The Body Chronic makes friends with other chronically-minded folks. One of the longest running chronic friends I've had in person (and I mean this in a good "chronic" way), is the subject of this video, put forward by the folks at Cure Michigan. It speaks louder than I possibly could.
I originally posted this on my politics and pop culture blog, Only Baggage You Can Bring. As the election draws nearer, I feel the need to publicize it more.
I expect a lot off bullshit when it comes to ballot proposals. So you can imagine that it's hard to surprise me anymore.
Guess what? I'm surprised. I never thought there would be this much controversy over saying yes to medical research and a better quality of life.
Over the past few weeks, the opposition to Proposal 2 people have been fighting against common sense, dignity and just plan goodness. Mostly funded by the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, the No to 2 people have been making such ridiculous and patently false claims that it makes Richard Nixon look like a saint.
Here are the facts from Cure Michigan:
Some of you may have heard of the so-called Tree Man--a man in Indonesia who looks as if he is turning into a tree. For years doctors have been puzzled over his condition, wondering what turns his limbs into veritable tree trunks.
It turns out that he too has a chronic illness. He has an immuno deficiency of sorts which led to the HPV-2 virus taking over his body and using it as its own little chemistry set.
His story is unlike many of ours with chronic illness in that it is so visible to the naked eye. But it is like our stories in that the diagnosis was extremely difficult to find. Food for thought.
For more information, check out Treeman: Search for the Cure on Discovery Health, Sunday at 9 p.m.
Check out my sister blog, Only Baggage You Can Bring all week this week for issues about health care and the election. So far we have discussed the candidate's proposals for health care coverage and world HIV/AIDS policies. We'll also be discussing stem cell research and medicare.
Come join the discussion!
PCOS/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes
Rule 1 for having a crazy life and chronic pain/illness: schedule yourself accordingly. In that vein (pardon the pun), I am moving the chronic roundup to Mondays, so I'll have more time to truly prepare. That way, first thing in the week you'll have the roundup for the previous week.
Sorry for the confusion. And enjoy your weekend!
As the end of the century approaches, all our culture is like flies at the beginning of winter. Having lost their agility, dreamy and demented, they turn slowly about the window in the first icy mists of morning,...[then] they fall down the curtains. Charles Baudelaire
One thing that some people are kind of sketchy about discussing is mental illness and what those of us with mental illness issues do to make things right. For the record, I'm an advocate for talking about these things, but I understand and have taken advantage of the right to plead the fifth or just stay silent.
The problem with staying silent is that you learn nothing about what can happen.
I've been on Prozac for about 14 years now off and on (mostly on). Over the years, it has served me well. I have been able to achieve quite a bit that I would have not had the stamina to otherwise. I have made and formed quality relationships. Most importantly, I've been able to keep my greyness (what I call depression) at bay. That is, until more recently.
Over the past few months, I've noticed changes in my ability to control my moods. It's not a psychological problem (the way in which I view and deal with the world) but something more organic than that (inside of me, uncontrollable). Eventually my therapist and a good friend convinced me that it's okay that the Prozac was no longer working--in fact, there are better things out there now than there were before.
What I didn't know until I saw the psychiatrist on Friday was that Prozac can truly have a "shelf life" so to speak. In other words, prozac (and any SSRI) can eventually stop working for someone after a period of years. In fact, the psychiatrist was surprised I got this long of a life out of it. It's called the "Prozac Poop Out" effect.
In order to spare someone else the time of having to look this stuff up, I've compiled a list of resources about this here: Depression Returns with Prozac Poop Out, an FAQ on Prozac Poop Out, and You and Your Antidepressant.
So now to combat the poop out, we are trying to add Wellbutrin into the mix. Apparently it helps remedy the poop out problem in some people. Since Prozac has been good for me for so long, it was worth a shot.
The lesson, though, is this: don't be afraid to talk to someone about your meds. This can be even more trying in cases of mental illness, but it's that much more important. And as always, The Body Chronic is a big supporter of having a good sense of humor about this and every other chronic condition. So don't take offense over the picture I chose...it's important to learn to laugh at yourself.
Has anyone else had this happen? Any experiences with moving past it? Let's discuss!
This past weekend was supposed to be a celebration. The Mister turned 30 and I threw him a surprise party. He's a good guy who has never had anyone really pay attention to his birthday until he met me, so I figured he deserved it. Plus, he's put up with me for nearly five years...that alone should warrant a party.
In any event, the surprise part went off without a hitch. He was shocked, to say the least.
But then we were both surprised. You can read the full story here, but to sum it up: our basement flooded. Pretty soon the guests were clearing out and we were calling a plumber.
For the past three days we've been doing everything in our power to get the water and moisture out of the carpets and off the walls where water touched. We rented a carpet cleaner immediately and sucked up as much water as possible. We then cleaned any hard surface we could with bleach and disinfectant. Nevertheless, it appears something isn't working.
We have an insurance adjuster coming out Friday and she claims we have coverage for water backup damage. I'm praying this is true.
The worst part is that for two people with chronic allergies, having water in your home--even if you've done your best to clean it up out of the carpets--is not a good idea.
So I thought I'd take this frown of a situation and turn it upside down and provide some helpful links about allergies and mold.
Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory. Susan B. Anthony
(On the occasion of my birthday.)
This week is National Invisible Illness Awareness Week.
The Body Chronic is dedicated to giving a voice, an ear and a shoulder to cry on (or laugh on) to those of us with invisible illnesses. Just because it's not outwardly visible, does not mean that it fails to impact our lives.
Here are some articles from the coordinators of II Awareness week about invisible illnesses:
PCOS/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes
A late lark twitters from the quiet skies:
And from the west,
Where the sun, his day's work ended,
Lingers as in content,
There falls on the old, gray city
An influence luminous and serene,
A shining peace.
-William Ernest Henley
For those of you who I haven't alienated by my lack of posting lately, thank you for sticking around.
For those of you who have strayed due to my lack of posting, I know how you feel.
Life in TBC has been hectic at best. There's been some family drama, mixed with new homeownership and a busy work schedule. At best it's gotten me thinking about stress and TBC, but at worst it has had me neglecting this blog which I truly believe has the potential to do big things. That is, if I allow it.
But I have learned about TBC and I'm able to report some of those findings to you.
Things you learn about TBC while under stress:
Philosophers make imaginary laws for imaginary commonwealths, and their discourses are as the stars, which give little light because they are so high. -Sir Francis Bacon
PCOS/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes
That's right folks, apparently trying to eat healthy and stay healthy isn't enough. It turns out environmental poisons, such as arsenic are causing health problems...big chronic health problems.
And guess where we're getting the arsenic from? Our drinking water. So being told to drink a lot of water may, in some weird way, have contributed to our ailments.
It's a shocking story and I hope you take the time to read it. Whether there is anything that can be done about it, is another story.
According to background information in the study, about 13 million people in the United States live in areas with a concentration of inorganic arsenic in the public water supply that exceeds recommended levels.
This article was surprising to some. Saying fat people can be fit is somehow seen as an oxymoron as we've cast aside the fat as unhealthy, sickly, disgusting or otherwise in an attempt to cleanse everything of the different.
Not so fast.
It turns out fat people can be fit after all, supporting years of advocacy by those in the Fat Acceptance and Health At Every Size movements. It seems that one's heart health has less to do with their weight than other factors. Being a size 4 or a size 24 doesn't determine heart health.
I'd like to think that this will finally start to seep in to the science of chronic pain and chronic illness. I cannot tell you how many times I've had doctors use my weight and size as a cop-out to doing any actual doctoring. It was even more frustrating when they used it two summers ago, when I was sixty pounds lighter than I am currently and, ironically, when all my chronic problems came to a head.
All of us fatties have stories about how doctors have used fat to determine the cause of an ailment. Being fat doesn't cause an upper respiratory infection. My weight is not relevant to determine whether I have pink eye. And young girls should not be encouraged to eat less than 1400 calories a day. (All things I have personally encountered.)
So maybe, just maybe, we can start to gain a little ground...or at least keep the ground that hasn't been taken from us yet.
Call it summer vacation...We just bought a home and it's been crazy. So TBC is on break. Enjoy some past reads.
What to do When Chronic Conditions Haunt You
A controversial Spa
More evidence for the inflammation theory
Lessons from The Chronic Cat
Forced Allergy Experiment
PCOS/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes
PCOS/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes/Infertility
The hype around certain deficiencies and in intolerances is usually something to take note of with a grain of salt. The big thing now is celiac disease, and while a good number of people have it, I'm sure doctors are seeing a rash of people who believe they or their children have it as well.
So when this whole Vitamin D deficiency thing came out, I had to say I was skeptical. I'm using skeptical in the most serious way because I think that it's too loose a word. To say that I didn't believe it for a minute would be more accurate. But some bloggers I respected urged on about it, so I figured it couldn't be too bad.
But then I read some of the facts and symptoms. It's not a chronic condition (necessarily), but a deficiency that can be aided and even eliminated.
So, even though I was skeptical, I went out and bought some.
I have been taking the supplement regularly (or at least fairly regularly) for about three weeks now. At first I thought I noticed drastic changes, but over time those faded. (The changes included less fatigue, greater strength and less muscle weakness. ) But I have noticed some benefits that have lasted. For a time, I was a little less moody (when aided by my Prozac which I missed for over a week because of a lapse in prescription) . The fatigue thing faded some. I don't think it's a cure all, but I think it did help in this area.
So have any of you tried a vitamin D supplement? What were your results? Am I just making up benefits that weren't really there?
Today on Capitol Hill Senator Barney Frank (D-Mass) took a stand that boosted the treatment possibilities for those with chronic pain and chronic illness. He took a stand to limit or eliminate penalties for marijuana users with less than 100 grams in possession.
So what does this have to do with chronic health?
Well, in those few areas of the country that allow for medical marijuana use, the fear was always that though the state or municipality allowed such use, the federal government did not. Theoretically then, the federal government could have come in at any time and penalized someone using marijuana medically, regardless of the safeguards or other laws in place.
But today, the dialog started to change on marijuana. Perhaps it's the realization that so many Americans support medical marijuana availability. Perhaps it's the fact that we are realizing the war on drugs is a crock. Perhaps it's the fact that we know there are bigger fish to fry and using government dollars to go after small time marijuana users just isn't worthwhile. Perhaps people are starting to come to terms with the fact that marijuana is actually less dangerous than alcohol and nicotine.
Whatever the case, today at least there's a little more breathing room (pardon the pun) for those with a chronic illness/chronic pain who use marijuana as a treatment option.
I've had a bit of a relapse.
I don't know what to peg this on. I could say that the impending purchase of a home and a closing date in less than three weeks gives me heartache. I could say that work has been busier than normal. I could blame it on the heat. But none of those seem entirely true. Yet at the same time, I don't know what caused this relapse.
In the past week I've had the following symptoms attributable to at least one if not more of my chronic conditions:
The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. Consequently, the modern poor are not pitied... but written off as trash. The twentieth-century consumer economy has produced the first culture for which a beggar is a reminder of nothing.
-John Berger
