Moar Questions!
Jan. 23rd, 2017 07:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunabee341. I've been having some pretty intense IC flare ups over the last week and a half. I've gone back on the super strict elimination diet, taken some more things out of my diet that I hadn't realized were potentially triggering, and quit taking my vitamins.
I started taking vitamins every day when I got home from Christmas because I'm concerned about vitamin deficiencies on this diet. Now, this should be completely obvious, but a bunch of those vitamins (and not just the multi but also the fish oil and the calcium) have ascorbic acid in them. *headdesk* I've gradually been feeling worse and worse since we got home from Christmas, and now I am convinced it's because of those damn vitamins.
For after only three days without them and back on the elimination diet, I am feeling pretty good. I'm not hurting nearly as badly as I was. I'm not 100% but so much better. Whoooooo!
This just underscores how important it is for me to thoroughly scrutinize everything I put in my mouth and not just food but medicines too.
I've been doing some more IC research, and I think that in addition to sabotaging myself with vitamins and popcorn with ascorbic acid in them, I didn't stay on the elimination diet long enough for the damage to heal. What I'm reading now says 3-6 month minimum. I also read some things that suggest that if I eliminate a trigger food for long enough (a year or more), it may cease to be one. I also tried to introduce new foods too quickly. So, learning stuff here.
2. Thanks for you input on remembering to take my meds. I've put up notes under the TV (which we usually eat in front of) and on the cabinet. I've put the meds on the coffee table where I usually eat, and I've set the alarm for dinner time. *crosses fingers*
3. Thanks also for everyone's input on how to approach a Write Every Day Project. I'm going to set a goal of 200 words daily but might revise that upwards after I've done it for awhile and get a sense of my capabilities. I also might takesholio's advice and change it to a weekly rather than daily goal. I'm definitely going to keep track of it so that I can see progress over time (probably in one of my super cute notebooks with big milestones recorded on DW). executrix pointed me to Written Kitten which looks like an awesome motivator. So, I think I'm going to set a start date for tomorrow!
4. When I asked for advice about writing a book about my autoimmune disorder experiences,executrix suggested that one way to go about getting a publishing deal is to write a popular blog on the topic which agents and publishers can use to see that you have a built in audience. I know this is an avenue that works because I'm seeing people all the time in magazines and etc who started out with a blog about a topic and then turned that into a book or a product or a store or some other kind of business.
I've been doing a little bit of superficial research about blogging to be popular and gain followers, but I'd like to hear your perspective:
a. If you have a blog that you use to promote your writing or your business, how does that work for you?
b. What's the best blogging platform to accomplish this? I'm thinking Wordpress, but IDK.
c. Do I really have to get on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and etc?
d. How much work is this approach likely to be? The writing content part I don't think I will struggle with. I've looked at a few tutorials that talk about having a good profile page, having lots of banked content before you go live, how to title posts for better search engine results. But the getting readership part sounds super involved. Thoughts?
I started taking vitamins every day when I got home from Christmas because I'm concerned about vitamin deficiencies on this diet. Now, this should be completely obvious, but a bunch of those vitamins (and not just the multi but also the fish oil and the calcium) have ascorbic acid in them. *headdesk* I've gradually been feeling worse and worse since we got home from Christmas, and now I am convinced it's because of those damn vitamins.
For after only three days without them and back on the elimination diet, I am feeling pretty good. I'm not hurting nearly as badly as I was. I'm not 100% but so much better. Whoooooo!
This just underscores how important it is for me to thoroughly scrutinize everything I put in my mouth and not just food but medicines too.
I've been doing some more IC research, and I think that in addition to sabotaging myself with vitamins and popcorn with ascorbic acid in them, I didn't stay on the elimination diet long enough for the damage to heal. What I'm reading now says 3-6 month minimum. I also read some things that suggest that if I eliminate a trigger food for long enough (a year or more), it may cease to be one. I also tried to introduce new foods too quickly. So, learning stuff here.
2. Thanks for you input on remembering to take my meds. I've put up notes under the TV (which we usually eat in front of) and on the cabinet. I've put the meds on the coffee table where I usually eat, and I've set the alarm for dinner time. *crosses fingers*
3. Thanks also for everyone's input on how to approach a Write Every Day Project. I'm going to set a goal of 200 words daily but might revise that upwards after I've done it for awhile and get a sense of my capabilities. I also might take
sholio's advice and change it to a weekly rather than daily goal. I'm definitely going to keep track of it so that I can see progress over time (probably in one of my super cute notebooks with big milestones recorded on DW). executrix pointed me to Written Kitten which looks like an awesome motivator. So, I think I'm going to set a start date for tomorrow!4. When I asked for advice about writing a book about my autoimmune disorder experiences,
executrix suggested that one way to go about getting a publishing deal is to write a popular blog on the topic which agents and publishers can use to see that you have a built in audience. I know this is an avenue that works because I'm seeing people all the time in magazines and etc who started out with a blog about a topic and then turned that into a book or a product or a store or some other kind of business.I've been doing a little bit of superficial research about blogging to be popular and gain followers, but I'd like to hear your perspective:
a. If you have a blog that you use to promote your writing or your business, how does that work for you?
b. What's the best blogging platform to accomplish this? I'm thinking Wordpress, but IDK.
c. Do I really have to get on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and etc?
d. How much work is this approach likely to be? The writing content part I don't think I will struggle with. I've looked at a few tutorials that talk about having a good profile page, having lots of banked content before you go live, how to title posts for better search engine results. But the getting readership part sounds super involved. Thoughts?
no subject
Date: 2017-01-24 12:58 am (UTC)alizarin_nyc said that Wordpress is no longer cool, but I don't know what the cool platform is these days.*
This is America, there are organizations for everything to do with IC, from the patient's and health care providers and even manufacturers' POVs, I would sign up for them and then when you're ready to launch post "Everybody come on over to my fabulous new blog!"
Also, there are lots of people in the PR business, I think you could easily find someone who is trying to get established and for a small consideration, or just work experience, who could handle the Facebook and Instagram and Twitter end of it (and do the heavy lifting on promoting the blog). In fact you could probably rope in a student from your very own institution's business or communications or marketing or media department.
*Hill I will die on: "anymore" can only be used negatively, not positively, e.g., "I don't fence anymore" but not "that restaurant is so hot anymore."
no subject
Date: 2017-01-25 01:38 am (UTC)My prelim research is suggesting what you're saying here; you find communities and blogs in the same subject and start reading them and commenting and build up a relationship with those people so they link to you.
I think this idea has a lot of merit, but I think I want to wait until the summer when I'm not working and I can actually do all these promotion things. I'm going to work on writing this spring and then try to launch this summer. Then I'll have lots of content banked and I can do the legwork.
Thank you for putting me on this track. I think this has a lot of potential for success.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-25 02:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-01-26 05:30 pm (UTC)*blushes*
no subject
Date: 2017-01-24 01:59 am (UTC)Blogger to author does seem to be a good way to go, but yeah, I think the initial stage of building a readership is going to be a lot of work. You probably will have to use various social media to promote yourself, and one of the biggest things in the beginning is going to be networking. Find blogs for similar topics, read them and comment, get friendly with the bloggers, and then ask them to link you if they have a sidebar or to mention you in one of their posts, that sort of thing.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-25 01:40 am (UTC)I think I'm going to wait until the summer starts when I'm not working as much.
Thanks for the info!
no subject
Date: 2017-01-25 02:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-01-26 05:29 pm (UTC)That makes perfect sense.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-24 05:03 am (UTC)I'm so glad to hear that! *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2017-01-25 01:40 am (UTC)Yay!