
Sore from so much lying down, I emerged from my bed blanket cocoon about four hours later (20 hours after receiving the shot). My neck muscles were moderately sore, I was fuzzy-headed, and I still had mild to moderate chills. I created a blanket cocoon for myself on the couch.
About two hours later, I started having nausea. I also had a fever and mild chills, and the dizziness persisted. One hour later (23 hours after receiving the shot), I had a fever of 101.4 degrees, mild chills, persistent dizziness, nausea, and I was very tired and thinking about taking a nap. I drank some green slime and the nausea eased. Twenty four hours after receiving my second dose of the vaccine, the fever, chills, body aches, tiredness, and dizziness persisted.
And here’s how I reacted during the second 24 hours (hours 24-48) after receiving my second dose of the Moderna vaccine:
Twenty-five hours after the injection my pulse was very loud, which made it difficult for me to fall asleep. I slept for about 1.5 hours, shedding blankets one layer at a time as I warmed up. When I woke up (shot + 26.5 hours), my tinnitus was very loud, my blood pressure was 144/94, my pulse was 124, oxygen saturation was 94%. My muscles and connective tissue were stiff and sore, and I was still fuzzy-headed.
Approximately 31 hours after the second injection, I ate some chicken soup for dinner. (I didn’t have the energy to eat anything else.) My temperature was still 101.4. All symptoms persisted.
At bedtime, I took Tylenol and naproxen sodium to help ease symptoms and hopefully get some sleep. I slept eleven hours, and awoke feeling much better. My blood pressure was 128/89, my pulse was 92, my oxygen saturation was 97%, but my temperature was still 101.4. I was not dizzy, was much less fuzzy=headed, and had no nausea. My tinnitus was at its normal volume, and I felt much more normal.
Forty-eight hours after my second dose of the Moderna vaccine, I felt markedly improved. My tinnitus was louder than normal, my blood pressure was 134/96, my pulse was 88, my oxygen saturation was 96%, and my temperature was finally back to normal – 98.6, although I still felt feverish. I was still taking it easy, but I was able to think again.
Bottomline: The day after the vaccine was rough, but I felt much better 48 hours later.
Meanwhile, Spousal Unit, who has a typical immune system, did not have much of a reaction at all to their second dose of the Moderna vaccine. Approximately three hours after the shot, they had a stiff and sore neck and shoulders. About twenty hours later (twenty-three hours post-injection), they had a one degree rise in temperature, stiff and sore neck and shoulders, and they stated that their pain level at the injection site was a three (on a ten point scale). The second dose of the Moderna vaccine did not prevent them from doing anything they normally would.
I was glad that we had frozen meals ahead of time, in preparation for one or both of us not feeling well. I had no interest in eating anything other than juices and soups for forty-eight hours after my second Moderna injection (due to lack of energy and brain power), and it was great knowing we had those in the freezer, and all we had to do was thaw them out. We had frozen other meals as well, but I was not interested in eating anything I had to chew.
The third and fourth nights after my second injection, I had insomnia that kept me up all night. I assume this was due to the raised histamine levels in my body due to mast cell reaction to the perceived threat. It took me several weeks to get back to my normal sleep schedule.
I am relieved to have been able to receive the vaccination. My immune system’s response definitely took me down for a couple of days, but I have had no long-lasting negative effects.
How has your experience been? What did you do/wish you had done to prepare for potential down time?
As before, the basic recipe comes from one of the low histamine chef Yasmina Ykelenstam‘s cookbooks – she calls it “green lemonade,” although the recipe includes no lemons. But I have continued to adapt the basic recipe. Now, instead of apples, I use pineapple to sweeten it. This is partly because I may have a bit of Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) [cross-reactivity to apples due to my birch allergy], and partly because it is easier to source good pineapples than good apples where I now live.
My green slime is still full of green vegetables, and I still add chia seeds (the fiber really helps keep me regular). Over the years, I have found that I get hungry within an hour of drinking my juice, and I think it’s because there’s not much protein in the juice (just the protein from the chia seeds), so I now add almond powder to my green slime. It dissolves well with concentrated stirring, and adds a hint of an almond flavor. And I don’t get hungry afterward any more.
Recently, I have added a quercetin supplement to my routine, because research indicates that it has utility as a mast cell stabilizer and antihistamine. I have been buying a powdered form of quercetin, and after trying it separately for about a month, I have recently started mixing it in with my green slime. It does not mix in as easily as the almond powder, but it will eventually dissolve, and it makes my daily regimen easier by streamlining two steps into one, rather than drinking green slime and then later remembering to drink the quercetin dissolved in water or juice.
In three-and-a-half years of green juice every day, we have gone through our first juicer and are on our second. And the process has changed a bit: rather than making fresh green slime every morning, Spousal Unit makes a batch of green slime and freezes it in mason jars. Then I stagger out to the kitchen daily, after I’ve woken up and taken my morning meds, and thaw out one jar in the microwave. [Remember to remove the metal lid first.] After it has thawed, I mix in the chia seeds, almond powder, and quercetin. I let it sit for at least 30 seconds to reconstitute the chia seeds (making sure to stir frequently, or the seeds form a gelatinous clump that has a rather off-putting texture), and then it’s good to go.
For me, green slime is an easy first meal of the day – don’t have to make any decisions, don’t have to use much energy, and I get fruit, veg, calcium, potassium, iron, protein, fiber, and a little healthy fat.
Plus, if you happen to overheat it, it’s no big deal – green slime tastes good warm or cold.
Hack 1: If I didn’t have Spousal Unit to prep the fruit and veg, I would use canned pineapple chunks and buy pre-chopped veggies.
Hack 2: Sometimes we save the solid output from the juicer (the fruit and veg pulp) and freeze it in small jars to mix into omelets or egg muffins. Another way to sneak fruit & veg into your diet.
So there you have it – I’m still drinking green slime for breakfast three-and-a-half years later. We’ve tweaked it a bit to better suit my needs and to make life easier for Spousal Unit. It tastes good, and is a way to “sneak” fruits and vegetables into my diet. [Spousal Unit prefers to have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.]
What meal hacks do you use? Please share in the comments.
Time has lost all meaning during the COVID pandemic, but it is January 2021, and that means it is my five year blogaversary. It’s been quite a ride. I don’t know what I expected when I started blogging, though I must admit, I never thought it’d be five years later and I’d still have little to no interaction on my blog. I guess I thought I’d be starting a dialogue, but it’s been five years and it’s still almost exclusively a monologue. Oh well. At least I’m practicing my writing skills?
A lot has happened in the past five years. Since I started this blog, I have had multiple medical procedures, multiple surgeries, and had to withdraw from grad school and from my research team for medical reasons. We also had to abandon our “forever” home for medical reasons, moving to a different climate and elevation. Never have I felt like such a failure.
But I also joined Twitter about a year-and-a-half ago and became part of the amazing online disabled community. I gradually transitioned to accepting my identity as chronically ill and disabled, and had the opportunity to participate in the empowering and enriching workshops presented by Crip Camp Virtual during the summer of 2020. Thanks to all the great, knowledgable folks on Twitter and at Crip Camp, I am now reading about the history of disability, about theoretical frameworks of disability, and about the experiences of other chronically ill/disabled people. Having a supportive community that understands my struggles has been invaluable, and I don’t know how I would have been able to endure COVID quarantine without them.
Due to the moral support of other chronically ill folks and their generosity in sharing information, I have finally received a diagnosis for one of my conditions, mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). And other migraineurs helped me diagnose it when my migraines took a new, frightening turn, which also led to an official medical diagnosis for that as well – hemiplegic migraine. I’m still pursuing some other diagnoses – for example, I know I have connective tissue issues, but so far have not received adequate diagnosis or treatment for that.
I also learned, when we moved, that there is a significant amount of variability within the VA. Veterans do not receive the same level of care across VA facilities. And I learned that transferring between VA facilities is not a simple, straightforward process. My transfer, for example, even though I tried to proactively manage it and even used a care transfer manager, was a nightmare that resulted in me losing access to important medications for months (it would have been even longer, but I paid out of pocket to fly back to my previous facility for care I was being denied at my new location). Additionally, my gaining VA facility would not necessarily accept testing and diagnoses from my previous VA facility – some departments did, but others insisted that any diagnosis that was not from their facility was invalid, and that diagnostic procedures had to be repeated.
When I started this blog, I was fed-up with traditional Western medicine and open to exploring alternative medicine to see if I could find remedies for my symptoms. I now realize that this is a rather common part of the chronic illness experience – we want so badly to be cured, to be healed, to find a way to function without pain and suffering, to find an elixir that will make it possible for us to be more present for friends, family, careers, and ourselves. Some lucky individuals do find something that helps. Many of us do not, and come away from the experience sadder, wiser, and with less money and hope.
However, I have found some things that do work for me during the past five years.Heat and ice therapy are way more powerful than we typically give them credit for – they are a major part of my arsenal now. And physical therapyexercises/gentle stretches are very beneficial for most folks too. I can’t run anymore. I can’t play contact sports anymore. I can’t do a lot of the things I used to do. But gentle motion like Tai Chi is very beneficial, and will help counteract the progression of my connective tissue issues. I have a home NMES (neuromuscular electrical stimulation) device and a bunch of physical therapy devices: foam roller, Tiger Tail, exercise balls and bands, etc. These are non-medication things that help.
I have learned a great deal more about my conditions and how to manage them by avoiding environmental or dietary triggers.
Working with healthcare providers, I also have a medication regimen that helps mitigate my symptoms. I’m doing better than five years ago, when I mostly lay on the sofa all day.
I’m still a long way from where I’d like to be, and I don’t know whether those hopes are realistic anymore. But I can see progress from where I was when my health bottomed out. There is a tension most of us chronically ill/disabled negotiate, between wanting to find answers and solutions, and finding peace with what is. I am learning to live in the now, rather than merely existing while I fight to return to how I was. None of us is guaranteed a future, let alone the future we dreamed of. But, if we let it, chronic illness/disability can teach us how to live fully in the present, how to live as richly as circumstances permit.
Chronic illness/disability can teach us to eliminate the B.S. from our lives and focus our limited energy on the things that really matter to us. Which dovetails with my word of intention for 2021, Curate. Slowly, I am letting go of aspirations and aspirational belongings, striving to retain only the things that are useful/beautiful (à la William Morris). I am pruning away the dead and dying branches.
So there you have it: five years of blogging about health issues has seen my identity drastically change and my knowledge of chronic illnesses vastly expand. I’ve lost most of my abled friends, but I’ve made a lot of new, chronically ill/disabled friends, who are more supportive, knowledgeable, and understanding than my lost friends ever were. I’ve lost one dream/forever home, but gained another. The battle for diagnoses and treatment rages on. I haven’t been able to blog as frequently nor as eloquently as I used to – brain fog is a bitch. But the blog limps along, which is apt.
Ok folks – starting to get some interest in giveaway items, after a puzzling lull. I’m going to chalk it up to everyone being focused on the events of 6 January. So here are some more items I’m giving away.
The zebra compression socks, camomile tea, and Ugg boots have all found new homes.
This third giveaway will be two foam rollers, given away separately (i.e, two winners).
White foam roller, round, 4″ x 36″
The first foam roller is soft and gently used. It is a CanDo white polyethylene closed cell foam roller, round, 4″ x 36″. 2.0 lb density. This was my first foam roller – I found it to be a bit too soft, as it will deform with use. I’d recommend it to someone who is lightweight and/or wants to try one out, knowing if they like it they might need to buy a slightly sturdier one. It has been used in a fragrance-free, smoke-free home (*not* pet-free – one dog).
Black foam roller, round, 6″ x 36″
The second foam roller is hard and brand-new. It is a CanDo high-density black EPP molded foam roller, closed-cell, round, extra-firm, 6″ x 36″. This molded foam is firmer and more rugged than polyethylene foam. Goldilocks time: this roller was too hard for me. I would not recommend it for folks with fibromyalgia, based on my experience. I found this roller very painful. But it obviously works for some folks. It is a very firm roller, and should withstand higher weight individuals without deforming. This foam roller has been in a fragrance-free, smoke-free home (*not* pet-free – one dog).
If you are interested in either foam roller, please leave a comment letting me know which one you’d like to win. I will leave the contest open for ~ 1 week, since we chronically ill/disabled folks operate at a slower pace (in most cases). Sorry -U.S. residents only, since I’m paying for the postage.
The events of 6 January 2021 were deeply disturbing. I was going to space these giveaways out a bit further, but I think we could use some comfort. So I’m giving away several more items that will hopefully bring a bit of comfort. If you are interested in any of these items, please leave a comment and specify which one of the items you’d like. To be clear, I am giving away three (3) items, separately.
Second Giveaway:
A gently used cream-colored fuzzy robe [synthetic material] with pockets. 48″ long. Probably men’s medium/women’s large. Scratchy tag removed, but the robe can be safely machine washed and dried. Previously washed with fragrance-free detergent (Seventh Generation Free & Clear); possibly previously dried with Bounce Free & Gentle dryer sheets or fragrance-free wool dryer balls.
Sealed tin of organic Chamomile tea, with images of chamomile flowers on a yellow background
3. A pair of new, never-worn Ultra Short Ugg boots women’s size 9/men’s size 7.5. Chestnut color. Suede leather outside. Shearling inside. [Made from actual wool – avoid if you are allergic/sensitive to wool] Removable, replaceable insoles. Waterproof soles.
A pair of Ugg boats, with sole showing the brand mark
All items come from a fragrance-free, smoke-free home. Home is NOT pet-free– there is a dog.Bonus: Packages may include random black dog hairs.
Again, please leave a comment if interested, and specify which item you’re interested in. I plan to give y’all a week to enter before I select the winners. I would strongly prefer that these items go to chronically ill and disabled individuals who can use them. I am not gatekeeping illness/disability, but if you are abled, please don’t be a dick and take these items from chronically ill/disabled people who could use them – this giveaway is not for you.
So, I have picked a word of intention for 2021, and it is Curate. Rather than being stuck in frustration, disappointment, and anger that my plans for the next phase of my life have been derailed by my chronic illness/disability, I am trying to reframe it as an opportunity to curate my life by letting go of things that no longer serve me, whether that is former ambitions, emotional baggage, or physical possessions.
When I was busy chasing after goals, I didn’t spend much time being introspective, nor did I spend time dealing with the stuff I’d accumulated. But now I have time…so I’m working on rightsizing my life and making sure it aligns with my values.
Toward that end, I have decided to give away things that I do not need, but which other people might need and/or enjoy. All of these items are either new or gently used.
I’ve never done an online giveaway before, so I’ll be learning as I go. Please bear with me.
Here’s the first giveaway: A pair of L/XL ProCompression zebra-striped compression socks. According to ProCompression, these socks will fit men’s size 11-13, women’s size 11-14, and a 16-20″ calf-size. These socks are new, in the packaging.
So, if you could use a pair of compression socks, leave a comment. I’ll select one winner. [Sorry, U.S. residents only, since I’m paying for the postage.]
Image: wooden bowl piled high with large sugar granules, scoop beside it
“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” – The more things change, the more they stay the same.
It’s New Year’s weekend, and, having eaten too many Christmas goodies, I am resolving to get my eating habits back on track – again. Specifically, I am striving to reduce the amount of processed sugar I eat.
I have been using sugar as an energy crutch for the last several months of 2020. A lot has been going on, and I have been pushing my body beyond its limits and using sugar to push through the fatigue. Also, sugar has effects on mood, and I’ve been eating more sugar during 2020 to boost my mood.
It hasn’t been egregious – I’ve gained five pounds in 2020. But I’m wearing my larger, looser clothes again. My weight has redistributed – my waist has gotten a lot larger. And I’ve crossed over into the “obese” category again. Weight is a loaded concept, but I know that losing some weight would take some stress off my joints – especially my knees and sacroiliac (SI) joints. [Important, since I have connective tissue issues with attendant osteoarthritis.]
Previously, I had posted about losing 40 pounds and keeping it off for over a year. But it slowly crept back on, and now I’ve gained it all back – plus two more pounds. I had good intentions to lose weight about a year-and-a-half ago, but it is ridiculously hard to do so when your chronic illnesses are not controlled/treated and properly medicated. I am embarrassed to say I didn’t follow through on the plan set out in that previous post.
So here we are: nascent 2021 and I am once again attempting to eat fewer empty calories and to lose weight. Specifically, I want to eat less processed sugar and to lose 5-10% of my body weight.
Crew Dog, onesickvet.com
Although it isn’t easy to overcome a sugar addiction, apart from my snacking we eat pretty much all homemade, from-scratch meals due to my allergies. So there isn’t much sugar in our meals – just in the sugary snacks I’ve been relying on for energy and mood boosts. Since I am an abstainer, it’s easier for me to go cold-turkey than to gradually reduce sugary snacks. I have abandoned my King-sized candy bar a day habit, and there are no more Christmas cookies left in the house. I am dealing with my sugar cravings by drinking hot tea with honey, and unsweetened flavored water.
An important thing to mention is that I have been trialing a supplement (quercetin), and it is giving me a lot more energy and cognitive ability (by stabilizing my mast cells). Otherwise I don’t know if I’d have the motivation and energy to try to change my behaviors while also dealing with chronic illness/disability.
I think modest goals are more realistic this year, so that’s my target: 1) lose 5-10% of my body weight; 2) stop using sugar as an energy crutch.
Tangentially, I am interested to see whether the reduction in sugar intake has any effect on my systemic inflammation, although the pandemic makes it much more difficult to get blood labs done.
Have you reduced or eliminated processed sugar? What worked for you and what didn’t? Please share in the comments.
Want to learn more about your eating habits? Check out previous posts in the Healthy Diet & Lifestyle series, such as this one.
One way I am learning to manage my health since becoming chronically ill/disabled is to break things down into smaller chunks or easier steps. Rather than becoming overwhelmed by tasks that I no longer have the mental, physical, or emotional energy to complete, I am very slowly learning to accept that I must alter my expectations and adapt my mindset and my behaviors.
So last month when I was talking to My Boomer Parent and they mentioned reading that a ten-minute walk was sufficient to help control/reduce blood sugar [glucose], I was intrigued, if skeptical.
Spousal Unit & I do not have diabetes, but many of our relatives do, so I decided to dig into the research. What I found was that My Boomer Parent was right: a 10 minute walk after eating helps regulate blood sugar. In fact, according to one study conducted by researchers at the University of Otago, New Zealand:
“When the participants walked for 10 minutes after each meal, their blood sugar levels were an average of 12% lower than when they took a single 30-minute walk each day.”
The idea of ten-minute walks was a lightbulb moment for me. I have been struggling to get sufficient exercise that won’t be counterproductive by aggravating my health conditions. For example, I used to love to run when I was young. When I could no longer run, I began walking. I would walk for a minimum of 45 minutes to an hour, at a brisk pace, and found that to be a great stress-releaser.
But now my joints just can’t handle that. Since moving to Florida, I have been walking about a 1 mile loop, and then my knees and SI joint are so sore and inflamed that I have to ice my knees and put a heating pad on my back, and it makes me less able to do things for a couple of days, which is not only counterproductive, but also frustrating and embarrassing.
But ten minutes? I can walk for ten minutes! And if it doesn’t inflame my knees, then I can even do it regularly. In fact, I might be able to work up to doing it several times a day.
Research shows that it’s beneficial to walk for ten minutes after each meal. But it also shows that the most important time to walk might be after dinner.
Taking a short walk after dinner showed the greatest benefit on blood glucose, particularly when the meal contained a lot of carbohydrate, lowering blood sugar levels by 22% compared to taking a single daily walk.
So I started out with a ten minute walk after dinner. And my knees didn’t hurt. (My SI joint was already out of position, so I considered it a wash that it was a little sore afterward.)
My initial plan was to walk after dinner every night for two weeks, and then to evaluate whether I could add a walk after breakfast. Lunch might be difficult, as we’re headed into Summer here in the Northern Hemisphere and I don’t do well with heat. But we’ll see how it goes. Perhaps I can handle ten minutes’ worth of heat.
Update: I’ve been walking for a month now. It has become a streak, and is well on its way to becoming a habit pattern. Ten minute walks after dinner are working really well for me. I set an alarm for 30 minutes after dinner, because the Otago study stated that “undertaking activity after waiting for 30 min following eating might be optimal in modifying the glycemic response.”
I find that ten minute walks are both physically *and* psychologically easier than longer walks. I don’t have to change into exercise clothes. I don’t have to carve out a large block of time. I seldom have to apply ice or heat afterward. Even on days when I’m very fatigued or my symptoms are flaring, I can manage a 10 minute walk.
Previously, I often had days when I did not feel well enough to do a 1 mile walk. And what do you do when you get halfway through a walk and don’t feel well enough to get home? But now I have a route that extends a little way past my home in both directions, so I am never very far from home. If I *really* wasn’t feeling well, I could just turn around and get home quickly.
It may sound ridiculous to able-bodied people. It might sound ludicrous to the veterans with whom I served, most of whom are still running marathons and doing triathlons. But 10 minute walks are what I am capable of, and they are what works for me.
Rather than feel bad that I can no longer run 10Ks, I choose to feel good that I have found an exercise that is working for me and has scientific evidence of efficacy. Instead of focusing on all the things I can no longer do, I choose to focus on the things that I can still do to manage my health.
Crew Dog, onesickvet.com
After one month, I have not added a second daily walk yet. Instead, I am working on adding home physical therapy to my daily routine. Right now, I am very inconsistently trying to do 10 minutes of exercise ball core strengthening exercises per day. I think I need to establish a set time to do these exercises in order for it to become a successful habit, in the same way that the walks are consistently 30 minutes after dinner every night. I don’t forget to do the walks, because there is a set time for them every day.
I also find the “streak” aspect very motivational. Some days I really don’t feel like going for a walk, but I don’t want to break the streak. So I go.
In summary, I am finding the idea of “only” doing something for ten minute at a time to be very powerful and productive. We have 1,440 minutes in a day. Surely I can take ten of those to do something healthy for myself? And then I can take another ten minutes somewhere else in the day to do something else healthy for myself, and gradually I can build healthy habits that are small and easy enough that I can consistently accomplish them.
And so I am using the power of ten minute time chunks to manage my limited energy. I don’t have to run a marathon – I just have to walk for ten minutes after dinner. I don’t have to climb El Capitan – I just have to do ten minutes of core strengthening after I wake up each morning.
And so it goes. I am taking positive actions for my physical and mental health, ten minutes at a time. And I think this could work for almost anyone. Able-bodied but working a frantic schedule? Carve out ten minutes for your health. Stay at Home parent? Find ten minutes for your health.
You know what? Some people are more disabled than I am. Maybe ten minute chunks won’t work for them. That’s ok – break it into smaller chunks. One minute of isometric exercises in your bed. Whatever works for you.
I am sensitive to peoples’ varying needs and abilities – if you can’t do anything, then don’t. The objective is to take care of oneself. I’m just sharing a technique that was a breakthrough for me.
BOTTOMLINE:Using ten minute micro walks, I have gone from walking once or twice a month to walking every night. My average mileage has increased, and I’m getting consistent daily exercise. I am literally and figuratively learning to pace myself. I am now using the ten minute technique to add additional healthy habits to my life.
This post will make more sense if you’ve seen the movie What About Bob?
In the movie, Bob has many fears and they severely constrict the way he lives his life. Until a helpful therapist suggests that Bob take baby steps to conquer his fears – tiny actions that Bob can accomplish, which will give him confidence and enable him to live a better life.
There is a lot of fear, during this time of COVID19. Health fears, money fears, safety fears, relationship fears…
I am proposing that baby stepping our way can help us to cope with our situations despite our fears.
Crew Dog, onesickvet.com
I want to talk about money, and money fears, during this global pandemic, but it is challenging for me. I spend most of my time online in two communities: Personal Finance/Financial Independence Retire Early (PF/FIRE) and Chronic Illness/Disability (CI/D). There are financially struggling individuals in each community, but the topic of money feels much more fraught in the CI/D community – many folks are struggling to have their basic needs covered, many are unable to work at all or unable to work full-time, many are dependent upon others for financial support, and disability “benefits” don’t pay enough to cover essential expenses.
How do I share my money story without sounding inconsiderate or oblivious to their struggles? My story is not the same as the stories of people who have been CI/D their entire lives, or whose disabilities are much greater than mine. My chronic illnesses/disability started after I had built a firm financial foundation. I am acutely aware of this privilege.
So who am I to talk about money fears in a time of global pandemic? In the interest of transparency, I feel compelled to acknowledge that I am currently financially secure. However, Spousal Unit and I both grew up working class and experienced the struggles of keeping a roof over our heads and food on our tables.
In fact, our parents’ financial struggles are what motivated us to become first generation college graduates, seek secure jobs, and save money.
We each transitioned from scarcity to sufficiency. In my case, I decided in the early days of my military career that I needed to learn about money and how to handle it wisely. So I went to the public library and checked out books on personal finance. Books on how to save money and books on how to invest money. Books on *why* to save money. Some of these books I liked so much I bought my own copies, which have survived numerous moves across continents and still reside on my bookshelves.
Now, of course, there are blogs and podcasts and vlogs and so many other methods of learning about money.
But if you have fears about losing your income or stretching your income to meet needs in a time of pandemic, I recommend you take a baby step or two. Start with Amy Dacyczyn’s books: The Tightwad Gazette (available in three separate volumes or as a compiled volume with some additional content).
Amy Dacyczyn’s books describe how she managed to achieve her dreams of having a large family and buying a “rural pre-1900 New England farmhouse (with attached barn)” as a SAHM with a military enlisted spouse. IOW, in the early 1990s, this family had an average income of less than $30,000/year. Nevertheless, they saved 43% of their gross income, had no debt, bought their dream farmhouse (with attached barn), and had six children. They were FIRE way before FIRE was a thing – Stone Age Frugal.
Yup. In order to accomplish these goals, Amy and her husband Jim were stone cold frugal. In fact, friends and family called Amy “The Frugal Zealot.” Because she had big dreams and small income, Amy pinched her pennies until they screamed.
In her books are practical, tangible methods for ways to save money. Some of these, like shopping at yard sales and thrift stores, you won’t be able to do during the current restrictions. But many of them you will. These books are packed with information ranging from how to give an inexpensive but fun birthday party to how to cook inexpensive meals from scratch. Amy does research and answers questions such as whether it is cheaper to hand wash dishes or use a dishwasher, and what you can do with dryer lint (assuming you don’t line-dry your clothes).
I promise you that I will make nothing if you buy these books. (I haven’t even figured out how to set-up an Amazon affiliate link.) In fact, I suggest you get them from your library if you can. I don’t know Amy, I’ve never met her, and we’ve never corresponded.
But when I was young, I learned how to be smartly, efficiently frugal from Amy Dacyczyn (The Frugal Zealot). And when I was newly married and neither of us knew how to cook, we learned how to make cheap, easy, tasty meals from these books. We learned which penny-pinching techniques were worth our while and which weren’t.
So I highly recommend The Tightwad Gazette in this time of economic upheaval. Baby step your way toward feeling more in control of your economic situation by reading and applying these books.
Readers: If you have other resources to recommend for money baby steps in these trying times, let us know in the comments. Thanks!
