Category: Chronic Illness

Too tired to attend awareness day protest

Lyme Awareness Month: Lyme Myths

Hello! It’s not only Lyme Awareness Month but also Fibromyalgia Awareness Month, Food Allergy Awareness Month, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) Awareness Month, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) Awareness Month, and Asthma Awareness Month. Continue reading “Lyme Awareness Month: Lyme Myths” →

Vicki16 Comments

Meditation Techniques for the Meditation-Challenged, Part Two

For those of you who did not read the exciting, I mean relaxing and contemplative, “Meditation Techniques for the Meditation-Challenged, Part One,” I described two techniques: a simplified version of the Buddhist Loving-Kindness Meditation, and an easy, one-minute mindfulness meditation you can do anywhere. Continue reading “Meditation Techniques for the Meditation-Challenged, Part Two” →

Vicki18 Comments

My Talking Thyroid: New Medication Crisis

I’m not sure if I mentioned this, but I have a talking thyroid.

This exceptionally chatty gland tells me a lot of things. For instance, it is very upset about having Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (a disease in which the immune system attacks the thyroid). It feels very persecuted. Continue reading “My Talking Thyroid: New Medication Crisis” →

Vicki15 Comments

Two Days in Insurance Hell: A Play in Hopefully Only One Act

Main Character, a woman with Lyme, fibromyalgia, allergies, thyroid disease, and a messed-up spine, is trying to get a doctor to authorize her brand-name Neurontin (a painkiller that works on nerve pain). She gets weird rashes and chills from using gabapentin, the generic version of the medicine. She got a threatening letter from her insurance carrier, saying that after April 1 they weren’t going to pay for the brand-name version without a doctor’s authorization. Continue reading “Two Days in Insurance Hell: A Play in Hopefully Only One Act” →

Vicki31 Comments

This Week in Medical Limbo

What is medical limbo? It’s the time when I’m waiting for test results, waiting to find out the meaning of a new symptom; waiting to see if a new medication makes me feel better; waiting to see if that same new medication gives me double vision, an odd rash, or another strange side effect; waiting for a doctor to call me back; waiting for someone to come along and answer a question I posted in a medical forum; waiting to find out if my insurance will approve a treatment. Chronic illness involves a lot of waiting. Continue reading “This Week in Medical Limbo” →

Vicki19 Comments

Meditation Techniques for the Meditation-Challenged, Part One

I’ve been trying to meditate for years.

I had read about the benefits of meditation for coping with Lyme disease, chronic pain, thyroid disease, allergies, anxiety, and almost every condition I have, but I just couldn’t focus on my breath and keep my mind from racing. Continue reading “Meditation Techniques for the Meditation-Challenged, Part One” →

Vicki14 Comments

The Fibro Monster

Well, I’ve been blogging for a month, and I finally learned how to check my stats. The most popular search was an image search for “Fibro Monster,” the category I use to write about my fibromyalgia. I started to imagine the way a Fibro Monster might look. Continue reading “The Fibro Monster” →

Vicki8 Comments

Does Your Thyroid Want a Green Smoothie?

In April 2013, I had a wisdom tooth removed. It is not pleasant to do this in middle age.

My dentist thought it would be no big deal. I knew she was lying. I didn’t realize how badly she was lying. Continue reading “Does Your Thyroid Want a Green Smoothie?” →

Vicki10 Comments

Things Not to Say to People With Chronic Illnesses

1. You LOOK so healthy.

2. Have you tried (name of very basic, obvious remedy, like ibuprofen)?

3. Are you SURE you’re sick?

4. You mean you really can’t do that tiny, tiny, little motion? Just doing that little thing causes you pain? Aren’t you being dramatic? Continue reading “Things Not to Say to People With Chronic Illnesses” →

Vicki2 Comments
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