Fibromyalgia - The dragon

This picture is an item sold on Amazon: Sleeping Dragon Figure

When I started writing my book one of the things I noticed was a lot of people were very depressed and mad a themselves. When I talked to them about it, I noticed they often internalized Fibromyalgia as part of themselves. They would say "my Fibro" has killed my relationship or "my Fibro" made me lose my job,  etc.. Some went even further - saying their body had betrayed them and how much they hated it. Believe me, I could relate.

What I suggested was that they see it more like something that was a part of their environment -- not a part of themselves or their body. You see - how can we strengthen and protect something we hate? If we see Fibromyalgia as a part of our body - then our body becomes the enemy. Our body has to be important to us - and something we appreciate and try to make better. Hating it is self destructive.

Instead, try to imagine Fibromyalgia as a dragon. We live with this dragon. We have yet to find an escape from it - so we try to find a way to avoid serious injury. The dragon is the enemy. The dragon is to be respected and even feared. Sometimes the dragon sleeps -- and then we feel better, safer. So we try hard to make it sleep - and to keep it asleep.

Those are the things we do to keep Fibromyalgia in check. Getting enough sleep, stretching, not overdoing chores or workouts.... When we have a flare, that means the dragon woke up and is terrorizing us. What can we do then to quiet him? Maybe a soak in a warm tub with salts and oils that help stress relief, taking our meds, etc.

I hope today your dragon is sleeping peacefully.

Good News

It can be really depressing to watch the news these days. I don't know about you - but I have been really wanting some positive - encouraging news.

I read an old copy of Reader's Digest and it was listing cities in all 50 states - highlighting good things. So I skimmed until I found my state (Kansas) and looked at what was listed.

It was really wonderful because it wasn't just a "nice" program. A woman and her son both struggled with addiction to opioids. Her son lost his battle. She overcame and turned that horrible experience and loss into a positive by donating her house to help others who are struggling.

Now her house not only provides shelter and help to women - but those women also reach out and give to others who are in need. It's a great story and the impact is amazing. It's called Cedar House and here is their website where you can read more about it: The Cedar House

It just takes a little light to drive away the darkness. Look for the light and have a great day!

Cat Intro - Thomas

My cats are a bit like my children. We have a lot of them and they are all different. I thought I would introduce you to them.

The oldest is Thomas. He was surrendered with his whole litter to the shelter. His family thought they would sell the kittens for profit - but that was harder than they expected. Supposedly one of his parents was part Maine Coon, but he is small and doesn't have the face shape. So he is technically a domestic medium hair tabby with white. This picture isn't great - I'll look for or take a better one -- but he does have the mane around his face, shorter hair at the neck and then fluffs out again all the way to his tail - which he waves around like a flag.

When we adopted him he cried until we put an arm next to the crate. He put his paw out to hold on and he was calm the rest of the way. He still likes to be touching one of us most of the time. So much for stand offish and unemotional cats. lol

He is getting up there - 15 years old now. He is the one who always "greeted" any new cats first and I have adorable pictures of the kittens cuddling with him. (They loved to play with that super fluffy tail.)

He is very bonded to another cat we got about a week later, named Faith. I'll tell more about her in my next intro.

Through the Fog

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia about the time people  stopped writing on stone tablets. Okay - slight exaggeration - but it was a very long time ago. It was a time when most people weren't entirely sure Fibromyalgia was real. Many doctors either outright denied it as a true medical diagnosis or didn't know anything about it.

It was hard to get a diagnosis - and even harder to find treatment and support. I struggled through and did a lot of research on my own. I figured out some things with a lot of trial and error. The only real books available were written by doctors and half the time you couldn't understand what they were saying. They also very often contradicted each other.

That's when I thought a book that talked to Fibromyalgia patients - from a normal person's point of view and gathering websites, articles, etc. might be helpful. I got a first draft done and then I got sick. Very sick. I had chronic lung infections for over 9 years. They still don't know why. I waffled between so sick I was nearly hospitalized to a bad cold. Of course - Fibromyalgia kicked into overdrive and I was nearly always in flare mode.

I didn't write, I rarely read. I just existed. I barely did the things I needed to do. The book was forgotten.

Now I hope those chronic infections are behind me - so I started digging out those old projects. The Fibromyalgia book seemed less necessary. There are lots of blogs and websites to give people support these days. I considered forgetting it altogether, but I was convinced there may be something in there that can still speak to someone going through Fibromyalgia and associated disorders. So, my plan is to post at least once a week from that material (with updated resources and links).

I hope someone finds it helpful. So look for something Fibromyalgia related on here at least every Friday.

Sneezy and Itchy

That same grass that gives my kitties so much joy. makes me itch, sneeze, and my respiratory system complain. I wish I knew a way to fix it. I take zyrtec every day. I take flonase during the "growing" season, I try to stay indoors and I even tried the steroid shot. I'm still miserable.

Don't get me wrong, without the meds things are much worse (except the shot - that didn't help at all and actually seemed to make my symptoms worse). If I go outside, I end up scratching all over and the coughing and sneezing becomes much more than occasional. If I stay out there long enough - or heaven help me - actually touch the grass -- then I end up with a rash and sometimes these asthma like attacks with wheezing.

This makes it really hard when activities tend to surround backyards, barbecue grills or my grandchildren wanting to play outside.

I found out about the grass allergy when I was trying to fix my chronic lung infection. The specialist did a blood test. My new doctor gave me the steroid shot a month ago -- and said if it didn't work we could look into allergy testing at my next appointment (a year from now).

So, has anyone had similar issues and come up with a different/better fix?

Grass for Cats

With 11 cats, I dedicate a good bit of time to finding ways to enrich their lives, keep their attention, get them thinking/solving puzzles, and so on. The truth is, if they're busy and happy, they are less likely to fight with each other or destroy things. Plus I just  genuinely like making them happy.

A lot of houseplants are deadly to cats. Houseplants Poisonous to Cats They are so curious about them though. Behaviorists say for every "no" to your cat, you should also provide at least one yes. Catnip is easy to grow and can be an option - but some cats don't like it or have a negative reaction. I'll do a post on Catnip later, but today I wanted to talk about grasses.

Most cats seem to really like grasses and they can help with minor digestive problems as well. Cat safe grass is easy and pretty cheap to grow as well.

The two cats in the picture are Faith (a senior tuxedo) and Maya (a 7 year old calico). The planter I used was purchased on Amazon. When I stopped being able to find refills for it, I looked and saw the same variety of seeds were available in mixes - and I bought a bag of seed starter pellets as well. It was cheaper and I get the same stuff as before! There are several different types and sizes of starter kits available as well.

I like this mix (Oat, Barley, Wheat, and Rye) because different cats seem to prefer different grasses. Usually I keep it away from the cats until it is about 3 inches tall. Let them chew on it until it's short (with my crew that can be an hour or two), then take it away again and let it grow back out. It only takes about a week to be ready from seed and I usually get three or four sessions in before the grass is just not wanting to grow back anymore. You may be able to stretch it out even longer.

The biggest keys to success are not over watering it because that can grow mold, and letting it grow fairly thick so they don't just pull out the baby plants.

If you try this or already grow cat grass, let me know what your cats think and share any tips.

Happy Independence Day!

One of my sons and his children are coming to visit tomorrow. So, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Independence Day.

When I was around 10, our family was overseas and went to a picnic on the base with fireworks afterwards. Everyone sat on blankets and it was crowded with friends and strangers. Next to us was a rowdy group in military clothing. They were nice - and more than a little drunk. One of them asked me, "Why are there fireworks?" I told him we were celebrating our independence. "Independence from what?" he asked. That's when I noticed he had a British accent. They got quite a kick out of how red faced I was. 

This has always been a time of family, friends, food, and fireworks. It's different this year, but I hope we all take a moment to reflect on what the holiday is really about and how important our freedom is. We have a unique history. None of our founders were perfect. but they accomplished an amazing feat and our nation has been instrumental in helping to spread freedom across the globe.

We have a lot to be thankful for. If you know a veteran. thank them for their service in maintaining that freedom. If you get to be with your family, make sure you tell them how much you love them.

Be safe and enjoy our hard fought freedoms.

I'm Back!

It has been a long time - and I am not sure anyone will even visit here anymore - but I'm back!

During the last 10 years I moved 5 times. One of those moves took us out of state. I was very sick. I had some kind of serious lung infection that they still haven't identified. I ran a fever off and on and always had a productive cough and difficulty breathing. I took antibiotics, saw specialists, had all kinds of tests done... I even had a surgical procedure where they flushed out my lungs, and then tested some of the nastiness that came out. That was supposed to be the answer - but even after two more rounds of antibiotics I was still coughing. Then three months later the cough just stopped. I don't know why. It stayed away for a couple months - then came back but not as serious. Now I sometimes cough and sometimes not. I would love any prayers or advice anyone might have.

With my health better - and this being my "last" move - I am hoping to get back to reading and writing more. I still have a bunch of ideas to work on.

Other things in life have changed as well. My boys are grown and gone. They are both married and we now have 4 grandchildren - three boys and a girl! She is the youngest and very rare for our family. Only boys have been born for a few generations.

All my furbabies are healthy and keeping us on our toes.

I pray your family is healthy and well and I look forward to connecting with you all soon.