tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16851814819968141542024-03-12T17:03:34.016-05:00Okienurse's Fibromyalgia, Health, and Wellness BlogI started this blog in 2010 because of a need to vent about my fibromyalgia and other chronic issues. I continue to blog on health and wellness related issues in hopes I can help just one other person to understand that they aren't alone. I was an RN for 37 years but when I got sick I didn't have a clue about what was going on with me. I still don't at times...I am a work in progress I like to say. What I write about is my personal opinion and probably not backed by medical research.okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.comBlogger125125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-82813958860477206252020-09-07T14:14:00.006-05:002020-09-07T14:14:55.078-05:00all about time<p> It has been almost a year since I last posted on this blog...why? A lot of reasons...</p><p></p><ul><li>I was in a psychologically good place going to therapy and getting a hold of the ghosts of my past! I guess like others I believed my pain issues were due to somatic or psychological issues more then physiological issues my lab work was showing.</li><li>I was feeling better...that was partially cause my daughter had moved back to Norman and I had a partner in crime so to speak. I felt so good I ended up taking 3 cruises in a 12 month time period...pre covid.</li><li>I started with a Pain Management group that like me believed that not everything should be treated with drugs. I found out that ablations are my friend and we just knocked out nerves...but they are growing back and I am going to have to go back and get them redone eventually!</li><li>I got tired of talking about it after a few well meaning trolls sent me emails...wanting me to buy this or that snake oil to ease my issues and make me feel better.</li><li>then the troll people that made comments about how fibromyalgia and my pain issues are bullshit...their words not mine. Not to go political but I really believe it is some of the same red folks that think face masks don't help prevent Covid-19 or condoms don't prevent STD's.</li></ul>The list goes on but that will cover it for now. People can be such cretins when it comes to anything other than themselves. I really feel like I am tired of the response I have been getting from friends and family who blow me off with "tell me something I don't already know" or "that doesn't seem any different" when I try and explain the pain of the day after they asked how I am doing! <p></p><p>Why am I posting today...well a lot of reasons...</p><p></p><ol><li>I am not feeling so hot...no fever, no cough, no COVID-19 symptoms but I just feel like warmed over crap...similar to 11 years ago when I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia after the other tests failed to show anything wrong! Since then I have learned enough about and added enough autoimmune disorders to my portfolio I recognize that it is part and partial but...I hurt everyday...most days I lie about it. No one want to know!</li><li>I am having mobility issues and getting up and down off the sofa can be a real problem. </li><li> I read an article that brought it home that I am not the only one that has these issues and I benefited from the articles I have been reading and I should share them. </li></ol><div>Have you heard of an online support group called <a href="http://themighty.com">The Mighty</a>? The Mighty has all sorts of support groups and I occasionally read others but started reading in the pain management and chronic diseases forums. Today I read an article called What the Pain of Fibromyalgia Feels Like. <a href="https://themighty.com/2018/04/types-of-fibromyalgia-pain/?utm_source=newsletter_fibromyalgia&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_fibromyalgia_2020-09-04&%24deep_link=true&%243p=e_cordial&%24original_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthemighty.com%2F2018%2F04%2Ftypes-of-fibromyalgia-pain%2F%3Futm_source%3Dnewsletter_fibromyalgia%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Dnewsletter_fibromyalgia_2020-09-04%26%24deep_link%3Dtrue&_branch_match_id=799654635631248179">18 Types of Pain I Experience with Fibromyalgia</a> by Jo Moss. Go read it...I have experienced all 18 but I think there are actually a lot more that aren't on the list. </div><div><br /></div><div>Okay I blogged and plan on continuing in the up coming months. I hope that passing on this information you get something out of it. I wish I could find us all a cure but that isn't going to happen but maybe we can make the journey easier. Let you know tomorrow what the doctor said. </div><div><br /></div><div>What brings me relief...both mentally and physically! I am going to be sad to see summer go!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNKYyH8BooUJ78Npu2Sc3Xfi4Wo8f05NJM_XYoqrSU0y5tIvCKx7iwlwSwLIXJtBAmmCIPd5fqYCNwNH33i2PRrjVMqvDkEhjuqXX-AErx9Veb4-egpwM5Y9IcpN30X1E2o03HOlIVnUy/s2048/HM1+-+12.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNKYyH8BooUJ78Npu2Sc3Xfi4Wo8f05NJM_XYoqrSU0y5tIvCKx7iwlwSwLIXJtBAmmCIPd5fqYCNwNH33i2PRrjVMqvDkEhjuqXX-AErx9Veb4-egpwM5Y9IcpN30X1E2o03HOlIVnUy/w400-h300/HM1+-+12.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div>okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-66402513101329809732019-09-02T11:27:00.000-05:002019-09-02T11:28:22.271-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have been going through a lot of pain issues recently related to my fibromyalgia and back pain. Turns out my pain management doctor is a complete piece of s...work and hasn't been doing what he has been instructed to do by my surgeon...Not only that he lied to me on multiple occasions and cancelled appointments the day of my office visit and let me show up to be seen and him be 'out of office.' This last time I went in to see a partner of his cause he had cancelled the week before and they rescheduled me with him. The Dr. was awesome but told me that he didn't feel comfortable doing the spinal ablation cause he didn't know what the other doctor had done or not done. Yeah I made a complete ass out of myself and fired the whole group! I was upset that they didn't seem to care what hurt and how much pain I was in and felt they could just pick up or drop me...I was only a $$$ to them.</div>
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I went to see a new pain management group 10 days later and found out that all I had gone through wasn't necessary...ie I was told at the old office they couldn't inject me more then every 6 months...lie! I was told I had to have multiple injections before medicare would pay for an ablation...lie! I'm in agony at that point! From May 7, 2019 till August 6, 2019 they cancelled 3 appointments and didn't do much. This new doctor asked me how many needles they use to inject...I only recall one on each side that I barely felt...the new doctor used 6...3 each side and I had the first pain relief from the facet nerves and sacroiliac joint pint I had had in 3 years! It didn't last long cause it was just Marcaine but it worked! I will be having an ablation on the 20th September he tells me!</div>
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That brings me to the pain scale... I read an article today on <a href="https://themighty.com/">The Mighty</a> by Jenny Cyndalu about how everyone asks you to rate your pain. I think they need you to rate the pain that brought you in one way and all the other another and I tell them that I live in chronic pain and my 5-6 might be more like a 10+ to others. Of course they think I am a crock just wanting meds but hey...I am an old ER RN and I know what goes round comes round I learned with that spinal injection the other day that my back pain was probably a 10 on the 10 scale and once they had wiped that out I still hurt just not in my back...my shoulders and legs ached, all at once it felt like I was wearing a hair shirt and something was scratching down my arms too. That was a nagging pain that always used to be there when I only had fibromyalgia to deal with and once fell and had all the back problems THAT pain pushed the other to the back of my brain. </div>
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Click on the link above and read what me and a bunch of others responded to her article. She is right on the spot. BTW check out <a href="https://themighty.com/">The Mighty</a>...there are a lot of good things to read and if you are like me you learn you aren't the only one with that problem out there!<br />
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okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-20176722810115912972018-10-21T13:03:00.000-05:002018-10-21T13:04:08.864-05:00the start of my week was like!Talking to some friends over this past week and thought I would add a few remarks here....first a favorite meme of mine BUT it doesn't say it all just a bit of what life it with fibromyalgia then add in the other autoimmune problems I have.<br />
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Can't remember where I picked this up so I can't give credit where it is due but this is me on a good day of late. <br />
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I had an interesting week with 4 doctors appointments and very little else. I saw the pain management doctor on Tuesday and Friday about my failed back. I had my back surgery over a year ago and it still is deteriorating from day to day. I am trying these injections in hopes of prolonging having to have the surgery again. I tried the shots before surgery and they didn't work so I am not expecting much. They already have tried two types facet and some spine stem shot that did nothing but make me pee my pants which the pain management doc things is funny. Anyway I went back Friday and had 4 shots either side of my spinal column. 1 steroid, 1 marcaine each side. Kinda worked and today my low back feels better then it has in months. When you add the 18 pressure points and pain from fibromyalgia in with the back surgery I am miserable at times. I can't even stand clothes on my body.<br />
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The second appointment was with my talk therapist Debbie. We discuss all sorts of things in our sessions. I started going to see her just over 2 years ago. My daughter and my internal medicine doctor thought that I really needed it especially after some drugs for my fibromyalgia symptoms and depression caused me issues. I take a cup of coffee and go talk for an hour and in the 2 years I have found out a lot of stuff about myself....for example I have PTSD that was related to my childhood and work. My depression is because of my pain and life change issues...I mean hell fire I am 66 years old and expected to be able to live the good life not one of pain.<br />
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The last appointment was with the urologist! I need to have surgery for that he says but I keep putting him off. He started me on a different kind of pee pill this week and I think I am already going to quit taking it. Makes my head more fuzzy!<br />
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I did get out to Monday Night Pint Night at McNellies and had a decent beer. I know not allow will Celiac but you know you got to cheat somewhere and it doesn't cause me much of a problem if any. I just drink one and then switch to ciders or the stronger stuff like a Bloody Mary!! It is good fun and a diversion with friends.<br />
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I went and had coffee with friends and talked out our latest health issues. One coffee date with Sharron we managed to settle a bunch of world issues. Sharron had a brain tumor removed last year, a nasal surgery that has developed 4 types of staph. We sit far apart. What is sad is the way the doctors are treating her even though she has provable issues with X-ray and labs. Like I told her I think it has to do with her autoimmune disorders cluttering up their brains. Sharron's daughter is a juvenile onset of Fibro and other autoimmune issues. SO we have a lot to talk about some days. Love them a lot!<br />
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Okay I am off of here cause I don't have much more to say about last week. I watched quite a few Netflix movies while trying to collect a few more spoons to make it through the day. I will try to post every week...okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-32749646284215884002018-05-19T12:47:00.000-05:002018-05-19T12:47:15.570-05:00fasting!This is the third time I have tried to write this post and I figured I should offer a reason if it shows up three times! Don't know what the cause is but it just doesn't seem to be saving or publishing! <br />
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I wanted to let people know about an article I read on Rawls.md earlier today about fasting resetting the immune system clock. The article called <a href="https://rawlsmd.com/health-articles/can-fasting-renew-your-immune-system">Can Fasting Renew Your Immune System</a> is one of several I have read recently talking about how fasting causes the body to shut down some of its working sand reset. As Dr. Rawls points out the body kills off old and damaged cells to conserve the bodies resources and when it starts getting more nutrients it begins producing new and healthier cells.<br />
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I would like to try a form of fasting but my body wouldn't go along with it. In 1992 I was fasting along with several coworkers on a new fasting diet and it was discovered that I have an insulin producing tumor called an insulinoma that only gives me grief when I try to diet. An insulinoma is a relatively small tumor, about 1", and can be benign or malignant...only 10% are, and usually occur in the GI tract...most on the pancreas. Mine has never been found on CT or MRI and Doc told me if I was lucky it would never grow big enough to be found...people die with the tumor not from the tumor.<br />
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Anyway back to the fasting...I am going to try the Time-Restricted Feeding form of fasting for as long as I can tolerate it or until I notice a change in my immune system. I am so tired of being tired! It won't be a big deal for me because I don't normally eat until later in the day so restricting myself to food only between say 2pm and 10pm daily might show a difference. I plan on eating a lot more healthier foods and staying away from wasted calories...hmmm...maybe I will limit it to 1000 cals per day.<br />
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I will report back and tell you what I find out as I go along. okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-69218984974157444852018-02-14T16:45:00.001-06:002018-02-14T16:45:06.042-06:00Happy Valentines Day and my first WOYWW in a long time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy Valentines Day and welcome to my desk. It has been a while since I have posted to WOYWW but thought today was a good time for me to just jump back in...first off my desk...</div>
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I haven't really done much but have decided I was going to get started again TODAY! I bought the little Sizzix die cut machine and a few dies the other day on sale so stay tuned to what I produce! I did join a group for a tag swap and made this tag...one and only thing in months!</div>
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Being and over achiever I made six instead of the 3 we were told to make!</div>
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On a personal note!<div>
It has been a year and then some for me! I am not going to whine...much. Still having problems post op back surgery. Sat down too hard at PT and caused a hairline fracture to one of the vertebrae. Thats the bad news...good news is I am developing bone matrix and should be healed in a few more months.<div>
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My baby sister Carol Ann passed away on the 16 January this year. Carol was 6 years younger then me and was a whiz kid with numbers and mathematics and besides being so intelligent she was an awesome person both inside and out! It came as a surprise when she was diagnosed last May with stage 4 adenocarcinoma. Carol was married to Stan for 42 years this June. They have 3 boys and 8 grandchildren.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Carol a couple years ago!</div>
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Okay that is it for me! Go check out <a href="http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/">WOYWW </a>and follow Julia's info for joining in the fun!</div>
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okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-36539124684299988292017-12-30T17:04:00.001-06:002017-12-30T17:04:50.217-06:00still here...I thought I would take a few minutes and write a short post to let everyone know I am still here...alive and kicking...sort of! I am recopying this from my Okienurse Paper and Ink blog so all my followers get to hear from me!<br />
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First off I want to wish everyone a happy holiday whatever religion or lack there of you embrace! We call it Snowman Day in our house because there are so many different beliefs in the works. I quit trying to remember who is what and I just send out winter wishes to everyone. My card this year! The family all came home for Thanksgiving and while here pitched in and got the house decorated for the holidays...I have an awesome family!<br />
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I thank everyone for their interest and concern over my health and wellness issues....</div>
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I went to the surgeon on December 23 and was told my set back with the laminectomy and spinal fusion was due to me having broken one of the vertebrae some how. I am fused L4-L5 and L5-S1 with plastic spacers in-between the discs...evidently sitting down too hard one day caused a spacer to slam into the vertebrae and crack it...it will heal but hurts like hell! I can truthfully say I am sitting down rather gingerly to keep from cracking more! I am still having memory issues and haven't been too good in retaining lately...doctor says it will come back...I am hoping so!</div>
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I started radiation therapy to a recurrent issue with basal cell cancer on my face. Evidently they think that this might help and I started treatments a week ago. The treatments are at Norman Regional Hospital Cancer Management Center five days a week for another 2 weeks. The treatment itself is painless...unless you count having to get up and go every day. While it is a low dose of radiation my system already being compromised by autoimmune disorders has decided to react with fatigue, headaches, dry eye etc. Dr. Yeh assures me that it will go away as soon as the treatments are done. </div>
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The girls at the treatment center took a picture for me to share and I want to point out that I figure it was meant to be because of all the purple! </div>
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I haven't been doing much of anything exercise, craft, cooking etc because of not feeling like doing much of anything. I try and push myself and I do get stuff done but...limited. I tend to run out of spoons a lot quicker with this treatment then even before. I am continually tired and ready to go back to bed even when I have only been up an hour or so. </div>
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Anyway I hope everyone has a great week end and a happy start to the new year. </div>
okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-76360724448811407052017-11-23T22:32:00.002-06:002017-11-23T22:32:31.596-06:00CBD OilI have been using CBD oil and THC combination for several years for my autoimmune disorders and pain. I tried all sorts of opiates and disease/disorder specific medications that would work for a while then all of a sudden would quit. I was told by a friend in Oregon that she was using marijuana in her cooking for her fibro and she told me I should so I gave it a try! I was a little apprehensive living in OK where it was illegal and OK has one of the highest incarceration rates for use of minor drugs that I really was afraid of going to jail every time I bought some off the street! Last year when I made a trip to the west coast I visited a dispensary and bought the low THC high CBD vape pen and I am a believer. That was over a year ago and it is still working but now my supply is gone! I need to make another trip west!<br />
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A friend called me last Tuesday about a new company in OK called Ziggy's. Ziggy's is a smoke and vape shop where you can buy all sorts of smoking paraphernalia for tobacco, vape, and other substances. In OK Ziggy's has been under attack for carrying drug paraphernalia and equipment for smoking illegal substances and had thousands of dollars worth of product at their OKC metro stores confiscated and destroyed besides their bank accounts seized. They have been in and out of court for the past couple years and was ruled not guilty and exonerated by a jury in May 2017. The jury actually took up for the defendant saying how can they say what the hookas and pipes are going to be used for once they leave the store? They just sell equipment!<br />
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I digress...the aforementioned friend and I made a trip to the store here in Norman and had a good look around. It sells all sorts of smoking paraphernalia and CBD oil! I bought a bottle of the Charlottes Web Advanced Oil. Charlottes Web is a specific cultivar grown by some Colorado hemp growers for it higher CBD content as a dietary supplement. I have been eating 1/2 dropper full once a day and I can testify that it works better then taking one of my Norco 10mg tabs. When I bought the oil at Ziggy's I was sold a inhaler cartridge to vape it but this oil is not to be vaped. According to Mary at CW Hemp it can cause lung damage because of its oil base. The CW Advanced Oil has 50 mg per dropper full (5ml) of the oil. Ziggy's also sell their brand a lot cheaper but it is only 100mcg per dropper full. I probably will be ordering mine directly from CW website in the future. <br />
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I know this sounds like an advertisement for CW oil and you would be right! I have only been eating it a week and it already has improved my life a bit. It is a food supplement not a hallucinogenic drug. For you skeptics out their we would be in a world of hurt if we didn't believe that plants weren't drugs. Digitalis comes from the beautiful fox glove plant and makes my heart beat regularly...Medicinal herbs have been used thousands of years and now we know they are safe because the FDA tells us so...that is a sarcasm! The supplement comes in 10mg/10 mil Everyday Hemp Oil, 25mg/5mg Everyday Plus, and 50mg/5mg Everyday Advanced. Of course you know me the overachiever I bought the Advanced...actually I am cheap and was being thrifty!<br />
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Anyway check it out and see if it is for you!</div>
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okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-87169651297936866222017-11-02T13:55:00.001-05:002017-11-02T13:55:51.047-05:00Connections!I was having coffee with friends the other day and we were talking about all the autoimmune disorders WE have. I find it amazing almost daily when I talk with other chronic pain people about various things how a like we are in out lists of autoimmune disorders. I know! We are a doctors nightmare on the hoof and I suspect that the doctors would say we are bitchers and complainers feeing off one another in discussing the trials and tribulations of our disease and disorders. I call it group therapy...these are the only people who really understand what I am going through cause everyone else seems to think I look too good to be too sick!!<br />
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An article I just read on <a href="http://celiac.com/">Celiac.com</a> called <a href="https://www.celiac.com/articles/24932/1/Sjogrens-Syndrome-The-Link-with-Celiac-Disease/Page1.html">Sjogren's Syndrome: The Link with Celiac Diseas</a>e and how people with Sjogren's benefit from a gluten free diet. It isn't fun and it isn't for everyone but if you get relief from your symptoms why won't you do it I asked a friend. I have multiple auto immune diseases and don't know why I am so blessed. What is an autoimmune disease? It is a condition in which your immune system goes haywire at attacks your body. Why does it happen? Doctors aren't sure but it attacks women more then men. Autoimmune diseases can be primary or secondary...it is caused because you all ready have one autoimmune disorder. It started out in my childhood with a thyroiditis at 10 years of age...I have been on Synthyroid all my life. My autoimmune have been adding up throughout my 65 years of life. <br />
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<li>Thyroiditis at 10 years of age post tonsillectomy. I was so sick. I don't know if that was a cause...I was told no but I wonder!</li>
<li>psoriasis at 11 years of age...I was on antibiotics for the above</li>
<li>Irritable bowel disease at 17 years old</li>
<li>Roscea at 25 years old</li>
<li>Sjogren's at about 30 years old</li>
<li>celiac disease at 58 years old</li>
<li>Fibromyalgia isn't considered an autoimmune but I think it will be because Vasculitis is. </li>
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So many things out there now days! I just know that there isn't a cure...</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The early symptoms of many autoimmune diseases are very similar, such as:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -20px;">fatigue</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -20px;">achy muscles</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -20px;">swelling and redness</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -20px;">low-grade fever</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -20px;">trouble concentrating</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -20px;">numbness and tingling in the hands and feet</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -20px;">hair loss</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -20px;">skin rashes</span></li>
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There are treatments but no cures. I have been given so many meds for the issues that I had trouble remembering from day to day why and what the pills are. I have really trimmed the numbers down over the past couple years. So many doctors...endocrinologist, dermatologists gastrologists, rheumatologists, internal medicine, neurologists etc. An endless list of office visits and tests. The best thing I have found to help myself has been the gluten free diet and elimination diet to get rid of what causes the inflammation and flare up.</div>
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More later!</div>
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okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-18901001108468584272017-09-07T13:57:00.000-05:002017-09-07T13:57:11.223-05:00Day 7 Blogging Along with Effy!<strong style="font-family: Arial;">TODAY’S NUDGE: Dump Your Mental & Emotional Purse all over the table that is your blog. Don’t sort it. Don’t apologize for any of it. Just take an inventory, in list form, and let the old tissues & twenty year old mints fall where they may.</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was just thinking with the last posts that I had said more then I probably should on an open form because there are all sorts of people out there that thrive on reading this kind of stuff. I don't think I want to dump my mental and </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">emotional purse all over the table. I have depression and PTSD...don't know that you can separate the two...and I tend to over verbalize/type things that come back and haunt me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I don't think I want to do this prompt. If I do I will come back to it later.</span>okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-43824772045696901492017-09-07T13:42:00.000-05:002017-09-07T13:42:04.636-05:00Day 6 Blogging along with Effy<strong style="font-family: Arial;">TODAY’S NUDGE: Write about your hometown, your roots, or where you come from.</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was born in Norman, OK in 1952. It has changed so much over the past 65 years that it would be unrecognizable to anyone who left and comes back. The population in the early 1950's was less then 27,000 but the census shows in 2015 it was over 120,000 and that doesn't include the transient university population. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Norman is most famous for the University of Oklahoma and the Sooners football team I guess. It is really strange to me that is where just about everyone jumps after I tell them where I live. I read somewhere that the university has over 31,000 full time students each year. Famous football players like Sam Bradford, Adrian Peterson, Steve Owens, Joe Washington,</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Brian Bosworth, Troy Aikman, Billy Sims, the Salmon Brothers, J.C. Watts and many more went to school there. Famous actors including Ed Harris, Olivia Munn, and James Garner credited with attending OU but as I remember he never graduated high school. There are a long list of famous people but I was always a town girl and only ever attended one class at OU.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Norman had two military bases during WW2...North base trained combat pilots for the and South base had technical training and had a hospital that cared for patients that were injured during the wars. I remember the bases being here in the mid 1950's cause my step dad worked at the S. base working as an aviation electrician fixing planes. The bases were turned over to OU sometime in the 1950's and have been developed extensively since then. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Norman is home to the National Severe Storms Laboratory where my husband worked. It has changed a lot over the years. It used to be housed on N Base but now is in a multi storied building on S Base with the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), the NSSL, and the OU school of Meteorology. There are many big businesses that have moved into Norman over the years! To name a few there is York, Astellas Pharmaceuticals, Hitachi Corporation, Cisco, ATT, The US Postal Service has a big postal training center...I could go on and on and on. So many businesses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My husband says that the world won't stay the same so I will be happy and they don't have to ask me when they want to make a change BUT sometimes I remember what it used to be and what it has turned into and I wish for those day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It was a small town and everyone seemed to get along regardless of their religious or political affiliations. It was a biased, racist, and bigoted city during part of its history but I believe that was due to the population being 85% white and mostly of Southern Baptist persuasion! When more foreign students came and interacted with the town population it became less so. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I hate the busy streets and difficulty getting around town now. Even though the population has grown so much the infrastructure has not grown to handle the traffic in the older parts of town. I remember riding my bike over to my cousins hour a couple miles away from mine on a two lane road and now that street is 5 lanes and no way would I ride a bike there!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was brought up in a relatively poor family. We never wanted for clothes, food, or housing but there never was much money for any thing else. My mother worked two jobs (nurses aide and waitress) and went to school to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) when I was young because my stepfather was in the Navy and you can't raise 3 kids on $100 a month salary. I guess that is where I got my backbone and stamina was watching my mother try and make ends meet! My mother was 54 years old when she died of cancer and I always regret that she never had time to enjoy her life much because of all the working.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I had lots of family living in and around Norman when I was a young person. Now there seems to be very few of the family around they either moved off or have died off. Really sad. I remember holidays being big family affairs where all of us got together and pooled our resources and had huge meals and did fun things. I miss those days now!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Well that is it before I get too maudlin and start crying in my beer so to speak. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-2213796573593330392017-09-05T23:25:00.000-05:002017-09-05T23:25:07.721-05:00Day 5 Blogging Along with Effy<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><b>TODAY'S NUDGE: What is something you struggle with? What battles are you fighting that most people know nothing about? What's something about you or your life that makes you feel weird, or different, or isolated?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I struggle on almost a daily basis with who I am now compared to who I was 10 years ago. Aging isn't the issue it is all the physical ailments that I have developed and they keep me from living up to what I remember I was and used to be!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I used to love to cook, sew, craft, do all sorts of things. I like to travel but it can be a real hassle now since I have fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and now my spinal fusion. I just don't get around as well as what I want to and I miss it. I have Celiac or a non-Celiac gluten intolerance. I was told I was and I did research on the webs and found out what I should do for it and went on the diet. Three weeks later when I had all the tests I was negative...doctor says he still thinks it is Celiac and to keep doing what I am doing. Travel is not fun when you can't find something to eat!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I feel really weird trying to explain to people that I can't do this or that, can't eat this or that because at 207# it is obvious I don't miss too many meals. I weighed 242# when this all started so I am doing better! People tend to judge you based on what they see and I look healthy most of the time...I only go out when I am feeling good so you see they don't see me at my worse times. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am not suicidal but this next remark kinda sounds like it. My sister has cancer and has been given a limited time because of the metastasis and like she said...sometimes it makes you wonder if the quality of life worsens would it be worth pursuing quantity any longer? I have a long way to get there but I would want quality over a miserable quantity any day! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I'm done. More of my life tomorrow. </span>okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-57046773816023160412017-09-05T23:09:00.000-05:002017-09-05T23:09:29.526-05:00Day 4 What really stresses you out?<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 4 Today’s Nudge: What really stresses you out, and how to do take care of yourself when you’re in the midst of *waves at all that*.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;">It seems now days the most stressful thing for me is my health issues and what all has gone one in the past 6 years. It cost me my job, my identity and my health. If you read back through this blog you will see it has been a journey and it seems just as I am getting on top of it all something comes along and knocks the slats out from under me and I have to start again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;">I am a tenacious critter to say the least. I have to accredit my Mother, Aunt, and Grandmother for making me the strong woman I am. I was brought up poorer then most but back then I didn't think I was much different then any of my friends or actually anyone else. I couldn't do a lot as a child cause we just didn't have money for music lessons, sport uniforms etc. I started working as a baby sitter when I was about 12 years old to make money to buy things I wanted and the family couldn't afford. My mother worked and when to school when I was 11-12 years old and it was expected I would help around there house. There was no 'extra' money to speak of ever. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;">I married the first time thinking I would have a bigger and better life then my mother and family but turns out I jumped out of the skillet into the fire and it was so much worse being married to an abusive asshole like I was so after two weeks (yes only 2 wk) I jumped ship! Lee was a physically abusive person and liked to use me as a punching bag. He didn't like being married and tied down so bringing another woman into our bed while I was at work was just a okay by him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;">I married again 5 years later to an awesome man and have been happy. We have 2 kids and they are both married with good partners! My son and his wife have 3 children and my daughter has yet to start her family but has 3 dogs that think Grandmadog is the best! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;">I have PTSD, Depression and a lot of ups and downs to take care of myself and get through all the crap I have started going to a talk therapist each week. I was really reluctant to do so but now don't see how I ever made it through some of my most trying times recently without her! I talk with her and see helps me see the problem and issues through totally different eyes. I tried medications for a while and medications just seem to exacerbate the problem for me so I am happy doing it without drugs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;">I love crafting and try to spend time doing something each day but since my surgery I am having trouble doing anything at all. I just lack any creativity or motivation. I was hypoxic and I have some memory and ability issues right now that the doctor has told me will come back in time. I hope so and I am hoping blogging will help. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;">Have a great day...</span>okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-17919643046292436112017-09-03T13:51:00.002-05:002017-09-03T13:51:44.839-05:00Day 3 Today’s Nudge: Write about something you used to believe <span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 3 with Blogging Along with Effy! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>If you would like to blog along click the link to the right!</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I think the biggest thing I used to believe in and no longer do and its impact on my life has been the belief in God and religion. As a kids we were brought up in a Pentecostal Holiness/Assemblies of God church. It was a safe haven when I was a child. My home life was a little screwed up and different then most and I broke off from the church when I was about 17 years old because I woke up one day and realized they condoned the screwed up differences.</span><br />
<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What kind of screwed up differences? Racism, xenophobia, sexism, faith healing over medicine, wife beating and subjugation...you know that kind of differences. T</span><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">hey believed in faith healing, speaking in tongues, purification by the holy spirit, baptism by fire and water. From a small child I had been told I was lesser then man cause I was made from man and therefore not as good. I don't remember how many times I was told the story of the Great White Throne and how I would be judged as unfitting to go to heaven. The AG believed that when Jesus came back that all the dead would rise and walk the earth for 1000 years with Jesus as its ruler. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">I still can't believe I bought into that doctrine. That I allowed myself to be used and manipulated like that! My sister brought a black girlfriend to church with us one Sunday and they wouldn't let her in because she was dressed inappropriately! She was wearing a skirt and sleeveless shirt...but truth of it was her skin was dark. The deacons stood at the doors and shook hands with those coming in but looking back I realize it was to keep the undesirables out. I think that's the first time I realized something wasn't right in our little church. I loved going to church and all the fellowship, the pot luck dinners, the interaction with friends and family it was the highlight to my life during some troubling times. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">My Grandmother and Mother were the ones that would take us to church. My Grandfather didn't want any part of what he called "that religious bullshit!" When my Mother divorced the church treated her like she was toxic. I was 13 at the time. I actually heard a couple old gossipy bitches saying my mother was "a harlot and would burn in hell for not doing right by my father!" How can it be 'not doing right' when it was him who went out and had sex with other women and left us at home without much money or anything? He was in the Navy and would be gone for months and months and my mother worked 2 jobs trying to stay afloat. My mother refused to go to church from that day on and I started watching what was going on around me a little closer. </span><span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I didn't just 'quit believing' I tried going to other church of protestant beliefs. I went to Baptist, Methodist, Church of Christ etc. but I saw the same type of subjugation and control in all of them that I had seen in the </span><span style="font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Pentecostal Holiness/Assemblies of God </span><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">church. It was the 1960's and early 70's and a lot of change was going on. I decided I could change. I felt from time to time to give it another chance but I never felt the spirit and I just didn't go back. It just wasn't for me! </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I could keep going on but I won't. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">I don't like the term Atheist and tell people I am a Secular Humanist to avoid the flak that comes with telling them you don't believe. How can you believe in just one god when there are thousands or millions as some believe. How can you condemn those that don't believe in the same god you do? I have found out that I can be spiritual and not believe in something I can't see! I take responsibility for my own actions and don't take the attitude that a Deity made me do it. </span></span><br />
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<strong style="font-family: Arial;">2) What do you really want?</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now that is a good question! I <span style="color: red;">want</span> a lot of things...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have of late had issues with memories and I think the things I <span style="color: red;">want</span> most can't be bought or sold. I lost 3 units of blood during my surgery and while they gave the blood back to me I had a period of hypoxia and my oxygen stayed low even after surgery. I remember asking the nurse why my oxygen saturation was staying in the 70's...normal is 100% of course. I am an old ICU/ER nurse and to have a low blood oxygen saturation is not something I would want at all. When you have the low sats for a period of time the brain gets a little pissed and starts to swell... I think I will regain most of my function or at least I am <span style="color: red;">want</span>ing to regain all my mental acuity asap. </span><br />
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One of the things the oxygen saturation issue has caused that I have noticed is my inability to do my art. I don't seem to have an original thought of my own and I can't seem to get up much more then sit here and diddle on the computer. I have trouble forming words and sentences and I forget just about everything short term. I know the doctor said that it was short term and it most likely would all return fairly quickly but I am impatient I want it now. I <span style="color: red;">want </span>to sit down in my craft studio and create something original, to get lost in the cutting, pasting, painting and creating something maybe only I love. <br />
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I have been having problems with my Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue since surgery. There were a couple of weeks I had a hard time getting out of bed. I would go to bed at 12 midnight and not get out of bed till 2-3 pm the next afternoon. I had trouble sleeping and while I thought I was the medications were not letting me get good sleep so I quit them all. I still take an occasional Norco or Tramadol when the pain in my back gets bad enough but it seems the narcotics tend to make my ability to deal with the fibromyalgia next to impossible. I am not lying when I say I live constantly in a 4-5 pain world all the time... 0 is no pain-10 is I am ready to go to the hospital. My back is the least of my pain now and it takes forever to get this other under control. I <span style="color: red;">want </span>that control again. It took me years to get it when I first got sick and when I woke up post op it was gone. <br />
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I have a family that is very supportive and a husband that stands by me and helps me to the best of his ability...huh? Well I am one of those "I will do it myself" people so I tend not to tell him when I need help or need him to do something. Like he says all I have to do is ask but like I told him I don't ask and he doesn't mind read my needs. I <span style="color: red;">want </span>to be able to ask for help and not take it as a put down of me, myself, and I when I do.<br />
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I could go on and on but won't. I don't <span style="color: red;">want</span> for much in the reality of goods or things. I would like more money, more clothes, a bigger house, etc etc but I don't want for it. What I already have is more then a lot of others have. <br />
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If you would like to blog along <a href="http://effywild.com/">click this link </a>and it will take you to Effy's blog.okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-33552251382936328402017-09-02T14:32:00.003-05:002017-09-02T14:42:44.899-05:00My summer! Day 1 I'm Blogging Along with Effy!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I haven't blogged much this summer and there are multiple reasons why...but then I haven't don't much of anything. I am a fan of <a href="http://effywild.com/">Effy Wild</a> an artist I follow and she is sponsoring a blog along this month and I decided I was going to try and do it as much as I can. If you are interested in following along with her just click on the link. <br />
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Okay so here is the Day 1 prompt from Effy Wild....<br />
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<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Today’s Nudge: Start where you are. What’s going on with you? What’s on your heart/mind today, right now, at this moment. No back story necessary. No disclaimers. What’s up, buttercup? Spill it.</span><br />
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My last post on June 23 was just 3 days away from my back surgery... I had been having worsening symptoms of low back pain and inability to walk or get around well on my own. That is an understatement to tell the truth! I had grade 1 spondylolisthesis where the vertebrae and disc's are slipping. What were my symptoms? <br />
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<li>Back pain that shot down both cheeks of my butt</li>
<li>The pain radiated to the outside of my thighs and down my legs. </li>
<li>Both legs would start to ache and feel so weak if I did most any activity. Walking around Walmart or even cooking dinner would cause them to ache and my toes in my right foot would go to sleep. What was funny was the achiness would settle on the tops of my feet not the bottom and I thought it was the sandals I would wear causing it.</li>
<li>I had so much trouble walking I tended not to go to any stores without the mobility carts to shop. I started walking with a cane to help me balance. </li>
<li>I would fall around a lot. I fell on Christmas Day 2015 and broke my left knee, hurt my back, and hip.</li>
<li>I had trouble sitting for any length of time cause my low back would hurt and if I tried to bend over I had shooting pains in my back and legs. </li>
<li>I was one of the lucky ones that had problems with incontinence. I had gone to a urologist and paid megabucks for tests.</li>
<li>I became depressed and started going to a <span style="background-color: yellow;">psych/</span>talk therapist at my daughters urging.</li>
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I tried conservative treatments to try an alleviate the pain and other issues but nothing seemed to work. I took anti-inflammatory drugs over the counter and prescription, steroids, anti-inflammatory diet, eventually ended up in a pain management clinic where I received a back brace and injections in my spine by a pain management doctor. Nothing seemed to work to help my pain or other problems. </div>
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In February of 2017 the pain management doctor told me that I needed surgery to fix my back and referred me to a neurosurgeon! </div>
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I had to wait from February to the end of May to get into see the doctor. First thing he did was to take X-rays and get and MRI...my MRI showed a Grade 1 with 20-25% slippage in the lumbar vertebrae! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You don't have to look too close to see the slippage!</td></tr>
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As you can see it doesn't look like much is off but it definitely caused me a lot of issues. </div>
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Doctor Cochran told me that I needed a lumbar laminectomy and spinal fusion and the sooner the better to help stabilize my spine cause it would only get worse! I had been told this by two other doctors so I told him that I was ready to get rid of my 'issues'! Heather had come for a visit on Fathers Day and had gone with me to the doctor so the surgery was set up on the following Monday so she could be here. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side view of hardware and new discs...I have titanium screws!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">frontal view post op</td></tr>
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I had the surgery and had a few problems with bleeding and oxygen saturations but that was nothing compared to the fact that I woke up for the first time in a long time with no pain in my legs or numbness in my toes. The post op course has not been easy but it gets better every day. I started PT yesterday, I am off most all the meds including pain killers and muscle relaxers. </div>
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A few pictures Heather documented of the process! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Cheering squad in the waiting room!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me pre-op</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jtYfRsYrqcx9rolEMD0-LKf6DKEpRCY00bWeQtMRQyyfVejrtVohkibdPlS6TX_4W1K3ostzfBtUOZJdHGeV2D9et7hATqHKVHW6xzg1J53x6s63XFW-G8KKZq0DCkdKkdn6oznyEZUR/s1600/IMG_0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jtYfRsYrqcx9rolEMD0-LKf6DKEpRCY00bWeQtMRQyyfVejrtVohkibdPlS6TX_4W1K3ostzfBtUOZJdHGeV2D9et7hATqHKVHW6xzg1J53x6s63XFW-G8KKZq0DCkdKkdn6oznyEZUR/s320/IMG_0125.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me post op</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My incision. I can't even tell looking in a mirror now. Impressive considering all the work!<br /><br /></td></tr>
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I have really progressed a lot in the 2 months since I have had the surgery. I have had some ups and downs but the biggest thing is I have the ability to get around a bit better now. The pain isn't as bad as it once was getting up and down out of a chair or bed. It will take a bit longer...about 6 months the physical therapist told me to actually get to feeling like it was worth the trouble. I think I already do!okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-81145233707853835042017-06-23T12:01:00.001-05:002017-06-23T12:09:14.801-05:00NeurofatigueA friend of mine recently had brain surgery. Sharron had a smallish...boulder size tumor sitting on top of her optic nerve that she had a horrible time getting anyone to listen to her about needing help with. After about 5 months of headaches and putting up up with the damn thing the doctors at Stephenson Cancer Center in OKC listened to her and removed the darn thing. It was benign but still a relief when it was out! I love it when someone tries to explain away a benign something as not being as bad as a malignant something. Malignant means it can spread other places while benign means it usually stays in that one spot. Her tumor kept growing and like with malignant tumors there is only enough space for the brain and not much else so she was having a horrible time.<br />
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Did you read the <a href="http://vickiesfibromyalgiablog.blogspot.com/2017/06/spoon-theory.html">spoon theory post</a> before this one? The one on fatigue? Well Sharron posted this article on <a href="http://www.braininjury-explanation.com/consequences/invisible-consequences/neurofatigue">Neurofatigue...and the invisible consequences.</a> It is another example of neuro fatigue and some good hints on how to combat it. Most brain injury people have some degree of this type of fatigue and it would only stand to reason that people who have fibromyalgia or other diseases that affect the brain would too!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFb3P5iUcI0-2Jb4egjaQXivIop7_9v194Pv6qOBb0umV2SZyLdYjsiliM02p45-DuCshX2PXm2sTZxa1GdXM9-D2AmQRqN-cM9VCMqXTdequd7X1lkjibK0JmOpQLVMzMWuHzwB95xxnC/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-06-23+at+11.49.26+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="219" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFb3P5iUcI0-2Jb4egjaQXivIop7_9v194Pv6qOBb0umV2SZyLdYjsiliM02p45-DuCshX2PXm2sTZxa1GdXM9-D2AmQRqN-cM9VCMqXTdequd7X1lkjibK0JmOpQLVMzMWuHzwB95xxnC/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-06-23+at+11.49.26+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Don't you love this little guy and his depiction of <a href="http://www.braininjury-explanation.com/consequences/invisible-consequences/neurofatigue">Neurofatigue</a>? Do you ever have days like this? I know I do! Call be a bowl of melted jelly and you have the description correct! I can't stand light, noise, heat, cold, I turn off the TV, radio, computer everything. I am not feeling feel well at all and can't stand any outside stimuli...all I want to do is veg out in my bed!<br />
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The article talks about different things you can do to help with the fatigue and get the rest you need. Check it out it is worth the read!<br />
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okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-7513128420130201222017-06-08T15:39:00.001-05:002017-06-08T15:39:50.962-05:00Spoon theoryIn an earlier post I wrote about the spoon theory but can't seem to find it now! I thought I would rewrite it in hopes that if anyone is having issues with their disability this will help them understand it better.<br />
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There are a lot of articles out there and a lot of people that are claiming ownership of the theory but it truth it has been around for a long, long, long time! Wikipedia says <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_theory"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">spoon theory</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> is a </span><span style="color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">disability</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">metaphor</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> used to explain the reduced amount of energy available for activities of daily living and productive tasks that may result from disability or chronic illness. </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Spoons</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> are a tangible unit of measurement used to track how much energy a person has throughout a given day. Each activity requires a given number of spoons, which will only be replaced as the person "recharges" through rest. A person who runs out of spoons has no choice but to rest until their spoons are replenished.</span> </a> According to Wikipedia <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">the term </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">spoons</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> was coined by Christine Miserandino in 2003 in her essay "The Spoon Theory" that she posted on her website </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://butyoudontlooksick.com/">ButYouDontLookSick.com</a> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">When I first 'came down' with Fibromyalgia I tried to keep on keeping on doing all the things that I had done all my life. I found out pretty quick that was a</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"> road to disaster for me and I would find myself doing more harm then good. I just couldn't believe that my fatigue, brain fog, etc was anything more then my working too many extra shifts at the hospital so I cut them out and I still had issues. I figure I must have been issued 100 spoons a day back in the old days but when I got sick in 2009/10 someone stole 95 of spoons and left me with only 5 and left me wanting/needing more. I found out really quickly that I couldn't cook dinner, vacuum, do laundry, go to the store, or garden all in the same day! Dinner usually took a spoon, laundry about 3, shopping at Walmart all 5 and forget the garden unless I broke it into manageable bits. I learned that I had to prioritize and schedule time to rest and recover or I flared up and stayed down for days and sometimes weeks.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Simple things like getting a shower and getting dressed some days took all 5 spoons and I climbed right back into bed! It has taken me years to finally learn to manage my spoons and cope with life. I used to feel so guilty that I am unable to do things I used to do. I have found out that I have to be the #1 priority in my life or nothing gets done. I have lost friends because they seem to think I am a flaker and not being truthful with them about how I feel and why I can't donate time and energy to stuff I used to do routinely. Their loss cause on my good days I am still awesome! I can't hike or even walk through Walmart anymore without using up my allotment of spoons. Luckily as time has progressed and I have learned to manage my spoons I have gotten more spoons and the ability to do more. I will never be back to 100% but I am better! I live each day at a time and I never count on the same number of spoons to spend in a day because if I count on 20 I end up with 5 or vice versa. I am a spoonie (embrace the spoon theory) but there are some that aren't. I read this article on The Mighty the other day my J</span><a href="https://themighty.com/2016/05/why-the-spoon-theory-doesnt-fit-my-life/" style="font-size: 14px;">ennie Small entitled Why the Spoon Theory Doesn't Fit My Life</a><span style="font-size: 14px;"> and she has a valid point...it isn't for everyone! That is something else we need to remember...there is no one fixer upper for any group of people because we are all so different. We need to be tolerant of the difference.</span></span><br />
<br />okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-16133957655834744452017-06-08T15:02:00.001-05:002017-06-08T15:03:10.520-05:00I just read an article on Spine Universe that says Fibromyalgia is a real disease...hmmm...I could have told them that! The article titled<br />
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<a href="https://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/fibromyalgia/fibromyalgia-study-its-real-disease">Fibromyalgia Study: It's a Real Disease</a></h1>
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The article talks about research being done by Dr. Guedj of the Centre Hospitalier-Universitare de la Timone in Marsaille France. Dr. Guedj was the lead researcher in a study examine blood perfusion (abnormal blood flow) as possibly being the cause of fibromyalgia! I am really excited about this because if proven positively they will start researching why there is abnormal blood flow and we will get to the bottom of the cause of fibromyalgia. </div>
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Right now Fibro and all its pain is merely a syndrome and not considered a real disease and I can tell you from personal experience it can cause all sorts of havoc in your life being "not real!" What kind of problems...well if I go to the ER I feel I get treated different with the diagnosis. I definitely have fibromyalgia cause I participated in a study where they drew lab and I was 100% positive...some were only 80% or less. The lab is only available for research purposes right now but hopefully will be out on the market in the future. </div>
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My proof I get treated different comes from years as working as an ER nurse. I went in with Chest Pain and when the triage nurse found out I had fibromyalgia I was given a seat in the waiting room and not put on a monitor or taken taken to an exam room. If I had not had that diagnosis on my chart I would have been treated much differently and would have been taken to the back immediately! Fibromyalgia patients are considered drug seekers and treated much differently... I actually was told I needed to lose weight and exercise more and my pain would go away! Well...doctor...I don't think so! </div>
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Anyway read the article...it is a possible reason for Fibro and still under research! </div>
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okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-2030537638116257842017-01-12T10:11:00.002-06:002017-01-12T10:11:45.826-06:00OMG! and all at once it is 2017!I have an awful head cold and I am flaring up with my Fibro and unable to sleep. OH NO! Yes it means I get on my computer and start spewing forth shit that normally stays dormant. I have been having fibro issues for a couple months now...ever since the presidential elections! I know! Stress plays a big part in my flare ups and it is stressful times! I watched Obama's farewell speech Tuesday night and a mantle of dread and actual fear has settled over me. I went to my psychotherapists appointment on Wednesday and spewed forth all sort of stuff and she told me that everyone she has seen has been expressing the same fears and sense of apathy! Not just me is a good thing...I thought it was the fibro fog and my memory issues!<br />
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I remember sitting in a classroom back in the stone ages and a teacher asking us had we given any thought to how old we would be at the change of the century, where we would be, what we would be doing? WOW! Now that was a loaded question because at the time I was only 9 years old living in Oklahoma! Turn of the century was still about 40 years off...plenty of time to think about that later. Women had been given the vote back in 1920 but here in Oklahoma things move a little slower then national average and some women still weren't voting much or voting what their husbands told them to vote! The civil rights movement was scandalizing us all! It was 1961 and a social revolution was in the making.<br />
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I was very religious back then having been brought up in fundamentalist holy roller church...Assemblies of God and Church of Christ! What was I going to do? I was going to get married young and spit out babies until I was incapable of doing so. True story...that is what I thought God wanted me to do cause I had been told my goals all my life had been be a God fearing/loving woman, get married to a God fearing man, have God fearing babies and take care of them all. God, Family, Work was the mantra of the day!<br />
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Little did I know that one year later events in my life would change the course of my life forever. My mother and step-father Melvin divorced. I was flabbergasted because this just didn't happen in our circle and family very much ever. I didn't know my beloved grandparents had been divorced and reunited multiple times at that point. I just knew people at church began making statements about our family values when they divorced. I began seeing a side of the church that was pretty dark, very biased and bigoted. I didn't like it and started questioning certain things. When I questioned any aspect I was put in my place and called in to the preachers office to be chastised for my questioning of 'the way'. I used to cry myself to sleep at night for worry and fear of the Cubans and bombs, my folks divorcing, and the social change that was starting to make itself known with the 'hippy generation'! It was tough times for a little 10 year old to try and grasp any semblance of normalcy from but times they be a changing. <br />
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In 1962 a new musician/artist to me...Bob Dylan released a song called "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l4nVByCL44">Blowin in the Wind</a>" and a couple years later "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qQ6_RV4VQ">Times They are a Changing</a>" that were absolutely revolutionary. I have never been a big Dylan fan but these songs impacted me at a time in my life where I was ripe for a change. Dylan was a chronicler of social unrest in the 1960's and just said what most of us were thinking. <br />
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What does this have to do with 2017? Patience my child it takes a minute to put a story into perspective...<br />
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Fast forward 5 years. I am sitting in a church waiting with the rest of the kids from my Sunday school group...kids that I had grown up with all my life...waiting to be baptized. I was pulled from the group and told that I needed to rethink my christian values and that I would be baptized later. Never happened. I walked out of that church and never darkened the doorway except once...1975 to get married to my husband Chuck. Why? I think because my first marriage ended in divorce after only 2 weeks...my husband was abusive and I wasn't going to end up like the other women in my family. I think I thought if I was married in a church it would last...it has but not because of the church. It was shortly after the second marriage that I realized I wasn't a believer anymore.<br />
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At 17 years of age I was sitting at work one night and realized that I didn't believe much of anything that I had been brought up to believe. I didn't believe in a God if he knew everything and could fix everything why did he let so much of the bad stuff going on happen? I didn't believe a woman had to marry to be whole and satisfied with her life. I didn't believe a woman was a punching bag for her philandering husband to punch on. I didn't believe in much of anything... Apathy is a good term!<br />
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In 1970 I married, divorced, and moved out! I tuned in, turned on, and dropped out of the society I was brought up in. I knew I deserved more and better then what I would get if I stayed there...hard to say that now and I wouldn't have been able to back then. I started to nursing school in 1971 because nurses were making a lot more money then what the average female worker in Oklahoma was...if she could find a job. I actually was interested in nursing and caring for people so I started working as a psych attendant and was making $1.00/hour in a state institution that paid better then non government jobs. I know! Think about that! I made a whopping grand total of $80.00 before taxes if I worked 80 hours in the two week period. I think back and wonder at how uncomplicated life was back then. I got up, went to work, went to school, came home went to bed. Day in day out! After my divorce that was what I needed to work out what I was going to do and where I was going to go with my life.<br />
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1973 I quit the state hospital job and went to work in a medical hospital as a nurses aide. I did it primarily because I got a 10 ¢/hr raise but true be told it was because I was beat up by a patient and I was worried about it happening again! The job I got was really hard work and I began resenting having to do all the work while the RN's sat on their butts and did next to nothing. I vowed when I got out of nursing school I would be nothing like that and became an advocate for a patient care centered model of care that was called primary care nursing...the RN did it all. Funny that! <br />
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In 1974 I met Chuck at a Halloween party for friends of ours...he was a little creepy in the beginning but after Christmas he began growing on me. I think the problem was that Chuck was a much nicer guy then any of the other men I had dated and I figured something must be wrong with him! It was really funny when my friend called me and begged me to go out with him because he had been bugging her and she said he just wouldn't stop! So my life with Chuck started with a dinner date at his apartment (with another couple chaperoning) and him cooking a most awesome dinner of a soufflѐ and cauliflower with cheese sauce. The man can cook!! I still wasn't convinced he was a keeper but I was interested in furthering the relationship. That night he told me he would like me to stay the night but that if I stayed the night I would be staying the rest of my life! Oh no! Exit left. I was gone. The next day we went to a hockey match, I went home with him, and we have been together ever since. <br />
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1975 was a busy year for me! I graduated from nursing school and passed my registration tests. Chuck and I got married in 1975 and immediately got pregnant with our first baby. That was a surprise because I wasn't sure that I could get pregnant at all after a motorcycle wreck in 1965. Chad was born in January 1976 and we moved to Kansas City in June of that year. Life was good in Kansas City and I enjoyed my house and my job there. Heather was born in 1979 amidst a winter that went on record as one of the worse in KCMO. We settled in to a life that was hectic and busy as only it can be when you have kids. It was fun and aggravating at time but it flew past way too quickly. 1982 we moved to Colorado where we lived in Longmont for four years before coming back to Oklahoma where we have lived ever since. I never subjected my children to the strictures of the church and I raised them as humanists to take responsibility for their actions and to treat others as they would like to be treated. I am proud to say both Chad and Heather are responsible human beings and caretakers of their worlds and the world around them. <br />
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Chad is now married (2008) living in Clarksville, Tennessee where he is band commander WO2 Charles A Doswell IV for the 101st Airborne Band! Chad and Candice have two beautiful girls(5 and 7) and a darling baby boy(2) and are devout members of the Catholic Church! Heather married Michael in 2006 and they just recently moved to San Jose, California where Micheal works for Netflix. Heather has a studio in their home works as an artist and teaches classes occasionally. They have 3 large dogs(Mocha, Wesley, and Leo), 2 cats(Horace and Inara), and an African Grey Parrot called Nyassa. <br />
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Okay now here is the rest of the story and how it ties into the OMG 2017! Why my flare up seems to be so bad is due to the stress related to this.<br />
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With the outcome of the presidential election last November the world has become a topsy turvy jumble of "I just can't believe it!" The president, his proposed cabinet, and the followers of the circus are just unbelievable in how they manipulate data/info/ideas around to their way of believing. The lies and hypocrisy are rampant and I have not felt such a fear of the future as I did back in 1961 when the world was in such a turmoil with the cold war with the USSR, the Bay of Pigs, and the threat of Cuba bombing the US! The new government is coming in firing people, taking away some peoples rights under the constitution saying the constitution is illegal etc. It was legal for 250 years and now it isn't? The new government has all the signs of losing democracy and turning into an oligarchy based on wealth and religion or a fascist regime. The president elect gave his first press conference yesterday and refused to answer questions from various news reporters saying they were "fake"! Isn't that a breech of the constitutional freedom of press? He mocks people and makes some of the most disparaging comment about anyone that doesn't hold his beliefs. Most of the cabinet of people he is nominating are not qualified for the positions and a lot actually have disqualifiers in their ability to serve in the capacity he has nominated them for. I am wondering how long it will take for some or all to be impeached. <br />
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I am a secular humanist. I don't believe in any god. I feel that if there is a god it was a complete asshole to allow all the pain and suffering that it has. This new government seems to be based on extremist christian principles which focuses only on the almighty dollar and what you should do for god. Jeff Sessions the nominee for Attorney General said <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif;">he is “<i><u>not sure” if a secular person understand the truth as well as a religious person </u></i>but...</span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u><i>We’re going to treat anybody with different views fairly and objectively.</i> </u> I am fearful that there is a cot in a concentration camp with my name on it. I am beginning to wonder what the difference between extremist Muslim groups like ISIS and these christians are. I think if we put them in a bag and shook them up there wouldn't be much difference in bigotry and hate when they came spilling out.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: whitesmoke;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So here we are 8 days away from inauguration and I worry. I worry about me, my family, my grand babies and a world they will grown up in. I worry about how we will be able to make it from day to day when they are planning on cutting our social security benefits that we worked so hard and we paid into. I am worried about the new president elects followers who follow him regardless of how screwed up he is who actually buy into what he says. It seems impossible that a group of 'christian' people would want to follow his direction with all the lies and indiscretions he perpetrates. Do you know even after hearing and seeing a video about him she still claims he isn't like all the lies that are going around about him. His followers are actually more of a concern then he is. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: whitesmoke;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I worry...a lot. </span></span>okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-25908508244858619452016-06-25T12:58:00.003-05:002016-06-25T12:58:53.328-05:00Dysphoric and apathetic….<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">A couple </span><a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">definitions</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"> to begin this post….</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">Dysphoria: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">a profound state of unease or dissatisfaction. In a psychiatric context, </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">dysphoria</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;"> may accompany depression, anxiety, or agitation.</span><br />
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<b>Apathy: </b>lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern<span style="font-size: x-small;">.</span></div>
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Or in my simple words…my give a shit attitude. </div>
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I have been in a sort of dysphoric funk for a while now. I would like to blame it on my falling and breaking my left leg on Christmas Day but I think it even started before that…way before that. My brain has been on drugs for so many years now I was having issues knowing what was what most days. I couldn't finish sentences, couldn't think of the words to put together and I think that was part of the reason I quit blogging. I am not talking about narcotics either…drugs for leg cramps, drugs for fibro, drugs or this or that because another drug caused an issue! When they started talking about putting me on drugs because another drug caused problems I decided that I was going to get off all my drugs that I could possibility do without. I was having all sorts of issues…not good ones either. I know you are probably saying that wasn't such a good idea but for me it was and I did it with medical supervision. You can read about that in this <a href="http://vickiesfibromyalgiablog.blogspot.com/2015/08/er-visit.html">post here</a>. I think it was a downhill slide from there to this apathy and dysphoria. I hurt all the time, I don't sleep well, foods don't taste right to me anymore! I am a whiner! I don't want to be that person!</div>
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I have made a lot of changes in my life since that post and I decided just today that I was going to start using my blogs again for what I intended them for in the first place…to help me organize myself and to help others get their lives organized. </div>
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My life is different since I got myself weaned off Lyrica, Savella, Plaquinil, Requip and others. I was on the fibro test drug for almost 4 months and started having all sorts of problems. Blurred vision, weight gain, memory loss, angioedema, loss of appetite except for ice cream…and on and on. I quit the program around the 2nd week of June and have been flaring ever since. Drug withdrawal is not good with someone with my diagnoses. Wish we could get marijuana for medical issues in Oklahoma…it seems to be the only thing that works…but I can't find any illegal either! </div>
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Issues I am going to work on the next couple months include but are not limited to:</div>
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<li>I have been hurting a lot more even on the test drug (main reason I quit taking it…no decrease in pain). I am going to start back on PT after the 4th of July. It does help. My gait is unsteady enough I am afraid to do too much walking even with my walker/cane. That fractured leg wasn't much fun!</li>
<li>My psychological depression, PTSD I am told, has been a problem. Most of the fibro drugs while not antidepressants have that component in them. I don't want to be drug dependent. I have a talk therapist I see weekly helping me work through that. </li>
<li>My daughter moved to California and she was a big help with my physical and mental well being and it will be difficult to get past that. I talk/text her most days so it isn't like she has dropped off the face of the earth.</li>
<li>I renewed my nursing license this month…I had decided to let them lapse and became fairly morose over the loss. They have been a part of me for so long it was like a death in the family…identity loss. It only took studying and taking CEU's to get them back…that won't happen again. </li>
<li>I haven't been doing much crafting wise since before Christmas and the fall. I think I am going to make myself sit at my desk and color in my coloring books and get back in the habit of doing something every day. It is a great for improving my mood/attitude, helps distract me from the pain and problems. </li>
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I am going to make a couple promises to myself...</div>
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I am going to try and be more positive. Motivate myself to do stuff I like today instead of sitting around whining about not being able to do stuff. I am going to set limits that are good for me not the rest of the world. a rebirth…stay tuned!</div>
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okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-38472071421564980662016-01-17T12:36:00.002-06:002016-01-17T12:38:57.852-06:00how about this piece of info...Did you know that on Feb. 10, 2015, the Institute of Medicine released a landmark report
that contained a series of recommendations for <b>ME/CFS</b>, one of which
called for the name to be changed to <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/10/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-gets-a-new-name/?_r=0">Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease (<b>SEID</b>)</a>. The name has not yet been formally adopted by
world and federal health agencies and I personally think that is because they are still arguing over what ME/CFS is. In the USA the doctors seem reluctant to embrace the thought that CFS is something more then someone being lazy...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_fatigue_syndrome">Wiki </a><br />
def <br />
<span class="_Tgc">Chronic fatigue syndrome (<b>CFS</b>) is a complex
medical condition, characterized by long-term fatigue and other
symptoms. These symptoms are to such a degree that they limit a person's
ability to carry out ordinary daily activities.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_Tgc">def</span><br />
<span class="_Tgc">myalgic encephalomyelitis (<b>ME</b>) means brain and spinal cord inflammation with muscle pain. </span><br />
<span class="_Tgc">Doctors have argued for years that there is no "itis" with this disorder...no infection present but </span><span class="_Tgc">"most patients develop the syndrome after contracting a cold, flu or
other viral illness, but other environmental or toxic exposures may act
as triggers. Although no cause has been identified, people with the
illness may suffer neurological, hormonal and immunological impairments." </span><br />
<br />
<span class="_Tgc">One of the biggest problems with the names is the CDC's definition of <b>CFS/ME</b> from back in the late 1980's. The criteria identify many
patients who are more likely suffering from depression and other
conditions that can cause prolonged fatigue and not actually a person with <b>CFS/ME</b>. In other words they have been labeling us as being psychosomatic...it is all in our heads. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="_Tgc">The <b>SEID</b> </span><span class="_Tgc">diagnostic criteria from the <a href="https://iom.nationalacademies.org/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2015/MECFS/MECFScliniciansguide.pdf">Institute of Medicine ME/CFS Guide</a> include six months of profound and</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span class="_Tgc">unexplained
fatigue </span></li>
<li><span class="_Tgc">postexertional malaise </span></li>
<li><span class="_Tgc">unrefreshing sleep</span></li>
<li><span class="_Tgc">exhibit cognitive problems</span> </li>
<li>orthostatic intolerance, an inability to stand upright for more than a
short period. </li>
</ul>
I think that it is about time that they are finally starting to believe their patients complaints and concerns and investigating what is going on. I was devastated when I was diagnosed with <b>FM and ME/CFS </b>because I knew it was a label that would have profound effects on my health care forever more. Remember that part about a post infectious syndrome or a trigger? I was bitten by a lyme tick in 1990 on a vacation with my family to an endemic area in South Dakota. I went through a lot but not all the early "symptoms" of the tick bite! I didn't have a noticeable rash at any time during my infection... I was told by my doctor if I didn't have a rash I didn't have it!!!<br />
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a list of signs/symptoms (s/s) from the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/">Center of Disease Control (<b>CDC</b>)</a> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Early Signs and Symptoms (3 to 30 days after tick bite)</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes</li>
<li>Erythema migrans (EM) rash:
<ul>
<li>Occurs in approximately 70 to 80 percent of infected persons</li>
<li>Begins at the site of a tick bite after a delay of 3 to 30 days (average is about 7 days)</li>
<li>Expands gradually over a period of days reaching up to 12 inches or more (30 cm) across</li>
<li>May feel warm to the touch but is rarely itchy or painful</li>
<li>Sometimes clears as it enlarges, resulting in a target or “bull's-eye” appearance</li>
<li>May appear on any area of the body</li>
<li>See <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/rashes.html">examples of EM rashes</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<b>Later Signs and Symptoms (days to months after tick bite)</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Severe headaches and neck stiffness</li>
<li>Additional EM rashes on other areas of the body</li>
<li>Arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling, particularly the knees and other large joints.</li>
<li>Facial or Bell's palsy (loss of muscle tone or droop on one or both sides of the face)</li>
<li>Intermittent pain in tendons, muscles, joints, and bones</li>
<li>Heart palpitations or an irregular heart beat (<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/lymecarditis.html">Lyme carditis</a>)</li>
<li>Episodes of dizziness or shortness of breath</li>
<li>Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord</li>
<li>Nerve pain</li>
<li>Shooting pains, numbness, or tingling in the hands or feet</li>
<li>Problems with short-term memory</li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">Notes</span></b><br />
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<li>Fever and other general symptoms may occur in the absence of rash.</li>
<li>A small bump or redness at the site of a tick bite that occurs
immediately and resembles a mosquito bite, is common. This irritation
generally goes away in 1-2 days and is not a sign of Lyme disease.</li>
<li>A rash with a very similar appearance to EM occurs with Southern Tick-associated Rash Illness (STARI), but is not Lyme disease</li>
<li>Ticks can spread <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/index.html">other organisms</a> that may cause a <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/symptoms.html">different type of rash</a>.</li>
</ul>
I even with all the early signs of the disease but since there was no rash I told by the doctors that I had some kind of a virus that was going around. I lived with it cause we all know doctors know best!! <br />
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In 1992 after dealing with "issues" for two years I developed heart palpatations, dizziness, shortness of breath, nerve pain issues, the shooting pains, numbness, or tingling in the hands and feet and memory issues. My doctor told me I had anxiety and depression and put me on drugs...I didn't do well with the drugs and became 'mean'! I started doing research and demanded tests to be done...which she told me I would have to pay for if nothing showed up...I didn't care I knew something was wrong and it was. I was positive for Lyme's disease on a blood test but not a strong positive since I had been infected such a long time past. My doctor still wasn't convinced and ran another test...still low positive so she gave in and gave me the antibiotics needed to treat the disease. I went to two courses of drugs before I tested negative on a new test...a different test then the first ones we had done...she was convinced I never had the disease...I was convinced I needed a different doctor. I suffered...yes I have suffered with <b>CFS/ME/SEID </b>all this time...most of the time it was tolerable and I could work and had control of my life except for small relapses. <br />
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Fast forward almost 20 years to the summer of 2010...I had a lot of stressors in my life that year and was working too many hours, not getting enough rest etc and I collapsed at work one night. I was tested, retested, and tested again and not much of anything showed up on all the lab and xrays they did. Most significant was <i><b><u>verrrrrry</u></b></i> low Vit D and Magnesium. My doctor finally decided I had FM and <b>CFS/ME/SEID</b> and tried to bribe his nurse to come tell me cause being a critical care/emergency dept nurse he knew I wouldn't believe in the diagnosis. Everyone knows there is no such thing as FM <b>CFS/ME/SEID</b>! Those people are just drug seeking neurotics....yes my belief at the time...better watch what you believe to be truth cause if it isn't it might just come back and bite you in the end.<br />
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I have been on disability since 2011 because of the disorders. IF you want more information on the past issues I have had you can read previous posts. I had decided just before Christmas I was going to try and push limits and try to walk more and do more but that hasn't happened and probably won't for a while! Christmas day I fell and fractured my left knee! What did I do? Nothing! Was was walking out to my car and down I went. I didn't trip over anything, didn't twist an ankle, step off a curb, nothing. I went to the emergency room on Christmas day but was told they didn't see a break on xray and was sent home with orders to follow up with an orthopedic doctor. I did...took two weeks to get in to see his PA and he ordered an MRI. I wasn't diagnosed with it fractured until 3 weeks after the fact. I had to go in to get the MRI results a week after the test and it showed multidirectional fractures in the proximal tibia... What am I suppose to do about this broken knee I have been walking on for 3 weeks...I was told to just keep doing what I have been doing, don't fall, don't exercise, use a walker or a cane...casting and brace won't help right now. I wonder how they (doctors/PA) would have dealt with it and only be given 15 Percocet to handle the pain! I feel I have been screwed over by this new healthcare system dictated by the rules and regulations of the big business pharma and insurance companies. I was told that they couldn't do an MRI at the ER because I didn't show a break on xray and it was a specialists field now!! <br />
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I am flaring with the <b>FM </b>and<b> CFS/ME/SEID</b> and that is what is driving this post. I have pain in the knee, back, and hips from the fall and then the all over achiness/I don't feel good from the chronic disorders. Life is a bitch and then some right now. I need to take down Christmas decorations, clean house for a visitor that is coming from England and all I can think about is where my next cup of coffee is coming from cause I hurt or I am so tired I don't want to get up to go to get it or even go to the toilet. So there is my story! I think I will go back to bed and watch some TV...brain rot but my brain is foggy and it is hurting to just finish this post.<br />
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more later...</div>
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okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-75274142177507205622016-01-16T14:33:00.000-06:002016-01-16T14:33:21.637-06:00Happy New Year!Happy New Year! Hope everyone had Happy Holiday's and has a game plan laid out for the new year. I personally don't believe in resolutions because every year that I sat down and wrote something up I failed... Yep a total failure! Worthless and useless... That really doesn't describe me so I decided to quit doing that to myself and making myself feel bad. I do what I can on an unscheduled basis and I feel better about myself. Doesn't mean I don't have plans I just don't do resolutions!<br />
<br />
My year was rather uneventful last year...for the most part. Health wise I had ups and downs but don't we all with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue/<span class="st" data-hveid="43">Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (</span>FM, CFS/ME), etc. I had a little more issues with CFS and subsequently a little more apathy. I think you what I mean... its when you don't feel bad but feel so tired that to just get out of the chair to go lay down is a major issue. It takes too much effort to do art, too much effort to blog on your page, too much effort to order take out much less cook a meal... I talked my feelings of inadequacies over with my therapist...love the lady, if you don't have a talk therapist I strongly suggest you get one!..and she asked me if I was trying to be someone else? Someone who is younger, healthier, and able to do what they want? Am I setting the bar way too high and every time I try to jump and make the bar do I fail? Do I beat myself up every time I don't succeed? YES I DO! Sometimes it is hard with our disorders to determine what is "normal," what is "abnormal," and when we are just reacting to what the society around us is dictating what they think we should be like. My talk therapist helps me determine what is me and what is the ubiquitous them!<br />
<br />
Back to the issues of this year... I made several long distance car trips this year going to events and camping with my daughter, her husband, and friends. I love to travel to see and do new things. Despite my 'issues' I keep pushing myself to do more! Sound familiar! It takes me a good two weeks of down time after a road trip to bounce back and be my 'normal' again. Was it worth it? I think so. I have learned that the pushing is the only way I will ever get anything done anymore but it is tough for me to know when it is a gentle push and when I am really over pushing. I have had to learn to put limits on what I can and can't do...things that are already limited by my physical disabilities! One thing I have learned that works for me is frequent short naps, going to bed earlier and getting up later and not apologizing when I do it. I sleep in the car with feet kicked up and eye mask on when possible. You do what you have to do! <br />
A picture from one of the trips! We went to Pennsic Wars in July...read about it <a href="http://okienurse.blogspot.com/2015/08/checking-in-for-what-seems-to-be-my.html">here!</a> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7d5OIfvAlgqd0xx2a1OiKzG95g1aGhzSfMRpbS80M0lFlPLo5jBXJHiqJovFhLav_QXJDjOacS46SRTwwuQ2n3RSyxAZtuUQlJ-add45tQaKP8uC_-sg3Q7ZdUBUiIJnfa9lxb-Ho2F3v/s1600/Heather+julie+and+i.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7d5OIfvAlgqd0xx2a1OiKzG95g1aGhzSfMRpbS80M0lFlPLo5jBXJHiqJovFhLav_QXJDjOacS46SRTwwuQ2n3RSyxAZtuUQlJ-add45tQaKP8uC_-sg3Q7ZdUBUiIJnfa9lxb-Ho2F3v/s400/Heather+julie+and+i.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie, me, and Heather my daughter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We had loads of fun but it was two weeks long and took its toll on all of us not just me. Julie has lymphoma and like me was in the tent resting frequently. Why the strange clothing? Go read the linked post!<br />
<br />
I was seen in the ER twice this year! Not by choice but because my doctor was out of his office and not working at the time. Both times I encountered this brick wall called FM, CFS/ME that is documented in my chart! I get so tired of the looks that say, "okay, I know you are here for pain meds!" or the head nodding while you are telling them your issues...of course their thought are off to Aruba or what they are having for lunch not really what it going on with you! Anyone know the look and attitude. Okay back to the story! The first visit was in September...I was have excruciating left flank pain and pain on urinating with blood!!! I went in and after all the BS above was take care of and labs came back they were very solicitous and told me that they thought I had passed a kidney stone and it caused an infection....OKAY asshats! Score one for me! sorry but it feels good for something to show up and not have a single thing in lab or CT that proves anything wait...<br />
Does that make me mentally ill to be happy I had proof I had something physically wrong with me?<br />
<br />
The second visit was on Christmas day and I fell hurting my left knee. Talk about pain! I woke up really happy and feeling pretty good because my son and his family was in town with their children for the first time in six years. They are military and get about a lot and with young children it is just a problem to travel anyway... They were staying at my daughters house and we were leaving to go there when I fell and hurt my left knee...well you know Grandma can't disappoint the grand babies so we went on and watched them open gifts, ate breakfast etc and my knee kept hurting and swelling so my daughter hauled me off to the ER. We actually got to the back to the exam rooms fairly quickly, got the Xray done and was told it was just a soft tissue issue...poet...and they didn't see any broken bones but I should follow up with a orthopedic doctor to make sure. <br />
<br />
Fast forward 2 weeks...yes two whole weeks before I could get in to see an orthopedic doctor...but I was actually seen by his PA Mike not the doctor! Anyway 2 weeks later I am seen by Mike who tells me he has looked at the xray but seeing the swelling in my knee that I should probably have an MRI to make sure it was just a soft tissue issue...I like the rhyme! I got in to the MRI about 2 hours later but had to wait another week to go back to the office to get the results. Okay refresher December 25 fell, January 7 office visit and MRI, January 14 back to the office to get results... seems really wrong some how to me to let an old lady sit in pain with a horribly swollen knee and leg. I have to hobble around on a walker or a cane and still have loads of issues with balance. I digress again...FM with foggy brain and random thought patterns. ANYWAY! I have a broken knee...not just fractured in one place but multiple fractures going different directions! Great news after walking around on it 21 days! Mike was very apologetic and told me that he wished they had known sooner but that there wasn't much they could do about it now. I must have looked really pissy cause he started asking me what I was doing for pain, walking etc and gave me a few more hints of things I could do! I am to make an appointment for 5 weeks and go back and also make an appointment with a bone clinic specialist to find out why a short distance fall broke the bone. <br />
<br />
I also had an appointment with the rheumatologist/FM doctor this week. No lab work, no xrays, no nothing. Told me to keep doing what I am doing and come back in a year. WAIT! Does this mean I am no longer disabled? no longer need a doctor? WHAT the hell does this mean? I actually asked her that I was so po'd about doctors and visits etc at this point. No viable response. <br />
<br />
I am still participating in the drug trial for the FM drug. I don't think I am on any drug because I am not feeling any different fibro pain wise. If I am on the drug then it is at a lower dose and not enough to affect my pain levels but I think it is effecting my sleep. The first screen capture is from my FitBit sleep record before I started the study. It shows how much I am sleeping and how well I am sleeping. As you can see 9 hours in bed netted me 6 hr and 21 minutes of sleep.<br />
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This one is one take from yesterday and it shows I am sleeping a lot better. Now I have to weigh in that I did take some ibuprofen prior to going to bed. Another thing I have found is the later that I go to bed the better I seem to sleep in the long run! <br />
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I wear a <a href="http://fitbit.com/">FitBit Flex</a> and I can monitor how many steps I walk a day and how well I sleep etc. There are more expensive ones out there that tell time, keep track of your heart rate, blood pressure etc. I just want the basic they others take learning to operate. <br />
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Well I think that this is enough for one post...maybe a little more then enough but I had to get caught up! Have a great month!<br />
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<br />okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-42249273162685244152015-11-25T10:59:00.001-06:002015-11-25T10:59:51.898-06:00Life Changes...I thought I would touch base and write a blog post about what is going on in my life recently! I am sorry it has take so long but my life tends to be rather the same day to day and I don't have much to report. <br />
<br />
One thing I do have to report is a fibromyalgia research study being done on a new drug and that I am participating in the study. The company is <a href="http://www.ipsresearch.com/">IPS Research</a> located in OKC, OK but there are branches all over the states where they are conducting different types of research. I have gone to the clinic for 3 weeks now and was issued the drugs just yesterday. I have taken only taken 3 doses so far and since it is a double blind study I have no idea what I am taking. I don't think I will notice any changes or anything for at least 2-3 weeks if I am taking the drug instead of the placebo.<br />
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Why did I decide to do this study? A friend knows what I have been going through with the fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and she saw an ad saying they needed people to participate in the study and thought of me. When I contacted the clinic they were so nice and so professional I though what the heck did I have to lose. Those of you who have followed me know that over the past year I have just about quit all the medications I have been on for years because I didn't think they were working for me...If you take a drug to help with pain and it doesn't work why take it. <br />
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I was on two fibro drugs and I still hurt so bad and was so depressed that it didn't make sense to me to continue taking the Savella and Lyrica. Good drugs but they are expensive and they just didn't do what I was led to believe they would do...they work for some but not at all for me. I also was on Requip for my leg spasms for over 5 years and still had spasms even with upping the dose etc and the only thing I noticed was an increase in my obsessive compulsiveness! I was also on an antidepressant called Effexor because of my depression issues and all I can say is it is a nasty drug! I weaned off the Savella, Lyrica, and Requip over a 3 week period and had no problems but the Effexor just didn't want to let me go. It took several months and several lowering of the dosage to finally quit it. My cost each month taking these drugs was just over $200...Like I said why take the stuff it doesn't work?<br />
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I have had pain for so long it has become part of my lifestyle...little pain in the upper back and shoulders today...think I will vacuum or mop the kitchen floor. No problems standing I do dusting and cooking. Laundry really seems to bother me no matter what day it is. I am sure a lot of you reading understand my motives and methods. The gist of it is you do what you can with what you have. Hard part is learning to live with pain and the loss of who and what you were before the pain and problems came. I have an awesome doctor and when he told me that my old life was gone forever because of the fibro and chronic fatigue I cried...still do. I developed an attitude over the past 6 months that consists of living with what I have been dealt and working with what I have got. So old girl the time has come to drop your old live and build a new one. I wasn't ready to let it go but it is gone and I am rebuilding a different life. <br />
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The only constant in this life is the pain and tiredness I experience every day! I am hoping that trialing this drug it might help others that are like me. I know that in this type of study I stand a good chance of not getting a drug at all but just a placebo/sugar pill. The way it is broken down is<br />
<ul>
<li>25% will get a Placebo</li>
<li>25% will get 75 mg Lyrica </li>
<li>25% with get 15% of the experimental drug </li>
<li>25% will get 30 mg of the drug. </li>
</ul>
My attitude is it is all for research and I am willing to help if the drug turns out to be a life saver for other people. If I happen to get Lyrica or the Placebo nothing will happen. If I get the drug maybe it will work for me...who knows! Wish me luckokienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-57471590787889677982015-08-30T18:40:00.001-05:002015-08-30T18:40:27.485-05:00ER VisitWell I did something last week that I had promised myself I wouldn't do again! I went to the Emergency Room at Norman Regional Hospital! I didn't have a very good experience at the ED the last time I went there. I checked in with complaints of chest pain and vertigo and was treated to a seat in the waiting room sitting by a man barfing his guts up in a plastic bag!!! Sorry but the visual is still stuck in my head! <br />
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On Thursday I woke up with a horrible headache, side, back and flank pain, blood in my urine, nausea etc etc etc! I was miserable to say the least. I rather suspected that I had a kidney infection but had been putting off calling the doctor and I guess it progressed to the point my body wasn't laying still for it any longer! I called my doctors office and he was off for the day and his nurse practioner was booked up! If I needed to be seen immediately I should go to the ER. So I did with dread in my heart! This time I was shown to the back and the minor care part of the ED and was seen rather quickly by an old nurse friend Pam, and Dr. R. Williams. I got the fun of an IV, lab work, and a trip to the cat scanner but all in all it turns out that I had a fairly advanced UTI and maybe had passed a kidney stone. YUK! Not much fun...actually a real pain! <br />
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I think the reason I was so resistant to going to the emergency room is the stigma having my list of diagnoses brings with it. I was sitting in the chair thinking about what I should tell the intake nurse involving my history of pass illnesses and thought...definitely not Fibro! Well hell she already had it documented in my past visit history!!! I hate the stigma that goes with that diagnosis! Heather tells me to just believe in it myself and quit apologizing for having it...I didn't ask for it it found me!!! I have been fighting with this crap since 2011 and you would think I would pull up my big girl pants and just live with it but it is difficult. What crap have I been fighting? Well lets see...<br />
<ol>
<li>Fibromyalgia</li>
<li>Chronic Fatigue</li>
<li>Post infectious disease syndrome...I have had lymes disease and RMSF!</li>
<li>Irritable Bowel Syndrome(IBS)</li>
<li>Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) </li>
<li>Hypothyroid disease</li>
<li>Hypotensive issues</li>
<li>Celiac or gluten intolerance</li>
<li>Psoriasis</li>
<li>Roscea</li>
<li>Raynaud's Syndrome</li>
<li>Sjogrens's Syndrome</li>
<li>mild Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) </li>
<li>face and skin cancer</li>
</ol>
For years I had been told that I had various other issues but this list is what I function from at this point in my life. When you look at it the overwhelming issue is <a href="https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000816.htm">autoimmune disorders</a>. What did I do wrong in my life to be blessed with this crap! I don't know! I think that the lymes disease may have been an instigating issue in all this because I didn't have anything by the thyroid issues until then. <br />
<br />
What drugs do I take now? Very little, as little as I can get by on. If I don't think they are doing anything for me I have been taking them and trying them out for 4-6 months then weaning off if I don't think there has been any difference. I am currently on...<br />
<ol>
<li>Synthyroid 0.15mg daily</li>
<li>Plaquinal 200mg twice daily</li>
<li>Prilosec 40 mg daily</li>
<li>Multivitamin (MVI)</li>
<li>Fish oil</li>
<li>magnesium</li>
<li>calcium</li>
<li>cranberry capsules</li>
<li>Vit C </li>
<li>Vit D</li>
<li>Occasionally I will have to take a pain pill or muscle relaxer but they don't do much good for me. I seem to do better with just Ibuprofen or ASA</li>
</ol>
I have tried a number of other drugs but they just don't work for me and made me feel worse then what I do off of them. Examples:<br />
<ol>
<li>Requip, ropinerole made me obsessive compulsive and I still had leg cramps taking 4 pills a day. That Rx was over $800 before insurance brought it down to $65 for me.</li>
<li>Lyrica...made me so depressed that I didn't care if I hurt or not I didn't care if I lived or not and at one point wouldn't have prevented something from killing me had I been given a choice...ie moving out of a car's way or being run over.</li>
<li>Savella worked in the beginning but then making my heart race and I was feverish all the time. I had episodes of tachycardia and frequent PVC's so I weaned off it as quick as I could and it still took me almost 6 months to get off of it. </li>
</ol>
That's just a few I quit taking after they quit working or I didn't see them doing anything for me. The cost each month for those 3 drugs was running over $200 and I just could see paying it out for something that wasn't working for me. <br />
<br />
I take a MVI cause I have always felt like people should take one to cover for the deficiencies in their diets. I listened to a tape of the positives of Fish Oil and I take that for that reason. I don't know that I can tell any difference from it or the MVI but hey I believe in prevention! The Vit D and Magnesium were Rx for awhile because neither vitamin/mineral was at levels they should have been and I have been told I will have to take them the rest of my life. The Vit C I take because Linus Pauling showed us back in the 1970's that it has a lot to do with the immune system. I figure all the research he did taking it wouldn't hurt me and it might actually do some good!<br />
<br />
The gist of this post is to tell you I am okay and so are you if you are blessed with any of the above diagnoses. I apologize regularly to myself and to the patients I cared for in the past that I wish I had paid more attention to them and what they were telling me was the matter with them. Yes there is a stigma to Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and many other disorders like them. I wish there was a lab test or x-ray that could point positively at what we have but right now there isn't one. I am looking at it from the perspective of being an explorer and traveling uncharted paths so others can have an easier trip. When someone tells me that they don't believe in my disorders I am going to tell them "too bad...I wouldn't wish it on you to show you it exists cause it hurts too bad!" <br />
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Gentle hugs dear readers... okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685181481996814154.post-39441338079953242312015-08-30T17:25:00.001-05:002015-08-30T17:30:38.800-05:00Cranberry Orange Scones...Starbucks!<br />
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WOW! Isn't it funny how your mind can jump around all on its own! Does your mind do that? Mine does. I was sitting here thinking I wish I
could still eat gluten cause I would go to Starbucks and get a latte
and a cranberry orange scone! (I haven't eat gluten in almost 3 years!) Yum Yum! I love them but since I can't
have gluten to cheat and eat one means I will have several days of
issues because of it and I just don't find it worth the effort most
days. I decided to do some surfing and see what the internet could offer
up! <br />
<br />
I found quite a few different scone recipes and settled on this one from <a href="http://www.thehealthymaven.com/2014/06/gluten-free-orange-cranberry-scones-pros-cons-ebook-writing.html">The Healthy Maven</a>!<br />
While it is not quite the same as the one at Starbucks it was tasty and filled the need for the scone.<br />
<br />
Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Scones<br />
<br />
<div class="h-4 strong" id="zlrecipe-ingredients">
Ingredients</div>
<ul id="zlrecipe-ingredients-list">
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-0" itemprop="ingredients">1 3/4 cups gluten-free flour + ¼ more for sprinkling*
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-1" itemprop="ingredients">1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-2" itemprop="ingredients">2 tsp baking powder
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-3" itemprop="ingredients">zest from 1 orange
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-4" itemprop="ingredients">1/2 tsp salt
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-5" itemprop="ingredients">1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-6" itemprop="ingredients">1/4 cup cold 0% fat greek yogurt
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-7" itemprop="ingredients">2 large eggs
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-8" itemprop="ingredients">1/4 cup orange juice
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-9" itemprop="ingredients">1 tsp vanilla extract
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-10" itemprop="ingredients">1/2 cup dried cranberries (unsweetened preferred)
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-11" itemprop="ingredients">Optional: 1/3 cup white chocolate chips, melted-for glaze**</li>
</ul>
<div class="h-4 strong" id="zlrecipe-instructions">
Instructions</div>
<ol class="instructions" id="zlrecipe-instructions-list">
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-0" itemprop="recipeInstructions">Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-1" itemprop="recipeInstructions">In a large bowl combine 1 3/4 cup gluten-free flour, coconut palm sugar, baking powder, orange zest and salt.
</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-2" itemprop="recipeInstructions">Add
in cubed butter and greek yogurt and either using a pastry cutter or
your hands (get in there!) combine butter and yogurt with flour mixture
until crumbly texture is reached. Should have the consistency of small
peas.
</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-3" itemprop="recipeInstructions">In a separate bowl combine eggs, orange juice and vanilla extract.
</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-4" itemprop="recipeInstructions">Add wet ingredients to dry until combined.
</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-5" itemprop="recipeInstructions">Stir in dried cranberries.
</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-6" itemprop="recipeInstructions">Shape
dough into a ball and drop onto a lightly floured surface. Add more
flour to top of ball and additional flour underneath if sticking.
</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-7" itemprop="recipeInstructions">Roll
out dough into a large circle that is 1 inch thick. Dough is a bit
tricky to work with but have patience. Add additional flour if still
really sticky.
</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-8" itemprop="recipeInstructions">Cut into quarters and then cut quarters in half to make 8 scones. If they lose shape, just re-shape with hands.
</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-9" itemprop="recipeInstructions">Place scones on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes (mine took 17).
</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-10" itemprop="recipeInstructions">Let cool completely if icing with white chocolate or serve warm. </li>
</ol>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBi8sUSfrur1VFdirXAnkSMODghC_KUcjccKuZmVjbbiDRVbNHREgCFyMF4Jm6PmmNEaKENHizEZ-ClsNGNJ1TZYucjHto1dsxeUiAyaiUGraZowH893q1siXqsYQ1jB7ms3v_z84eOH5Z/s1600/IMG_8090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBi8sUSfrur1VFdirXAnkSMODghC_KUcjccKuZmVjbbiDRVbNHREgCFyMF4Jm6PmmNEaKENHizEZ-ClsNGNJ1TZYucjHto1dsxeUiAyaiUGraZowH893q1siXqsYQ1jB7ms3v_z84eOH5Z/s400/IMG_8090.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This picture is of the scones I made...yes there are a few gone but OMG! They were so good hot that I couldn't settle for just one! I ate two and Chuck was tougher then me he settled for just one!<br />
Now the scones she made look really yummy but I didn't have the white chocolate to drizzle over the top of mine so I just used a simple glaze. A trick I use to make GF biscuits or scones is I roll them out on waxed paper and just slide them over on to the baking sheet paper and all. GF breads are really sticky and this saves the headache of trying to work with sticky dough and a lot of times adding more flour only makes the end product dry and tough!<br />
Give them a try...they are worth it!<br />
<br />okienursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16737956457626102108noreply@blogger.com0