Nina’s Chronic Illness Management Tips!

When you live life with a medical history that looks more like alphabet soup than bullet points, it can be hard to go through the day-to-day without extra support. Personally, I’ve found that the pills and injections and exercises aren’t always enough and I need to resort to sometimes unorthodox products to treat my symptoms. Here are a few things I use in conjunction with my KT tape, braces, and electrolytes.

Woman in steel-boned corset.

Steel-Boned Corset

I know what you’re thinking: “Nina, this isn’t the 18th century,” and I know, I do, but this year my corset has been my MVP in my closet.

Myth: Corsets cause people to faint

As someone prone to fainting, I have never fainted in a corset. If you are lacing your corsets to the point of being unable to breathe, you’re doing it wrong.

Fact: The main function of corsets and stays were to provide support (source: Lancaster History)

While corsets were made in part to provide a specific silhouette in fashion at certain points in time, they were primarily made to provide bust support, as well as to help hold the weight of the many skirts tied around womens’ waists.

How it helps me — Rib Stabilization

This year, me and Left Rib #7 have been battling it out in my own body. I sleep wrong and it dislocates for the first week, subluxes for the second, and is sore for a third. Then, after my fourth week, I’ll sneeze, and the whole cycle repeats. I find that a corset helps support my ribs just enough to keep them in place, or, at least, decrease pain and muscle spasms for when Left Rib #7 chooses violence.

Disclaimer — Brace for Activity, not for life

Of course, as with all braces and splints, you don’t want to rely on them so much that your muscles atrophy from disuse. I use my corset on hard days when I need extra support and perform stabilization exercises when I’m able.

Apple Watch: Tachymon App

Apple Watch with Tachymon App

When my POTS became more unpredictable, I needed a bit more help getting advanced notice from my body for episodes, especially since my ADHD acts as a “Do Not Disturb” setting on physiological cues.

Myth: Everyone with POTS faints

As a person with POTS, I usually deal more in the realm of presyncope (near-fainting), than fainting itself. I’ve really only fainted a handful of times.

Fact: POTS is characterized by an increase in heart rate when changing from laying down, sitting, to standing.

Generally, this change is significant (30bpm) and worsens exponentially with activity. For me, this change happens because my blood vessels don’t constrict as much as they should. My faulty collagen makes it difficult for my body to do this, causing blood to pool at my feet, and my heart tries to pick up the slack to get blood to my brain. The goal for me in these moments is to get down to do one of two things: 1. Help my body get blood back to my brain before I pass out and it does it for me; and, 2. Lower the height that my head falls to hit the floor in case I do faint. I’ve fainted without notice from standing and gotten concussions for days, and fainted laying down with my only injury being to my ego. Trust me, I prefer the latter.

How Tachymon helps me — A literal notification, for when your body provides you with none

As I said, my ADHD generally acts as a “Do Not Disturb” setting on everything to do with my body’s needs. Having Tachymon consistently and discreetly monitor my heartbeat helps me keep myself safe.

Stanley cup with carrying sleeve on bookshelf.

Stanley Cup Holder

Did I mention I have ADHD? I have no sense of object permanence, time, or bodily needs. I will forget to hydrate often, which is especially dangerous with my aforementioned POTS. So, in addition to my 40oz. Stanley Cup equipped with Taylor Swift/bookish stickers, is my carrier bag that keeps it strapped across my body. Otherwise, that Stanley cup is not only getting dropped, but forgotten on desks full of gatorade and empty promises from a wiser, more optimistic Nina.

My Solution is NOT the Only Solution

The beautiful thing about our bodies is that they are so incredibly unique. Even if you could find a doppelganger, their body will not be identical to yours, equipped with your experiences and brain chemistry, on any given day. What works for me may not work for you, and that’s okay. All of my suggestions are merely those: suggestions. I hope they can bring you one step closer to finding your equilibrium, but if they don’t, then at least you’ve gathered information that can help guide you to what does.