THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

westcoastscot wrote: »

Hi Karma, i'm good for cash flow as living off savings for ten years, just need to eke them out as overall funds are very low.

I didn't realise you were in the same boat as me! It's weird, isn't it ... I do have some money coming to me, when we sell my mother's house, but it's quite sobering sometimes.

Will cast an eye around my stores for imported goodies - I'm pondering going over to a yearly food and fuel budget as spending is not regular month to month, summer being cheaper. Another good reason to do so!

Goldiegirl, on MFW, who retired a few years ago, does that annual budget, for exactly that reason, the whole stocking up thing. I buy such basic foodstuffs, and have so many digestive intolerances, I haven't worked at sticking strictly to a budget, I confess. But now I'm healthier, and interested in trying more, I think I'll need to. Its very easy to go overboard, when you're not limited by other issues.

We kept a milking goat for many years and goat cheese is easy to make - I have recipes if you'd like them?

Oh wow. Yes, I'd love the recipes if you could. I've no chance of *keeping* a goat - dormitory town in the south east of England - but who knows how things change? And if I win the million pound premium bond, I might yet do something on these lines

Agree about olive oil and I love the olives in the wee tins!

WCS

Tangy and yummy

mardatha wrote: »

Karmacat how did things improve for you healthwise and what do you think made it happen? Was stopping work enough on it's own or did you make other changes?

It's been really slow, Mar, maybe I can summarise it as tweaking little things all the time. Point format, as I find that easiest:

Stopping work was huge, no doubt about it. Less stress, no clients coming to my house so I had my privacy back - but there was also my mother's very brief illness and death to deal with in that first year. It was me that dealt with the probate, not my brother or sister, I had the most aptitude for all that, so that was a lot of *added* stress. But I coped with that much better than the stress of work.

I stopped pretending my illness wasn't serious. Being on here helped me with that - you, maddiemay, cappella, GQ. There's a blog called Captain Awkward, recommended by someone on the mfw board, which feels like it saved my life. I still work really hard on not apologising for my existence, and that still helps.

Bridges for the day. I'd been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue, not Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, so it was always less serious (no hospitalisations for me, for instance), and one really, really useful concept they gave me was of stepping stones/bridges - rest periods supporting the day, basically. You don't carry on and then stop for the day, you do a bit, rest a bit, do a bit more, rest a bit more. That's contrary to my natural way of doing things, so it was very difficult, even last year, I wore myself out, needed a week's rest after going on a walk with my sister and not resting midway. It was horribly disappointing, but I kept learning.

Letting go of stereotypes I've been an idiot for a lot of my life still am. You don't have a wide circle of friends? You don't spend every Saturday night out and hobnobbing at a restaurant? You don't have a wild night on New Year's Eve and rock around to music? I learned that not only did I not have those things, I didn't *want* them. I wanted more than I had - I was really lonely, and pretty depressed with it, but again, admitting it to myself, even if I didn't admit it to anyone else, was healthier for me.

Fifteen minutes. People on here often talk as if 15 minutes (in the garden, say) will lead to doing a couple of hours in the garden. For me, it didn't - just 15 minutes was a huge achievement. And that "bridges" concept was important too - I can't rest in the evening and then go to bed - I need to do something, however little, in the evening, so that I can rest properly at night.

Sleep good sleep. A balance of activity and rest, and the timing of meals and snacks.

People. Being on here, and having my own diary on mse, has been a lifesaver. I've seen my sister regularly, and my ex-colleague intermittently. Recognising when I've kept friendships from habit and loneliness, rather than liking someone, has been important. Recently, I've branched out - the healthy walks run by the council, U3A, and I've joined my local horticultural society today, going to Chelsea Physic Garden next week I've never had local links, and the older I get, the more I need them, I think.

Food and supplements Less carbs, less sugar (and then only honey, fruit and dried fruit, I have refined sugar maybe once a month). More protein, as my body craves it sometimes. To get more veg into me without the work of cooking and chopping, I've used frozen veg. People often seem to be horrified by that - but the effort of shopping for and cooking enough fresh veg would have done me in. Frozen veg has saved my life (I use that phrase a lot, don't I ... ). I use ashwagandha (sp?) herbal supplement in my porridge (sorry!) nothing else, though I really want to start Vit D and B12.

There's still room for improvement, but I have a chance of a proper life again now.

Apologies to all for the length of this post. Others who've had CF and related, please chip in - I bet I've missed a few things.