Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Don't Just Take My Word on Prop 2: Another Body Chronic Speaks Out

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.


Proposal 2 In Michigan--Stem Cell Research: An Issue for The Body Chronic


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:

  • Proposal 2 will provide for safe and ethical research as permitted under federal law;
  • Proposal 2 will keep in force Michigan’s ban against cloning; and,
  • Proposal 2 will allow doctors and researchers to use voluntarily donated leftover embryos for finding cures and saving lives. These leftover embryos are currently thrown away as medical waste.
Why is Proposal 2 necessary in Michigan? Because under the current state law, Michigan criminalizes the use of new embryonic stem cells to find cures—researchers can be fined up to $10 million and imprisoned up to 10 years. That means researchers at our top institutions and even private medical research facilities are being forced to make a choice--research and jail or losing time and money.

The No to 2 people are right about one thing--this is a moral issue. This is an issue about whether you want people with severe spinal injuries to have the hope to walk again. This is an issue about whether you want people with chronic illnesses, like me, to live a pain free life. This is an issue about whether you want people with Alzheimer's and Dementia, like Nana Grace, to have a second chance at their golden years. So if you believe in those things, you believe in voting yes to Proposal 2.

Part of the problem now is that people are being fed these lies about Proposal 2 and it's alleged potential for raising tax revenues, allowing unethical use of human embryos and so on--all false claims mind you. The reason this matters--the No to 2 people have more money and captive audiences.

So what can you do? You can donate. You can host a yard sign. You can speak to your family, friends and collegues. But do something and do it now. This is our future. This is our fight.

Don't let us wake up November 5 with a Michigan that is technologically inhibited and without hope. Donate here. And vote YES on Proposal 2.

Daily Inspiration 10/28/08




Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistence.
-Daniel Hudson Burnham

(In honor of the second anniversary of the death of my grandmother, my Nana, Ida.)

Monday, October 20, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 10/20/08


My work will be finished if I succeed in carrying conviction to the human family that every man or woman, however weak in body, is the guardian of his or her self-respect and liberty. -Mahatma Gandhi

Friday, October 17, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 10/17/08


I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.

-Winston Churchill

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 10/16/08

The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot.
-Mark Twain

(I don't know why, but whenever I feel the need for some wisdom, I turn to Mark Twain.)

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 10/15/08


Old elephants limp off to the hills to die; old Americans go out to the highway and drive themselves to death with huge cars.
- Hunter S. Thompson

Friday, October 3, 2008

Possibly the Biggest Case of a Body Chronic Ever

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.

Daily Inspiration: 10/3/08



Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
-Confucious
On the occasion of the day after a big tumble for me.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Health Care and The 2008 Election--Issues that Matter


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!

Daily Inspiration: 10/2/08


When this debate is concluded, a motion will be made to lay upon the table the resolution offered in commendation of the administration... We object to bringing this question down to the level of persons. The individual is but an atom; he is born, he acts, he dies; but principles are eternal; and this has been a contest over a principle. -William Jennings Bryan

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 10/1/08


People don't want their lives fixed. Nobody wants their problems solved. Their dramas. Their distractions. Their stories resolved. Their messes cleaned up. Because what would they have left? Just the big scary unknown.
-Chuck Palahniuk

Monday, September 29, 2008

Monday Chronic Roundup:9/29/08

PCOS/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes

Interstitial Cystitis/Irritable Bowel Syndrome/Pelvic Floor Dysfunction/Vulvodynia
Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Allergies/Asthma/Celiac Disease
Other

Daily Inspiration: 9/29/08


If all the rich and all of the church people should send their children to the public schools they would feel bound to concentrate their money on improving these schools until they met the highest ideals. -Susan B. Anthony

Friday, September 26, 2008

Friday Chronic Roundup is Now Monday Chronic Roundup

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!

Daily Inspiration: 9/26/08


It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it. -Joseph Joubert

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 9/25/08


Success is that old ABC -- ability, breaks, and courage.
- Charles Luckman

(In honor of McCain "suspending" or "taking a break from" his campaign...if only we could do that to face our issues.)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 9/24/08


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

Monday, September 22, 2008

Getting the Right Mix: Meds and Time


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!

Daily Inspiration: 9/22/08


Autumn is really the best of the seasons; and I'm not sure that old age isn't the best part of life. But of course, like autumn, it doesn't last.
-C.S. Lewis
(On the first day of autumn, 2008)

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 9/18/08


A woman who is convinced that she deserves to accept only the best challenges herself to give the best. Then she is living phenomenally. Maya Angelou

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

A Natural Plumbing Disaster at the Home of The Body Chronic

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.

I guess a new house could use new carpet anyhow.

Daily Inspiration: 9/17/08


Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.
-Dr. Seuss

(Green Eggs and Ham was the first book I read on my own--it took me three hours and I locked myself in my bedroom until I completed the task.)

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 9/16/08


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

Monday, September 15, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 9/15/08


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.)

Friday, September 12, 2008

National Invisible Illness Awareness Week

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:

And as always, don't forget to check out the sites that feature chronic illness information and support 365 days a year, such as:
Keep it up!

Friday Chronic Roundup: September 12, 2008

PCOS/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes


Interstitial Cystitis/IBS/Vulvodynia/Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
Allergies/Asthma/Celiac Disease

Daily Inspiration: 9/12/08



The secret to humor is surprise. - Aristotle

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 9/11/08


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

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Body Chronic Has Been Naughty


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:

  1. You revert to old things. For me it has been a heavy-coffee habit. I used to drink coffee a lot. But randomly over the past few years that desire has diminished and, although I enjoy it, I don't horde it like I used to. Over the past few weeks I have found myself at the office coffeepot more times than I'd like to admit (and somehow every other time I have to be the one to brew a new pot--it's a conspiracy!). But also over the past few months, in my stress, I've also reverted to my writing. I've always wanted to be a writer above all else. It had seemed as if I have given that dream away to the highest bidder. But it turns out I have some juice left in me. I started a new blog dedicated to my life and writing--A Perfectly Cursed Life--and I've found, or rediscovered, a passion. I guess it's more than a passion--it's a survival mechanism.
  2. You can handle more than you think. I thought moving would be hard. I was right. I thought work was getting hectic. I was right. I thought family drama was imminent. I was right. But even though all these things happened at once, I learned that I can take on more in practice than I can in theory. See, if I had a choice about all of those things, I may have chosen not to do them. "It's just too much," I'd probably say. But because I was forced into them, I've come to realize that I am much more capable of enduring multiple cluster-bleeps in my life than I once thought. Which leads me to my next thought...
  3. You do what you have to in order to get by. This one seems fairly simple, if not a given. But it's too true to ignore. I don't like the fact that my current anti-depressant isn't working after 13 years of solid performance. But, I make an appointment to work on that and move on. I don't like the fact that the physical act of moving--even with movers--put me in a lot of pain. But I took the necessary rest and meds to get by. We can adapt, even with chronic illness. Hell, we're probably better at it than most!
  4. You get cranky. I have been a ball of moodiness lately. Of course, some of it was very warranted. But some of it was just a matter of being in pain and being stressed out at the same time. It's hard to live life with a smile on your face when your insides feel like they might explode. It's not an excuse to lash out, but damn it, it's the truth!
  5. You need help. The Mister has been an amazing help throughout all of this. He pretty much planned and executed our move without much if any help from me. He has made sure that the cats are getting fed and the dog is getting treats (though his walks have been scant since the move). Even Mom and Dad have pitched in, helping me paint and clean before we moved. Would I have survived without this? Maybe. But it's nice to be able to ask for and receive help...because you need it. (P.S. Painting a room makes you hurt in places you didn't know existed.)
So look out world and web, TBC is back in business. Life goes on, as does chronic illness--whether we like it or not. We might as well get the best out of it together.

Daily Inspiration: 9/10/08


Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. - Kurt Vonnegut

Friday, August 29, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 8/29/08


And love is not the easy thing The only baggage you can bring Is all that you can't leave behind
-U2
(New house move in today!)

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 8/28/08


Hope is what led a band of colonists to rise up against an empire; what led the greatest of generations to free a continent and heal a nation; what led young women and young men to sit at lunch counters and brave fire hoses and march through Selma and Montgomery for freedom's cause. Hope is what led me here today--with a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas; and a story that could only happen in the United States of America. Hope is the bedrock of this nation; the belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us; by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is; who have courage to remake the world as it should be.
- Barack Obama
(In honor of his acceptance of the Democratic Presidential Nomination)

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 8/27/08


You begin saving the world by saving one man at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics. Charles Bukowski

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 8/26/08


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

Monday, August 25, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 8/25/08


A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by conventional faiths. Sooner or later such a religion will emerge. - Carl Sagan

Friday, August 22, 2008

Friday Chronic Roundup: August 22, 2008


PCOS/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes

Interstitial Cystitis/IBS/Vulvodynia/Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
Allergies/Asthma/Celiac Disease
Mental Health

Daily Inspiration: 8/22/08


Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the first question. Social stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of the impulse to ask questions. -Eric Hoffer

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Environmental Hazards: Arsenic Causing Type II 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.

Well, guess that's a reason to get a bottle of water today.

Daily Inspiration: 8/21/08


Every now and then go away and have a little relaxation. To remain constantly at work will diminish your judgment. Go some distance away, because work will be in perspective and a lack of harmony is more readily seen. - Leonardo DiVinci

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 8/20/08


One of the tragic ironies of history is that such original and creative geniuses as Buddha and Jesus have been extolled as perfect patterns for all to emulate. In the very struggle to be like someone else rather than to be one's own true self, or to do one's own best in one's own environment, a child is in danger of losing the pearl that is really beyond price - the integrity of his (or her) own soul. - Sophia Lyons Fahs

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 8/19/08


Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade, just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself. - Truman Capote

Monday, August 18, 2008

The Thin Line of Fat: Fat and Fit--Health At Every Size


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.

Daily Inspiration: 8/18/08


Sometimes it pays to stay in bed in Monday, rather than spending the rest of the week debuging Monday's code. - Dan Salomon

Friday, August 15, 2008

Body Chronic On Hiatus: 8/11/08-8/17/08

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

Friday, August 8, 2008

Friday Chronic Roundup: 8/8/08


PCOS/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes

Interstitial Cystitis/Vuvlodynia/Pelvic Floor Dysfunction/IBS
Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Allergies/Asthma
Mental Health

Daily Inspiration: 08/08/08


Religion without morality is a superstition and a curse, and morality without religion is impossible. Mark Hopkins

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 08/07/08


Where is the justice of political power if it executes the murderer and jails the plunderer, and then itself marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills? - Kahlil Gibran

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 8/6/08


Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game. - Johann von Goethe

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 8/5/08


The biggest danger for a politician is to shake hands with a man who is physically stronger, has been drinking and is voting for the other guy. - William Proxmire

Monday, August 4, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 8/4/08


Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.
-John Lennon

Friday, August 1, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 8/01/08


Love can sometimes be magic. But magic can sometimes...just be an illusion. - Javan

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Friday Chronic Roundup: August 1, 2008


PCOS/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes/Infertility

Interstitial Cystitis/Pelvic Floor Dysfunction/Vulvodynia/IBS
Asthma/Allergies/Celiac Disease
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Fibromyalgia/Lyme Disease
Mental Health

The Letter of the Day: is Vitamin D


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?

Daily Inspiration: 7/31/08


To live with the conscious knowledge of the shadow of uncertainty, with the knowledge that disaster or tragedy could strike at any time; to be afraid and to know and acknowledge your fear, and still to live creatively and with unstinting love: that is to live with grace. - Peter Henry Abrahams

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Marijuana and Chronic Pain and Chronic Illness: A Political Fight


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.

Daily Inspiration: 7/30/08


I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.
-Hunter S. Thompson

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Daily Inspiration: 7/29/08


Sex. In America an obsession. In other parts of the world a fact. -Marlene Dietrich
In honor of the new X-Files Movie: "I Want To Believe"

Monday, July 28, 2008

What to do when chronic conditions haunt you?

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:

  • fatigue
  • pelvic pain
  • vulvar pain
  • irritable bowels
  • back pain
  • headaches
  • frequent urination
It's as if my body's defenses have taken a summer vacation and left me to rot.

Though I'd like to end this post with some sort of creative way to get through a flare up like this, I don't think I have one. In fact, I'm planning on vegging out on my couch tonight for the better part of the evening. Maybe I need more of that. Maybe I need less. In any event, I don't know what else to do when all else fails.

Progress is a funny thing, isn't it? You don't always know what it truly means until it's eroded.

Daily Inspiration: 7/28/08


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