Review: Axon Optics

 

 

I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by Axon Optics.

 

No one likes migraines. I’ve been getting them for a lot of my life and I can say I’ve never enjoyed them once. More than that, some medications just exacerbate the pain. Because of that, I generally use muscle relaxers, if any medicine, to help.

 

So, when I was giving the chance to review glasses from Axon Optics that can help those of us who have photosensitivity with migraines – and does so without needing a prescription – I was like ‘bring it on!”

 

That excitement only grew more as I learned more about the company itself. Dr. Bradley Katz developed these glasses based both on research and his interactions with his patients. There are a number of styles to be able to accommodate patients, including one that fits over prescription glasses – and they’re willing to listen to what you want and/or need if they don’t currently have it!

 

They even have a scholarship of $1000 that migraine patients can apply for in addition to tons of science about photosensitivity in migraines.

 

I have a company crush. No big deal.

 

 

I really appreciated how the packaging of this product was. Having the little box in addition to the glasses case and a cleaning rag were really helpful for me. I’ve been traveling a lot lately and I was worried about how these might travel and my inability to remember to put my sunglasses in their giant case… This helped immensely.

 

I’m proud to say my glasses are intact and free from both smudges or scratches, despite going all over with me lately!

 

But do they work aside from making me look fabulous?

 

 

I’m happy to say they do!

 

While traveling, I often snag migraines due to a number of factors from smells to light to physical exhaustion. Using these while flying has significantly decreased the intensity of my migraines. I tend to use these while sitting in the airport or traveling between gates.

 

Using them at home has helped as well. I got a newer laptop with better brightness control over the summer which helped a bit. I was still having symptoms, though, when I received my glasses. I had about a week of nearly non-stop migraines after coming back from California at the end of September. When I came back, my glasses were waiting for me.

 

I was beyond ecstatic.

 

While these glasses didn’t make it so that I didn’t have my super-long migraine (or multiple migraines) they did greatly reduce the intensity of my migraines during this time period.

 

My one critique is that I have some issues with sinus pressure and pain. Since I get a lot of upper respiratory infections, I get this pain pretty often. Wearing any glasses can be a little more difficult during this time period. I will say that these glasses are a lot lighter weight-wise than sunglasses that I might wear, making it slightly easier to put up with them during that pain. Since this happens for any glasses, though, it really doesn’t affect what I think about this great product!

 

Want to snag your own glasses? Check out the styles here!

 

 

Review: Organic Aromas Nebulizing Essential Oil Diffuser

I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift from Organic Aromas, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company itself or by Chronic Illness Bloggers.
Y’all know I’m not into the essential oil thing too much. I have a few oils that I picked up after visiting a medium back in 2014. Because of my fibro symptoms, it’s been too much to utilize the oils directly on my skin unless I’m really desperate. Plus, I got avocado oil as the main oil… without remembering that the guinea pigs are super allergic to avocado.
All in all, it’s safe to say essential oils haven’t been my thing. That’s actually why I’ve been excited to try this product. I received my Essential Oil Diffuser shortly after coming back from the JA Conference East in Philadelphia (a blog post on both JA Conferences is coming, I promise).
Before we dive into what I thought of the product, you may be wondering how this fancy-looking dealamabobber works. For that, I direct you to Organic Aromas’ page on the matter. The biggest thing is that this diffuser doesn’t need water or heat, meaning that you have the ability to receive the awesomeness of the oils and scent. If, like me, you wouldn’t mind getting more information about essential oils, check out their page on that as well.
The box itself was pretty cute, and I really liked the simple design of the diffuser itself.
It also CHANGES COLORS.

 

At first, I had an issue utilizing the diffuser with the oil sent to me with it. The blend, meant for serenity, actually was an overload of smells and I had some migraine-like reactions to it. I’m sensitive to smells and, ironically, that oil wasn’t giving me serenity. This blend contains cedarwood, yiang yiang, lime, and lavender.
I’m familiar enough with lime and lavender, which have never had an effect on me like this, but the other two are scents I’m not normally exposed to. Since I have some funky plant allergies, I’m chalking up my reaction to those.
To test if this was the issue, I popped in my cinnamon essential oil that I already had. Things went from uh-oh to YES. Plus, my apartment smelled amazing. I wish that the scent reached a little further, but the reach is easily adjustable with the ‘volume’ button. When that is increased, it does increase the noise a little bit from whisper-quiet to phone-vibrate, but this is an easy noise to deal with and drown out. After about five minutes, I didn’t notice it anymore.
At those higher ‘volumes’ there was also some fog coming out the top that was super cool.
I am excited to see how much I’ll be able to make my apartment smell like fall shortly.
 
So, Organic Aromas Nebulizing Essential Oil Diffuser: Yea or nay?
Definitely yay, but with some personal tweaks.
You can learn more about Organic Aromas at their site or check out their Amazon page.

 

Serenity CBD Lotion

I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift from The Fay Farm, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company itself or by Chronic Illness Bloggers.
The Serenity lotion from The Fay Farm is geared towards those of us who have high anxiety and need help calming down… AKA perfect for me as I have left my job to try to take writing full-time! I also have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress – all of which put me into highly emotional states. With ingredients like chamomile and green tea, it’s no surprise that this lotion is incredibly helpful!
CBD has been found to reduce anxiety from simulated public speaking for people with fears of just that. There is a ton of similar research out there on anxiety-related issues and PTSD. Needless to say, my issues with both certainly prompted me to jump at the chance to try this product.
I had this lotion for several days while on a prednisone taper and I have to say that it was actually far more helpful than I imagined in calming me down.
It’s also very soothing. It has been incredibly helpful for me while trying to sleep but being unable to because of pain. It may not erase everything I deal with in that moment, but it helps me to stop stressing over my inability to sleep and to be far calmer. It has also helped me out plenty with other anxiety-riddled moments.
I have been bleaching my hair. A few weeks ago, I tried to dye it light blue and it came out much darker than expected. Because of the uneven color, it just really looked bad… but it also sent me into a PTSD freak-out. There was a time when my mother had a breakdown and cut all her hair off to the point where splotches where there where you could see her scalp. Her brown locks were gone and all that remained was this dark salt-and-pepper short gray hair… and I looked like my mother with my far-too-dark blue hair.
The hippo Snapchat filter improved the look, trust me
Cue the construction of PTSD-ville, population me.
Thankfully, I lathered myself in this lotion, started furiously texting my pal Felix, and promptly re-bleached my hair.
SO MUCH BETTER
Then, yesterday, I managed to get myself into a panic attack over death. I realize I do this fairly often, but this was the first time it’s happened in a while – and it started over something so small. I was snuggling with T, looking at his gray hair, and simply said “we’re old now.”
My brain went BUT WHEN YOU ARE OLD YOU DIE AND YOU WILL BE ALONE FOREVER AND AHHHHHHHHH.
I tried to fight it for a few minutes, but I couldn’t.
Luckily, I cried it out into T’s shoulder and ran into the bathroom to lather myself in this lotion.
We went and saw Free State of Jones (which was good BTW) and, despite all the death associated with the movie – and the Civil War – I managed to not freak-out… which is, honestly, pretty darn impressive. Usually I’m crying off and on in existential-crisis-mode for the rest of the day.

via GIPHY

To you, amazing Washingtonians who make this lotion, I send my deepest and most heartfelt thanks.
 
Are you interested in snagging some CBD products from The Fay Farm? You can snag Serenity in 2 oz or 8 oz.
To learn more about The Fay Farms’ CBD products, please read this post from Julie Ryan at Counting My Spoons or check out my previous review of the Healing Lotion in The Fay Farm’s CBD line here
 
 

 

The National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

With different types of arthritis and other chronic illnesses, it’s not always easy to know from one day to the next how our mobility may change. One of the most difficult things that those of us in wheelchairs face is getting vehicles that are wheelchair-accessible.

 

Today, I would like to introduce you to NMEDA, the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association.

I was originally introduced to them at the Abilities Expo in Chicago last year. NMEDA is a non-profit originally based in Florida that focuses on helping those of us living with mobility issues to live our fullest lives possible by providing a safe place to acquire mobility equipment. Since 1989, they have gone national in the United States and Canada. Now there are over 600 members of NMEDA, all focused on that same goal.

One of the things that makes NMEDA great is their Quality Assurance Program (NMEDA QAP).

The QAP is the only national recognized accreditation program in the mobility equipment industry. This program helps to keep quality high in order to protect the consumer. Requirements of the program include having a certified welder if modifications are done on site, undergoing annual audits, having a dedicated contact number for mobility-related issues and questions, and making sure to have their shops and dealerships ADA-compliant.

The biggest benefits for customers working with a NMEDA QAP dealer include: in-person evaluations, specialized training of equipment, 24-hour local emergency roadside services and so much more! 

I honestly had no idea how many amazing accessible options there were for car-related accessibility issues. NMEDA mobility equipment dealers offer wheelchair ramps, hand controls and steering aids, transfer seats and seating solutions, wheelchair securement and tie downs, scooter lifts and special acceleration and braking solutions for adaptive vehicles.

My great grandmother had MS, but she did not have an accessible vehicle. Due to this, she was quickly forced from being in the driver’s seat to always being a passenger in my lifetime… She hated it. It’s amazing to see the options that could have been available to her if she was alive today.

She would have loved having this freedom.

I think she also would have loved the great financing options that NMEDA has compiled. Part of why she didn’t have an accessible vehicle is because they are so expensive. NMEDA, though, has information on state agencies, public assistance, grants, and ideas for crowdfunding on their site.

NMEDA has worked closely with organizations such as the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists. The testimonials on their website help to highlight this important work as well.

One of the things that I love about NMEDA is that they take the time to recognize leaders in the industry who have made a difference for those of us with mobility issues through their Hall of Fame. Currently, there are 18 people in the hall of fame, all of whom have helped people with mobility issues to live well through their innovations and non-profit work.

Make sure to check out the vast mobility- and illness-related resources they have on their site.

Photos were provided by NMEDA.

Visit Sponsors Site

 

Healing CBD Hemp Lotion

I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift from The Fay Farm, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company itself or by Chronic Illness Bloggers.
I have to admit that I was skeptical about this product when I signed up to review it. If you read my writings often, I have a weird mix of beliefs and tend to shy away from natural things because, as I was growing up, that was all my family would do to help with my pain.
Turns out, multiple chronic pain issues don’t really respond to copper bracelets aside from turning wrists green… Anyway, it’s safe to say that I was looking for this to totally bomb.
But it surpassed anything I could have thought.
 
The first thing I used this for was actually an injury. I managed to cut open my fourth toe on my left foot to the point where I needed three stitches to hold it on and heal. My pinky toe on the same foot was also injured and broken… The fourth toe may be broken too, but since there is little that can be done for a toe, I didn’t ask for an x-ray.
I was told, after this accident, to make sure that I kept the area moist and clean. The day after, I began using this healing CBD lotion on the area to help with moisture and the whole clean thing.
It greatly reduced the pain that I was having, both from the injury itself and from stepping incorrectly with stitches.
There was even a point in the next week where I drove home during my lunch time after a meeting specifically to apply this lotion to my foot. Within a week, I was able to remove my stitches. The lotion continues to help the scar tissue and skin in the area improve.
In the meantime, the horrible dry skin that I have on my heels has greatly reduced. I am no longer catching skin on blankets, but have smooth feet! And that is still the case without having used the lotion for two days.
It has helped immensely with the pain from my fibromyalgia as well, whether this is in my hands or – the worse area right now – my neck.
The other night, I had a bout of painsomnia that was the most intense I’ve faced in a while. I ended up having to take a large amount of medication in addition to getting a back rub and applying this lotion to my neck and tailbone area.
It finally helped to break the painsomnia cycle.
If this lotion can help solve my icky, scratchy feet in addition to helping me heal from an injury and deal with my fibro pain in the midst of my biggest fibro flare in years?
I’m sold.
The CBD products from The Fay Farm are kind of badass. You can snag Healing Hemp in 2 oz or 8 oz.
Because I loved this product so much, I will be reviewing their Serenity CBD lotion coming soon, so stay tuned!
To learn more about The Fay Farms’ CBD products, please read this post from Julie Ryan at Counting My Spoons. You can also visit Project CBD’s Beginner’s Guide.

 

Workplace or Professional Self-Care

I was introduced to Self Care Catalysts when I attended ePharma back in March. I really had a great time speaking with the SCC team and am extremely happy to say that I will be participating in their Self Care Mvmt at the end of June in Toronto! 
 
O, Canada!
 
There is some great buzz out there already on Twitter using the tag #selfcaremvmt. The movement centers around how important it is to care for ourselves as patients with chronic illnesses and to celebrate the moments where we have been able to care for ourselves.
 
For the next few weeks, I’ll be posting on some self-care topics as a part of the lead up to this awesome event – and my foray into world travel. 
 
It is important to mention that I am being compensated for these blog posts and my involvement in the Self Care Mvmt. However, all thoughts below are my own and have not been influenced by said compensation.
 
Today’s topic is Workplace or Professional Self-Care.
You might be thinking: “What does this person who just left her job know about self-care at work?”
 
I know enough to know that I had to quit my job, y’all.
When I was working my previous job, I would spend around eight hours sitting in an office or in my car traveling to various sites for meetings. I spent all day at work, stuck writhing in pain because I was trying to save sick time for when I was worse off than that. When I was ‘worse off,’ I wound up needing multiple days off of work because I had pushed myself too hard.
It didn’t work well because I wasn’t practicing self-care and self-love the right way.
Earlier this year, I began dealing with a flare-up of my fibromyalgia that I frankly still am in. It has been four months. I was missing up to two days per bi-weekly pay period of work while trying to deal with this. I began to feel bad for being gone.
I was assured that it was okay since I had a Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) plan in place.
Once this had gone on for a certain time period, though, I began to get passive aggressive comments from physicians and other staff members about my absences.
It wasn’t enough that I was beating myself up about missing work and that I had an office mate who wanted me to fail all the time – now I was getting comments from people engaged in the care of people like myself!
It was scary!
In retrospect, a long time ago I should have sat down with my supervisor and the physician I worked most closely with and outline just how negative and harmful my office mate was. I should have complained about physician and other HCP behavior when it was negative and harmful, not just to me but to others.
Setting boundaries, though, was never something I was good at.
Now that I work for myself, though, this is changing.
I handle my breaks as I need them – emotional, mental, and physical. There is a reason why Netflix is on while I work!
I am engaging with others but setting limitations on what I can and cannot do.
I am working towards balancing my workload, though I’m still working on figuring out what that is for me right now.
The one thing I know for sure is that I have a boss that understands my illness better than anyone else in the universe. She’s always up for coffee, a quick run-around with the guinea pigs, or a nap. And I’m pretty excited to work for her – not just because she’s pretty okay, but also because she’s good at self-care when she’s allowed to be.

 

Psychological and Emotional Self-Care

I was introduced to Self Care Catalysts when I attended ePharma back in March. I really had a great time speaking with the SCC team and am extremely happy to say that I will be participating in their Self Care Mvmt at the end of June in Toronto! 
 
O, Canada!
 
There is some great buzz out there already on Twitter using the tag #selfcaremvmt. The movement centers around how important it is to care for ourselves as patients with chronic illnesses and to celebrate the moments where we have been able to care for ourselves.
 
For the next few weeks, I’ll be posting on some self-care topics as a part of the lead up to this awesome event – and my foray into world travel. 
 
It is important to mention that I am being compensated for these blog posts and my involvement in the Self Care Mvmt. However, all thoughts below are my own and have not been influenced by said compensation.
 
Today’s topic is Psychological and Emotional Self-Care.
Self-care is hard. When it comes to physical self-care, we can write it off as needing to do maintenance like oil changes so our bodies don’t fall apart.
Mental, psychological, and emotional self-care, however, cannot be handled so easily.
In order to take care of our minds and souls, we have to discover what helps us individually to a further extent than physical self-care. Fulfillment and enjoyment are at the root of this type of self-care.
Personally, there are many things that I find help with this type of self-care. Meditation and mindfulness help me immensely as I discussed with Rohan Gunatillake for his book This is Happening:
The app Rohan created, Buddhify, helps so much.
Therapy helps me as well. My therapist is AMAZING and she does such a great job of helping me to think through things, even if I don’t see her as often as I could.
As I touched on in my last post on spiritual self-care, being in nature and/or with loved ones truly helps me to re-energize.
Laughter is key as well. Without laughing at my hands when they don’t work or at myself when I slip and harm myself due to the lack of strength I once possessed… I would cry. I have learned that crying isn’t bad but merely a release of emotions. Still, I don’t enjoy it. It feels more harmful than helpful and isn’t conducive to my overall health.
I can track my moods through the Health Storylines app which helps me to practice self-care more earnestly.
One of the things that I enjoy from the Health Storylines app from Self Care Catalysts is how easy it can be to gather wisdom and thoughts for the day:
There are also portions of journaling (which I don’t necessarily utilize because I write here!) but is a great set-up:
It isn’t always easy to figure out what things to write, so these are great prompts for those new to journaling.
What are some ways that you practice self-care for the emotional and psychological parts of you?

 

Spiritual Self-Care

I was introduced to Self Care Catalysts when I attended ePharma back in March. I really had a great time speaking with the SCC team and am extremely happy to say that I will be participating in their Self Care Mvmt at the end of June in Toronto! 
 
O, Canada!
 
There is some great buzz out there already on Twitter using the tag #selfcaremvmt. The movement centers around how important it is to care for ourselves as patients with chronic illnesses and to celebrate the moments where we have been able to care for ourselves.
 
For the next few weeks, I’ll be posting on some self-care topics as a part of the lead up to this awesome event – and my foray into world travel. 
 
It is important to mention that I am being compensated for these blog posts and my involvement in the Self Care Mvmt. However, all thoughts below are my own and have not been influenced by said compensation.
Today’s topic is spiritual self-care.
The word ‘spiritual’ often leads us to conjure up ideas of someone interested in religion, but it means so much more. I personally am not a religious person.
To me, spiritual self-care is something that allows me to recharge my batteries, help me unwind, and where I can simply exist. There are a few things that bring me to that place – most notably, exploring and spending time with loved ones.
Many of my loved ones aren’t physically close and, to be honest, being in nature in Wisconsin is really hit or miss.
I am leaving my job at the end of this week because it will allow me the ability to take better care of myself. This is something I will touch on in the next few weeks in more detail, but it plays a role in my spiritual self-care as well. Without being tied down to my current job, I will have more opportunity to be in the community and outside on the few good days we get here.
It also allows me the ability to travel much more, something I find my heart glows from.
It’s the thing I love most of all.
Traveling and exploring can take a physical toll if I am not careful. My multiple chronic illnesses, especially my systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and fibromyalgia, don’t do as well with certain types of travel. I really need a lot of time when flying somewhere to unwind after the trip or, sometimes, after a flight.
Traveling, for me, helps me to work more on staying in the moment, being present. I am no longer thinking about my history of abuse or the toll my illnesses may take. The only worries and anxieties I encounter are related to engaging in something fun.
I meditate, though not enough lately. I use an app called Buddhify, which I know I’ve discussed so much before, but always deserves mentioning. The Health Storylines app, from Self Care Catalysts, has great guided meditation as well as an area for social support.
Part of my goal with the time I am taking off of work will be to set a schedule for myself that includes physical and spiritual self-care methods so you’ll have to stay tuned to see how that goes!
I anticipate that this move will increase my quality of life, though.
What are some things that you do that could be considered spiritual self-care? Are there any apps that you utilize to help you do so?

 

Review of H Factor Hydrogen Water

This is a sponsored post. I was provided the product in exchange for an honest review, and I have been compensated for my time through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. All opinions remain my own and I was in no way influenced by H Factor or Chronic Illness Bloggers.
In the FAQs on their website, H Factor lists many articles related to the potential benefits of this water. There is also more information here for the curious.
Some of the benefits listed on their website are:
“Studies have shown hydrogen water may help achieve peak performance, recover faster, increase blood circulation, helps skin care, relieves allergies & reduce inflammation.”
The package is natural aluminium and much better for the environment than plastic. It’s still recyclable and such, too. I will say, though, that this was not easy to open with painful hands. It was also quite awkward to hold at times as I was worried that I would squeeze too hard and spill the water everywhere since the package is pretty malleable.
The size of the package was not a good size for my swollen hands, either.
Each bottle comes with its own plastic straw which was interesting. It felt as though that could be made more environmentally friendly somehow.
The recommendation is to drink these within 30 minutes of opening to get the maximum effect.
The taste of this water is off just enough that you know this is not tap water. The taste is similar in off-ness to carbonated water, though this is far less bubbly than that.
I felt as though I should add a disclaimer on here that I am awful at drinking water. I could see the potential for me to feel better drinking two of these a day since I don’t drink much at all… But then, within a few minutes of drinking some of this, I actually started to get dizzy, gassy, and pretty nauseous.
Hours later, once I got home from work, I was fairly sick to my stomach. I spent a lot of time in the bathroom or feeling quite queasy. I ended up sleeping on the couch one night due to nausea.
Needless to say, I did not drink another one of these waters. I’m still, frankly, recovering from the first one!
I can certainly see the potential that these could help some of us. After all, many items do help a variety of people whether or not that may be obvious or intuitive at first glance. I do have concerns over how helpful this could be. After all, even Livestrong has its concerns.
This was far too harsh on my GI tract to have any benefits for me whatsoever.
If you would like, you can connect with H Factor on their siteFacebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

 

Have you heard of Dinesafe yet?

Today I want to share some information on an app that I’m super stoked about – DineSafe.
I get nervous when trying out new restaurants sometimes because many places offer ‘gluten-free’ items but mostly cater to those who follow the fad version of the diet – not those like me who really need to avoid forms of gluten.
When I heard about this free app, I got way too excited.
It uses the location on your phone to find the nearest restaurants near you that have uploaded menus. It then automatically puts together menus based on your allergies or diets you may be following (Paleo, Vegan, Halal, etc).
Portland, OR, I miss your food stuffs
The nice thing, too, is that the allergens included are more than just the top eight most commonly included in apps. This is great for those of us with multiple food allergies as well, as many apps out there may only cover a handful of what is listed here.
A great thing to think about is that European countries have already required that restaurants have a list of allergens utilized within the restaurant and in all meals. The allergens listed on DineSafe follow those same allergens. If restaurants get on board with this idea now, they’ll be ready for when it hits the United States.
Those of us with food allergies have all been to restaurants that do have allergen-free meals but get grumpy about actually taking the measures to keep us safe. I have certainly encountered this with my medical need to be gluten free. Customers can endorse restaurants that do amazing jobs thanks to a new update, allowing customers to see more information on how a restaurant handles those with food allergies instead of just that certain meals are devoid of allergens.
Since the restaurants put in their menus, this allows for more accuracy as to what is currently on the menu than some of the websites out there. I know that I have been to restaurants where I just know what I can eat thanks to researching beforehand, but then the items I thought they had were taken off the menu years ago and I wind up eating chips and dip.
DineSafe can eliminate that for me and for others.
You can even create petitions on the app to have your favorite spots join! Since it’s not super widespread right now, I’m really excited about this feature in particular. If DineSafe isn’t really around in your area, this can be a great way to get it started! I plan on fowarding information about this app to the allergen groups in my area and recommending that my favorite restaurants check it out.
I’ve lived here for six years so I tend to know what I can and cannot eat. However, this could be a great tool for restaurants around the university I work at to utilize in order to bring in more traffic and show how willing they are to cater to food allergies and dietary restrictions.
DineSafe also recommends allergen-friendly training for restaurants a small fee as well, helping them to avoid training that isn’t up to par.
You can check out DineSafe on Facebook (where the above photos are from) and Twitter OR download the app via the Apple Store or Google Play.
Compensation for this post was provided by Dinesafe. All opinions expressed here are my own.