That is pretty much the only thing that is on my mind right now…. ummmm…….. OUCH!!!!
I pushed myself a little too hard yesterday…. I knew I was pushing it too – but it felt good at the time… not so much now! Yikes…
By bedtime last night, I KNEW I was in trouble!!
So today is going to be a pretty quiet one I think. I am still in bed, propped up with my favorite pillows, the Olympics playing on the TV(muted, but that is about as much background noise as I can take), and I have all my gadgets beside me… my Blackberry, My iPod, and my brand NEW Sony Touch Reader (I AM SO EXCITED!! THAT is one of the reasons why I pushed it too hard yesterday, I walked down to the store to buy it!). I have a nice cold coke on my bedside table which I am trying to enjoy (Caffeine sometimes helps my headaches)…. yep, it is going to be a quiet one… for as much as I would like to be doing about a million things right now – One of the most important things in managing is to know when to STOP….
And today is one of those times that I need to pay attention to my body…
I have muscular pain, skeletal pain, nerve pain – and to top it all off, I have a nasty headache….
So while I am in bed, taking time to rest this poor body of mine… I hope that YOU are taking time out of your day to listen to YOUR body and to give it what it is asking for!!
All’s well in the body as we ease out of winter. I could handle turning the volume down on the fibromyalgia pain, but it’s very manageable. I have the migraines under control with Topamax, the Stillpoint Inducer, food when I need it, and plenty of rest.
I find that the GERD is a little bit more expressive now that I’m in a time of uncertainty as my partner is a free agent. Oh, the places we’ll go!
It’s also been reported to me that my back is tense. I’m fairly sure it’s not tense (the twice a day meditation, daily warm bath and repeated muscle relaxations would tend to soothe that) but that I’m still recovering from lupus’s attack on the muscle and scleroderma’s tightening of same.
All in all, I am in awe of my progress in energy and sass and looking forward to what the next week will bring!
“By one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 9:14).
It is difficult for me to understand that God sees me now as the perfect creation I will be in eternity. Yet because of Christ’s sacrifice, my eternal perfection has already been accomplished. Now, in this earthly life, I am being made holy. I would much rather be made perfect now and be made holy in the future, but that is not God’s plan.
The definition of holy is “to be consecrated, set apart, dedicated or devoted to the service of God’. The world is not too concerned about holiness. Many people do not even understand that concept. How can I grow in holiness as I live with health problems? Do I believe that God is using these physical challenges to increase my holiness? Scripture says I am being made holy now– it is an ongoing process in this life. Whatever God is allowing in my life must be working toward that end.
There are opportunities to increase my dedication and devotion to God even while facing health challenges. Christian music, movies, and books are all wonderful ways to promote spiritual growth and draw me closer to God. Limited abilities have the potential of changing my perspective on what is truly important in this life. Participation in any activities, regardless of how small or sporadic, provide opportunities for developing a more grateful and thankful heart. Enduring and growing in my commitment to the Lord while suffering may be examples of perseverance and strength to others, possibly spurring them on to greater dedication and faith.
Striving for holiness is an actual act of worship in which we can participate daily, even with our limitations (Romans 12:1). God uses different means in all believers– lives to change them into His likeness. Our illnesses and pains may well be the tools He is using to bring about the holiness that He desires in us. Let us allow them to finish their work, so we may be mature and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4).
Prayer: Heavenly Father, give me a heart that desires holiness. Help me to accept whatever methods you choose to conform me to Your image. Amen.
About the Author:
Bronlynn Spindler is a wife and mother of three grown daughters and lives in Fredericksburg, VA. God’s grace and strength give her the ability to deal with chronic back pain, depression, headaches, and fibromyalgia. You may view her blog of devotionals at www.aplaceofsprings57.blogspot.com and contact her at spindler@cox.net.
If you are like me, you have heard of about the drug GHB or gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid in the news. In the past decade or so, it has gotten a lot of media attention because of its purpose. GHB is a “Date Rape” drug. Along with drugs like Rohypnol and Ketamine, GHB has been used as a way to anesthetize a victim before a sexual assault or rape. It is known as well for being a negative part of the “rave” culture, being nicknamed “liquid Ecstasy”…. So it is not surprising that almost EVERYONE who has heard of it has negative feelings towards it. It is the drug that you warn your friends and family about. It is why you tell your children not to leave their drink unattended when they are out with friends. It is a drug that has the ability to destroy and potentially end lives.
What I didn’t KNOW is that GHB is a legitimate drug! It was widely used at one point in Europe as a sleep aid as well as an anesthetic during child-birth. It has also been used for treating narcolepsy and severe alcoholism. I believe that this drug has been replaced by other safer drugs for these medical conditions because of the risks involved and its addictive nature, but it is definitely still being used throughout the world.
GHB is not just a date-rape drug, although it is widely known as such, and also for the other non-medicinal uses it carries.
GHB Not just a date rape drug!
I read an interesting article today, and it led me to do a little investigation of my own. GHB is actually being studied as a potential treatment for Chronic Pain, specifically Fibromyalgia, CFIDS, and ME.
Psychology Today ran an article this past October about this. It poses the question: GHB Rave or Relief?
Dr. Podell, a doctor from New Jersey also has an article on his website about the potential benefits of GHB in regards to treating Fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia-symptoms.org, has GHB listed under “Fibromyalgia Medications”.
Is this another stab in the dark as far as treatments are concerned? -Or- is this drug potentially the next miracle treatment for people like us?
Are we just guinea pigs? -Or- are these trial studies going to lead us to a better life, and maybe a cure?
I don’t know about you, but hearing about drugs like this as a potential treatment of chronic pain makes me NERVOUS.
At best we’ve already had many drugs thrown at us that have less than stellar side effects. The drugs that we currently take for the treatment of this illness are usually combined with other medications, don’t have high success rates as far as pain control is concerned, and some of them can cause other problems with our health.
Don’t get me wrong, I am SO excited to know that trials and studies are being done for Fibro research!! That means that potentially we will all be led out of suffering and into the light when better treatments are found! What makes me nervous is that this drug in particular is a very dangerous drug, and one that has an insane list of side-effects and warnings. If drugs such as this one become approved for the treatment of this illness, what does that mean for our whole community?
Do we become guinea pigs?
Do we then have to live with even more nasty side-effects? (respiratory arrest CAN be an effect by the way)?
Does this compound the stigma of Chronic Pain patients being drug addicts?
If this drug becomes FDA approved for the treatment of Fibromyalgia, how will this change the accessibility to GHB for people who are looking to abuse it, or use it to sexually assault their victims?
The whole thing seems a little scary to me, and I thought I would share what I found. I needed to do a little thinking out loud
What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments section!!
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Over the last couple of years, as I have integrated more and more chemical, hormonal and internal balance work with my physical practice, I have had the opportunity to work with an increased amount of clients presenting with autoimmune disorders. Some examples are:
• Chronic fatigue
• Fibromyalgia
• Chron’s disease
• Lupus
So what exactly is an auto immune disease? When the immune system becomes overactive the body fails to recognise a part of the body and literally turns on itself. Recently a clients’ wife was diagnosed with lupus, one of the first tests that I decided to run was a gastro-intestinal panel to determine the health of the digestive system.
The findings were as follows:
Multiple parasite overgrowth
Bacterial and fungal overgrowth
Reduced digestive enzyme output
Antibody or allergic responses to gluten
The medical practitioner’s course of action was to recommend a course of steroids, which one of many side effects is the suppression of the adrenal glands. The lab test that I ran was effectively ignored. The problem…… that all these potential pathogens or disease causing microbes were causing an immune system reaction. When the body identifies an antigen or foreign body that it doesn’t like, it starts to go to work with the production of antibodies.
A vicious cycle often ensues, for many people are often in a state of adrenal fatigue. The adrenal glands control a host of major functions, one of these is the regulation of cortisol, cortisol is produced to help regulate many things from waking up, blood sugar regulation and control anti inflammatory reactions. Too much cortisol produced through long term stress can not only suppress the immune system but over time exhaust the adrenal glands and a decreased amount of cortisol is readily available and its anti inflammatory properties.
Once this occurs, an overproduction of antibodies and other natural defences can often elevate and perceive parts of the body as a threat and sees friend as foe, the attack or auto immune response occurs. Like most medical conditions symptom suppression rather than causative investigation is sought.
Here’s some top tips to help avoid autoimmune disease and to help recover. Removal of
• Environmental toxins, from perfume, to mould and other household substances
• Exposure to daily foods which cause inflammation, such as flour
• Exposure to drugs, contraception, pain killers etc
• Emotional stress
Testing or identifying these factors is a relatively simple process and is a step in the right direction when treating any autoimmune issue
I don’t know about most people with fibro but I have cold flashes on occasion. Not often, but when they do happen I can’t seem to get warm. And no, it’s not just that I live in the cold, frigid north, but I really do feel the cold more than those around me. For instance, tonight, all-of-a-sudden, a cold front moved in and around my body. My feet were the first body part to notice the creeping cold. Then my legs and then the rest of me joined in.
I’m sitting on the couch feeling the cold air all around me. I have two afghans on my legs with a pillow on top of them, a third afghan around my shoulders and I even changed my t-shirt to a thicker knit top. And I’m still cold. My nose is cold too. I don’t know how long this will last but I’d at least like to come to room temperature. Maybe I’ll thaw out during the night as I sleep.
One odd thing is that the rest of my family is just fine. They think I’m the one that’s nuts. I’m about ready to break out the 3 king-sized heating pads.
“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance” (II Thessalonians 3:5).
For the past three months, I have been dealing with ongoing ear pain. I recently learned that there is no cause or solution to this pain and I must learn to live with it. I began going in my usual directions of frustration, anger, and discouragement. Then I read this verse.
If I am directed into God’s love, I accept the truth that God loves me beyond my comprehension. He proved this love by sacrificing His only Son for me, and by giving me the indwelling comfort of His Holy Spirit. Enabling me to go through this new trial is one way God shows His love and faithfulness to me. He has not failed me yet, and I can release my doubts and discouragements, having total trust in His decisions for my life – even my pain.
What of directing my heart into Christ’s perseverance? Jesus left His heavenly home, enduring the pain and discomforts of this earthly life. He did not give up in frustration or anger when the very ones He came to save rejected or misunderstood Him. Even knowing what lay ahead at Calvary, He continued on to His death – “Who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). That is the kind of perseverance God is working in me – “after you have suffered a little while (He) will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast” (I Peter 5:10). This pain is another opportunity to draw me closer to Jesus, and His power will enable me to bear it.
In my own strength, I cannot possibly understand the depth of God’s love, nor can I remain as steadfast as Christ. But if my heart’s desire is to reach these goals, God’s power is strong enough to accomplish it. Then when the intense times of discouragement, pain, or hopelessness come, I will go in the right direction of meditating on these truths. There I will find my victory.
Prayer: My Savior and my God, use my trials to move me in the direction of drawing closer to You, rather than farther from You. Amen.
About the Author:
Bronlynn Spindler is a wife and mother of three grown daughters and lives in Fredericksburg, VA. God’s grace and strength give her the ability to deal with chronic back pain, depression, headaches, and fibromyalgia. You may view her blog of devotionals at www.aplaceofsprings57.blogspot.com and contact her at spindler@cox.net.
Last night I committed a sin, a major sin, according to my 15 and a half year old daughter. She didn’t tell me in words; she didn’t have to. I was in the bedroom listening to music that I like, feeling happy and I started to dance. Alone. It was just one of those moments when I felt energetic enough to do some minor dancing by myself, Ellen Degeneres style. Having Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, an auto-immune disease, and Fibromyalgia, I don’t feel this way all too often. Methotrexate, one of the drugs I am taking twice a week is also a total kill joy. That night, however, I was given a break and I celebrated. I felt good!
On the way out of my daughter’s room she passed me, stopped, and gave me the dirtiest look I have received to date, complete with the eye roll upwards and “the look.” You know which look I mean, moms and dads, the look of hate and utter disgust. Why? I guess because I am a “mom” and therefore I embarassed her. To quote my daughter:” it was weird.” Why? It’s NOT as if all my daughter’s friends were over or that we were in public. I was in my soft, pretty white nightgown that had petite fir- green flowers printed on it (probably the first major mistake) and happily swaying to the music from The Black Eyed Peas. I wasn’t EVEN listening to John Denver or Josh Groban, this was a bona fide group that I think she likes.
Yet this afternoon when my daughter was asked to go to a movie this evening with her friend, she trudged into my room asking me to give her a few reasons (hint hint, I don’t want to go) why I wouldn’t “allow” her to go. I suggested a few things which did not suit her, and then she suddenly looks happier and says “I know! I’ll tell her you’re really annoying and that you are freaking out about all the snow we are getting.” Mission accomplished, glad I could be of help, dear. “You’re welcome” I shouted and she glanced back at me all golden blonde hair swinging down her back, brilliant blue eyes and Forever 21 outfit and replies somewhat sheepishly: “thanks.” No problem.
I know, I know, hormones mixed with the emotional turmoil of having an embarrassing mom (didn’t we all have one of those?”) combined with the separation process. I get it. I understand it on a rational and psychological level. It doesn’t mean I have to like it (and I don’t) but I accept it (face it, what choice do I have?).
The next time my illness or the dreaded Methotrexate medicine gives me a reprieve, I will continue to dance to the music that makes me happy. And when I do, I will wear my 1970’s faded neon orange T shirt that my husband gave me and my flannel pink and rose flowered pajama pants. And the door will be wide open and my voice will be loud and clear and proud.
Techniques for pain relief are a dime a dozen, kind of like fad diets and fashion. One moment you’ll hear about a new drug that can help you lose weight while increasing your brain capacity, and the next it’ll be that same drug that could be the cure for fibromyalgia. It takes truly trained professionals to know what techniques will actually make a difference for you, and which ones are just another passing fad.
Speaking of fibromyalgia and passing fads, have you heard the one about using a tanning bed to heal your fibromyalgia pain? A physician from Wake Forest University has been prescribing tanning bed treatments to his patients who suffer from extreme fibromyalgia pain. He claims that he has seen results from patients who use this pain relief technique for six weeks and more.
The problem with this treatment is obvious, just ask any dermatologist. Spending time in a tanning bed can increase your risk for melanoma by up to 75 percent. The physician from Wake Forest, who happens to be a dermatologist, has found that sun exposure releases endorphins, which can lighten a patient’s mood and ease some of the pain caused by fibromyalgia.
The report on these findings were originally published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine by Steven R. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Dermatology Research at Wake Forest Baptist. So, is this just a fad? According to Dr. Feldman, there are so little treatments for fibromyalgia pain that it was time to find something new and innovative.
“We decided to look at fibromyalgia patients because there is such a big need for treatment,” Feldman said. “We knew from the tanning addiction study that the UV light was doing something for participants beyond the obvious.”
While it is a proven fact that sunlight exposure does help to release endorphins within the body, and these endorphins can lighten your mood and help you to relax, the fibromyalgia tanning bed technique is still a bit controversial. But, according to Dr. Feldman, when these endorphins are released at such a level due to the tanning bed, increased relaxation eases muscle tension and relieves fibromyalgia pain.
For more information on this pain relief technique, be sure to speak with your physician or one of our pain consultants over at http://www.ThePainCenter.com.
Tonight (or this morning) it sucks to have fibromyalgia.
Now, I don’t know for sure if post traumatic stress or fibromyalgia causes my sleep issues, but I sure have them.
During the day I am zombie like, but at night I am awake. Mostly due to horrible nightmares of someone breaking into my home.
I have a history. Twice in my life (know on wood it will ONLY be twice) I have been at home when someone has broken into my apartment. The break ins occured in two different cities, which was perhaps what made its mark stronger on my pyschi.
The first time was shortly after I moved in with my first boyfriend (later my first husband, but that is another story completely). We lived on a pretty quiet street in a ground floor apartment/house and shared the two bedroom with 1 other roommate.
Our roommate was a very tall black man who worked at night as a security guard, which is important to the story. That night, my boyfriend got up for some water while I was in bed. Shortly after I heard him screaming at the top of his lungs in the kitchen.
I had no idea what to do. The window in our bedroom was really high up and there was this dumpster outside. I thought I might be able to jump as I heard cop cars outside, but wasn’t sure I would make the fall. The other scenario was that I could try to reach and use one of my boyfriends rifles that he kept in the closet. But, I had no idea how to use guns (have always been largely against them) and because I didn’t know what was going on in the living area, I had no idea what scenario I would be landing myself in.
So I just sat up in bed, frozen with fear and anxiety as my boyfriend screamed.
Fortunately, the situation turned out to be non-violent. The person who broke into our kitchen window (which our roommate left open and always felt terrible for) was a young man who lived across the street. He had hit his girlfriend (again) and was running from the cops because of Californias notorious third strike law (it was his third strike).
At first, my boyfriend thought it was our roommate in the kitchen. He was really unnerved and scared when he realized it was not our neighbor getting ready for work, but some random guy in his boxer shorts trying to hide from the cops that were crawling the street.
My boyfriend kept his head after his initial reaction and was able to negotiate the guy out of our back door and then open the door to the cops. The man in question was arrested and charged not just with domestic violence, but also with breaking and entering.
A few years later I found myself living on my own in another state. I had a neighbor move in below me and as I left for school and work we would exchange friendly words. Hi, goodbye, the weather, neighborly chitchat.
On St. Patricks day, I remember getting home exhausted. I had cooked for some friends then driven home and just fell asleep on the couch. At the time, I lived in a historic house that had two units in the main house, and two in the basement. Mine was the biggest at the bottom and then I had two housemates who lived in a loft above.
The door to my apartment was two fold. There was an outer door for everyone to use and an inner door to the two apartments. You needed keys to lock the door in the inner apartment and had to keep the outer door closed to lock.
When I got home, I had the keys in the door to lock it, but I never did, I guess assuming the outer door was locked.
Having fallen asleep in front of the TV on my couch, I woke up to a man standing over me. It turned out to be the neighbor from downstairs. He was obviously drunk, but he had taken my keys, locked my inner door and was holding them in his hand.
My first thought was that I was going to be raped.
But, I kept my cool. I took the keys from him slowly (remember, drunk) opened the door while still chatting with him, pushed him out of the door and quickly locked it.
He banged on my door for over and our and even tried to get into my back door.
Needless to say, I called the police and the landlady.
Although neither experience was violent and both had good endings, I have a dread of being alone in my house. I have a terrible fear that someone will break into my home. Now that I have a husband, a child and pets, my fear has grown. I keep having terrible nightmares that someone is going to break into my house and hurt my child. Not that every parent doesn’t at least have a moment of considering this scenario, but my fears are nightly.
I finally got a dog. Yes, she is small and doesn’t really pose any harm except to bark at an intruder, but she gets up with me everytime I get up, even if it is just to use the bathroom a few steps away from the bed.
She sleeps with me every night and I feel a bit safer.
But, my sleeplessness remains. If the cat knocks something over in the middle of the night, I have my husband check for intruders. If I even hear my son whimper in his sleep, my husband is up to see that he isn’t being kidnapped (and usually up for 1/2 longer getting him back to bed).
Sometimes, I’ll have flashes in my head of break ins during the day. And sometimes it translates to getting startled by the smallest thing, or hearing things or seeing things that turn out to be shadows.
It really sucks!
I can say that my FM symptoms came before these two traumatic events. But there was a time when I could sleep better – and I think these events have definitely defined my FM path currently.
Ay. On to the doctors once again. I need my head examined in more way than one. It is 4:20 a.m. now and I’ve barely slept a wink. I find it easier to rest when my husband and son get up for the day at around 6:30 and I have a good two hours of rest before he goes to work and my mom day begins.
Any advice on Post Traumatic Stress and Fibro? Or any insight into this situation I keep playing over and over again? I am listening.
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