Today I woke up with maybe two spoons. (Curious what that means? I’ve got a video on it here)
The backstory-
All week long I’ve been dealing with hip instability which gives me lower back pain. Most of my life when my hips started acting up or I would roll or break an ankle and end up back in a boot brace or when my knees would give out- I really just thought I had old dancer injuries flaring up. Then about a year ago, I started having more dizziness, temperature sensitivity that I always had (I don’t sweat well so I pass out or get sick if I get too hot), and heart fluttering combined with blood pressure drops.
As I was looking into health issues my daughter has, to help her- I came across Ehlers Danlos Syndrome which I already knew a bit about because of spoon theory and it being highly associated with neurodivergence, but this was the first time I read through it looking at the symptoms in light of what I had been experiencing. It’s somewhat ironic because I just recorded a podcast a couple weeks ago talking about spoon theory and how I knew a bit about EDS but not much because I wasn’t a spoonie 🥄. And yet, now I find myself figuring out how to get myself and my daughter evaluated for that very cluster of symptoms.
How This Translated into Me Using Spoon Theory This Week:
My hips became unstable again about four days ago and with it the lower back pain. This causes me to adjust my routine accordingly in the following ways…
*my morning walk that I love, feels like torture so I’m rolling around and doing stretches on the floor similar to some Pilates stretching.
*getting dressed is hard so I choose leggings that offer some core and hip support and loose fitting lightweight shirts.
(If you are the type of person that notices clothing details, you may notice in most of my videos- I have an olive green button down shirt on. This shirt is my only shirt that currently ticks all the buttons for what feels okay so I wear it probably 3-4 days a week. Wear, wash, repeat.)
*I ditch the eye makeup. The only makeup I really love is eyeliner. It flies out the window on low spoon days. I know I will probably cry to move these emotions so it stays in the makeup bag for a while.
*I am drinking electrolytes. To help with some of the other issues like blood pressure, rapid heart rate and dizziness that I experience- I’m drinking a daily electrolytes mix with magnesium and potassium as well.
*I canceled my therapy appointment. Yes, I typed that. Sometimes it’s a toss up between what I will get the most help from- a therapy appointment or a clear schedule to recover. I’m pretty good at doing my inner work and therapy is an important part of that, but on two spoon days, I feel okay about canceling because I will reschedule for when I have more energy and ability.
*I’m going to be helping family decorate today but with my back feeling the way that it does and bending being a difficult task- I’m on cookie duty. Thankfully I have children I can enlist to help with the bending and lifting and I can put on the Christmas music, make them yummy treats to celebrate and have hot chocolate ready for everyone to enjoy.
*I let myself cry and move in ways that feel comfortable. This is day four of pain and this morning added a migraine, so I’ve got no qualms about crying and doing slow movement to move that grief out of my body.
Most days I’m a functioning, joyful, positive person. Today, I’m not any less so because I choose to feel the feelings that come with harder days. That is part of the balance that makes me human.
How are you all doing with the holidays coming and the weather shifts? How are you working with your spoons to support your health today?
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