By Author’s note: I first want to give you all an explanation for the lack of blog posts recently. If you have been following this block for a while you know my immediate family and I have been going through significantly challenging times regularly since 2022. The lack of blog posts recently has to do with that. I do not want to divulge details because it is not my story to tell, but I will say that I have been spending considerable time doing whatever I can to help my family with errands and such. Thank you for your understanding and I am going to do my best to get back on a regular schedule of blog posts moving forward while still helping my family whenever needed.
The last few weeks my CP symptoms have flared consistently and regularly. My symptoms are aggravated by stress. As I have been under a significant amount of stress as of late, my symptoms reared their ugly head to add to my stress. Having to rethink and adjust how I manage my symptoms is something I want to share with you all to be both transparent and give helpful tips about dealing with stress. Stress is something that we all must deal with in our lives no matter if you have CP or not.
The first symptom to make itself known were painful headaches. I have not had these types of headaches since I was a teenager. At the time, the headaches were related to each time I had a growth spurt. The headaches come from my blood sugar dropping because I forget to eat. I am not a stress eater. When stressed I simply forget to eat because I get busy trying to manage everything that needs to be done. These headaches often bring with them nausea as well. My solution to keep the headaches from being severe is that as soon as I feel the pain, I eat something to stabilize my blood sugar. This means no junk food. Complex carbs work best along with a little bit of protein.
The second symptom is what I term CP spells. The best the doctors can figure is that they are mild seizures. I am conscious throughout them, but they hurt badly. Thankfully, they do not last long at all normally. It feels like a muscle spasm through my whole body. Headaches are also an indication that a spell is imminent. To control the frequency of spells, deep breathing is incredibly helpful. My chosen brother and journey partner and I discovered I hold my breath when I am aware a spell is imminent, which increases the pain. I have recently discovered that I can decrease the number of spells by quite a bit through stressful times, like as of late, through breathing deeply and relaxing as many of my muscle groups as I can. To say this development is thrilling is an understatement.
I write about my symptoms not for pity but to show you all that no matter what challenges you face you can take an initiative-taking role in dealing with those challenges. I also share this to remind you all that taking care of yourselves and your health is important. If you do not take care of yourself, you cannot take care of anybody else or anything else that needs to be taken care of. You must make yourself a priority as much as you may all the people you love a priority in your life. Sharing this is also a way to remind you that there are solutions to every problem if we are willing to understand ourselves and how we relate to every problem we face. I hope this helps all of you the next time you are facing a stressful time in your lives.
