Reading Time: 9 minutesA step-by-step lying down shower routine for when standing isn’t an option The first thing I notice is the warmth. Warm water running over my feet, my legs, my shoulders — all while I’m lying flat on the shower floor. My partner adjusts the handheld shower head. The bathroom is already warm from the space […]
Author: tickedoffcodess
The MCAS Kitchen Sink Protocol: How I Manage Mast Cell Activation Syndrome With a Layered Treatment Approach
Reading Time: 22 minutesIf your body seems to overreact to everything—foods, stress, heat, even your own hormones—you might be dealing with mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). It’s what happens when your mast cells dump histamine and other inflammatory chemicals at the wrong time, in the wrong amounts, for reasons nobody can fully explain. The symptoms can hit your […]
How I Recovered from Rolling PEM: Part 3 – Quality of Life After Rolling PEM Crash Cycles
Reading Time: 12 minutesDiscover what life looks like after I recovered from rolling PEM. From pain reduction to cognitive clarity, Part 3 of my recovery story reveals how I reclaimed stability and joy.
How I Got Out of Rolling PEM: Part 2
Reading Time: 34 minutesGetting out of rolling PEM with very severe ME/CFS wasn’t one thing — it was a combination of strategies layered on top of each other over several months. In Part 2 of this series, I share the twelve approaches that helped me break the cycle of constant crashing: from aggressive rest therapy and asking for help, to pacing with a Polar H10 heart rate monitor, managing comorbidities like Hyper POTS and MCAS, calming my autonomic nervous system, and using HRV data to make smarter pacing decisions. This isn’t a prescription — it’s my story of what it took to find stability when everything felt impossible.
How I Escaped the Horror of Rolling PEM: Part 1
Reading Time: 9 minutesIn these blog posts, I will tell you how I got into rolling PEM and what it did to my health and well-being (part 1). I will share how I managed to get out of rolling PEM with the help of pacing, heart rate monitoring, and other strategies (part 2). I will also share with […]
How I Escaped the Horror of Rolling PEM
Reading Time: 2 minutesHello, and welcome to my blog. In this series, I want to share my experience with rolling PEM, how I overcame it, and how my quality of life improved. If you are unfamiliar with the term, PEM stands for post-exertional malaise, a core symptom of ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome). It is a severe worsening […]
Rolling PEM: What It Is & How to Avoid It | ME/CFS Guide
Reading Time: 8 minutesRolling PEM happens when post-exertional malaise accumulates without full recovery, causing gradual decline. Learn the warning signs and pacing strategies to break the cycle.
Sensory Overload
Reading Time: 2 minutesThis is an excerpt from an IG post I wanted to share in June 2021 that I never got around to posting. ⚠️ ⚠️ This is sensory overload!!!!! Out of the 8 senses, 2 of them are acting up, and 3 of them are overloaded. It has been 43 days since my sense of smell […]
Long Covid: Frightening Nightmares IRL
Reading Time: 4 minutesThanks to Long Covid, I’m reliving parts of my worst living nightmares: the nightmares of living with untreated Lyme disease and co-infections and the agony of my concussions all over again. The similarities between Long Covid, late-stage neurological Lyme, and post-concussion syndrome are uncanny. Add breathing difficulties on top of neurological symptoms, and everything seems […]
Nondisabled Privilege
Reading Time: 3 minutesI knew I was privileged when I got accepted into college and received a full 4-year scholarship. It takes plenty of privilege to succeed in high school, and it takes even more, to graduate from college. I’ve lived a privileged life, no doubt about it. But you see, some of that privilege came tumbling down […]