Pi pillow and some serious stuff

For some time I've been wanting to make  a pillow that appeared in Stitch magazine, in August 2009. It was called the Pi pillow and was designed by Malka Dubrawsky. On Friday night, I cut out all 16 pieces and started to put it together. As you can see it's pretty bright. There is a mix of Kaffe Fassett, Denise Schmidt, some batiks and a few other assorted fabrics.

I've noticed that there are many varieties of blogs out there, well, as many as there are varieties of people. Some keep their blog mainly about the topic of interst. Most write the blog as not only a creative outlet, but as a connection to others. For some it is  partly a sales outlet and sometimes a form of advertising.
I started my blog as a way to journal about my creative journey. It is mostly for myself, but I  really want to make the connection to other artists and like minded people out there. Also, I've found that, while I don't want to continually write about my health issues (it's too depressing), I would like to occasionally talk about them for a few reasons. One is that it gives me a chance to express myself and get my frustrations out, and another is that I may find others(and I have) who are going through similar things.
This is my way of explaining why I would like to document my journey with Secondary Addison's from time to time on this blog. I am just not up to maintaining 2 blogs. So for those interested in the creative endeavors only, you can skip this next part.
I am finally starting to get some answers as to what is going on with my body. I've been off sick since last March and trying to do everything I can to get better. I have felt betrayed by my own body. With Addison's when you get sick, you must double the dose of cortisone until you get better. A lengthy illness in March (bronchitis) caused a lengthy time of higher doses of cortisone. This caused a spiral affect in my body. My thyroid is low; although this must have been happening for some time, it made it worse and then my blood sugars went too high. At the same time I started to suffer a constant gnawing pain in my abdomen. It has been with me everyday for several months, and the continual pain can really wear you down. Finally, after an endoscopy and a CT scan I have some answers. I have something called gastroparesis. It basically means that my stomach muscles are not working, and therefore food sits too long in my stomach. This may be caused by medications such as cortisone, but also it can be caused by a slow metabolism or low thyroid. I was prescribed a medication to stimulate the stomach muscles, but after several weeks, I was still having unbearable pain. My family doctor has helped me to find a non narcotic pain medication that seems to be helping finally. Yesterday, I had the first almost pain free day in many months. It does make me a little sleepy, but I'm hoping that will get better.
One thing that is recommended for the stomach motility problem is eating 5-6 smaller meals which I've been doing. If I eat too much at once, it causes me pain as well as a spike in my blood sugars. Even by making these changes and cutting out fat and sugar (a good side effect is that I'm losing weight), I was still suffering. I'm hopeful that the painkillers will help. I don't want to take them forever, so I'm also going to try acupuncture. I'm not currently taking anything for the low thyroid because the endocrinologist wanted to wait for another blood test. Maybe, if he decides to put me back on the Synthroid it will also help.
In the last few months, I've felt like I was partly living in another world because I have not been able to do the things I would normally do. For one thing, I always had some level of pain going that I had to try to ignore. I had the time to go for visits to my family cottage or to visit friends at theirs, but I mostly didn't because I was afraid to get hit with the numbing fatigue from the low thyroid or the horrible fogginess from a blood sugar spike. It really is like driving under the influence when you're like that.
So that about sums up where I'm at health wise at the moment. I've gotten it off my chest, and put it out there for anyone else to read who may be going through  similar trails. I've also put a list of Addison's blogs on my sidebar which I'll be adding to as I find more.