About me

Hello! I'm Naomi Gilchrist; thanks for checking out my blog.

10 facts about me

  1. I live in the UK
  2. My favourite flowers are peonies 
  3. I love rainbows 
  4. I’m attracted to anything glittery 
  5. I’d love to cuddle a koala 
  6. I love books
  7. I enjoy arts and crafts 
  8. I’m a Quaker
  9. I love doing my nails and makeup 
  10. I’d love to learn to French and Dutch braid my hair

My medical diagnosis'

I'm trying to navigate life with my chronic illnesses/disabilities. My 'main' illnesses are:

  • Severe M.E (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis  - this is a neuro-immune disorder though it affects every part of my body. 1 in 4 people with M.E are severely affected. M.E leaves me housebound with most of my time spent in bed. Some of my symptoms include chronic fatigue and pain, a lowered immune system, cognitive dysfunction, post-exertion malaise (often just minor things to most people are big activities for me to do), hypersensitivity especially to light, sound and touch, dysautonomia (problems with the bodies automatic functions), orthostatic intolerance meaning I struggle to be sat upright and many other symptoms.
  • hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - a hereditary connective tissue disorder that affects my joints and various organs. EDS is a rare illness so EDS patients are known as 'medical zebras'. Having hEDS means that my joints are prone to subluxing and dislocating; its quite a painful condition. It also affects several of my organs.
  • Functional Neurological Disorder - this is a problem with the brain's autonomic messaging system which results in me expereincing many different difficulties. I have different types of non-epileptic seizures, poor mobility, certain organs not working as they should, dysautonomia, chronic pain, muscle weakness, problems with my nerves and central nervous system and more - (often symptoms overlap between my different diagnosed conditions).
  • Chronic Migraines with aura - migraines are a neurological disorder. They are classed as chronic when a person experience 15 or more migraines a month. Along with my migraines I experience a visual aura which can feel like a torch being shone or other visual hallucinations.