March 2018: Sorting My Medications & a Hike Up Little Adam's Peak

*Note: This article was originally written for my monthly linkups, which I've archived as it was taking too much out of me. However, I've kept most of the posts written as I realise it's much like a diary with memories that make me nostalgic or smile. I hope you enjoy reading them, too! 🙂

Sorting Out All My Medications

I've got heaps of medications piled up, expensive 'treats' accumulated from my weekly visits to various doctors. It's time to stop procrastinating, and to start organising them into their own neat caches.

Here's my usual routine: throw out expired meds, label the current ones with expiry dates by year, and arrange them into their 'regular' spots. Spare meds are further arranged in the drawers below. Yes, I have an entire cabinet just for storing all my medications. If you're a spoonie, I'm sure this tedious and boring process is familiar to you 😉

*Disclaimer: This article is meant for educational purposes, and is based on my personal experiences as a patient. I am not a doctor, and nothing in this article should be substituted for medical advice. Please consult your own doctor before changing or adding any new treatment protocols. This post may also contain affiliate links. It will cost you nothing to click on them. I will get a small referral fee from purchases you make, which helps with the maintenance of this blog. Read our Privacy Policy page for more information. Thank you!

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My Aim to Rise Earlier Every Morning

I do notice that I accomplish my best work and am more productive in the early mornings. It's a little strange because I've always been a night owl, so you'd think I'd operate best at night!

I guess age is catching up, and chronic illness has a way of affecting your daily energy meter as well. For March, I'm going to try my best to wake early, and hopefully that'll solidify into a habit thereafter.

The tricky part is when I get a bad day, which means I can't help but to stay in bed the whole time. This messes up the cycle but hey, this is something I'd like to work on.

Rejoicing as Piper (My Parrotlet) Lays Her First Egg!

We got back from a week in Sri Lanka, only to find Piper crouched on the floor of her cage. So we made her a makeshift nest with one of my KefenTech anti-inflammatory plaster boxes, and found a tiny egg in there the next morning!! It was all very exciting even though I had been trying to prolong this event, as it's not really healthy for them to start so young.

She's the baby of the family in terms of age and size, so it's rather endearing. I went to buy her an actual wooden nest box from the pet shop, but she doesn't seem to like it as much as the flimsy KefenTech one 😉 She laid another egg yesterday but unfortunately, it cracked. Let's see how many she'll lay in total, and perhaps I'll get to be a bird granny soon!

What I'm Reading in March

I actually bought the book, “The Sound of SCH: A Mental Breakdown, A Life Journey”, for a friend's Christmas gift, but he already had a copy! (I'll attribute it to knowing my friends' tastes too well 😉) So I took it back as a gift to myself instead 😛

I also brought three books whilst on vacation in Sri Lanka last week:

• The Woman Who Fooled The World: The True Story of Fake Wellness Guru Belle Gibson
• Royal Road to Fotheringhay: The Story of Mary, Queen of Scots
• Tears of Salt: A Doctor's Story of the Refugee Crisis

Slightly ambitious perhaps, but I did manage to finish reading two of them! Some of these are really gripping stories that you might be interested in - you can find them in the book recommendations listed below.

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Sometimes, a Break from Regular Routines Does Wonders

Speaking about the trip - I spend too much time on the internet when I'm back home, to the point of unhealthy I'll readily admit. It just seems so normal, because everyone's doing the same. But I also have zero issues being cut off from it whilst overseas, and don't go into withdrawal or anything of the sort.

I think it's always a good idea to get away from our regular routines every now and then, for a change in rhythm and perspective. Sometimes by breaking routines, I realise that I didn't actually like what I 'needed' to have in my daily life previously. It's like running a clean up of mental junk!

Taking Pride in My Hike Up Little Adam's Peak!

Little Adam's Peak is rated an 'easy' hike, but having chronic illnesses complicate things, especially when it comes to physical activity. I fretted about it the night before:

"What if the sun triggers a Lupus flare?", "What if I'm having Sjögren aches and can't come down?", "What if my ovaries burst again, because I'm supposed to keep activity low during ovulation?", "What if...what if...what if?". Yet I knew that it was something I had to do, or regret.

Becoming More Comfortable in My Own Skin (Though I Looked Ridiculous)

I l looked ridiculous wrapped up from head to toe in order to protect myself from the sun (many others were in shorts and flip-flops), but I didn't really care. Compared to many years ago, I've become more comfortable in my own porcelain skin (porcelain in the bad way 😉), and am okay with that.

All I wanted to do was get to the top and enjoy the view. It wasn't so bad after all, and I managed to hike up in 40 minutes. I rewarded myself with a delicious cup of coffee (surprise, there's really good coffee in Ella!), a nap, and relaxed for the rest of the day 🙂

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More Photos from Our Trip to Sri Lanka

Here are a few more photos of our trip to Sri Lanka, I hope you enjoy them!

Thank you for reading my March 2018 entry! Continue with April 2018 here, or read last month's entry, February 2018.

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