Art Journaling Scrapbook Storytime: When Your Health Turns Into a Total Mess

So picture this: you’re chilling, thinking you’re just dealing with the usual boring, grown-up health junk, and then suddenly everything feels like it’s gone sideways.

That’s been my life for the past few months.

It started innocent enough, just your standard case of “ugh, I’m sick, whatever,” but plot twist, it didn’t stop.

It snowballed into a saga of weird symptoms, annoying appointments, and one suspiciously grumpy pancreas.

I’m sharing this chaotic ride not as an expert but as someone who’s been through the health blender and lived to tell the tale (with stickers, obviously).

Whether your body’s being a drama queen or you just need something relatable, grab your journal (and maybe a snack).

Let’s have art journaling, scrapbook storytime!

Health Chaos Launches: From Regular Sick Day to Medical Soap Opera

Let's rewind to when this all started.

It’s early February. You’re feeling quite like crap (yes, that’s the medical term).

Nothing wild, probably just a bug. No COVID test, just some quality time wrapped in a blanket, surrounded by half-finished mugs of lukewarm tea.

You know the drill: headache, aches, a little bit of existential dread.

But then, surprise! Things get weird.

The February Sick Days: It’s Just a Cold… Right?

You think it’s just another minor illness—it is what it is.

You hunker down, cancel plans, and scroll through Netflix.

This is usually where things would get better. But nope. Not this time. Your body has other ideas.

Enter: The Angry Back Lump

So here you are, on the mend (or so you think), and boom wild, huge lump appears on your back.

Not just any lump. This one is red and inflamed, and it definitely hurts to the touch.

Trying to wear a sports bra feels like medieval torture. Do you rush back to the dermatologist?

Nah, you try to ride it out because last time you had a cyst removed from your face, it cost you $2,000.

Who wants to spend $2,000 to stop feeling like someone’s poking your back with a fork? Not this gal.

Cue round one of antibiotics. Spoiler: they don’t work.

Back to the doc, another round. Ten days later, things finally start to chill out… until they don’t.

Antibiotics Take a Detour

If you’re a lady, you probably know where this is going. Say hello to that post-antibiotics gift: the dreaded yeast infection. It shows up just as your back is feeling better.

So now you’re celebrating relief in one area while muttering curse words about the other pain that’s suddenly moved in downstairs. Rinse. Repeat. Nothing is ever simple, is it?

Quick symptom timeline:

•  Sick in February
•  Back lump appears—red, angry, impossible to ignore
• Visit doctor → antibiotics round 1
•  No improvement → antibiotics round 2
•  Lump recedes, yeast infection kicks in
• Relief finally… until it comes back

Then Your Body Decides to Throw in Some Extra Chaos

Alright, so if getting older is supposed to be this wild, why didn’t anyone warn you?

Suddenly, your eyes are deciding not to work right and your muscles think 2 am is a great time to turn into torture devices.

Vision Drama: Ready or Not, Bifocals Incoming

You know how your mom always said, “Uh-oh, it’s bifocals, it’s time for bifocals”?

Yeah, turns out she was wrong. Your vision, which was supposedly improving last year, is now worse again. But not bifocals, mom!

Still, you grab the new glasses and convince yourself the problem’s solved.

Spoiler: It doesn’t last.

Meet the Muscle Cramps Without Mercy

Ever had a Charlie horse that wakes you up in the dead of night? Not just once, but every. single. night? Your legs, your neck, every muscle decides it’s auditioning for some kind of horror movie.

You haven’t been working out—thanks to that back issue—so, of course, now you’re playing the guessing game:

• Is it dehydration?
• Did too many rest days destroy your muscles?
•  Too much water? Not enough electrolytes?
• Have you finally reached “that age”?

It’s a hot mess express over here. If someone even brushes past your back, it feels like you might jump out of your skin.

The Bathroom Symphony and Thirst You Can’t Quench

Just as you’re settling in to this new routine (read: drama), your body flips the script again.

You used to sleep through the night. Now, you’re up every couple of hours for bathroom trips.

Then comes the incredible thirst. You’ve got a giant 40 oz cup and you’re still drinking out of the bathroom sink because you couldn’t get enough.

Not glamorous but definitely relatable, right?

You try to troubleshoot:

• Up your electrolytes
• Assume your hormones are on the warpath
• Try to blame it on getting older
• Briefly consider becoming nocturnal
• List of lifestyle stunts blamed for the chaos:
• Less exercise
•  Stress from the house being under construction
• Eating like garbage (goodbye keto, hello “dumpster fire” carbs)

By this point, you’re basically just making excuses for your own body.

Stomach, Meet Nausea: The Plot Thickens

Now, pile on the digestive stuff. You start to feel nauseous before and after your thyroid meds.

Cue the bloating, the cramping, the doubling over in pain. You tell yourself it’s stress or new medication or, honestly, just bad luck.

You joke about eating like a raccoon let loose in the pantry, dumpster fire carbs all day.

Between stress, construction chaos, and just wanting comfort food, staying on track feels impossible. Who can blame you?

Doctor Visits, Lab Work, and the Big Diabetes Reveal

You drag yourself back to the doctor, toddler in tow, and of course you haven’t done your lab work.

Why? Because it’s borderline impossible to find a free morning when your spouse is actually home and you can wrangle a tiny human. By the time you get there, it’s pure crazy town.

Now here’s the part that makes your jaw drop:

• Back in November, your fasting glucose was a chill 86.
•  Suddenly, in May, it’s 247.
• Your doctor is skeptical. She’s like, “Let’s run that again.”
• Next go, it’s 297. Uhh, what? What is even happening right now?
•  A1C? It rockets from about 5.6 up to 11.6.

What’s your pancreas doing during all of this? Not a whole lot. Your fasting insulin is dragging, your C-peptide (which is doctor speak for how much insulin you’re making) is basically barely there.

Quick lab definitions for the newly initiated:

• A1C: Your blood sugar’s three-month report card
• Insulin: Hormone that helps you use sugar
• C-peptide: Tells the doc how much insulin you’re making on your own

So your doctor says your pancreas isn't completely out of commission yet, but not doing a whole lot either.

Living That Type (insert mystery here) Diabetes Life

Suddenly, your new normal involves poking your finger for blood sugar readings. Five times a day.

You’re waiting for insurance to green-light your “fancy new jewelry” (a Dexcom blood glucose monitor), because why not accessorize with medical tech?

You’re on Metformin, lining up daily insulin shots, and prepping for an additional weekly injection.

Still not sure if it’s type 1 or type 2 because your pancreas is truly, deeply confused.

Welcome to the wait-and-see club.

Meanwhile, your blood sugar keeps hovering in the 200s and 300s, just hanging out as if this is totally normal. Spoiler: It’s not.

And yes, your doctor gives you that “danger, danger” look… even if she doesn’t actually say it.

Trying to Eat, Move, and Hydrate Like a Grown-Up

You re-dedicate yourself to keto and low-carb everything. You dust off the exercise routine, even drag out your rebounder for jumping on, and get reacquainted with your spin bike.

You chug water and double up on electrolytes like your life depends on it—because, let’s face it, it kind of does now.

There’s a surprise side benefit to all this: Art journaling becomes the thing that keeps you from losing your mind.

If you are interested in learning more, check out Sticker Therapy: Tiny Tools for a Big Mental Reset and why it can help.

If you ever want to document your own chaos, try some Bullet Journaling Stickers . It’s basically therapy you can peel ‘n stick.

Why Art Journaling Might Actually Save Your Sanity

Coping with health nonsense is no joke, but let’s not sleep on how much a little creative outlet can help.

Art journaling and, yes, letting your toddler slap paint all over the same pages, becomes the way you process the drama.

If you’re on your own medical wild ride (or just need some fun ways to track habits and moods), grab my Self-Care Sticker Sheet or check out the Mood Tracker Sticker Art.

Decorating your journal might not fix your pancreas, but it’ll definitely make your planner a little less boring.

It’s about creativity in the chaos, people. Love and messy buns forever.

If Your Body’s a Hot Mess, You’re Not Alone

So, what’s next? For me, it’s a lot of trial and error, tracking, and probably more glue tape disasters.

My numbers are still erratic, my medication plan is a moving target, and my art journal is getting as much use as my glucose monitor.

If this story hits home, or you just feel like your health is a punchline in the world’s longest joke, know you’re not solo.

Grab some free stickers to keep your art journal pretty and give you a nice mood boost when you need it!

You’re allowed to laugh, rage, and decorate the heck out of your planner.

By the way, if you love stories told with zero chill and maximum realness, follow my YouTube channel (Doodle and Design Studio). Let’s be a little chaotic together.

Drink your water. Make some art. Short-circuit that stress with doodles, stickers, and maybe way too many snacks.

Here’s to finding creativity (and maybe some answers) in the mess.

Stay cozy, keep journaling, and never trust your pancreas to read the script.

Love and messy buns,
❤️
Cynthia McDonald
Helping women find creativity in the chaos — with stickers, stationery, and a little bit of fun

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