New Look, Old awesome!

Hello Spoonies and Non-Spoonies Alike!

Welcome to the reincarnation of what was once my sewing blog Mikelina Makes. It was impossible for me to keep my blog going consistently with my health so I left on a very long hiatus about a year ago. In that time I have moved many times, gotten better control over my health, had my second beautiful baby boy Wildeman's little brother [bog-named] Roo. Roo is almost four months old now and I missed my sewing machine so badly but more than anything I missed my blog. Funnily I've been taking picture to post the whole time I've been gone so I'm so excited to get going and post some sewing projects, refashions and ootds:

So, to answer a few questions:

 

What is a spoonie?

A spoonie is a person living with a chronic illness. 96% of chronic illness are invisible to the naked eye. I am the 96%. I live with fibromyalgia, depression, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and am recovering from EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified). All of these things have major impacts on my life and I don't try to hide or downplay them. I ask people to accept them as a part of me without pity. They are just one of many parts of my life. Many of my posts and YouTube videos will be about chronic illness, chronic pain etc but I will also continue to sew and refashion and I hope to share all of that with you!

Who is Mikelina? (of Mikelina Makes)

Well, I am, sort of... Mikelina is a nickname that my mother used to call me. When I first started this blog I was not entirely comfortable using my real name, however, the more time I spend online, at my blog, on Facebook etc the more I want to be my whole self here just as much as I am in the "real world". So, my name is Mikal (pronounced Michael) I really like the sound of Mikelina though so I'll keep it for now and go by Mikal Mikelina. That has a nice ring to it doesn't it?

Words

I believe that words have power and so there are a couple that I will be using here that many people avoid. I am using them in their original sense as simple adjectives. For me they don't have positive or negative connotations. I will use the word "fat" a lot because I am and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I will also be using words like "chubby" and "big". I will not be using words like "overweight" or "rubenesque" that negate the beauty of fat women or idiomatically try to hide our existence from the world.

The Low Pain Diet

The Low Pain Diet started out for me as an experiment in natural pain management for fibromyalgia. I had cut out sugar and caffeine years ago (Ive had FMS for 6 years now) but I decided to cut out a few more things to see if I was able to get better control of my pain. The main focus has been anti-inflammatories but I also avoid stimulants. I have cut out grain, animal products, sugar, syrups, starches and processed food. I eat fruits, vegetables, oils (coconut and olive) nuts and seeds. My aim was to make my body work as little as possible so that assimilating and dealing with the effects of chronic pain were all it had to do.

I need make a vitally important clarification:

I am not suggesting that this diet will cure anything. I don't advise others to take it up and I don't know whether or not it will help you if you do. I only that it has made a considerable difference for me personally. I still take a number of medications, exercise, rest regularly and still experience chronic pain.

My average pain level on a daily basis went from 9ish when I was first diagnosed, to around 7 on a tricyclic anti-depressant, then down to 4 on an anti-convulsant now it averages around 2-3 but if I push myself it gets back up pretty fast. I haven't, however, had a flare up in months.

This diet has had such a profound effect on my life and my ability to manage my disease that I wanted the opportunity to share it with others and see if it works for them. It also a diet that is incredibly daunting to take up and I want to share tips and tricks that I have learned that make that a less Herculean task. I will be updating you on the diet if/when it changes, on recipes and on my pain and medications. Hopefully this will be beneficial to at least a few of you.

Topics

My goal is to post every day even if I'm only posting a smoothie from the Low Pain Diet. If you only want to see the kinds of things I would have posted before as Mikelina Makes I will be posting sewing, fashion and beauty stuff on Tuesdays and Fridays so come back then!

Also be aware that my children are beyond adorable and you will see them a lot. I mean look how cute:



Thanks guys for reading all the way to the bottom of the post! I love it when that happens!