I'm bleary, but I have good company as I write today!

Well, I'm more than a little bit weary after my sleepless night. I did manage to get a couple of hours in this morning, but think it made me even groggier than I would have been if I'd not slept at all!

Life with chronic illness isn't fun. If it isn't a sleepless night because of a racing brain that won't turn off, it's painsomnia that won't let you drop off until you've pulled the sheets off from all your wriggling, or sleeping so much you barely know the time of day.

I have a number of issues, but the key players in my daily life are persistent tachycardia when I get stressed, when I eat carbs, or if I do anything upright. Even doing stuff sitting down can make my heart rate rise beyond what would be expected, but it is when I'm on my feet that it's the worst; Hypermobile Ehler's Danlos Syndrome, which means I have faulty connective tissues, leading to weak joints, organs, vessels and cells causing digestive issues, joint stiffness and pain - as well as joints being too loose so they sublux (partially dislocate) or full dislocate at will (plus a myriad of other nasties); Mast Cell Activation which basically means my body over-reacts to pretty much everything, from foods and smells, to light and chemicals (not just man-made ones!), my immune system doesn't know what is friend or foe, so treats them all the same; Hypothyroidism, which affects pretty much everything, but in particular makes me gain weight and feel exhausted all the time, and thankfully the last one is currently pre-symptomatic, Primary Biliary Cholangitis - which means my immune system is specifically targeting the cells in my bile ducts and liver.

Phew - and that's without all the minor stuff like asthma and eczema, depression and anxiety that come to play as well. At last count, I have 16 diagnosed conditions - which really sucks.

It is the last of these conditions that has me trying to lose weight. I'm using a combination of intermittent fasting and a low carb approach, as recommended by my hepatologist. I started properly last Wednesday, and was delighted to lose just over 10lbs in my first week.

I'm trying not to be too strict with myself, and to allow treats as all my attempts in the past to lose weight have failed, probably because I was so draconian but also because of the ongoing inflammation in my body, but my body does seem to like it better the closer to a keto diet that I can manage. Not always so easy on a day like today, when the weather is rubbish (there has just been a heavy hale shower outside my office window!) and I haven't slept as my body craves carbs just to keep itself functioning. Am trying to resist!

So, over the past few months, I've been trawling through property websites and bookmarking the houses I thought might be a good fit for us. I'm a bit anoraky, so had them in two folders, those I kind of liked or might not quite work though I loved them, and my favourites. Each week on a Saturday I go through them, removing those that have been sold or taken off the market, and do a quick hunt for new ones.

This week however, I got to add a new folder to my bookmark library - it is marked viewing trip!

Yes, that's right, in just a few weeks I will be setting off on a whirlwind tour (please pray for me that my body will hold up!) to look at about 10 of these houses to see if any of them will be our forever home! I cannot tell you how excited I am!

Here are some pics of our current favourites. They both need a huge amount of work, but we think we're up for the challenge. This viewing trip will probably be when we'll realise if we can do it or not - if my stomach sinks when I see how much really needs to be done, we may have to have a rethink of the whole plan!

House in Limousin with Land and Spectacular Views

House and barn with land in the Limousin

#ChronicLife #LifeChanging #MovingToFrance #NewLife #CatLife