My CBDLife Pen trials

So since last time I have very slowly been feeling a bit better but never fully enough to get a normal routine going. I do believe that a daily routine is key to living a happy healthy life but when you keep getting struck down and loosing days here there and everywhere, it is very hard to keep routine going. I feel as if I am constantly chasing time. This week however I have had my first coherent Monday. As I work so hard down my unit on Sunday's (and by hard I mean getting up and staying out for 8 hours) I can quite often lose Monday and Tuesday to sleep and pain. This week however was different. I don't know whether it was because I am on Week 9 of doing this and I am slowly getting used to it or if it was because I have been using this for three days!!!

*Affiliate link*

I have been for the last few weeks trying to come off of my pain killers. 

 I have also been reading about Marijuana and have been thinking very strongly about using this as an alternative to my medication as I read it has been clinically proven to help depression and pain. I am no longer a smoker and never taken a drug in my life but am seriously contemplating this route. As if it works, it is so worth taking it. I have instead for now found a CBD Vape Pen Kit

 I first found out about this kind of pen from links on  Facebook  and never really believed or understood it and then lately I found a link to the site Medipen but the pen was £49.97 and although if this worked the money would be worth it. I also thought if it doesn't work I am £50 down and couldn't afford that! A couple of days later I saw a link on a Facebook group to CBDLifeThey sell off Amazon and so thought maybe a more trustly way to be able to return if no good and it was also only £24!! and so I ordered :) 

I was quite excited when my package arrived as was so desperate to see if it helped and when I opened the package I did a little ahhh. It looked so nice. Not at all tacky.

I instantly opened the pen up, screwed the top on and had a little puff. I actually thought I would probably have to charge it but being me I charged in and was pleasantly surprised to feel a light taste in my mouth. I then thought it a good idea to take it apart and look for some instructions and do this properly! I was a bit confused not to find any and so then I blustered back in as usual and made it up as I went along. The pen comes with a little usb charger and so I pushed that into my phone charger with the pen attached. The lights on the end went green and the light on the usb stick was red. I didn't quite understand the red light but took the Green light on the end of the pen to mean "go" and so  I rescrewed it onto the pen and took a few more puffs. I didn't feel no greatness and was highly anxious about what I was doing but I do think I felt a kind of relax come over me. Not knowing if it was in my mind or not I put myself to work to try and find out if what I was doing was right. It was quite hard! There does not seem to be any clear instructions in English on how to use a Vape Pen. The problem I was having was that when I puffed on it, It just didn't feel like I thought it would. It seemed very weak and I was expecting to feel it in my throat but as I was new to this I really didn't have a clue. I just took what I was doing as right, messaged the company and continued using it in this way as and when I felt I needed it and again, I do think it was doing something. The more I was getting used to it, the longer puffs I was taking and could then start feeling something in my throat. This felt better.

 I then that evening put the pen on charge for a bit. The lights still the same.

The next morning was Sunday and this in my Unit day. I think the red light of the charger went out at this point and so I believed it to then be fully charged. I took it with me to my unit and was puffing on it all day. In fact I think I got a bit overly used to it and puffed a bit too much. I stayed happy and energised all day. Right up until the last hour and I really think the pen helped me. That last hour though, It didn't seem to do anything. I had had a big meal and never took it with me and then drove home and couldn't stay awake. I did however sleep like a Baby until later that night. 

Then to top all that off, I managed to wake on Monday!! It was hard making myself get up but again a few more puffs and I seemed to do it and actually had a very productive day.

It is now Tuesday and although I have been feeling very lethargic all day, (I haven't puffed so much either) I did manage to get myself out just for a little drive up the road and to the Shop. So for me, two days this week being able to do just a few things is amazing. Not sure if it is due to the pen but I don't really care. I am happy to keep trying and see if it will help me with my pain and fatigue. Evenings are still hard, I have just recently seen insomnia return. Having had an awful bout of this back a few years ago. I was so grateful when my sleeping patterns got back to normal. Unfortunately the pen doesn't seem to help me at all with this, I get jittery legs and just can not get back to sleep. Chocolate is helping a little bit though :) I think while I am reducing my meds  (I am currently writing a Blog post on about this)I will just have to do whatever I can to get by. I just ignore the chocolate intake (due to medical purposes) When dieting :) 

The only down size to this pen is this;

I'm nearly out :(

This was the pen kit which came was filled with 25mg of Mint eliquid. I think the mg states the strength of the oil as you can get different strengths. The company says on a leaflet that this strength is standard. For those that like to vape a lot. The pen was half filled horizontally of oil and now all I have is this. I would ideally next time go for something a bit stronger like the 500mg liquid which states is a mid strength. For those who don't wish to vape as much as then I don't think I will have to pull so hard on the pen and also not do it so much..... hopefully. You can also get this in 1000mg which they say is High Strength - Giving you immediate effects with having to vape as little as possible.

The company also do Oils and a Paste which I will hopefully be looking into. 

This review was all off my own back, I paid for my pen and decided to write about it, *there are affiliate links in this post though*. I did however contact the company to ask my many questions I had on receiving my pen. I emailed them through their website on Saturday and received a reply on Monday. I was very impressed with the quick reply and how detailed and helpful it was. I have now asked them if they wanted to send me anything else to review. So fingers crossed there will be more to come. I will definitely be writing more about my pen journey :) 

For anyone interested in the answers I got I will copy the answer below for you as it is really good to know if like me you have a few anxieties about using something like this.

I said there were no instructions, how do I use this

CBDLife's reply;

Screw together and draw from the mouth piece for 2-4 seconds and inhale. Do 

this 2-3 times or when you feel the desired effect

I asked if the crackling noise I could hear was normal;

CBDlife's reply;

The crackling noise is 

normal yes, same sound happens on all e cigarettes

I asked How often should I vape?

CBDlife's reply;

We do not have any 

specific recommendations on how many times a day to do this, that is 
entirely up to you.

I asked if the empty chamber should be filling with condensation?

CBDLife's reply;

The chamber with the condensation is where the vapour is drawn from the 

atomiser, that is completely normal yes.

I asked about charging

CBDLife's reply;

For charging, the LED will be red when charging it taking place and green 

when complete. The LEDs at the end on the pen will light up when you draw 
from it and also when charging. When the battery is flat the LEDs will flash 
to notify you of this.

I asked how to refill my pen when empty

CBDLife's reply;

I will get back to you will our full instructions once complete (for 

refilling etc). Let me know if you need any more assistance

So I was really happy with my answers, It kept me quiet for a while ha ha and the longer I have my pen then more normal it feels. I will continue to use it and let you know how I get on with it :) Let me know if you use one and how you get on with it.
Wendy. xx

Positive thoughts and repercussions

When I started this blog I made the decision not to make it about the bad times of my illness but to try and focus on the good times and the things I have learnt. I don't want people feeling sorry for me and for my family to read I am not happy but I do want people to understand Chronic Fatigue is not just being tired, Chronic pain means pain ALL the time and Fibromyalgia is evil and depressing.
So, I do spend an awful lot of time not being able to do anything and I mean anything. I can't post on my Facebook. I can't write a Blog post. I have been trying to get my Almond Milk post out to you for over three weeks now and I am just unable to do it. I do get these times where although I am here and able to stay awake. I am unable to be here online.
So I need to find away to be here without actually being here :D
I have just found a new blogger Hope in Pain, click the link to check her Blog out. She calls her bad times her "funk" I think this is great and I am looking for upbeat, happy words I can call my down times. Any idea's?? Leave a comment here or pop over to my Facebook page - My life and loves and let me know if you have any suggestions.

Which brings me to why I opened my laptop today to write this post. It can't always be good, fun and full of lovely photo's. There are still many bad days and I do want to document them. I have no idea why. I would rather that if I have to have bad days they will just come and go as quick as they can and I can forget them but they are still such a huge part of my life and something that needs to be addressed and so on these days I try really hard to bring positive thinking into my day.

I try to think positive but sometimes this illness makes me so weak I actually don't have the strength to think positive. When I am feeling stronger though I can think positive. Just a while ago I went away for a few days, This in itself is a nightmare what with fatigue and pain, so I wont go into that today, I just wanted to share a positive thought whilst feeling quite low as I do believe it helps.
Cutting a long story short, I was away, I had got a lift to the local shops and planned to get a bus or Taxi back. I had forgot it was Bank Holiday and so was stranded. So I had to walk!! I started off at a slow limping pace. I was already shattered from the walk around Tesco but had to get back to my B&B. As I was walking I was thinking of the pain in my leg and hip and the energy I would loose and suffering I would have to bare doing this walk and then all of a sudden I thought. Why not just actually enjoy this. The beautiful country side around me, The warm weather, not to hot and not too cold. The wind that was just tickeling around me and so I did.

 I actually took in my surroundings and thought positive and you know what .... The pain and fatigue and the dragging motion left me. I remembered to stand correctly as I have been shown by my physio, relax my posture and really took in my surroundings. Don't get me wrong. The pain was still there and the fatigue was too but it was not pulling me down. The positives were taking over and I was enjoying the circumstance I was in. Once I got back to the B&B and rested and freshened up. I googled the post code of Tesco and of where I was staying and found out I had walked 1.2 miles!! I couldn't belive it. I would never of said I could have walked 1/2 mile but I did and although I would suffer later it was great to know I could and did do that, Which brings me back to today and why I want to jot this down. Today is a weak day but I did get to go away and yes, when I got home after 4 nights away. The fatigue was overwhelming and I really honestly did not have enough energy to get those positive thoughts going again. I was shattered, exhausted and emotionally drained. I am however stronger than before as I now have this new memory of this walk I did and the knowledge that I am getting stronger and the more strength I have the more positive thinking I can get into my life. There will be days when I can't write posts. This is hard. so so hard but I know/hope in the long run the low times will get less and hopefully these down times will be fewer but I do just want to document some of these down times as they are horendous and so hard to describe.
All I want to do is have a nice soak in the bath but I am just unable to do this. To walk to the bathroom is at the moment feeling like a 10 mile walk up hill.... Everything today is like that constantly walking up hill, such a struggle but I do know that as soon as this bad day is over I will have the strength to think positive and be back to posting soon.
xx



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123 I'm Gluten Free.

So a few months ago I was feeling down, My down days had got worse and I was in bed again more than I was out. Something clicked in me and I decided something had to be done. I was going to start eating healthy again. Now this is easier said than done. I have always said if you are going to diet whether for health or weight. Your head must be in the right place. So, I knew the time was right and this time the diet was not for weight issues. It was to see if I could get more energy!!  I knew I was going to try Gluten Free again as I had dabbled in this before and I did think my energy levels got better. What I learnt from last time is this;

• It is very hard!!

•  Having pain, Fatigue and trying to cook every night is almost impossible.

• What happens if you make these new recipe's and don't like it? You have no food and no energy left!!

• This is also going to be very costly and hard work getting certain ingredients.

 You really have to take it as slow as you can getting your store cupboard staples but also need so much to start. So I decided to get prepared and scoured the internet for some great Breakfast, Dinner and Evening G/F Meals. What I didn't expect was to find Deliciously Ella 

 

  *affiliate link*

Ella  was everywhere, How had I never heard of her before? Her book looked fantastic but I needed it now!! and it was 10pm. arghhh, but wait, when you look further she has an amazing website and ap that is full of Recipes and advise. I was extatic!! I paid for the Ap, which is just £3.99 and although I hate spending out I knew I needed an easy way to get some good quality meals and then set about finding out what I need. The good thing about Ella is that a lot of her Recipes use the same ingredients so although sound rather samey really are not. I made a huge Shopping list;

Pumpkin Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Flax Seed
Chia Seed
Almonds
Walnuts
Cashews
Brazil Nuts
Pure Cacao Powder
Spinach
Butternut Squash
Brown Rice
Oats
G/F Pasta
Medjool Dates
Nutritional Yeast

and much much more ha ha. I put my list into sections that I knew would be more beneficial to buy as I knew I wouldn't be able to afford everything. So I knew Almond Nuts were going to be a huge buy as I wanted to make Almond Milk and Butter plus it is a staple in a lot of energy foods and snacks. One thing I didn't factor is once I got to Morrisons to do my Shop that they would have the Deliciously Ella Book on sale!!!
Oh no what to do, do I sacrifice some ingredients for a Book. Hell yes!!! haha I love Books.

So in it went to my trolley, I was so excited. It has been a huge life saver. What I didn't realise at first what I was doing was actually going on a Gluten/Vegan Rawish Free Diet. This just happened. I have since tried adding Meat and Eggs to my diet to see if I feel any different and am  now back on the Gluten/vegan root for a few weeks as I am keen to see if it actually affects me and will do a post on what I have learnt.

Almonds are needed in large quantities and I use a lot of Cashews :) A good staple to buy in is also Pumpkin and Sunflower seeds :) *affiliate links*

Ella's book is amazing and really well thought out. It has sections in her book on all the different food groups; Grains, Nuts and seeds, Pulses, Vegetables, Fruit etc and she gives really good information and nutritional advise on each. I have learnt so much about what I am eating and why I am eating it. She has her story at the beginning which is lovely to read about how she got to where she is. I am so glad I bought this book as it has helped me so much. I don't always follow the recipes as written as don't always have a lot of the items needed and I have made some really delicious foods and snacks and I want to share these with you. To maybe help you if you are on a journey like me or just to show that Gluten/Dairy free can be beautiful. My taste buds have opened and my food range has widened. Don't get me wrong it has been hard and I haven't been able to stick to it ridgedly as my illness has got in the way. It hasn't given me my miraculous recovery I was hoping for but I do think it has given me a better quality of life and made me stronger to hopefully start pushing myself more and more without crashing. I want to share this journey with you and maybe help people trying to do this themselves but I don't want this Blog to be all about illness and recipes. I also want to show the fun times I have. Times I spend with my Grandchildren and times I manage to craft. Share tips and advise and things I learn and I hope that is is exciting enough to grab you and want you to read more and follow me on my journey. 

My Book, Well read and tagged

 

 So back to Ella,  she has an amazing Blog and posts regularly on all different topics and is always adding recipes. The only downside I see to following Ella is that somethings she posts things that are very pricey. Some juices she Blogged about for a detox she did sounded fantastic and just what I felt I needed in my life but when I checked them out it was like £70 for a one day pick me up and I just dare not look how much a retreat stay was she wrote about was but I do totally understand if she gets given things she has to Blog about them. I know I would snatch the offer up. Also things like Medjool Dates. I started off using them because Ella rates them very highly but as the costs were rising I changed to just normal dates and although they are not as juicy, They do still work.  

See the difference in price! If you can afford them definitely go for Medjool but if not normal dates with a bit of Water, Milk or Date syrup work just as well.

So with my savvy saving and Ella by my side I am hoping to be in this for the long run.
I am so excited to share my Gluten free, sometimes Dairy Free diet with you and hope you enjoy reading. xx

Keeping Organised - Free Calendar

So one of the things that has changed recently is that I am able to keep records easier of my day which helps to look back on. This probably seems an easy task for some but when suffering with a chronic illness things like this are the last thing you can do on a bad day and when you have a good day you just want to roll with it. Simple tasks like colouring my days on a calendar were just not possible before due to depression, pain and fatigue but now I colour each day in with either black for bad, green for o.k and orange for good and it is nice to see how my weeks are going. I still have a lot of green days but not so many black as I have had in the past and it is lovely to colour in orange as I remember a time there was no orange in my life :D

I still get bad days when I am unable to do this and times that just fly by and I forget but for the most I can hazard a pretty good guess how it went or I do actually remember. It is a good step in the healing direction.

I suffer from a lot more pain in my life at the moment. I think this is because I am much more active now but luckily I am able to have six sessions of physio from the Doctors and they are helping me with my posture and core muscles and I am really enjoying learning as I think I am ready. Before when I was given appointments to go to I wasn't ready for them and letting people down and also breaking down in front of people was very stressful for me and would just bring on my symptoms stronger and make me worse. I think it is very important for both your mind and body to be ready to get better from this nasty illness. Before I had way too much put on me. Right in the beginning when I was first ill, I was going all over the place to different help groups. This I now realise was way too much. I am now however in a place where I am enjoying my appointments and learning all these exciting things that can help me in my life. This illness is such a slow process and I am such a go get it person, Well I was and still am in my mind. It is so hard to sit here and not be as active as my mind is but at least I can now see some progress. (if you would like to catch up on info about my illness, my first post is here I don't want to be going on and on about my illness but it is a huge part of me and so will come up a lot)

If you are interested in trying this Calendar colouring for yourself or would just like a pretty Calendar. I am offering a free PDF version of my June Calendar for the rest of this Month.  Just visit my Craft Facebook page Wendy's Crafts and find it in the freebies tab. 

 

More Calendars will be available soon in my Etsy Shop. Something I am enjoying having the time to work on. Something that has been in my mind to do for years and I am finally able to make a start selling. This is a huge step for me and so exciting.

Thank you for reading. If you would like to continue following my progress with getting better and my Crafty makes. Please sign up to my Blog. There is an Email sign up on this page to the right. 

Hope to be posting again soon

 

Wendy. xx

Getting back on track

Although a lot has changed in my life since my last post. The one thing that hasn't changed is wanting to write in my Blog. Sadly the thing that stops me hasn't changed much as yet and is still there but I am doing what I can. I have started just jotting things down and not worrying about publishing. Hoping that on better days I will be able to edit and post as and when. Everything I do I am thinking about posting. When I make a meal I am thinking of blogging about it. When I get to go out I am thinking of blogging about it, How I wake up in the morning I am thinking of blogging about it. Honestly everything and as I am having a few better days. I seem to have some pretty great things to blog about and don't want to miss anything. So hear goes. A quick catch up and let's see if I can get this Blog rolling.

So, I am trying a Gluten/Vegan free diet. I tried back last year and noticed a difference but never had the strength to keep it up. This time I have been on it for over 12 weeks and have learnt so much already. I hope to cover this a lot in my Blog as there is a lot to learn!!

I have started Yoga arghhhh I have so wanted to do yoga literally all my adult life but just never found the time or then was too ill but I have started. I can't manage every week but I have been 3 times and feel so proud.

I am going to start doing reviews of items I find help me in life. Be it from food or information. I need somewhere to keep everything I have learned and there is nowhere better than my Blog. Here is a sneak peek at somethings that have been helping my life :D

I am 42 now (here is my original about me post) and I feel so much more positive then when I turned 40. I have learnt so much. I still do not understand why I have had to go through this awful time and still get very bad days but I am hoping the better ones will come more often. I have learnt a lot more Crafts and although I still don't get that much time to practice them when I do I will be posting about them here and more in depth on my Wendy's Crafts Blog page.
I feel an excitement more now than I ever have in the last 4 Years which is so cool and such a nice feeling :D I hope to keep my Blog posts short, simple and easy to read and so what better place to end here and give me time to edit more posts.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy. If you have any questions or suggestions on anything you feel may be suited to my Blog. Please leave a comment. Even to say Hi. Every comment I get is just amazng. Thank you.
Wendy. xx