The Chronic Nurse

21/11/2023

There is nothing harder than living with an invisible illness.
This is chronic pain, sleepless nights, infertility, fatigue, brain fog, constipation, urinary retention, infection after Infection, siatica, back pain, leg pain, shoulder pain, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, digestive problems, bloating, waking up screaming and crying, relationship breakdowns, divorce, anxiety, depression, PTSD, pain during s*x, pain after s*x, bleeding during s*x, bleeding after s*x, bleeding outside of periods, cysts, adhesions, scar tissue, inflammation, medication after medication, drug trials, IVF, 'when are you having a baby?', 'you look fine', 'its just a bad period, everyone has them', unintrested medical professionals, scans, examinations, surgeries, hormone replacements, medically induced menopause...

This is Endometriosis, and I am 1 in 10. 🎗

05/11/2023

Hello all, its been a while.
I wanted to bring you all a little life update.
Today marks 5 months since my excision laparoscopy. Unfortunately, the outcome from this first surgery has been minimal. 2 weeks ago I had an MRI scan of my pelvis due to high levels of blood in my urine, urinary retention and frequency, and pain when passing urine (similar to that of a UTI).
The results from the MRI has shown I have deep infiltrated Endometriosis on my bladder and also my colon. I am also to undergo a full body MRI scan in 3 weeks time, to investigate the cause of my shoulder pain, which I have recently discovered may be related to my endometriosis also.
Unfortunately, due to this, I am now awaiting another surgery. My initial consultation will be on the 20th of November.

Something I have also been pretty quiet about is my current status with my nursing degree. I am currently suspended from University until March, as due to my poor health and undergoing my surgery, the decision to suspend was out of my hands. This has been very difficult for me, since I love my degree, however I am hoping that following a second surgery I will be in a much better position to be able to focus on my degree when I return.

The last thing I wanted to discuss is the national shortage of ADHD medication. My psych trialed me on Xaggitin XL for a month, due to the shortage of Elvanse (which I was on prior to this). Xaggitin XL did not work for me and I felt very unwell a lot of the time, aswell as being very short tempered and nasty.
I am now awaiting a script to trial a generic brand of Lisdexamphetamine (same as Elvanse). I am unsure how long it will take to be in stock, but at least it is a medication I get on with.
The ADHD stimulant shortage is expected to last until January.

I hope you are all doing well, and I will keep you all updated on my adventures.

Please take a second to check out my GoFundMe, maybe give it a share or a donation if at all possible. Thank you so very much 🫶🏻
https://gofund.me/b4817c3f

PFA 🖤

05/07/2023

1 month post-op... heres how it is going for me!
🎗🎗🎗
I've also posted an update on GoFundMe:
https://gofund.me/b4817c3f

23/06/2023

What is the difference between Endometriosis and Adenomyosis?

https://gofund.me/b4817c3f

17/06/2023

BeYou Monthly Patches have seriously changed my life. For years I've been on opioid medications to help manage my pain. Since discovering BeYou, I've been able to reduce my amount of opioids massively (because the side effects of opioids can really suck!). Since my surgery, these patches have helped to reduce my pain, swelling and bloating, and they've really pulled me through. Before my surgery, these were the only medication-free way I found relief.
These can be worn absolutely anywhere on the body, and they are 100% discreet and comfortable. I often wear these on my back too!
have been kind enough to give me a discount code to share with you all, so you can try BeYou period and BeYou CBD with 10% off your order! There's really something for everyone, from vitamins, to CBD products, to menstrual products.
Nobody should be living in pain 💛

17/06/2023

Fatigue - sometimes the biggest barrier of all.
Its been a huge struggle for me for as long as I can remember now, I don't remember the last time I wasn't absolutely exhausted.
Fatigue impacts everyone differently, to different extents, and is more common in those living with chronic pain, disabilities and neurodiversity.

17/06/2023

I asked people to share their experiences of living with fatigue. These are just some if the responses i received.
It is real, and it is raw, and it ruins lives.

15/06/2023

15/06/2023

The dreaded ...
Lets talk about it.

I am now 9 days post-op from my first laparoscopy, and it has been a wild ride.

I will talk about what to pack in your hospital bag in another post. Is there anything else you'd like me to cover? 🎗

15/06/2023

What i use to support my education as a neurodivergent student living with chronic pain ✨️

View the full story over on my Instagram 🥰💉

15/06/2023

First of all, lets talk about Endometriosis and Adenomyosis. Reason being, first of all i am officially one week recovered from my first laparoscopy, secondly, until I was diagnosed and did my own research, i had no idea what it was.

I spent years dosed up on countless medications, spending hundreds of pounds on anything to relieve my pain. From TENS machines, to Hormone treatment, to opioids, I've tried pretty much everything to give me some relief. It took countless appointments and admissions, and thousands of pounds for private treatment to FINALLY receive a diagnosis and treatment for my condition.

So, what is Endo and Adeno?
These are caused when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus (endometrium) grow outside of the womb. In the case of Endo, this could be absolutely anywhere on the body, whereas with Adeno it is found buried into the myometrium (muscle walls of the uterus). This causes a huge load of awful symptoms (i will discuss these in another post!).

This leads onto laparoscopy, what is that?
Laparoscopy (keyhole) surgery is currently the only way to 100% diagnose Endometriosis. It is a procedure that involves a camera and various tools being inserted through small incisions, in which they then remove any endometrial tissue. I also had a Hysteroscopy (camera inside the womb) during my laparoscopy.

Over the next few days I will post more about these conditions, my diagnosis, and my recovery. All I can really say is cheers for making my life even more bloody complicated 🖕🏼
(Get the pun?)

15/06/2023

Hey! My name is Mol, I am 21 years old and boy has it been an eventful 21 years.
At 18, I was diagnosed with Autism, ADHD and Dyslexia.
At 20, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and hypermobility, after living my life with chronic pain (wooh).
At 21, I was diagnosed with Endometriosis and Adenomyosis and underwent my 1st Laparoscopy, all while trying to become a qualified nurse.

My life has been pretty crazy, and so I decided to document it. I just hope I can help someone not feel so alone in this world. Its fu***ng tough out there.

I want to share my journey, my experiences, facts, advice and everything else. This is going to be raw, it'll be real, and it will show the real ups and downs of living a chronic life. You are not alone 🤞🏻❤️