Lifestyle

January 2024 Wrap Up 

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The first month of the year is over... and what a month it was! January was quite a roller-coaster of emotions.

Health

Those of you that have been here before will already know about my health issues. In my November and December updates I gave some information about my most recent health problems and all the tests I've been having done. Well, I finally got some answers.

Turns out I have several conditions that may or may not be connected to each other. The biggest discovery of the month was that I have Chronic Thyroiditis and Hypothyroidism. This explains so much. We also discovered a solid nodule on my thyroid and other cysts. We'll be keeping a closer eye on those from now on. Hopefully my new meds will kick in soon and I'll be able to get my thyroid under control. That should reduce a lot of my symptoms.

I also have Chronic Gastritis and GERD which may be related to my IBS, the thyroid issues or be completely separate. I have new meds for these now too so again, hopefully that should help improve things.

My least favourite test of the month was the laryngoscopy. Whilst a lot of the inflammation in my throat is due to the thyroid problems, I also have some damage from the bronchitis I had at the beginning of November. My larynx and vocal cords are inflamed which is why I keep losing my voice and have such a sore throat all the time. Again, more meds to try and deal with that issue.

As you can imagine, it's been quite a lot to deal with. Whilst all the tests, specialist appointments, etc... have been draining (and in some cases quite painful), I've been struggling for most of my life with my health and now finally have answers. 

Over the years the not knowing has been one of the worst parts of being ill all the time. Always feeling like one step forwards, two steps back when it came to working out what was the root cause of my problems. 

It's been physically, mentally and emotionally one of the hardest months but I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe now things will finally start to get better.

Blogging

January was my best blogging month ever since I started blogging. I set a new personal best for traffic to the site and improved my DA score. I'm so grateful that you all visit my little corner of the web. Thank you so much for your support. 

Traffic for January: 74,839

Number of blog posts published in January: 21

Current DA score: 33

Reading challenges

The Clock Reading Challenge

The Net Galley TBR Reading Challenge

One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall - My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

Other books read:

Don't Read the Last Page by Catherine Dowen - My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

Currently reading:

War of the Wind by Victoria Williamson - currently at 45% - Amazon - Goodreads

Travel

Nothing to report here. Unless we count medical visits (I visited numerous hospitals and medical clinics here in Rome) I didn't do any travel in January due to my health issues.

Fitness

Again, nothing to report here. I just wasn't up to it health wise. I did do some research for some fitness challenges to try and do this year though. 

How did you do with your January Challenges? What challenges are you doing this year? Join the conversation in the comments section. 

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