The ICI Experience:

Well, it started with the logo of the Fibromyalgia Association UK . She's a gal and she seems to have polka dots on her. Those of us with Fibromyalgia recognize it as a diagram of FM tender points. Polka Dot Gals is also a UK organization dedicated to raising awareness of Fibromyalgia within the press and the media, and they're in the process of a great calendar fundraiser. I've got my calendar and it's wonderful! It's very artistically done and of excellent quality. They got the idea to do this calendar as a fundraiser from the original Calendar Girls of Yorkshire, on whom a movie of the same name was based. Bianca Embley is the founder and Director of Polka Dot Gals, and I had the opportunity to meet with her at ILAP 2008 (which I haven't NEARLY gotten started writing about, what with my additional diagnoses and medical treatment making me sicker than I was in the first place, but I will, I promise!). She is a charming and gracious young lady. Funny, s...

From Wikipedia (emphasis added by me): ShopWiki is an Internet shopping search engine founded in 2005 and launched in early 2006. It was founded by the former DoubleClick CEO Kevin P. Ryan, the former CTO and DoubleClick co-founder Dwight Merriman and Eliot Horowitz. Their primary distinguisher is crawling the internet for stores instead of using data feeds from merchants. In 2006 they received 6.2m in venture funding from Generation Partners. [1] References Kirkpatrick, Marshall. "ShopWiki announces $6.2m in funding." TechCrunch. July 2006. So ShopWiki crawls the internet for every store out there, regardless of whether the stores have paid ShopWiki to have the exposure or not. (I'm not sure yet who pays for this whole set up or where the profit comes in...) It's like a search engine for shopping possibilities, and I must say my first impression is that it works quite well. I started out at the ShopWiki Health and Beauty Guide . Wiki Buying Guides are created, edit...

From the 11/25/08 issue of the Photojojo newsletter (my inspiration for this blog post): "What Are You Grateful For?" Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the US of A. It’s our favorite holiday because it involves: Hanging out with people you like, eating yourself stupid, and falling asleep on the couch in the middle of the afternoon. Some friends of ours host Thanksgiving for all their pals who aren’t going home for the holiday. When they sit down to eat, instead of saying grace, everyone at the table says one thing they’re thankful for. Now that’s a tradition we can get behind. We don’t usually think about the things we’re grateful for, but today’s a good day to start. This week, take some pictures of the things that make you thankful, whether it’s the big stuff: your friends your spark of creativity being able to see well enough take photos or the little stuff: warm socks on a cold night the first cup of coffee in the morning that album that always makes you feel bet...

Rosalind Joffe Read about the book's authors, Rosalind and Joan, here. Check out all of the Book Tour participants here . Joan Friedlander And all of the Book Tour stops are listed here: 11/3-11/12 , 11/11-11/14 , and 11/17-11/23 . The book is great. It's short, easy to read and packed with information such as: Pacing yourself, searching for a job, keeping a job, disclosure on the job, negotiating with your employer for accommodations, and being self-employed. And it's written from the best, most real perspective possible: That of two women who know from firsthand experience what it's like to live and work with CI. I could have used this book about twenty years ago when I was diagnosed with my first ICIs: Fibromyalgia and Endometriosis. I mean, I REALLY could have used it. I'd go so far as to say that I might still be employed now if I'd had this book back then, and used it. The book starts with a chapter in which autoimmune disease is defined. I looked ...

Reading (and listening to audio books) has been my salvation during these extreme chronic illness years. During my last flu bout I ripped through the entire Twilight Saga: And now I'm a confirmed "Twilighter." The first Twilight Saga movie comes out tomorrow. Movies are also a great distraction from pain etc. You wouldn't know it from what's on TV, but there are about a gajillion good movies out there. We have a Roku box , and it's the bomb. Check out the movie trailer. Way cool. Judging by this music video , the movie might have a pretty good sound track... it's #1 in the USA on Billboard this week. Paramore - New Music - More Music Videos EW's Twilight Central has tons of good stuff. TWILIGHT'S CAST (From left) Rachelle Lefevre (who plays Victoria), Kristen Stewart (Bella), Robert Pattinson (Edward), Cam Gigandet (James), and Taylor Lautner (Jacob) PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF RIEDEL. Jacob is my favorite from the books. Yay Team Jacob ! Top Ten ...

Like we don't already have enough stigma to deal with, movie people have to give their wackiest characters Fibromyalgia, and make them hypochondriacs too? Here I am flipping through Sunday afternoon movies and this one on LMN called "Her Only Child" caught me because the daughter was saying if her mother wasn't complaining about her Fibromyalgia then it was her thyroid and if it wasn't that it was something else, and the daughter wondered how much of it was even real... sound familiar? This movie is called "Maternal Obsession" on the producer's website . Oh yeah, the maniacal looking woman with the gun is the one with FM. LILY (Nicholle Tom), 31, is an average woman with an average life. She's pretty, friendly, and does well at her job as a claims analyst for an insurance company. But there's one facet of Lily's life that just isn't normal-- her mother. A couple years ago, Lily moved back in with her mother INEZ (Gwynyth Walsh), 60, t...

San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose ABC channel 7, KGO-TV/DT broke the story Friday 11/14 at 7:10 pm: Chiropractor claims to cure fibromyalgia - ABC news video Investigating Fibromyalgia "Cure" - ABC7 News blog post The actual complaint against Whitcomb from the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners and the Attorney General’s office I'm absolutely positive that this is the result of all of the courageous people who came forward to tell the truth about their experiences at Whitcomb's clinic. Congratulations to all of you, and I'm just sorry this couldn't have happened before you were enticed to try Whitcomb's "Method."

I'm feeling dumpy My neck is lumpy I'm eating nothing and I'm gaining weight... My voice is hoarse My skin is coarse I'm tired of kelp And I want some help! Chorus: I've got Hashimoto's thyroiditis I've got hypothyroid disease I've got Hashimoto's thyroiditis Doctor, doctor, help me please!!! I won't spoil the rest of the lyrics for you - very cool song. We CAN find humor in the most unlikely places if we try! Take a listen, here . Family physician and holistic stress management expert Dr. Mel Borins of Canada (pictured here setting up the infirmary of an overnight summer camp with the camp nurse) wrote and performs the Ode to Hashimoto's Thyroiditis , with music by Mitch Girio . Dr. Borins' friend and colleague, endocrinologist Dr. David Feinstein of Dallas, Texas, arranged for his website to feature Dr. Borins's hilarious homage to hypothyroidism.

From Change.gov : An American Moment The story of the campaign and this historic moment has been your story. It is about the great things we can do when we come together around a common purpose. The story of bringing this country together as a healed and united nation will be led by President-Elect Obama, but written by you. The millions of you who built this campaign from the ground up, and echoed your call for the change you wanted to see implemented by the Obama Administration - this process of setting up that new government is about you. This transition is about selecting a new staff and agenda that will help reclaim the American dream and bring about positive lasting change to this country. In order to do that, we want to hear from you. Tell us your story and the issues that matter most to you. Share with us your concerns and hopes – the policies you want to see carried out in the next four years. "I ask you to believe - not just in my ability to bring about change, but in yo...

Great Scott! Charlie Brown, not diabetes too!!!???***### No, but I might have PRE-diabetes. Dr. Cuddapah at the FFC has prescribed a half-dosage of Metformin for me because my triglycerides are high, my HDL is at the lowest of the acceptable range, I'm overweight and I'm old(er). After doing my follow-up research I see that no one recommends medication on the POSSIBILITY of pre-diabetes. You have to take one of two tests to get a glucose level before you can be properly diagnosed. And of course the medication has it's own side effects which I would just as soon avoid... so I'm going to ask the doc about getting properly diagnosed before starting meds and if I'm not actually pre-diabetic I'll suggest using diet and exercise to control the situation for now. Of course my first course of specially-formulated-for-me Metformin has already been ordered from the FFC's compounding pharmacy, and paid for. Ugh. Why is everything so difficult? Or as two members...

Here's my complete receipt from the FFC. Click on the individual page to see it full size. Page 1 of the receipt shows tests I was given and their costs, and my diagnoses. Page 2 details the "Intraveneous Infusion." I'm going to ask more about this IV drip at my next appointment. I think it might have helped me to feel better but I was totally wiped out for the rest of the day of the infusion. The majority of the cost of the drip is for the administration of the infusion. Huh. Must have been to cover the private room they set Mom and I up in - she got her own recliner. She liked that. She read for awhile then took a nap. I sat in my recliner for two hours trying to hold my arm in the right position for the drip to keep on drippin'. I'm supposed to be having these infusions weekly, but it's not possible since I live so far away. I will ask if a local doctor's office could administer this IF I decide that it's really helping. And next t...

A lot of people have expressed interest in learning more about the FFC and what they do there when they found out I was going to go there, and it hasn't been easy for me to find first hand accounts or unbiased reviews of the Centers (one exception: Fibromyalgia Diaries on Kitten's Scratching Post) , so maybe my postings on this subject can save some of you some time in that respect. Here's all the scoop on my first appointment. I did a lot of research before deciding to go to the FFC, but I haven't posted on that yet because I've been sick... I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease in August. Yeah, just what I need, one more diagnosis. Anyhoo, there seems to be some kind of connection between FM and Hashimoto's - more on that to come, I'm sure, but this new diagnosis is one of the reasons I decided to bite the bullet and go to the FFC now - that and the new package price program described below. I'm just getting over the second in as many week...