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Recently, I went to the airport to pick up my nephew. Because he is young, I had to get a pass to go to the gate to pick him up. That meant three times the amount of walking.
I left Candy at home...won't do that again!
I made a series of mistakes that made my trip almost unbearable. Including a ridiculous decision to leave Candy at home (head to my Health Adjacent YouTube video channel for more about her). By the end of my nephew's visit, I was a hot mess. In this video (scroll down), I offer a few chronic life hacks that could have made my trip easier. I also do my fair share of complaining about the lack of accessibility in airports...not that anyone at the airport is listening. Sigh.
By the way, if you are living with a gluten sensitivity (and who isn't these days), check out this awesome guest post on traveling with food sensitivities, written by my friend Dee Nash.
What are your tips for managing airports and air travel?
A couple of months ago, my rheumatologist started me on a new medication for the chronic pain
associated with my Fibromyalgia and the joint swelling I've been having with Hurricane Ivan. I can't take traditional anti-inflammatories, so we decided to try Celebrex. This video is a quick review of how it has worked for me so far. One thing I forgot to mention is that Celebrex is a sulfa drug, so if you have a sulfa allergy, this is not for you.
Remember, I am not a doctor, so talk to yours to get the full 411. And, I am not affiliated in any way with Celebrex or Pfizer.
Recently, I went to the doctor because I was abnormally fatigued. The ensuing fiasco made me so angry that I have redoubled my efforts to avoid going to the doctor if at all possible. The sad truth is that many primary care doctors have little understanding of chronic illness and chronic pain.
This is what I look like when I am at my worst. Pretty.
I had qualms about sharing this blog post and video (scroll down) with you all. I strive to limit my complaining and focus on what IS working in my life. I have a lot of wonderful people and opportunities around me. But the emotional and psychological impact of being treated so poorly was so significant, I decided to share this.
As I've mentioned before, I have symptoms (that I call Hurricane Ivan) that are not related to my Fibromyalgia. These include: swollen, red, painful joints that are hot to the touch, heat intolerance, and joint stiffness that persists much of the day. In an effort to find out what this business is about, I've been working with my Rheumatologist to see if she can identify the source of these symptoms. Unfortunately, all of my tests return "normal"...equally unfortunate is that doctors who see "normal" tests results tend to think that 1)there's nothing wrong with you and 2) you are likely exaggerating your problems. Undoubtedly, many of you have had this same experience. Unfortuntely, this can lead to some frightening treatment decisions...like the one a primary care doc made about my pain medications. See the video for more on that story...
And this, my friends, is the greatest challenge of it all. If a doctor receives a negative or normal test result on a battery of tests, they tend to just stop the diagnostic process. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to remind my doctor that I USED to be employed full time as a CEO of a 7 million dollar non profit. I do not PREFER to be at home, in my bed, eeking out a living online. I'd PREFER to have the 6 figure salary I once had. But I digress...
This video is a rant, so if you are not one who likes to listen to frustration, a bit of cursing and general complaining about the system, this may not be the video for you. I did include a tiny bit of humor...just to keep it real.
Living with a chronic illness means that there are times in our lives when we will need care (scroll down for my video on the subject). Sometimes we need help with small things, like running an errand, other times it is more complicated, like ensuring we have the right medications. Our friends, partners, spouses and families show up for us in little and big ways, and we can show up for them, too!
I have done a bit of research on resources for caregivers for the chronically ill and am including
some of the resources I've found. Please leave a comment if you have suggestions for resources, too.
In this video, I offer suggestions for taking care of your caregiver(s). We can all find ways to do something to show we appreciate all that they do for us.
Using a tinted moisturizer with a good sunscreen can be really helpful for those of us living with a chronic illness. Medication can dehydrate our skin and make us more sensitive to the sun's rays. So
BalmShelter Tinted Moisturizer gets an A+!
at a minimum, we should be using a good moisturizer with a broad spectrum SPF.
And if you are committed to that step, you might as well give your face a bit of sheer color while you are at it.
As I've said before, I often feel worse when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror on days when I am having a flare.
Sometimes, I am feeling too crappy to do much of anything in the way of makeup. But even when I am at my worst, I can almost always smooth a little tinted moisturizer on my skin. Because it has light coverage, I don't have to worry too much about blending and lines of demarcation. I can easily take it all the way down my neck to extend the benefits of the product to that area. We need moisture and sunscreen on both our face and neck.
I have tried a lot of tinted moisturizers and have found it difficult to settle on one that I really like. This week, I received an order from Haute Look and it contained various "TheBalm" products. One of these was their tinted moisturizer called "Balm Shelter." I ordered the 'light' color and it was perfect for my skin.
I'd love to know what you use as a tinted moisturizer. Leave me a comment and let me know!
A nude lip is a great choice for days when you want to feature a different part of your face. Shifting the focus from your sexy pout to your gorgeous eyes or your chiseled cheekbones is a wonderful wayto show off your best feature. When we emphasize all of the features of our face at the same time (dramatic eyes, heavy contour, bold lips) it makes it difficult for others to focus on the overall effect of our beauty. Instead, they'll spend the entire time shifting focus from feature to feature. Having
several features highlighted at the same time is just too much stimuli to throw at our loved ones!
That's one of the reasons why a nude lip has become so popular. The other, of course, is using it for a more subtle, natural look.
But, not all nudes are created equal. If you use the wrong color on your lips, you can end up looking sick...or dead...neither of which is attractive (to most people, anyway.) The goal is not to make your lips look like your skin color, but to highlight the natural color of your lips. My skin color is significantly different than my lip color...and in this video, I show you what colors work best for me.
Here are the products I use: MAC lip liner in "Whirl" MAC lipstick in "MidiMauve" NYX Mega Shine lip gloss in "Cosmo" Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in "Naked"
Yep, there are lots of beauty products that have gluten in them (scroll down for my video Gluten in Beauty Products). I've found wheat protein, wheat germ oil, and barley malt in a variety of hair
products. Since I recorded this video, I found a face cream with wheat in it. And, despite my rant and subsequent vow in this video to read labels and stop buying these products, I've done it twice since then. Sigh.
Here's the deal: if you have problems with gluten sensitivity, think twice about using products IN or ON your body that contain gluten. Personally, I focused so much on not ingesting it, that I never considered the potential effects it might have on my skin. Frankly, I've never heard anyone else talk about wheat in beauty products being a problem. But I've found it causes me to have rashes and sores on my scalp, neither of which is a) fun or b) sexy.
Now, for people who have Celiac Disease, this might not be a problem. Celiac is a condition that is based on the ingestion of gluten and its impact on the intestines. That said, it's important to remember that someone can have both Celiac Disease and a wheat allergy, and those things combined could lead to skin sensitivity.
The bottom line is that the medical community doesn't really have a handle on all of the ins and outs of gluten sensitivity. It's a term that covers a whole host of symptoms and processes and can affect people in different ways.
Unfortunately, it isn't always easy to determine whether gluten is in a product. The FDA does not regulate cosmetics as it does medication. Cosmetics companies voluntarily report ingredients and language describing ingredients is not regulated well. Personally, I've found that my best bet is to introduce one new beauty product at a time so that I can monitor my reaction. Over time, I've been able to determine some of the ingredients that affect me in a negative manner.
In this video, I talk about these products, which contain wheat in some form. Many of these products are awesome, minus the wheat issue. I absolutely
loved Miss Jessie's and almost cried when I realized it was the cause of
my misery. And I love everything I've tried in the Frizz-Ease line.
Getting the most out of life is a tiring (and sometimes trying!) process. But if you aren't managing
your energy conscientiously, you can end up doing a whole lot of things that don't matter and being too tired for the things that do. In this video, (see below) I give 15 chronic life hacks (15!) to help you learn to create and manage your schedule, with built in time for napping.
Everything I do has built in time for napping.
Hey and by the way, I started a new YouTube channel called "Beauty for the Rest of Us". As you might suspect, it will focus on beauty....everything from makeup to hair to skin care. Most of my tutorials will be for us gals in our 40's and older, but not necessarily chronically ill. I was planning on posting a few of those videos on here, but I'd love to know what you think. Would you be interested in those videos, too?
I'm starting a new series of videos called "Makeup Over 40" (scroll down for said video and head to the Health Adjacent channel for more beauty videos). I feel fairly certain that you can decipher the content from the words used in the title. :) I decided to start this series because I've found that so much about the way I wear makeup has changed in the past four years (I'm 44, don't tell.) It seems that for about the first 35 or so years, my ability to wear varying colors and textures on my face was completely unhindered. My only criteria had to do with interest and cost.
As I hit my late 30's, things started to change. My skin switched from normal to dry and I started noticing fine lines. As I hit 40, I started developing rosacea, which seriously changed the kinds of colors I could wear. I started noticing an increased sensitivity to fragrances and chemicals used in beauty products.
As for my eyes, my under eye circles took on a life of their own and my eyelids started a slow
A shot of the finished look.
progression south. Right now I can get away with thinking of them as "hooded" instead of "old" but that's the direction we are all headed anyway.
Though I am changing (in ways that could be predicted by my gene pool), I am determined to embrace this brave new world and continue enjoying the world of makeup. I've discovered a few tricks of the trade, so to speak, and will share with you what I've learned.
This video is about makeup for older eyes. In it, I focus on techniques that I use to disguise the things that are less appealing and create a beautiful look.
I have dry skin year-round, but in winter I am as parched as a desert. In addition to feeling extremely uncomfortable, dry skin looks older. Yes, you read that correctly, older. And I'm not tryin' to look any older than my 44 years...you feelin' me? So, having a great moisturizer is my top beauty tip for looking younger. (FYI, there's a video reviewing lotions for dry skin at the end of my endless lists...so scroll down...)
There are a lot of factors that can cause dry skin:
Cold temperatures and hot furnaces
Age and Hormones
Illness and Medications
Dehydration and Poor Moisturization
Trips to Burning Man
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of lotions that can be used to remedy dry skin. I am reviewing a few that I am using now, but it is a fraction of what is available. I tend to consistently search for new moisturizing products, not because I haven't found any that I like, but because it's fun! If I really like a product, I'll buy a backup or two of it, particularly if I found it on sale. BTW, Marshall's and TJ Maxx are AWESOME for finding sales on lotion-y products.
Here's a list of the lotions I review...you'll have to watch the video if you want to find out which one's I like:
