browser life

Even though this was written three years ago, it is currently making its way around the web. Found it today on a fibromyalgia Facebook page:

A Letter to Patients With Chronic Disease

I will readily admit it is extremely difficult for me to not come across as hostile whenever I see a new doctor. I have received so much belligerence from doctors in the past that I come in expecting it, and since so many of them don't really listen, I start defending myself before they cut me off. I am generally a friendly person, but whenever a doctor acts like he doesn't believe what I have to say, I freak out.

I am puzzled by how many of them assume I want to be either cured or treated like a child. I have been sick for 16 years - I know better. I just want to manage my many ailments the best I can, and most importantly, I want the doctor to LISTEN. I come in quite prepared with a summary of what has happened health-wise since my last appointment, what I want to happen at the current appointment, and what I have tried so far. The good doctors appreciate my efforts, and the bad ones dismiss me as either a hypochondriac or a know-it-all or both.

One thing I will say is that respect runs both ways. If a doctor treats me like an intelligent person who wants to participate in any reasonable treatment prescribed, I'll treat them like a professional rather than a bully.

"There are limits to growth. This has to effect our understanding of the biblical term "dominion". It is even possible that we have misconceived "dominion". For God doesn't exploit. God doesn't manipulate. It may well be that instead of exploiting, we are going to have to conserve nature. Maintenance will have to replace the notion of progress. Nurturing will have to replace the notion of engineering."

- excerpt from William Sloane Coffin's book, "Credo"

This was the blessing at my church back on April 14:

"Pace e bene. Peace and goodness for all!
May you have the fullness of well-being;
May you be secure and happy;
May you not want;
May your dignity be respected;
May the goodness in your inmost being flourish;
May the world in which we live know this deep peace."

Love this site! I will add it to my Links list. Here is my fave video of theirs:

"The Bible is less concerned with alleviating the effects of injustice than in eliminating the causes of it."

- excerpt from William Sloane Coffin's book, "Credo"

Another helpful article hanging around on my browser for a considerable period of time. I'm guessing it came from one of the fibromyalgia Facebook pages:

6 Anti-Inflammatory Foods That Work The Same Way As Aspirin And NSAIDs

I currently am on the maximum dose of a prescription anti-inflammatory, and it still isn't quite enough, so I do several of the foods on this list in varying amounts. I drink green tea every day with a small amount of ginger in it. People consume ginger to settle their stomachs, but for me, that can be a bad thing as too much of it can aggravate my gastroparesis. I also have to limit how much flax seed I eat because that can give me reflux. I did find a good quality high potency fish oil supplement that does not bother my digestion and take that daily with some success.

My browser is crowded with articles again, so I need to post some to make space. This came via a fibromyalgia Facebook page:

Hidden Sources Of MSG And Aspartame In Foods

I get migraines from foods containing the above, so I think current labeling is grossly inadequate. What if I had a life-threatening allergy to this stuff? Sigh.