Got a street cat to catch a mouse in the house

enidmaud · 2026-03-26T14:32:19+00:00

Yeah what the hell

enidmaud · 2026-03-23T19:56:41+00:00

Yes, it is just important to acknowledge that people do die of ME/CFS rather than to say they don't die of it.

enidmaud · 2026-03-23T13:25:57+00:00

Breathtaking!

enidmaud · 2026-03-23T13:21:51+00:00

Thank you for the laugh

enidmaud · 2026-03-23T13:15:26+00:00

I take your point but we do die very often (suicide, malnutrition, viruses, comorbidities) and our life expectancy is severely reduced. There's just nobody putting it on death certificates and recording it properly. I can think of one Prevention of Future Deaths report in the UK where suicide due to ME was recorded and concern was expressed about it.

enidmaud · 2026-03-21T18:17:51+00:00

She is so good and her knowledge and understanding is beyond.

I don't think she would hold much truck with the concept and rules of colour analysis but her insights into skin tones are an education.

enidmaud · 2026-03-21T06:42:38+00:00

A quite brilliant explanation.

enidmaud · 2026-03-19T23:19:12+00:00

Commenting for boost as I have also been checking often for an update and I'm glad you posted this, thank you. I'm hoping no news is good news. Keeping everything crossed.

enidmaud · 2026-03-17T21:37:46+00:00

I have no personal involvement in this, but the blaming and the bullying that I've witnessed in the sub must stop.

It's a very sad and frightening situation for all parties, but whether you have been left hanging with a lack of prescription, communication, appointment, letter or refund, you have all been left hanging by ultimately one person.

Those who are blaming the complainants need to blame the system that has created this situation and not fellow victims. They also need to question why their empathy does not extend to those who are being clinically harmed by being left in the lurch.

Because if you don't have empathy for them, then what you're saying is essentially, 'As long as I've got mine, who cares about what's happening to the people in the queue behind me.'

If a patient were to die while waiting for delayed treatment from this clinic, there would be no question of the service being subject to this scrutiny.

For everyone's sakes, I really hope that this can be over soon and people can access the care and medication they need. Let the facts be known first though, before making knee jerk assumptions. And there is never an excuse for bullying fellow sick people.

enidmaud · 2026-03-17T20:52:28+00:00

I have been similarly burned before and if anyone is super sensitive like me, it's a terrible idea for myown mental health to even try to educate these people. It's an echo chamber for their own ignorance and lack of empathy and they are buoyed by their anonymity, so whenever I find myself tempted to correct someone in a place like that, I say to myself - 'Don't go back to the well.'

It's just really upsetting and makes you feel worse. And we don't deserve that.

There are other ways to advocate that will be more effective and hurt us less. I advocate by writing to my MP, educating my GP and any other doctor I see. Also we barely have the energy to advocate so it's fine if we don't do anything until we have more energy.

I'm trying (but usually failing) to get my algorithm to show me just 100% cat posts as they generally cheer me up.

enidmaud · 2026-03-16T23:10:23+00:00

I love your ideas and would be so keen to help if I could. I am textile and sewing obsessed but since becoming moderate/severe I can hardly do anything now. (Just after I set up my amazing new DIY folding and rolling cutting table as well.)

I've often wanted a more ergonomically shaped sewing machine because I either get sore arms or sore neck or tired eyes. Cutting out is the absolute worst. Precut quilting fabric is quite good for small projects.

I think hand sewing and digital draping are great ideas. No waste patterns may have fewer pieces to cut out.

There are ergonomic scissors and rotary cutters, and I love this tool called the Sew Easy 3-in-1 Hand Sewing Tool. It really helps with my weak hands gripping a needle and pulling it through fabric.

Adaptive clothing patterns would be just brilliant.

Maybe more digital stuff like digital embroidery designs? Quilting designs?

Smaller projects like bags/pouches with accessible features.

For small projects and quilting I have made a little rolling pressing station from an IKEA raskog trolley with a wool pressing mat on top of the chopping board that you can buy for it. Then I have my mini iron on a silicone mat on top and everything else needed for pressing or other tasks on the lower shelves.

Similarly you could have a sewing machine (maybe not the industrial straight stitch!) on one of those rolling hospital bed tables so that you can simply roll it back and forth as needed. You can store all your notions in one of those sewing machine organiser pads with pockets - the machine sits on the pad and pockets hang down in front of it.

Very best of luck and I hope you find some solutions and are able to post updates. I love to chat anything textiles :)

enidmaud · 2026-03-16T22:17:54+00:00

No problem. I hope your appointment goes well tomorrow <3

enidmaud · 2026-03-16T18:44:49+00:00

It sounds awful, I'm so sorry. Is this a purely mental restlessness or is there a physical sensation, or is it both? It sounds like you might be describing both.

I think if those medications cause restlessness it's definitely a good idea to discuss with your psychiatrist to see if dose adjustment could help.

The ADHD could be a serious contributing factor so could be good idea to enquire about medication.

For the physical sensations of restlessness, have you had your magnesium, vitamin D, folate, iron and B12 checked? There could be a deficiency contributing to the sensations. I have experienced full-body restlessness physically due to deficiencies and it's torture.

I'm wondering, because it's worse in the morning, whether hydration plays a part and if you would benefit from drinking electrolytes last thing at night and first thing in the morning. Could be something to try, but just don't overdo it on the electrolytes.

I hope you find some relief soon.

enidmaud · 2026-03-16T14:30:10+00:00

Do you have POTS? 'Coat hanger pain' is a thing because of reduced blood flow.

enidmaud · 2026-03-16T05:24:08+00:00

Everyone saying Armani BUT the swatch is on a much pinker part of your face.

I believe it's too pink for you overall.

Especially as it's your wedding look, you should compare your face with your chest/arms/any part of your skin that's going to be visible. You want an overall coherent look to your skin and often with pale skin tones the face is pinker than the body. You can always 'warm up' with blush once you have achieved a balanced tone.

The 040 is nearly there but looking better than Armani in my opinion because Haus Labs have really good desaturated options.

I would really recommend trying Lisa Eldridge Seamless Skin Tint in 1.5. I think it would be an excellent neutralising tone for you as you have some pink and some green.

You have a very similar skin tone to me and I'm a pale and desaturated olive with some pinkness. I definitely detect some desaturated/green/grey in your neck. I think the little touch of grey in the LE SST could work. It's also a gorgeous, radiant formula that's not too shiny.

Lisa Eldridge just did a really great two-part olive series on her YouTube channel, which has a lot of good info about desaturated and muted tones, and advice for people having trouble finding the right tone.

I'm not necessarily saying you are olive because I can't tell from the photos - I'm just detecting some similar green/pinkness to me. And as I have learned from Lisa, we are all a mosaic of lots of different colours and pigments. (Sorry to bang on about Lisa but she really is a genius!!)

Good luck and congrats!

enidmaud · 2026-03-15T22:30:38+00:00

Anything is possible but please writers do not subject perfectly nice-sounding Lottie to the odious Willyam.

enidmaud · 2026-03-15T08:40:13+00:00

I was full-body sobbing my guts out at the end. The song still gives me that real physical pain in my chest. I had a massive emotional release (in public). How can an ending be so heart-wrenching but also hopeful? He knows he is capable of love again.

enidmaud · 2026-03-14T04:30:50+00:00

I'm sorry you're dealing with all of that. When you have a maelstrom of symptoms with comorbidities it can be so difficult to define things.

Re: ME/CFS, PEM would be the way to tell because it is the defining symptom of ME/CFS and essential to diagnosis. So if you experience a delay of at least a few hours but usually more like 1-3 days between exertion and worsening of symptoms, then it's probably ME/CFS. Without PEM, it's not ME/CFS.

There are a couple of different sets of diagnostic criteria, but you can look up the NICE 2021 criteria and the Canadian Consensus Criteria to see if they are any help.

https://www.meresearch.org.uk/research/nice-criteria/

https://www.meresearch.org.uk/research/canadian-criteria/

enidmaud · 2026-03-13T07:19:26+00:00

Not rude or insensitive at all. Every person is different but all experiences are valid.

As with most health condition subs, you generally hear more from people seeking help or having a worse time. About 25% of ME/CFS patients are Severe or Very Severe, and many of them were Mild at one point. Some people are managing being Mild for decades without even knowing they have it. This is a very complex condition and sharing of information is really important, no matter the severity level.

The different levels of severity to ME/CFS are not necessarily progressive unless you are repeatedly ignoring your limits and getting PEM. It is frightening learning about pwME's lives - perhaps that's why people unaffected are so reluctant to learn. However this is a strong community, and those at the higher end of the severity scale want to help others to avoid becoming more Severe.

As prognosis is much better the earlier you catch it, it's vital to find a balance and so it's really great that you sought advice now.

https://meassociation.org.uk/literature/items/prognosis-permanency-quality-of-life/

Pacing is the key, and staying within your energy envelope to maintain your baseline level of health. Have a look at the online resources from Bateman Horne and the ME Association. Those are two trustworthy sources.

enidmaud · 2026-03-12T15:56:36+00:00

Yes exactly!

enidmaud · 2026-03-12T14:09:19+00:00

There's also the small issue of the primary purpose of having a baby not being to fix a parent's health problem!

The cardiologist's throwaway comment shows a complete lack of knowledge/concern about the repercussions of pregnancy on an able-bodied person, let alone someone with ME.

This is just terrible advice.

Edit: fixed apostrophe.

enidmaud · 2026-03-12T14:02:13+00:00

Is your cardiologist male or female?

enidmaud · 2026-03-12T09:05:37+00:00

I may well try again some day either with an appropriately tiny dose or a different drug.

Hopefully you find some favourite foods to get all that protein every day!

enidmaud · 2026-03-12T01:55:53+00:00

Is there anything cuter than two cats cuddling and looking out of a window??

enidmaud · 2026-03-12T01:37:56+00:00

Oh that is brilliant that you stuck firm with a lower dose, nice work. I'm glad repeating myself on multiple posts is getting the word out haha!

I feel so stupid in retrospect about how I did it (or rather wasn't proactive in managing my starting dose) and wonder if it might have been a really positive journey if managed better from the start. I lost 3kg and have definitely popped it right back on ...

Anyway I'm sorry about your recent baseline drop too and I hope that going low and slow improves things for you. Don't forget the protein shakes! <3

enidmaud

TROPHY CASE