Category: Health

Our Week With Covid – A Recap, Some Thoughts and a Catching Up To Do List

CheilaLeave a comment

Hello Everyone!

I really wanted to keep posting every single day but I didn’t feel like writing for the past three days so I took a little break. Today I’m back with a recap and “Catching Up To Do List” as a few things were inevitably left behind since we couldn’t leave the house for seven whole days.

Here’s a couple of thoughts on our isolation week.

  • My immune system is apparently very strong. How I managed not to get infected with Covid while my husband had it, I’ll never know.
  • This is nothing new but I don’t do very well with sudden and unexpected changes in routine. Now, is this a personality trait or is it related to my Bipolar II? I’d say both. What I know is that I found myself quite depressed and weepy over my husband having Covid and the change of plans and routine it meant for us.
  • Again, if my plans are thrown off and I’m not feeling super organized, I will stop taking good care of myself. We ate like shit the whole week and I didn’t drink as much water or took good care of my skin.
  • I can’t sleep well unless I sleep in my own bed, next to my husband.
  • It was very hard not being able to touch my husband at all. Apparently, I’m needier and touchier than I thought. Or is it maybe because I’m pregnant? No idea.

Now, I DO KNOW that these are all very much first world problems and that I should be feeling very lucky that I was not sick at all and that my husband got through it with nothing but one whole day of having a cough. I know how lucky we are that things were not serious and that we’re both healthy but I must be honest and comment on how much the whole thing has affected my mental health.

Thankfully, it is over and we’re now allowed to leave the house again.

I have been left with lots of catching up to do, though. Being a list lover, I’ve made a “Post Covid Catching Up To Do List”:

  • Water my plants. I got this wonderful Moisture Meter that tells you if your plants need watering. I’m very hopeful I’ll never murder another plant.
  • Reschedule all my cancelled driving and driving theory lessons, so I can hopefully be done with my driving theory exam by the end of March.
  • Review my course materials from last week, which I definitely half assed.
  • Do some grocery shopping. We desperately need toilet paper and a few other essentials.
  • Come up with a healthy meal plan for the next two weeks.
  • Catch up on laundry.
  • Mail out a dress I sold online.
  • Order a new maternity support belt as the one I ordered was too small.
  • Get my husband’s Valentine’s gift from the post office, where it’s being held since I couldn’t leave the house to pick it up.
  • Reschedule our second prenatal class we had to miss last week.
  • Catch up on reading my favorite blogs.
  • Schedule a dental appointment.
  • Get a hair cut and color. My roots are getting scary. (Scheduled for Friday the 18th!)
  • See my doctor about my glucose test results, which seem to be a bit off. (Scheduled for Friday the 18th.)
  • Buy all the furniture we need for the baby, plus some items we are getting in order to change the way we store things around the house. (Trip to Ikea this weekend.)
  • Go and check baby strollers. (Probably on the weekend too.)
  • Clean the bathroom.
  • Get my eyebrows done.
  • Check our budget and write down all our expenses from last week.
  • Schedule an appointment with my psychiatrist for (roughly) two weeks after my delivery (I had a videocall appointment on Thursday and my doctor said I’m doing extremely well so I don’t need to see her until after the baby is born).
  • Organize my email box and computer folders. I absolutely hate a messy computer.
  • Take a few 3-4 Km walks.
  • Clean the house.

This is pretty much all I’m going to be doing for the rest of the week. I’ll also be watching an unhealthy amount of Love is Blind, Marriage At First Sight AU and 90 Day Fiancé because I’m on a trashy reality TV kick, triggered by the boredom of last week.

I shall now excuse myself and go do another load of laundry.

I hope you’re all having a nice week.

Love,

Cheila

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Update: The Rona Got My Husband But Not Me (A Covid Rant)

Cheila6 Comments

You guys, what a couple of days.

It all started yesterday morning, when we were about to leave the house. My husband was going to the office to work and I had a driving lesson. Before we left the house, husband said his throat was feeling funny and that he was going to take a self test. He took the test and went to shower. After his shower, he went back to look at the test and it showed as positive. He immediately showed me the test but said he might have waited too long to check the results, which you shouldn’t look at after 30 minutes, so he decided to take a second one. Well, the second one turned out to be positive as well. I decided to take one myself (yes, we keep a shitload of tests at home, just in case) and it came back negative. Weird. I went ahead and cancelled my driving lessons, in case I might have to stay in isolation.

I’m sure it’s different for every country but here in Portugal, if you get a positive self test, you have this form to fill online, after which they’ll give you further instructions. Rui filled the form and was told he’d have to call our free SNS (National Health Service) line, which he did. He spoke to this operator who asked if he had any symptoms and he said the only thing bothering him was his throat. She said that because there were symptoms, even if mild, he’d have to be transferred to a nurse.

2.5 hours later – That’s how long he waited in line – he was able to speak to a very kind and helpful nurse. He described the situation and added the fact that his wife was pregnant. The nurse immediately booked us for two (free) PCR tests that same afternoon.

We both went to take the tests (him wearing a mask the whole time, even in the car) and were told we had to wait up to 48 hours for the results. We came home and went about our days, while keeping our distance from each other, which is not super easy if you live in a small house. We ate dinner apart and he slept on the couch while I slept in our room. When I say we slept, I’m probably exaggerating because we didn’t sleep much at all. The waiting for the results and the whole of the situation was giving major anxiety so I didn’t fall asleep until after 4 in the morning.

Next morning I woke to the results via text (they both text and email us) and was very surprised to find out that I’m actually NEGATIVE, while he’s positive. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? We spend a lot of time together, drive in the same car, use the same bathroom, sleep in the same bed in the same tiny bedroom.

Anyways, we’re now going through the motions of avoiding each other while living together. He has to quarantine for 7 days, which means he can’t leave the house at all. With him being the driver and me not having a license and being quite far away from everything, I’m not leaving the house either. I had to cancel my driving lessons, a hair appointment and we’re going to miss our second birth preparation class.

As for the arrangements, he’ll keep working from the garage/his man cave during the day and then stay and sleep in our bedroom at night. I’ll be staying and sleeping in my office, in the sofa bed. We’ll try not to cross paths in the kitchen or bathroom and we’ll wash and disinfect our hands after using the common areas.

I won’t lie and say that I’m absolutely okay with this. I miss my husband as we’re used to spending a lot of time together. I hate sleeping and eating without him. I’m grateful for the fact that I’m healthy and that he’s mostly asymptomatic but I’m still afraid I might catch it and that he’ll get really sick. I’m upset I had to cancel my driving lessons and my driving theory lessons because it means I won’t be able to finish my first set of driving lessons and my driving theory exam in February, which sucks because I really wanted to be done with my license before the baby is here in May.

Such is life. I honestly have no idea how we even managed to catch it because we’re both vaccinated and have gotten the booster, we wear masks everywhere we go and we’re super careful in general. Still, I should probably stop complaining and just be grateful that we’re both okay.

Sorry for the rant, I’m in a foul mood.

Hope you’re all healthy and safe.

Wear a mask, wash your hands, get the jab!

Love,

Cheila

Pregnancy Update: 24 weeks

Cheila2 Comments

How far along: 24 weeks 3 days.

Baby size: According to my many pregnancy apps, she’s about the size of an eggplant/aubergine.

Weight gain: Last appointment was on 04.01.2022 and I had actually lost 800 grams.

Maternity clothes: I have the one pair of pants that still fits so I’ve just ordered my first pair of maternity jeans. I wear a lot of dresses with tights so I had to get a couple pairs of maternity tights as my regular ones are getting too tight on my belly.

Stretch marks: I’ve had them since I was 11 and I don’t think I have acquired any new ones since becoming pregnant.

Sleep: Wonderful, can’t get enough.

Gender: Girl!

Best moment: Her daddy was able to feel her move for the first time this morning, so there’s that.

Looking forward to: Meeting her.

Food cravings: Nothing in particular, just super hungry and thirsty.

What I miss: Strawberries.

Symptoms: Someone SHOULD have told me that I’d have pain in my vagina. Not my actual vagina but pretty much everywhere around it. My pelvic area is killing me and I groan every time I move. My breasts are pretty sore too and I have the occasional heartburn but, other than that, everything is fine.

Mood: Wanting to get everything done but low on energy. Happy and calm.

The highs: My hair, nails and skin have never been better.

The lows: How much I have to pee.

If We Were Having Coffee – Part II

Cheila4 Comments

If we were having coffee…

I’d tell you that my hair is falling like crazy. I mean, I must have lost about 50% of my hair in the past year. I had some blood work done and it turns out I have an iron deficiency, meaning I’m close to being anemic. My doctor thought that might be the cause and that an iron supplement would stop my hair loss. Nope. Keeps falling. I have a dermatology appointment booked for this week and hopefully they’ll figure it out. Should I have gone about 6 months ago? Yes, but I procrastinate.

If we were having coffee…

I’d tell you I’m sort of suffering from adult acne. I never had any pimples as a teenager but I’ve been getting them for the past couple of months, mostly on my forehead. It’s not bad, just a few here and there (except for that one time a couple of months ago when it looked like I was having an allergic reaction which coincided with my first makeup trial for my wedding) but it bothers me that my skin is changing right now, at 27.

If we were having coffee…

I’d tell you that my best friend and maid of honor (sort of, that’s not exactly what we call it here, it’s like you have a pair of godparents for the bride and another for the groom. She’s my “bridal godmother”) is coming here to visit in June (she lives in Vienna and I never get to see her) and I can’t wait. I’m so excited and wish June would just hurry up and get here. She’s one of my absolute favorite people in the whole world and I miss her so much.

If we were having coffee…

I’d tell you Rui and I are attending a wedding in May and are very exciting. We’ll be among his friends from high school whom we happen to be very close with right now (life is very funny because we all ended up living in the same city, which is about 300 km away from where they all went to high school) so it will be so much fun. I should say they’re my friends too, otherwise they get mad. It’s so nice that we’ll share the year we got married with that couple.

If we were having coffee…

I’d tell you that it’s less than 6 months until our wedding. October 5th. We’re very excited. Everyone around us is very excited and looking forward to it. I’m so glad we decided to have a “big” wedding. I thought I’d be fine with a very small civil ceremony but I think I’d regret not doing something more traditional.

If we were having coffee…

I’d ask you if you’re married and then I’d ask about your wedding day and hopefully get some wedding advice 🙂

Love,

Chey

Bloggers Talk About Mental Health Support Group on Facebook – Will you join us?

Cheila16 Comments

Bloggers Talk About Mental Health Support Group

Hello Fellow Bloggers,

I have been talking about my struggles with anxiety, depression and ,possibly, Bipolar Disorder Type II since I started this blog a year ago. I was never ashamed to put it out there. I mean, I’m lying. I was NO LONGER ashamed to put it out there. There was a lot of shame once.

There was also loneliness.

That is why I decided to start this Facebook group where we can all talk, support each other, vent, complain, share experiences and frustrations, all with people who DO understand.

I know many of you struggle with mental health issues as well, so I thought we could all be together in this. Will you be my shoulder to cry on? I will be very happy to be yours.

Look for the group, share with your friends who needed us as well.

Love you all.

Chey.

I have Great News!!

Cheila44 Comments

Everyone,

I just wanted to stop by and tell you that I had an appointment with my psychiatrist yesterday and she said I looked like a different person. She said I’m so much better and that she was very happy to see me. She reduced my medication and so I’m no longer on Bupropion and Mexazolam, which I have been taking for the longest time.

I’m just so happy about this.

It’s the first time I’ve seen a real improvement and reduction on my medication, after years of increasing it, changing it, trial and error. I’ve been dealing with anxiety and depression since I was 18. I was diagnosed and first medicated at 22. I’ve been through 2 psychiatrists, 5 therapists and I know 75% of antidepressants, mood stabilizers and anti anxiety pills on the market.

I wish I didn’t have so much information. But since I do, I need to make sure I share it with others. And I promise you I’ll do that. For those of you who are still struggling, I’ll share my detailed experience and do my best to help.

Today, I just want to tell you it’s possible to get better. I’m not cured and I don’t know when/if I’ll ever be, but I’m finally so much better.

Trust me, I have seen the darkest side of life. I’ve felt it. I’ve lived with a huge cloud over my head for years. I’ve been through life carrying a backpack full of rocks for way too long. I’ve hated myself, everyone else, life itself. Everything has seemed pointless. Everyone has looked like an enemy. Death has been a wish.

I know it’s difficult and sometimes unfair/hard to compare, but I can tell you I had one of the most serious and difficult cases of clinical depression. I know quite a few people who have suffered from depression and they all got better so much easily, faster, sooner. That was frustrating and I would get angry because I seemed to have it worse than everyone else. I actually did. Years of extreme stress, heartbreak, responsibilities, growing up too fast, taking care of others, being strong for them, a bad childhood, among other things had collapsed on me, so I was dealing with 20 something years worth of trauma, damage, exhaustion. I wasn’t having an episode of depression. I was having THE episode of depression I had been holding inside me forever. It hit me hard, with no mercy.

God knows how much I’ve been through because of my mental health.

God knows how much Rui has been through because of it.

That guy is a saint.

I don’t say this because I love him, I say this because I know him. He is a rock. He’ll take care of you, provide you with whatever you need, comfort you, be there for you emotionally, know how to handle an anxiety attack, do extensive research on all of your medications, make sure you take care of yourself, cook for you, clean for you, understand when you simply cannot get out of bed, cuddle you, give you hope, say you’re beautiful when you’ve put on 60 pounds, make you laugh when you really want to cry, protect you, tell you you’ll find the best possible doctor and care, no matter how much you’ll have to spend or how you’re going to find the money for, do his best to make you smile, be your shoulder to cry on, defend you, tell people who think “depression is in your head” they’re fucking idiots and ignorants who should go and get some information, be your mother’s best friend, your sister’s big brother, be there for your appointments, get you the things you like because they’ll make you a little happy, get really angry at you because you don’t eat properly, be your absolute best friend, caretaker, boyfriend, husband, lover, confidant, partner, fan, the one who makes up for whatever is missing.

I think everyone should have someone like Rui in their lives.

We’ve been through thick and thin and we’re still together. We’ve really been through some real “grown up” problems for the past 5 years we’ve been together. There was never cheating, jealousy, cellphone checking, lying, issues with exes. We’ve been dealing with real, hard, old married couple problems since we were about 22 and 22, up until now. I guess we’ve passed the test.

What I really want to say is, I’m not cured. I may never be. I don’t mind really, as long as I have the proper care. But today, finally, I can say that I am far BETTER. Better is a beautiful word. So I’m happy about better. Better is more than enough.

Thank you for everything, guys.

If you’re going through a similar journey, we’re together. Talk to me. Let me be there for you.

A bunch of Random: Plans for the weekend, Guest Room, Ikea, Oscars, Amazon, Reading, working out

Cheila8 Comments

Happy Friday Everyone!!

I just love Fridays. Same reasons as everyone else, obviously.

For many years, I worked weekends, for Fridays were just regular days for me. It’s different now. I can go to bed late on Friday night because I know I can sleep in on Saturday and on Sunday. We get two whole days just for ourselves, family and friends. I also love to think of the weekend as a “reset button”. You forget about the weekend, get your things together, organized, take care of the house and prepare for the week ahead. It’s kind of exciting, isn’t it? LOL Can you tell I love weekends?

Anyway, I have a few things I want to talk about today, I guess I should follow the order of the tittle? Maybe it’s less confusing for you guys.

  1. Plans for the weekend:

Things I must not forget:

  • To drink my 1.5 to 2 l of water;
  • To eat my fruits and veggies;
  • To take my pills on time;
  • To make sure I take at least 10.000 steps. (I only aim for 5.000 on the days when I work out)
  • Remember to insert all of this information in my health app (including meals), which is the best thing I’ve been using ever. Lifesum
  • Go and get my eyebrows done (for crying out loud)
  • Cut my hair, my ends are very dry and thin.
  • Shaving. I’m in a public pool several times a week, they don’t need to endure hairy legs, armpits and lady bits. (I rhymed)

Self-care things I would like to do:

  • A green clay mask, as I haven’t done one in God knows how long.
  • Take 2 big nature walks with the mister and the little four-legged lady. (Probably not gonna happen, being honest here)
  • Do my favorite yoga routine before bed, I’ve been waking up about 3 times each night.
  • Do some kind of foot scrub.
  • Apply some clear nail polish on my nails so I won’t bite them.

Things we actually need to do:

  • Finish tidying up the house. We have moved the furniture we intended to, which means Rui’s desk is in the living room and I have an office space in our bedroom. Our former office is now a “closet” (Our wardrobe, shoes, bags, coats are in there) and a guest bedroom. When you make such drastic changes, objects need to be moved as well, so there are lots of clothes and random objects that need to be put away.
  • Laundry. Besides our regular laundry, we have a few blankets, pillows and clothes for my pregnant friend that need to be washed, as well as a few sheets. We also have a ton to put away.
  • Clean the kitchen.
  • Do some general cleaning around the house. (I’ll tell you what we got done when I do my update on Sunday)
  • I need to move some of my plants inside because they don’t seem to like the cold and rain.
  • Rosa NEEDS to go to the vet.
  • We need to cook and prep for the week ahead.
  • I want to read some blogs.
  • I want to get my planner ready for the week (would you like to take a peek at my planner?)

  • 2. Guest Room/IKEA

  • So I’ve told you we decided we definitely needed to turn our office into a guest room, with an actual bed. Every time we had guests they had to sleep on the sofa or air mattress on the living room floor. I have nothing again the sofa or air mattress, except that the living room is the center of the house. If we need to go to the bathroom or kitchen we need to go through the living room. Our bedroom door leads directly to the living room, which means there’s no privacy.

We have this guest bed which is not so good but it’ll have to do for now:

It’s as shitty as it looks and too small for any sheets to properly fit. We’ll obviously keep it as an extra, as well as the air mattress, but I’m thinking we should get this one, which turns into a double bed if needed:

It’s pretty cheap too, only 169€. What do you think?

3. Oscars

So I had this crazy idea that we could all watch the Oscars together. What? I know. But hear me out: I would write a post named: Oscars 2018 and we’d all be watching the Oscars at the same time and commenting on said post, like we’re actually talking while watching it. So who’s with me? We can have a long distance, blogging, Oscar-viewing party!!

4. Amazon/Reading

This morning I heard on the radio that Amazon might finally come to Portugal. I was immediately excited and praying for it to happen. Every time I want to order something from Amazon, well, I can’t. For every 100 products, only about 1 ships to Portugal and the shipping cost is never lower than 20€. It’s really bad. Imagine having the option of Amazon Prime… Gosh, I need it.

I’ve been looking into getting a used kindle reader. You cannot really find kindles to buy here and when you do, they’re really expensive, so I’m looking for a used one. I might save about 100€ if I buy a used one.

I have been reading lots using kindle on my iPhone and Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited. My free-trial ended and I was pretty sad but then Rui surprised me by saying he wouldn’t mind if we paid the monthly subscription, so I’ll have it forever, woo-ooh.

Finally, I want to tell you I hadn’t worked out as much as I did this week in years!! I took two 2.3 km walks and I went to water aerobics twice and swimming class once! Just need to brag about it.

That’s it everyone!!

What are you plans for the weekend??

Love you all.

xx