By wendy, on September 4th, 2010%
 
I got REALLY lucky a few weeks ago, and won a copy of FibroWHYalgia in a drawing on Living It, Loving It. I was THRILLED, because I knew it would be forever before I could afford to buy a copy. I drove everyone in the house nuts asking if it had come yet . . . until finally, it did (it seemed like forever, but was actually only about 5 days.)
I read it in about 2 days, and I keep going back and rereading different sections. I absolutely love this book . . .
Sue has done an excellent job of describing the difficulties so many have getting diagnosed, sharing her personal story in a way that resonates with the experience of those who spent years being told there was nothing wrong with them. Continue reading FibroWHYalgia – A Must Read for Anyone Who Wants to Improve Their Fibro »
By wendy, on August 6th, 2010%
The next ChronicBabe carnival topic is “how do you deal with the medical establishment.” Since I lost my insurance two years ago, I hadn’t dealt with them at all until last month when I had to go to the emergency room, and ended up in the hospital for 5 days with no pain meds. I had my first visit with a rheumatologist since Oct. 2007 on Monday, and that experience wasn’t a whole lot better. Continue reading The Medical “Establishment” – Thanks; but No, I Don’t Think I Will »
By wendy, on June 28th, 2010%
 - Image by ☃ via Flickr
I’ve been without insurance for two years now, which means I haven’t seen a doctor for my fibromyalgia in quite a while. Without a doctor, I don’t have access to medication, so I’ve had to get rather ummmm, “creative,” to manage my symptoms. Continue reading Fibromyalgia without Insurance: How I Cope »
By wendy, on May 29th, 2010%
The new ChronicBabe Blog Carnival theme is favorite self-care tools and techniques, and will go live on Tuesday June 1.
I love this topic . . . self-care is a very important part of managing a chronic illness, and we all deserve to take good care of ourselves. I use a lot of non-medication methods to manage the symptoms of my multiple chronic illnesses (the short list is fibromyalgia and bipolar disorder, but if you’re really interested in the entire list, check my “Who Am I” page,) and I love sharing them with anyone they might help. I use a lot of aromatherapy and herbal teas for symptom control; and stress reduction techniques to minimize flares, anxiety, and bipolar cycling; so let’s get started. Continue reading You CAN Feel Better: Self-care Tips and Tricks for Fibromyalgia and Bipolar Disorder »
By wendy, on May 7th, 2010%
In my Sunday post, I promised you complementary/alternative methods you can try for pain and stress control/reduction, so here we go. These methods apply in all of the 4Ps, although they apply in different ways in different stages. Continue reading Learning to Live with Pain – Being Proactive (Part 2) »
By wendy, on May 6th, 2010%
EFT
Does it work? Yes, and no . . . Like anything else, EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) has its benefits, but it is definitely not going to make your fibro go away completely. It does, however, help my symptoms and make my fibro easier to live with, so I’ve added it to the resources I use to help me cope. (Is this purely a placebo effect? I don’t really care. If I feel better, or have less pain, it’s worked for me, and I’m happy with that no matter what the mechanism is.)
I downloaded the free EFT manual from http://www.emofree.com and read the information provided, memorizing the steps needed to perform a treatment. The first symptom I tried it on was a migraine, and it worked pretty well. The first treatment eased the pain, Continue reading EFT and Tapping for Fibromyalgia – Do They Work? »
By wendy, on May 2nd, 2010%
Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.
Kahlil Gibran
Have you ever watched the Discovery Channel show “Mythbusters”? They do some really interesting stuff on there, and this past Wednesday (April 28th,) they tackled a pair of “myths” about pain:
- Women have a higher pain tolerance than men. and
- Cursing increases pain tolerance
It was pretty interesting. They set up a bowl of ice water that was kept at just above freezing (1 degree Celcius) and attached to a timer. They then tested an equal number of men and women, seeing how long each person could keep their hand submerged. The subjects were not told that the men and women were competing, and for the first test, they were not permitted to curse while their hand was submerged. Continue reading Learning to Live with Pain – Being Proactive »
By wendy, on April 25th, 2010%
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmfxlTXF73w&feature=player_embedded]
A few years ago, my rheumatologist suggested that I try a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator) for my fibromyalgia pain. She gave me a prescription (be sure to make a copy of the prescription to keep in the case with your TENS in case you need to travel with it,) and I jumped through all the insurance hoops, picking up my TENS unit a few weeks later.
I visited a physical therapist to learn how to use it, and started taking it to work with me every day. I used it constantly for a while, Continue reading Does Using a TENS Unit Ease Fibromyalgia Pain? »
By wendy, on April 15th, 2010%
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/nauright/3828964801/
Dammit, I KNOW better than to do this . . . But, being the stubborn bitch I am, I manage to do it to myself whenever I stop paying attention, and let myself forget that just because I usually keep my bipolar very well controlled doesn’t mean I can’t trigger it.
Work scheduled me for more hours than usual this week, and it’s been really busy, so I ended up staying 90 minutes late two nights this week. That cuts WAAAAAY into the time I have for the stuff I need to do at home, so I’ve been staying up late to get everything done. BAD idea! Very, very, VERY bad idea.
Last night I got about 6 hours, and the night before I only got 3 (not entirely my fault, I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep.) Anyway, when hubby got up to get ready for work, I nearly drove him nuts talking “at” him. This is NOT a good sign . . . Talking like that is always the first sign that I’m starting a manic or hypomanic episode, so it’s time to take steps. Continue reading Oooops, I Screwed Up, AGAIN »
By wendy, on April 12th, 2010%
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/emeryway/3125395803/ We’ve all been there – many of us deal with it every day . . . the well-meaning friend or family member who comes running every time there’s a new pill or treatment available for our chronic illness. We know they just want to “help” us get better, but it’s crazy-making to constantly be bombarded with new things to try. It’s especially bad when we try the wonderful new treatment, and it DOESN’T WORK! Then we get to deal with their disappointment and questions about, “Are you sure you’re doing it right?” or “Did the doctor give you a strong enough dosage?”
Healthy people mostly only have experience with things like colds, flu, and infections; with maybe a few injuries thrown in. For simple stuff like this, it’s easy — take a few pills for the symptoms of the cold or flu, and in a week or so, it’s gone; take an antibiotic for about 10 days, and the infection is CURED. Injuries involve some down time for healing, and maybe a little physical therapy, and everything is back to normal. Because this is all the experience they have with illness, they assume that ALL illness is like that.
I call it “the antibiotic theory of chronic illness.” Continue reading Are Well-Meaning Friends/Family Driving You Crazy? »
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"The moral test of a society is how that society treats those who are in the dawn of life . . . the children; those who are in the twilight of life . . . the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life . . . the sick, the needy, and the handicapped."
---Hubert Humphrey
Welcome to the new home of Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired. I hope you'll enjoy the changes, and the new resources I'll be adding as I have time to work on the site. Things will look a bit odd while I learn where and how to modify the appearance, so please bear with me.
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