Hello readers!

Let me start off by wishing you all a very belatedly Merry Christmas; Happy Holidays and a safe and prosperous New Year. It has, unfortunately, not been the best end to 2021 as I had hoped. I last wrote in October, where I was navigating the ‘I had a reaction to the Pfizer’ space, which unfortunately went a little downhill afterwards. I did end up getting the second dose in November, and had I been that little better in advocating for myself medically, I think I would be in less of a pickle then I am now.

What is that pickle, you say? Essentially, the cardiologist I went to see did not a) listen to me or hear what I was saying b) ignored my symptoms and c) misdiagnosed me, leading me to get the second shot woefully underprepared. Post shot #2, the first hospital visit was 2 days later and I was given a referral by my GP at least two more times within the first month but I chose not to go in. One of the interesting things about pericarditis (finally diagnosed after I chose to go to another cardiologist – private so it’s costing me fortune) is that if you stay fairly calm, the pain isn’t too bad. The moment you exert yourself either physically or emotionally, that pain factor shoots from 2 to 10.

So for now, my life consists of no exercise except gentle walking, minimal stress (to the point where there was no Christmas celebration at home with the extended (and dramatic) family) and mainly chilling at home with the other half when I’m not working or studying. One of the main issues with heart related issues, is that the first thing to go, is your exercise tolerance. No matter how much weight I have put on or how little I exercise, I’ve still always been fairly fit and walking 20,000 steps a day is easy. Nowadays, walking 50m is tough and I find myself taking breaks at work or whilst doing normal tasks to sit down and regroup. It is frustrating, to say the least, and both my GP and my partner have identified some unresolved anger I have towards getting vaccinated, as I just had to be the 1 on however many to have a severe adverse event. It doesn’t stop me from advocating for others to get protected, but I do encourage everyone to voice their concerns to the GP if they have any before getting anything else.

Unfortunately one of the side effects of the sedentary lifestyle is weight gain. Somewhere in the region of 30kg thanks to two lots of Prednisolone, and a lot of the diet programs are not recommended for anyone who has had recent episodes of cardiac stresses. What I am going to start again is intermittent fasting – the 16/8 program to try get some ketosis happening combined with a low-carb diet. My aim is to not only shift these steroid gains (mainly water) by mid-year, as I’m due to head to the States for a family wedding and long-needed holiday, but to get myself into a better headspace overall.

I have made a few small resolutions for 2022 – one of them is to write here more often. Ideally aiming for weekly, but more likely to be fortnightly if I continue to be so tired, but it is great to be back here and to get the words out of my head.

I hope you’re all keeping well and safe and happy.

B