Patient Empowerment Pulse

  Dizziness and nausea often arrive together like an unwelcome duo. Whether it’s from dysautonomia, migraines, medications, inner ear issues, or blood sugar crashes, these symptoms can hit hard—and fast—leaving you unsteady, queasy, and anxious. This guide offers practical symptom relief strategies that help when dizziness and nausea strike. While these techniques aren’t a substitute for diagnosis or treatment, they’ve been used by patients with chronic illness, vestibular disorders, and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) to regain control when the room starts spinning. I’ve experienced this more times than I can count. For me, it’s often triggered by standing too fast or even a sudden change in temperature. My vision narrows, my balance shifts, and if I’m not careful, I’m on the floor. What makes it worse? Nausea flooding in with no warning. That’s when I reach for one of the following techniques. 1. Grab the Coldest Thing You Can Reach This sounds odd, but it w...

  When you live with chronic illness, you’re not just battling symptoms—you’re often battling guilt. Guilt for canceling plans. Guilt for not working enough. Guilt for needing help. Guilt for not being the version of yourself you used to be. And that guilt? It spirals. One bad day turns into two, then three. You start judging yourself for how much time you’ve “lost,” and suddenly you’re not just sick—you’re ashamed. Let’s pause that spiral right here. Because guilt is not proof of failure. It’s a signal that you care—and caring is not a weakness. Where Guilt Comes From (It’s Not Just You) Guilt doesn’t come from nowhere. For many of us, it’s the result of growing up in a culture that glorifies productivity and independence. We’re taught that rest must be earned, that self-worth is tied to output, and that asking for help is a weakness. When you live with chronic illness, those values can become weapons turned inward. I used to believe that if I couldn’t contribute in obvious,...

There’s a certain kind of day that people with chronic illness know all too well—the flare day. The kind where symptoms rise like a tide, logic gets fuzzy, and even basic tasks feel like climbing a mountain in molasses. When that wave hits, having a flare day survival kit ready can make the difference between barely enduring and actually coping. This isn’t about curing the flare. It’s about softening the edges, minimizing the crash, and reminding yourself that you’re not powerless—even when your body feels like it’s betraying you. What Is a Flare Day Survival Kit? Think of it as your personal go-bag for those high-symptom days. It’s a collection of items, strategies, and comforts that support your body and mind when everything else is out of your control. The goal isn’t to fix the day—it’s to get through it with less suffering. Your kit might live in a basket by your bed, a drawer near the couch, or even a folder on your phone. The important thing is that it’s ready before you ne...

There’s a quiet fear that lives in many patients: What if I need a second opinion, but I don’t want to offend my doctor? It’s a valid concern. Most people with chronic illnesses spend years trying to build some kind of relationship with a provider who doesn’t dismiss them, who listens, or who at least knows their case history. So asking for a second opinion can feel like an act of betrayal—especially if you’re conflict-avoidant or have trauma around being disbelieved. But here’s the truth: a second opinion isn’t an insult. It’s part of responsible care. And if no one else has told you this yet—I’ve been there. You are not alone. I’ve stood in that awkward space, wondering if I was being "too much" for wanting a second set of eyes. The first time it happened, I was told my symptoms were likely "just anxiety"—even though I had consistent joint swelling, recurring low-grade fevers, and rapid weight loss. It wasn’t until I saw a rheumatologist for a second opinion t...

Before I was diagnosed with chronic illness, I thought everyone was just pushing through pain, fatigue, and strange symptoms. I thought brain fog was part of adulthood, that unpredictable digestion was just bad luck, that waking up tired every day was something no one talked about because it made you seem weak. This story isn’t unique. It’s the quiet reality for millions of people living with undiagnosed chronic illness. And if you’re reading this thinking, "Wait... isn’t that normal?" — maybe this article is for you. I Thought It Was Just Me Being Lazy For years, I planned my days around energy crashes I couldn’t explain. I needed rest breaks after tasks that others seemed to breeze through—grocery shopping, cleaning, even taking a shower. I kept quiet about it because I didn’t want to seem weak or self-indulgent. I told myself I just lacked discipline. But the truth was, I was experiencing a level of fatigue that went beyond being tired. It was cellular. Debilitating. D...

  If you live with a chronic illness, you probably know what a "flare day" is—even if your doctor never explained it, and even if your body never follows the rules. But for those outside your skin, this term can sound vague, dramatic, or even dismissive. That’s not just a communication gap. It’s a barrier to care, empathy, and trust. So let’s define it clearly—especially for caregivers, healthcare providers, and allies who want to understand chronic illness better. Let’s claim the language. Let’s help people understand what a flare day really means. A Flare Day Isn’t Just “Feeling Bad” The word "flare" might make people think of a brief moment of pain or irritation. But in chronic illness, a flare is more like a full-body event. It’s a systemic disruption that can affect pain, energy, digestion, mood, cognition, mobility, and even basic functions like temperature regulation or vision. On a flare day, your baseline symptoms don’t just return—they escalate . W...

  Living with a chronic illness often means facing hard days without a clear end in sight. Some mornings, even getting out of bed feels like a negotiation. Other times, it's the emotional weight that knocks you flat: the grief of the life you thought you'd have, or the fear that your body will never stabilize again. But chronic doesn’t mean static. And it doesn’t mean hopeless. This guide isn’t here to sugarcoat the journey. It’s here to offer something sturdier: a framework for rebuilding when everything feels like too much—drawn from lived experience, peer coaching, and hard-earned strategies from within the chronic illness community. If you’re feeling defeated, you’re not broken. You’re just tired—and there is a path forward. Acknowledge the Chronic Illness Crash Without Collapsing Into It It’s okay to name what hurts. You don’t have to minimize your pain to be resilient. You don’t have to bounce back right away. But collapsing into helplessness doesn’t serve you eithe...