tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10160840.post2860310836325308844..comments2023-10-22T03:26:59.018-07:00Comments on Behind the surface: The gifts of illnessMichelle http://www.blogger.com/profile/05759387306193137795noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10160840.post-76674521087035066622007-05-17T23:17:00.000-07:002007-05-17T23:17:00.000-07:00I keep thinking about the idiocy of doctors (parti...<EM>I keep thinking about the idiocy of doctors (particularly the study Sylvia mentioned trying to find out whether CFS is an "exercise phobia"!!). </EM><BR/><BR/>Oh oh that reminds me! I meant to share my favorite Moronic ME/CFIDS Research Study when Sylvia mentioned the "exercise phobia" study (which, unfortunately, there have been at least a handful - ugh!). According to researchers at the University of Hull in the UK, <A HREF="http://www.co-cure.org/hmc121806.htm#16" REL="nofollow">chocolate will relieve symptoms of ME/CFIDS</A>. No joke. <BR/><BR/>Now, I frequently enjoy a bit of good quality, high cacoa content(70%), fair traded chocolate. But I can tell you, it never seems to make much difference. I dunno. Maybe I'm just not eating enough or something...Michelle https://www.blogger.com/profile/05759387306193137795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10160840.post-5850730297594279802007-05-16T12:38:00.000-07:002007-05-16T12:38:00.000-07:00Without romanticizing how much this disease sucks ...<I>Without romanticizing how much this disease sucks shit, I know that without being sick, I would never have taken the time to focus on the emotional baggage I've carried for so much of my life.</I><BR/><BR/>Heh. My emotional baggage had to pretty much whack me in the head repeatedly, despite the illness; but then, I am fortunate enough to only be fully out of commission about 4 months a year (spread out), so I don't have quite the isolated time to think you do.<BR/><BR/>Given that not all of my parts experience fibromyalgia in the same ways, there might be something to the energy work. But I doubt it's something that energy work alone would solve, or something that's "all in my head."<BR/><BR/>I keep thinking about the idiocy of doctors (particularly the study Sylvia mentioned trying to find out whether CFS is an "exercise phobia"!!). Just because something is connected to one's mind doesn't mean it isn't also deeply connected to one's body. The fact that many of my illnesses/disabilities seem to be symbolic (i.e., strep throat when I'm "swallowing" things I want to say) doesn't make them any less real as physical problems!<BR/><BR/>It will be interesting, in the next few decades, to see how well allopathic medicine is able to adjust to the idea that mind and body are actually pretty much the same thing....Jigsaw Analogyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15051811184421446296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10160840.post-37967833870062024962007-05-15T14:44:00.000-07:002007-05-15T14:44:00.000-07:00Heya Sylvia -- thanks! And you're welcome regardin...Heya Sylvia -- thanks! And you're welcome regarding the D-ribose. I generally rely on Co-Cure.org and Phoenix Rising to keep me up on the latest research, though I do read the Usenet group alt.med.cfs where a number of posters have talked about having a lot of good results with D-ribose. And since it's one supplement that has no interaction with Coumadin, and isn't too expensive (though isn't cheap either), I figured I'd give it a go after reading that paper. <BR/><BR/>And I definitely hear ya about having a hard time extending compassion to oneself. That's something I've always had problems with and this illness has forced me to take baby steps in that direction or go completely crazy. <BR/><BR/>Welcome Cusp! Read and pinch away -- and I promise to get to your site soon!<BR/><BR/>Hiya JA - <BR/><BR/><EM>I am learning far more about myself through these things, and it certainly spurs me to continue my mental and physical healing process more consciously, in ways that I might otherwise have spent my life avoiding.</EM><BR/><BR/>I think that's what I was trying to say in my "examined life" reason but you said it much more articulately. :)<BR/><BR/>My life before getting sick was all about avoiding the hard questions. Indeed, when my therapist first told me I might not be capable of working anymore (she was simply pointing out something everybody around me knew but I couldn't bear to think about) I was terrified of spending that much time alone with myself. <BR/><BR/>Every now and then I run into people who look at energy work (like the Cranial Fluid Dynamics stuff I do) as a cure for ME/CFIDS. While I won't discount that happening, I don't do it expecting to be cured. I simply want to take advantage of a gift I've been given -- time to look at what's going on inside. Without romanticizing how much this disease sucks shit, I know that without being sick, I would never have taken the time to focus on the emotional baggage I've carried for so much of my life.Michelle https://www.blogger.com/profile/05759387306193137795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10160840.post-59051892341803063922007-05-15T05:06:00.000-07:002007-05-15T05:06:00.000-07:00I agree--it's a great post, and it's giving me som...I agree--it's a great post, and it's giving me some useful things to think about. So often, disability is so overwhelming, frightening, and draining; so often, my response is to fight it, resist it, and resent it.<BR/><BR/>But you're right, there are things to be grateful for. Fibromyalgia is why I learned to drive a car. I have learned to listen to my body a little bit more. I have learned to be a little bit more relaxed in my expectations for myself.<BR/><BR/>I suppose I can even be grateful for the intersection of fibromyalgia and DID, since it's making me <I>very</I> aware of the connections between mind and body.<BR/><BR/>I am learning far more about myself through these things, and it certainly spurs me to continue my mental and physical healing process more consciously, in ways that I might otherwise have spent my life avoiding.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for posting.Jigsaw Analogyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15051811184421446296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10160840.post-73168530610277528882007-05-13T09:23:00.000-07:002007-05-13T09:23:00.000-07:00Just discovered your blog through the usual labyri...Just discovered your blog through the usual labyrinthine method of surfing. There's so much to take in that I cannot digest it all at present but I shall certainly be back to read more. It's great to read such an intelligent and searching exploration of the 'dread disease'.<BR/><BR/>I really like last year's list of things you miss. It reminds me of one I made two years ago (http://lombredemonombre.blogspot.com/2005/03/i-am-i-miss_16.html). I like the idea of making another list of things that my incapacity has taught me or made me appreciate. If it's OK with you I may pinch that idea for my next posting !<BR/><BR/>Take careCusphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10717783581169397585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10160840.post-56505158281438217402007-05-12T09:55:00.000-07:002007-05-12T09:55:00.000-07:00Great post! Thanks for mentioning the D-ribose. I ...Great post! Thanks for mentioning the D-ribose. I have a hard time keeping up with the research. It's so overwhelming and so much of it is bunk. (My favourite was the study into whether CFS is an exercise phobia. Where do they find these doctors?)<BR/><BR/>This disease has also made me more compassionate, though I still have trouble extending that compassion to myself. I have to keep telling myself that it's not my fault I can't clean the bathroom.<BR/><BR/>I've also learned that practitioners are not psychic. I think they want to believe they can help so they can justify fleecing their clients. Fortunately, I've only had one tell me I wasn't getting well because I secretly wanted to be sick. Lucky for her we were on the phone so I couldn't strangle her. I guess I'm more assertive in that I'll dump a practitioner much more quickly if I'm not getting any results. I've yet got up the nerve to ask for my money back, though! I'd love to see the look on their faces if I did that. :DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com