The ICI Experience:

Mom says “You look sick, you REALLY look sick. Maybe if you did not take all those medications You would not be so sick.” I am not sick because I take medications. I take medications because I am sick. Mom says “So they’re going to blame ALL THAT on the environment?” Heavy metals, toxins, pesticides, viruses and chemicals in the foods we consume. How could these things NOT be affecting us? Mom says “Why is it that all you read is stuff about your physical problems? Maybe concentrating on them to the exclusion of everything else Could be adding to it. ( Or Causing it? )” I am not sick because of the books I read. I read the books because I am sick. Mom says “Well I just think that you focus on every little pain and problem you have And maybe if you didn’t it wouldn’t be such a problem.” I am not sick because I think about the pain and the problems. I think about the pain and the problems because I am sick. Mom says

I'm going to try committing to post once a week instead of on Mondays. I've been behind for a couple of weeks now and maybe this will work better for me. And for you, too! I saw the new commercial a couple of weeks ago, don't know what channel I was on, but what caught my attention was when they were saying "Would you believe me if I looked like I felt?" and as the camera moved, dark bruising appeared on her arms, then on her legs then, on her neck. It really REALLY hit home with me because over the years I've often tried to explain how FM feels by saying that when certain areas are touched, it feels like I have a really bad bruise there (at tender points), but in reality there is nothing visible. Can we have a zoom on those bruises? Yah, that's getting there! View the new commercial here . Click on View Commercial/Play Video in the lower right corner. I have a wait a couple of minutes for the whole thing to load or it doesn't play right or c

There are three facets to the NFA's Caring By Sharing Campaign : The NFA has done a good job of getting the initial information out early this year. But in the Sharing Awareness program they're still saying "Check back soon for free materials, such as templates for press releases, facts about fibromyalgia and sound bites, to assist you in telling your story." It's getting late for people with FM to be getting started on this type of thing. Hope they'll get this stuff out soon... They're also still saying "Hold a "Take the Fibromyalgia Pledge to Care" event (more information coming soon!)" in the Sharing Facts program. I don't know about you, but it's too late for me to be taking on anything of this magnitude now, a mere 60 days before the event... I'm late with Chronic Monday this week because I've been busy packing stuff up to put in a U-Haul and take to a storage facility in the Savannah area. We're boxing up

The Winter Soldier Preview Video is below. It's long, about 17 minutes, and parts of it are graphic. I have to ask myself this question when it comes to events like this: If I can't bear to watch a few photos of what's really going on in this war, then how can I expect my brother or my nephew to actually participate in it? The memory of these photos will subside rapidly from my memory; the pictures of these scenes will probably be burned indelibly into the memories of those I love who are required to participate in them. That's why I watch. How does this subject relate to the topic of this blog? Briefly, when my friends or family are active duty military, I think of war in much more personal terms. Not to whine but just stating a fact, this causes me a lot of stress. We all know that stress affects our illnesses in many ways, most of them negative. The other way the war relates to the topic of this blog is that it is producing lots and lots more people with ICI:

I've had the drop dead stomach flu this week, complete with fever, chills, cramps, nausea and diarrhea. So my hard drive sits on the floor in much the same position it was in last week. Today is the first day since last Tuesday when I came down with the crud that I've been able to eat real food or do anything productive at all. So the Sleep Study scan remains inaccessible. But the Gods have smiled on me and made this week National Sleep Awareness Week. What a perfect lead in to the actual study next week! I know, I know, kind of anti-climactic, but what else can I do? I will tell you that the study showed that I got no - that is zero - Stage 4/delta sleep in the 6.5 hours that I slept. Stage 4/delta sleep is the deep, restorative sleep where the body rejuvenates itself. The NFA page on Sleep Awareness Week says: It is estimated that 90-95 percent of people with fibromyalgia experience disordered sleep. In addition, non-restorative sleep was cited as one of the most severe symp