Thursday 12th March

So I thought I would start a daily blog, to document my life. So I thought I would start by introducing myself and telling you a little bit about my life.
My name is Lauren Hawkins, I am twenty one and a proud army wife. Two years ago, my life changed, and not in a good way. I slipped a disc in the lower part of my spine, and since then nothing has been the same. I have been in pain every day, and since then I have had more problems added ontop, from headaches to fatigue and dizzyness. 

My issue at the moment is doctors. Since all this happened, I have been to see countless amounts of doctors and consultants, and all that has happened was being thrown different medication, and being told a different diagnosis every month. It's getting hard to bare. Let me explain, The first thing i was told was that I had a sprained muscle, which was a stupid thing to say because I was in so much pain that I couldn't move and bend. Then they told me that I had a herniated disc (which is true, because 3 MRI scans showed a small herniation and dehydration of the L5/S1 disc) and that was the cause of my pain, which is really what I thought was wrong with me. This is the diagnosis that stuck for a while, and then in December last year I went to see a high flying spinal surgeon who looked at my MRI and he noticed something that no other doctors had before. I had a cyst on my spine, and that was what he thought was wrong. It was a good diagnosis as it matched a lot of my symptoms. But that all changed recently as I went to see the pain clinic, they told me that they don't think that the disc or the cyst was causing my pain. He thought that my pain receptors were miss-firing, and that there was a possibilty that I have Fibromyagia. This was a pretty stressful diagnosis, as there is no cure for these and also there is a possibility I could have these for the rest of my life. So I have to find ways to make my life better. 

This is why I decided to start this blog. To document my day to day life and write down how I am feeling. I'm hoping it would help me feel better, even if it is just to vent, also I can see if there is any connection with what I do in my day-to-day life, and my pain. 

So let's end on a happier note, I will tell you the good things about my life. I have an amazing family, my mum is the most amazing person in the universe and she is my world. I know that sounds cheesy but it's really true. I have been married to an amazing man for almost a year (one week to go) he is such a great man, and I am so lucky to have him, especially in this hard time of my life. Also I have three awesome pets. I have a beautiful Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Leia (my husband is a massive Star Wars fan!) we rescued her, she was a stray and in a really bad way. But as soon as we got her home, she became the loving puppy we know today. She is loyal and funny, and the most perfect companion we could ask for. Then we have two rabbits. A male rex rabbit called Castiel (I am a massive Supernatural fan) he is beautiful and loves to play with you and lick your nose. Recently we decided to get him a girlfriend (as such) so we bought a little Norwegian Dwarf called Aria (Pretty Little Liars and Game Of Thrones) at the moment she is too young to have babies, so we have to wait for a while, we have only had her for 3 days, but she has really settled in and loves cuddles!

So that's a little insight into my life. I hope you enjoy and I will update you soon. xoxo