browser life

A very handy review courtesy of But You Don't Look Sick. If and when my budget woes improve, I'd really like to sign up for this:

A Spoonie Review of MLB.tv

By the way, I have FINALLY finished writing my April review for But You Don't Look Sick. It's about chronic illness and long-term relationships. It's quite lengthy and took me almost three weeks to put together (if you count the days when I was too sick to be on the computer). It may take awhile to be reviewed and posted, but I'll put on here when it is.

Have had this hanging around my browser for quite some time. Definitely worth sharing:

The Monday Morning Call

If there's such a thing as an advantage in having had fibromyalgia for 14 years, I have learned the hard way the consequences of exceeding my limits. I only wish the wiggle room would quit getting smaller.

glitter-graphics.com

Sub Zero - winter night timelapse from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

From this week's Celiac.com newsletter (I have a few issues still in my e-mail box that I haven't had the energy to sort through yet). There are some recipes that might come in handy:

Tips for a Great Gluten Free Easter

I am on a quest to find out if Dove dark chocolate with caramel is safe. I was given a whole bunch of them, and I didn't know until after I was headed home and popped one in my mouth that they were caramel filled (I know the solid chocolate ones are okay). I feel fine after eating it, but I should double check before having any more.

This was just too funny not to share. Courtesy of Valerie....

When You Just Can't Stand It Anymore

"Bad things are not the worst things that can happen to us. Nothing is the worst thing that can happen to us. An easy life doesn't teach us anything. In the end, it's the learning that counts.

"There's two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. There is no disaster that can't become a blessing, and no blessing that can't become a disaster."

- Jenn Smull, Columbine student

I've posted most if not all of these before, but they are hilarious enough for a rerun. Sent to me today by Pete....


MENSA INVITATIONAL
 
 
The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
 
Here are the winners:
 
1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
 
2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
 
3. Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
 
4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
 
5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
 
6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
 
7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
 
8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
 
9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
 
10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
 
11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
 
12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
 
13. Glibido: All talk and no action.
 
14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
 
15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
 
16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
 
17. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.
 
The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.
 
And the winners are:
 
1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.
 
2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
 
3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
 
4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.
 
5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.
 
6. Negligent, adj. Absent-mindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
 
7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.
 
8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.
 
9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
 
10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.
 
11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.
 
12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
 
13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.
 
14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
 
15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
 
16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

"The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished."

~ George Bernard Shaw

“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

- Mitch Albom

This appeared on But You Don't Look Sick a few weeks ago. In addition to providing a very useful product review, the author had me giggling with gusto:

I Lost A Lot, But I Found The NuBra!

It's nice to know there are alternatives to the standard "over the shoulder boulder holder", heh heh. It would be nice to be free of underwires yet not have to worry about excessive floppiness.

Got this link some time ago, I think from that ever-reliable fibromyalgia Facebook page. It has some pretty good tips:

Tips to Getting Through a Fibromyalgia Flare-up

One thing I highly recommend is trying to avoid scheduling multiple fatiguing activities for the same day. If you have a doctor appointment coming up that you know is going to result in you being down for the count, you might want to re-think doing any errands right before or after. I admit I am having trouble living up to this right now because, between the aquacise and physical therapy, I must leave the house five days a week, which leaves me precious little energy for anything else.

Kiss the Earth
By Thich Nhat Hanh

Walk and touch peace every moment.
Walk and touch happiness every moment.
Each step brings a fresh breeze.
Each step makes a flower bloom.
Kiss the Earth with your feet.
Bring the Earth your love and happiness.
The Earth will be safe
when we feel safe in ourselves.

- Adapted from Thich Nhat Hanh: Buddhism in Action, by Maura D. Shaw (Skylight Paths, 2004).

Got this link awhile back off a Facebook fibromyalgia page. Written by Dr. Teitelbaum of "From Fatigued to Fantastic" fame:

Five Common "No No's" for People With Fibromyalgia

I'm not fully convinced of the need to avoid ALL sugar, although if it seems to bother you, it would make sense to stop eating it. I do have a Boost and a square of extra dark chocolate daily, but pretty much anything else I eat that's sweet contains either Splenda or stevia, mainly to keep the carb content to a reasonable level. I always avoid aspartame/Nutrasweet as it gives me migraines.

Even though this blog is already on my Links list, I wanted to share this particular post. It explains why, even though we don't WANT to turn down invitations, it can be in our best interest to do so:

A Letter from a M.E. Survivor to Everyone Else

I can't tell you how many times I've been told something along the lines of: "you really should get out more. Fresh air is GOOD for you!" Maybe so, but avoiding flares is even better for me.

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."

- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953

In honor of my birthday last month, Robert sent me a link to this interview. It also has several of the band's songs embedded on the page:

Tommy Shaw of Styx

As many but not all of you know (I haven't mentioned it recently), I have all of Styx's original vinyl albums, including the first four that were out of print by the time I started listening to their music. I did a half hour radio documentary on them for a college project. I saw them in concert six times. And I met James Young (he signed my copy of their rarest album) and got to interview him live on a radio station and then see the band perform from the front row on my 38th birthday.

So I guess that would make me a fan, heh heh.

New on But You Don't Look Sick this week. Even healthy people will find this incredibly amusing:

Keepin' It Real: Terminology for the 21st Century

When I was first diagnosed with Sjogen's, I referred to it as Sahara Syndrome because it was similar to inhabiting a desert. And I would have no objections to renaming Celiac Disease as something that describes an allergy to anything that tastes good, heh heh.

One more from the ever-helpful fibromyalgia Facebook page. This one offers suggestions for better management:

Mistakes Fibromyalgia Patients Make

One thing I'm guilty of is not taking muscle relaxants until I am a 10 on a pain scale of 1 to 10. The main reason is I hate the side effects. But it is MUCH harder to bring the pain back down when it has maxed out than it is when it first starts to surge.

A recently published article on But You Don't Look Sick. There are some excellent suggestions here:

The Professional Patient Safety Tips

Another thing I'd recommend is letting your computer be your friend. Keep lists of doctors, medication notes, updates to bring to appointments, and a record of your medical conditions and history on your computer. Also, get a MedicAlert bracelet and register your information with them so that in case of an emergency where you can't communicate, medical professionals can still be aware of your ailments, allergies, medications, etc.

Another article culled from the fibromyalgia Facebook page. WebMD tackles both sides of the argument:

Can Medical Marijuana Help Relieve Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?

I am one who believes it would be safer and better tolerated than all those medications that have given me symptoms of brain damage. But I will probably never find out as long as I live in South Dakota.

Another goody from a fibromyalgia Facebook page. According to research, our bodies can be affected by the daily forecast, climate, etc.:

Fibromyalgia Symptoms Information: You and the Weather

I can definitely vouch for increased pain when it's 30 below zero, but excessive heat causes swelling, which brings its own problems. I agree with the suggestion to avoid extremes in your home environment, meaning keeping air conditioning to a minimum in the summer and wearing layers rather having the furnace blasting 24/7 during the winter. I keep my thermostat at the edges of comfort at my house: 81 degrees in the summer and 65 in the winter. That way, when I come in from outdoors, I can adjust more gradually without making myself sick.

Got this from a fibromyalgia Facebook page. There's a bit of a sales pitch in here, but I thought the part about trying to sort out the various theories was worth a look:

What Causes Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Syndromes?

As I have said before, I believe there is more than one kind of fibromyalgia, as evidenced in the origin and severity of it. Some people cannot ever remember feeling healthy with a slow progression in symptoms over a long period of time, while others are perfectly healthy prior to a traumatic onset and may or may not improve over time. It gets even more complicated when it is secondary to an incurable ailment like autoimmune disease because you cannot rid yourself of the perpetuating factor.

My latest article for But You Don't Look Sick has been posted. I have several books waiting in the wings to be reviewed, so I will probably do one every other month:

Book Review: "You, The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body That Will Make You Healthier and Younger"

As I mentioned in another entry, I plan to put together something this month about what happens when your caregiver is also your significant other. Many relationships end over chronic illness, so I think it's a topic well worth addressing.