Month: September 2016

#Just5Minutes – When You Miss Your Zengo Cycling Class 

I had to cancel two classes today earlier today, and then I didn’t make it in time to my Zengo Cycling class. What went from a rockstar workout day, took a serious nose dive, but was saved by my oldest. He saw me in my yoga/workout room on the spinning bike — after I came home early from the cyling class I had just missed. I wasn’t happy to say the least, but made myself get on the spinning bike and start peddling my legs. My oldest opened the door to the workout room and when I asked him what he was doing, he responded “You’re in a workout class — see you later!”  He then smiled, shut the door, and walked away. And made sure his little sister didn’t interrupt me.  Now that’s love. 

Small Vein Rupture and Colder Weather = Blue Hands

When it gets colder, and your hands go from red and swollen to blue and shriveled (AKA – aged appearance of the hands more commonly associated with Vascular Ehlers-Danlos, but can also be a seen with other types of EDS/Hypermobility Syndromes). Oh and you also notice a small vein rupture that apparently happened either last night or sometime this morning. The featured picture is of my left hand, but small vein rupture is on my right hand.

SYLK PERSONAL LUBRICANT AND OFTEN A MIRACLE FOR “PAIN DOWN THERE”

“THIS IS A SPONSORED POST. I HAVE BEEN COMPENSATED THROUGH THE CHRONIC ILLNESS BLOGGERS NETWORK. ALL OPINIONS REMAIN MY OWN, AND I WAS IN NO WAY INFLUENCED BY THE COMPANY.”   Last week, I posted on Strength/Flexibility/Health/EDS about how you can be allergic to semen and how it relates to Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS); however, in this post I also discussed other chronic pelvic pain conditions that seem to “travel in packs” for those of us living with a chronic illness (or several). While the point of the article was to explain how this type of allergy is often overlooked, the symptoms it often presents with, and how it may be tied to an underlying route condition, the same “pack” of conditions and symptoms, often causes vaginal dryness as well. Vaginal dryness or any issues “down there” are less than fun to discuss or bring up, and most suffer in silence. Something as simple as using a personal lubricant can help not only make sex more comfortable and enjoyable, it …

Splits, Hypermobility and Yoga

Splits – not something I usually do in Yoga, not because they are hard, but because they are way too easy for me.   If you are hypermobile, splits can be super easy and done (or very close) with little effort – that’s not always a good thing. It may seem like a yogi dream, but many of the issues that can or may go along with hypermobility are not so great. Unfortunately, hypermobility has mistakenly been glorified in many sports, including dance, gymnastics, ice skating, and more. Yoga is much the same, but times are changing – thankfully because many of us were told not to do yoga and that yoga is dangerous if you have joint hypermobility, which is often caused by an underlying connective tissue disorder such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). There are several types of EDS, and also several other heritable conditions that affect the connective tissues and cause hypermobility – Marfan Syndrome is one, as is Williams Syndrome, Sticklers Syndrome, and Osteogenesis Imperfecta. There are also several types of hypermobility …

Life by Design – Gratitude for doing what I love 

I started my first business 10+ years ago after I had baby #1 after I was diagnosed with EDS. This business was also started after being on long-term disability from my “career” job, one that I loved, and after facing the decision to accept or decline permanent social security disability at age 27yo. I declined it. My choice — being disabled at 27yo didn’t feel right for me, and working, doing something, helps me manage my health and well-being. I also needed to help support my family, be available for my son (only one baby at the time), and have flexibility around my husband’s job. I figured I could find something that I could do on my own, and I did. Five years ago, I started a 2nd business to serve the community that I was now a part of — both as a patient and volunteer. I wanted to use my degree to help disseminate education and work with people on how they could best help themselves, if they didn’t have a physician or PT …

The Constant Whooshing in My Head …..

When you have constant, non-stop whooshing in your head (no, not just tinnitus), you’ve been diagnosed with Classical Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (CEDS) 3x, but genetic testing came back negative, and the EDS world really doesn’t know what you have – other than you have some kind of connective tissue disorder that’s not Marfan Syndrome, VEDS, or other more common mutations …… They do know that you have 2 CBS Gene mutations and a few other genetic mutations, but they haven’t determined how any, if at all, play a role in a type of EDS, or a connective tissue disorder that “looks like” Classical/Vascular/Hypermobility-types of EDS. And there’s no identified genetic marker(s) for Hypermobility type Doctors and genetic testing has also determined that you have 2 CBS Gene mutations and a few other genetic mutations, but they haven’t determined how any, if at all, play a role in a type of EDS, or a connective tissue disorder that “looks like” Classical/Vascular/Hypermobility-types of EDS. And there’s no identified genetic marker(s) for Hypermobility type EDS, unless you count TenX. …