Reviews

I don’t tend to do product reviews and I am always highly suspicious of bloggers

who are always saying how wonderful a new product is, failing to mention they

have been provided the product free of charge in return for a favourable post.

I am also quite hard on products and I am acutely aware of what may work for

me may not work ( or even fail miserably ) for others. However when I do find

a product that works well for me I like to share. Now I just need to make it

clear, I have paid for these products myself and I have not been asked to

provide a review for them. I am just sharing these products with you because

I know many of you who read the blog have the same problems as I do and

they may help you.

The first product is the icloudy pillow made from memory foam. I have included

a link to Amazon as this is where I purchased it from. At £35.99 I am aware

it's not cheap, particularly for those on a limited income. For me it’s been

worth every penny.

ICloudy Pillow at Amazon

I have bought many different neck pillows over the years in an attempt to

stabilise my neck whilst sleeping. Due to EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome)

I have terrible problems with my neck being unstable, a physio once described

me as having an owl neck, as I can twist my head around so far.

I wake up with horrendous headaches, stiff neck and just in an awful

lot pain. I have said to many doctors that a lot of my headache issues

and possibly my leak have been caused by my necks instability.

Unfortunately in the UK this seems to be an area that is completely

neglected by the medical profession when it comes to EDS.

With many EDS patients facing the choice of raising hundreds

of thousands of pounds to have surgery abroad or face a slow agonising death.

Now I am nowhere near that bad thank goodness but a few weeks ago I woke

up in agony. My head pain was so bad I was convinced that my CSF leak had

returned. I couldn’t do anything as the pain was so severe. I took every

painkiller available to me and it just wouldn’t shift. In desperation I took a

diazepam (which I had been prescribed for anxiety) it was the only thing

that worked which thankfully proved to me that it wasn’t my leak coming

back. You have no idea what a relief it was.

Over a few months my neck had become increasingly painful, sleeping

which should be a comfortable and relaxing experience was leaving me

racked in pain. I was already using a memory foam neck pillow but it wasn’t

doing anything for me. The only relief I had found was sleeping with just a

rolled up towel under my neck but due to EDS causing reflux, it was a no no,

as I kept waking up choking on my stomach contents. I also tried lifting the

head end of my bed and sleeping on a rolled up towel placed under my

neck but again...one night was fine but the following night my lower back

and pelvis were extremely painful due to the angle raising the head end

of the bed was placing them in. Out of desperation I searched online for

a different type of neck support pillow. I needed one that supported the

natural curve of the neck but also dropped my head back rather than it all

being on the same level which is completely unnatural. After a good look I

discovered the Icloudy Pillow, which was shaped completely differently to

any pillow I had tried before.

As you can see the centre of the pillow is the lowest point so it allows

for the curve in your neck (my curve is completely reversed). The difference

has been incredible. The first night I thought it was a fluke, my sleep was

totally different and I didn’t wake up in the night with pain radiating from

the back of my head to the centre of my shoulder blades.  The second night

I had a bit of pain from lying so flat, so added one wafer thin pillow on top

of the icloudy pillow to see if that helped and it did. I woke up again pain free.

In fact every day since using this pillow I have woken up without my usual

headache and neck pain.

I still have to be really careful moving during the day, today I have managed

what I call a crick - I am guessing normal people may call it more than that.

So I have pain in the base of my skull and at the top of my shoulder blades.

I can live with that, its no where near as bad as a leak headache. My quality of

sleep has been completely altered by using this pillow. I can see now why it

gets so many good reviews. The good news is that it will also fit in a standard

Oxford pillowcase so no special case is needed for it.

Now as I said I am suspicious of bloggers who gush about products without

making it clear that they have received financial compensation for doing so

or received the product free. I never get free products and wouldn’t feel right

gushing about a product that I think is shite. So if I tell you about a product it

is because it worked for me and it may possibly work for you.

Those of you who follow my blog will know a few weeks ago I took a tumble

in the snow. At the time I wrote about the fact I had hit my head and that my

legs were really sore. Well I obviously had distracting injuries as a few days

later I was noticing that it was very sore to sit down for longer than about 10

minutes (not good when you love to sew and even worse when standing makes

you want to faint). I realised I had damaged my coccyx in the fall. I was quite

plain speaking when I told Mr Myasthenia Kid how it felt “ Like someone has

hit me with a shovel between my arse cheeks” - don’t say I didn’t warn

you ha ha ha! It was very painful and very frustrating as I was only comfortable

lying down but my back hates me lying down.

In desperation again I wondered if there was such a thing as a support

cushion for your coccyx. Again on Amazon I stumbled across the Supportiback

pillow. Supportiback cushion at Amazon

At £29.87 it’s not cheap, but when you can’t sit down without being in a lot

of pain and you can no longer do the thing you are completely addicted to

- sewing, then believe me you’ll pay any price to no longer be in pain. The

great thing is with the cushion is the size, I won’t lie currently I am wide

of hip so need a large cushion, this doesn’t disappoint. I have taken the

photo on my kitchen chair which is a standard Ikea chair.

The gap at the back of the cushion is where you coccyx sits over so no

 pressure is applied.

It’s made of memory foam and has a gel surface to it. It moulds to your body

contours and it has also relieved the pressure I feel on the backs of my legs

when I have been sat for a while. I also like the fact it is breathable so it

doesn’t leave you feeling hot and sweaty when you have been sat on it for

a while. The difference for me was night and day. The cushion also doesn’t

slip and slide so feels completely safe when you are getting up and down.

I only noticed this morning when I took a photo of it that it has a handle

on the side to carry it. I am contemplating buying another one for me to

use in the car, as that is now the only seat that I feel very uncomfortable on.

With the cut out at the back of the cushion there is now no  pressure being

applied on my coccyx which is also allowing the injury to heal much faster now.

I read in a lot of the reviews that people were also using these as cushions in

their wheelchairs and mobility scooters which is another excellent idea.

So no more numb bum or back of my thighs when I have been sitting at my

sewing machine.

I hope you have found my reviews helpful and if you have any questions

about either product please don’t hesitate to get in touch or use the links

in the post so you can read the reviews left by Amazon customers.