[Harriet]

Wednesday

 

I woke up feeling slightly better today (just a brighter mood and less fogginess) but I skipped getting groceries as I had a skype date with my father and a doctor’s appointment and wanted to maximise recovery. I have leftovers to eat anyway. Probably not doing anything else today.

 

Doctor’s appointment didn’t go quite as expected—I waited an hour only to find out the doc did not receive the letter from the rheumatologist, and I have to ring again and ask them to fax it. I thought this might be the last CFS related appointment, but no. I also have to print out a form, fill it out, send it to the doc and return in April. And even if I do this, the Charite is unlikely to take me as my CFS had a stress onset, not an infectious onset (that I know of), and they're interested in the former latter right now because of long covid.

 

They took another blood test just to check that keto isn’t murdering me, and the first attempt on my left arm (which I don’t like offering because it’s scarred all over, but the nurse insisted) failed and they had to do it again on the right arm. I asked them to print out the older, pre-keto one from June last year, just out of interest. Turns out I had low but normal blood sugar and splendid lipids even pre-keto, which is nice. I somehow doubt I’m going to be out of the normal range now even if all the cream and butter has raised my cholesterol.

[Scaly Freak]

Leftovers are sorely underrated.  Glad you're feeling better today!

[Mad Hatter]

Whoah, what even is a fax?  

[Scaly Freak]

2 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

Whoah, what even is a fax?  

 

It's an alternative pronunciation and spelling for the word "facts" Like how some people say "expresso" when they mean "espresso"  

[Mad Hatter]

1 minute ago, Scaly Freak said:

It's an alternative pronunciation and spelling for the word "facts" Like how some people say "expresso" when they mean "espresso"  

Gotcha, makes sense. 😆

[Harriet]

Thursday
Still achy. I meditated, got groceries and did a small amount of reading/note taking—ten minutes. Haven’t done any cleaning or art or lifting for a week.

 

Tomorrow a friend of Mr Harriet is coming for dinner, then my brother is coming on Saturday and we will go out for breakfast on Sunday. I am not recovered yetttttt thoughhhhhh. Why does it ache? When will it stop?

 

I saw some chicken livers at the shop and decided to give them another try. I parcelled them into really small amounts—about 50g each—and put all but one portion in the freezer. I fried today’s liver with my dinner (a chop) in olive oil for maybe a minute and a half each side, with onion, and ate with a bit of a store bought lemon and garlic sauce. Not awful. I could see myself doing this regularly, especially if I get the cooking time right and don’t burn the onions again. And maybe with a better sauce. Like real sriracha. 1 carb per teaspoon, 1 teaspoon per liver. Bargain.

[KB Girl]

On 2/16/2022 at 8:01 AM, Harriet said:

Hmmmmmm I don't think so--my friend in school showed me some when we were teenagers and it was very badly written and pornographic and involved the characters behaving uncharacteristically for the sake of unnatural forced plot squiggles. 😐 I think I want to stick with books so there's at least some quality control.

That's like saying you once read a book and it was very bad so now you don't want to read books anymore! There is quality control for fanfiction, constantly improving. My success rate with finding good ones is just as high as it is with books. 

 

On 2/16/2022 at 4:10 PM, Harriet said:

Wednesday

 

I woke up feeling slightly better today (just a brighter mood and less fogginess) but I skipped getting groceries as I had a skype date with my father and a doctor’s appointment and wanted to maximise recovery. I have leftovers to eat anyway. Probably not doing anything else today.

 

Doctor’s appointment didn’t go quite as expected—I waited an hour only to find out the doc did not receive the letter from the rheumatologist, and I have to ring again and ask them to fax it. I thought this might be the last CFS related appointment, but no. I also have to print out a form, fill it out, send it to the doc and return in April. And even if I do this, the Charite is unlikely to take me as my CFS had a stress onset, not an infectious onset (that I know of), and they're interested in the former latter right now because of long covid.

 

They took another blood test just to check that keto isn’t murdering me, and the first attempt on my left arm (which I don’t like offering because it’s scarred all over, but the nurse insisted) failed and they had to do it again on the right arm. I asked them to print out the older, pre-keto one from June last year, just out of interest. Turns out I had low but normal blood sugar and splendid lipids even pre-keto, which is nice. I somehow doubt I’m going to be out of the normal range now even if all the cream and butter has raised my cholesterol.

That is shitty. 

[fearless 2.0]

1 hour ago, Harriet said:

Thursday
Still achy. I meditated, got groceries and did a small amount of reading/note taking—ten minutes. Haven’t done any cleaning or art or lifting for a week.

 

Tomorrow a friend of Mr Harriet is coming for dinner, then my brother is coming on Saturday and we will go out for breakfast on Sunday. I am not recovered yetttttt thoughhhhhh. Why does it ache? When will it stop?

 

I saw some chicken livers at the shop and decided to give them another try. I parcelled them into really small amounts—about 50g each—and put all but one portion in the freezer. I fried today’s liver with my dinner (a chop) in olive oil for maybe a minute and a half each side, with onion, and ate with a bit of a store bought lemon and garlic sauce. Not awful. I could see myself doing this regularly, especially if I get the cooking time right and don’t burn the onions again. And maybe with a better sauce. Like real sriracha. 1 carb per teaspoon, 1 teaspoon per liver. Bargain.

sending energy and joy and real sriracha!  

[Alanna]

It's great that you are still continuing with meditation, short spurts of reading, and food shopping/cooking despite the setback, but I hope you feel better soon! 

 

3 hours ago, Harriet said:

I saw some chicken livers at the shop and decided to give them another try. I parcelled them into really small amounts—about 50g each—and put all but one portion in the freezer. I fried today’s liver with my dinner (a chop) in olive oil for maybe a minute and a half each side, with onion, and ate with a bit of a store bought lemon and garlic sauce. Not awful. I could see myself doing this regularly, especially if I get the cooking time right and don’t burn the onions again. And maybe with a better sauce. Like real sriracha. 1 carb per teaspoon, 1 teaspoon per liver. Bargain.

 

Liver is tricky - and I agree chicken liver is better with onions. When I was good about eating liver, I found lamb liver easier to stomach, but I usually hid it in a bunch ground red meat by making liver meatloaf. Great job branching out to new recipes! 

[Mad Hatter]

Hope things will get better soon!

[Harriet]

Hey nerds. Will come and check on everyone later. Just tired/distracted/demotivated. Did not gym today as full of aches. Am I lazy and creating my own tiredness by internetting? Or am I internetting listlessly because I am tired? Alas.

 

Mr Harriet has been feeling unwell since his vaccine in December, with chest pain and fatigue, and he got a heart scan the other day which showed some things (fluid? mild dilation?) that need following up. He worries because his father had his first heart attack at age 50, and Mr Harriet is in his 40s. But the doctor said he could exercise. He used to do hours of intense cycling up hills, or hours of maximum resistance running on the crosstrainer, but he was completely exhausted by a short attempt the day before yesterday, and today he decided to get checked after his heart rate was high during a walk (well... high for him. His usual heartrate is 40 at night, 60 during the day, and it was 140 while walking, something that he could usually only achieve with intense cardio). He is waiting for the test results now, and I'm waiting to hear if they're going to keep him overnight. I don't think he's in immediate danger but it's worrying. I didn't go with him to the hospital because we agreed that it would probably take another week for me to recover, and that would be pointless and bad. So I'm just sitting at home killing spiders and barbarians.

[Scaly Freak]

I am so sorry about Mr H's situation. Few things are as stressful as worry over someone we love. 

 

Check in when you can, as much as you can, there is no obligation or expectation that you have to do a certain amount. Your priorities lay elsewhere right now, and that is where they should be. Be supportive of Mr H and take care of yourself, and that is all you need to focus on right now. We're not going anywhere.

[Alanna]

I am really sorry - I hope the test results give you some answers and solutions, and that Mr Harriet can go back home soon. I'll echo what Scaly Freak said - focus on taking care of yourself and your husband. We will miss you if you need to disappear for a bit or post less often, but we understand and want what is best for you!

[fearless 2.0]

sending energy and hoping with you for good results! ❤️

[Harriet]

18 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

I am so sorry about Mr H's situation. Few things are as stressful as worry over someone we love. 

 

Check in when you can, as much as you can, there is no obligation or expectation that you have to do a certain amount. Your priorities lay elsewhere right now, and that is where they should be. Be supportive of Mr H and take care of yourself, and that is all you need to focus on right now. We're not going anywhere.

 

18 hours ago, Alanna said:

I am really sorry - I hope the test results give you some answers and solutions, and that Mr Harriet can go back home soon. I'll echo what Scaly Freak said - focus on taking care of yourself and your husband. We will miss you if you need to disappear for a bit or post less often, but we understand and want what is best for you!

 

17 hours ago, fearless 2.0 said:

sending energy and hoping with you for good results! ❤️

 

Thank you my possums. Mr Harriet is okay for now, though the mystery remains unsolved and he'll have to do more tests. I slept poorly and am as tired as I have been in a long while. It's very unpleasant and I don't miss the days when I used to feel like this often. I just want to recover and get back to my routine.

[fearless 2.0]

its hard to sleep during a storm. you are not alone  

sending hugs and hot keto chocolate! ❤️ 

 

[Scaly Freak]

3 hours ago, Harriet said:

Thank you my possums. Mr Harriet is okay for now, though the mystery remains unsolved and he'll have to do more tests. I slept poorly and am as tired as I have been in a long while. It's very unpleasant and I don't miss the days when I used to feel like this often. I just want to recover and get back to my routine.

 

You went from regular every day routine, to a massive bossfight you had no chance to prepare for. It's understandable that you are exhausted (I'm guessing you didn't sleep well?) but that of course doesn't do anything to make it less unpleasant.... I'm glad Mr Harriet is doing better. I hope you can get answers soon!

[sarakingdom]

6 hours ago, Harriet said:

I slept poorly and am as tired as I have been in a long while. It's very unpleasant and I don't miss the days when I used to feel like this often. I just want to recover and get back to my routine.

 

I guess the horrible silver lining is seeing how far you've come?

 

I hope you can get some extra rest. I really recommend naps.

[Rebel Pilot Gar]

Sending good thoughts / vibes through the interwebs. Hope you get some rest -- also hope you can get some answers soon for Mr. H.

 

[Harriet]

17 hours ago, fearless 2.0 said:

its hard to sleep during a storm. you are not alone  

sending hugs and hot keto chocolate! ❤️ 

 

 

There's such a thing as keto hot chocolate??? Tell me more!

 

17 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

You went from regular every day routine, to a massive bossfight you had no chance to prepare for. It's understandable that you are exhausted (I'm guessing you didn't sleep well?) but that of course doesn't do anything to make it less unpleasant.... I'm glad Mr Harriet is doing better. I hope you can get answers soon!

 

Thank you ❤️ I'm not sure if it was a boss fight exactly... The current semi-slug phase seems to have been triggered by a trip to the museum/dinner with friends a week and a half ago, and was merely exacerbated by stress and poor sleep the other day.

 

14 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

I guess the horrible silver lining is seeing how far you've come?

 

Exactly correct. I used to get major slug phases very often, and even the times between them were not as good as they have been recently. Unfortunately, the "pacing" seems to be the main factor here; the diet has not much improved my fatigue/tolerance for outings and social events. But at least I know I can keep the tiredness under control with a strictly limited routine.

 

14 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

I hope you can get some extra rest. I really recommend naps.

 

Thanks. I should mention the night of terrible sleep involved a small amount of whisky, a large amount of dark chocolate late at night, and me running out of my melatonin. The last time I ran out of melatonin I also slept terribly and was distraught the next day. Too many confounders to be sure but I ordered more melatonin.

 

10 hours ago, Rebel Pilot Gar said:

Sending good thoughts / vibes through the interwebs. Hope you get some rest -- also hope you can get some answers soon for Mr. H.

Thank you! I hope we get answers too. It looks like it might have been a mild heart muscle inflammation as a result of the vaccine, but we may have left it too long to find out for sure.

[Harriet]

Sunday

 

Meditated

 

Brother came over for brunch and to celebrate his new German citizenship and passport. Asked Mr Harriet to make a playlist of favourite German songs, which pleased my brother greatly. Had a very nice time but am tired. Muscle and joint pain going down--seems to be mediated by cycle. Hoping for a new normal week from tomorrow. Please? I can't lose another week to demotivated idleness, that would be outrageous. And if it's only one week of doing nothing I can call it a "deload week" and feel like I'm on track lol.

 

Maybe I can just make everything miniature: five minutes of meditation, writing, cleaning and art? Plus groceries of course.

I have kept up the meditation, though. Insight timer says seventy days in a row.

[Gemma]

Reduced pain = lovely!

 

24 minutes ago, Harriet said:

 

Maybe I can just make everything miniature: five minutes of meditation, writing, cleaning and art? Plus groceries of course.
 

 Miniature is an excellent idea. A tiny bit of something is infinitely more than nothing. Also, very small can be very awesome.

 

 

 

 

Congratulations on the meditation streak! 

[KB Girl]

Hope tomorrow is the start of a better week 😘

3 hours ago, Harriet said:

Maybe I can just make everything miniature: five minutes of meditation, writing, cleaning and art? Plus groceries of course.

sounds like a good plan!

[Mad Hatter]

13 hours ago, Harriet said:

Insight timer says seventy days in a row.

Impressive.  

 

Glad Mr H seems ok! 

 

Fingers crossed for a better week.

[Harriet]

17 hours ago, Gemma said:

 Miniature is an excellent idea. A tiny bit of something is infinitely more than nothing. Also, very small can be very awesome.

 

 

I love this tiny monkey and promise to brush it gently and not to eat it if someone can acquire it for me.