Halloween, Lupus and Limitations

Once again Halloween is around the corner. My daughter wanted to go trick r treating, but I wasn’t sure she would get to go. I can’t actually walk with her to go, so I have to depend on someone else to take her.

Well I got lucky and my daughter’s friend is going with her mother. I won’t let her go door to door because of the danger associated with going to door to door in a strange neighborhood or even a familiar one at that. She’s going to her church and trick r treating at her friend’s family. All the kids are going as candy for Halloween party at church. It’s a perfect fix to a yearly problem. Before I know it she won’t be going trick r treating forever, being a teen.

My limitations are a constant reminder of the affects lupus has had on me. Each day I have to learn to dealing with the ever ending obstacles I have to jump (not latterly) thanks to lupus. I try to keep a positive attitude when dealing this dreadful illness, which keeps me on my toes. The hardest things about having it is accepting the limitations and not feeling like you’re letting your child down. The best peace of advice I can give is do the best you can, and accept that life sometimes sends you curve balls.

Pacing myself with Lupus and Getting Ready for Winter

This weekend has been a bit busy for me. I have been busy with winterizing my home. It’s easier said then done when you live with a chronic illness. I have a hard time being on my feet for more then a few minutes, so I have to do things in increments. It does seem to take longer but, it’s the only way humanly possible for me to do these things.

When doing things that require me to be on my feet I have to break things down. I put weather stripping on my 2 doors yesterday. I started by taking off some of the stripping from last year. I took off one section and cleaned off the sticky residue with a bit of alcohol and paper towels. I had to take a few minutes break after taking the one strip off. I had to repeat the same process until both doors are done. My daughter had to help me with the top part of the door.

I think one of the hardest things about living with lupus and the pain is the need to slow down. Things that seemed so simple to me before have become a chore. I don’t like having to take so long, but life with lupus and pain gives me no choice. The one thing I can say about getting things done is to take your time and don’t beat yourself up. Your body has its own wiring and at times it can be slower, then expected. Doing things at a gentle slow pace is better, then not getting them done at all.

The Long Journey to Lupus

My journey to finding out I had lupus was a long journey. I went through a period of doctors ignoring me and down playing my symptoms, this was very frustrating. I was second guessing myself so much. It was easier to deny my symptoms; beginning to think I was crazy.

I always dread going to a new doctor because of my horrible experience. I went through a period of being in so much pain and a doctor down playing it. I think this was the hardest part of the whole experience. I don’t wish this on anyone.

I did finally after a few years find a few doctors that actually listened and treated me instead of down playing my symptoms. The first doctor who really empathized was very helpful. He went with his own observation; instead of the stack of mumbo-jumbo in my records. I then had a great primary physician who listened and reacted. She is the one who sent me to a neurologist that explained a lot. Here I was for 4 years with agonizing pain in my legs and no one wanted to get to the root of it. This doctor has been a great asset to my healthcare needs. My other doctor was so helpful; luckily I still have him. The red tape I went was unreal.

It has been a battle to find out exactly what was going on with me. The one piece of advice I can give anyone dealing with something that just isn’t right in your body; don’t give up. You are the only one that can truly know what your body is trying to tell you.

Accepting the Gift of Lupus and Its Side Dishes

Lupus is a lot like walking around in the dark not knowing which direction you want to go in. Each day is a new adventure in living with lupus. You never know what to expect. When a day is going along just right it’s hard to believe. It’s a lot like living in a dark room, and not knowing when someone is going to open up the door and says “IM BACK”. The life of lupus can be an agonizing nightmare or you can learn to roll with the punches and take what it gives you and punch it right back where it counts.

Life with lupus is a lot easier when you accept what it gives you to deal with then being in the feel sorry for me mode. Yes, I still have those moments but, since I’ve accepted that I am who I am and lupus doesn’t have an exit door. I do wish this disease to be a thing about the past. It has taken me years to accept that lupus has given me some gifts.

Life with lupus had given me the ability to appreciate the things that I never realized were sitting right in front of me. The sky has much to offer whether, it’s the puffy white clouds or the storm clouds rolling in. I appreciate the people around me and the things around me better. I have been made to slow down and it took me long time to accept I had to slow down. Initially, I slowed down too much and thought the world had ended because once again I was given the bad end of the stick. But I had to realize God must have given me a life with lupus to show me some kind of purpose. I am still searching and looking for the exact answers but, I know that one day I will have the answers. If the answers never come at least I know that I have kept on living and search for that small light at the end of tunnel of lupus.

One thing I would say to anyone living with a chronic illness is to remember just because your sick don’t mean it’s time to stop living. There is life after chronic illness. You have to remember to get back on the ship I call life. Sitting in a corner looking at the wall isn’t going to work in this life because once it’s got you; you’ve got to learn to live with it.

The Season's Change in Me.

Fall is the time of year, when leaves are falling and farmers are plowing the fields. The leaves around my home have just started to fall, and the farmers are about finished in the fields. The leaves are big brilliant reds, pinks, yellows, and oranges. My favorite leaf colors are red and pink.

The temperatures are starting to fall at night. Tonight’s low is 45 degrees Fahrenheit. I enjoy turning off the air conditioner and opening up the windows this time of year. This time of year is bittersweet for me because my flares seem to be so close together. They seem to be coming one after another. I have to learn to accept the good days with the bad days. When I have a good day, I try to enjoy it to the fullest. The bad days I enjoy the small things whether, its puppy dog kisses, or my daughters smiling face. The simplest things mean the most these days.

All in all the season changes are worth the scenery. Each year I learn a new copping skill to deal with the daily struggles with pain and fatigue associated with lupus and fibromyalgia.

Meditation Breathing Exercises

I have used deep breathing exercise to help slow down my breathing during times of high anxiety. I have used breathing exercises to help me make decisions. I also use the breathing exercises to calm my mind and being able to detach myself from the stresses in life.

Try this breathing exercise:

Get yourself in a comfortable and quiet place.
If you chill easy get yourself a blanket.
Don’t lay down totally because you may fall asleep.
I like using non vocal music i.e. streams, water, flute, etc.
Some people like to sit Indian style with there back of there hand on the knee.
Start by taking slow breaths in and out for a few minutes. Once you’re able to calm yourself down start the breathing exercise.


Breathing Exercise
Inhale faith
Exhale fear
Inhale faith
Exhale fear
Inhale faith
Exhale fear

You can continue to do this exercise for as long as you like. It has a way of cleansing your body of your fears and stresses. The breathing exercise can be adjusted to meet your needs. A couple of other ways to do this exercise is Inhale healing and exhaling pain, and Inhale courage and exhale fear.

Being able to breathe help manage a lot of the stresses related with life. When I’m stressed it helps to remember my breathing. My breathing becomes more relaxed it helps me make better decisions ,and helps clear my mind. Breathing is one of the most important parts of my recovery. So Just Breath….

Blog Action Day Recycling Our Earth

Blog action day is October 15 20007. Bloggers are coming together to post anything about the environment to their blog. There are 3 ways to participate; post to your blog about the environment, donate your day’s earnings to a charity for the environment or promote Blog Action Day.

One way you can help save the earth is by recycling cans, plastic, card board boxes, bottles, newspapers, and anything else that has the recycling logo on the container. Some states offer a cash refund for recycling cans, bottles, and newspaper. Some office supply stores let you turn in used ink cartridges and they give you a free ream of paper in return. There are places all over, where you can recycle old cell phones. You can recycle your phone for charity or you can get cash for your old phone. By recycling your cell phone you are helping saving the environment and threaten human life. A lot of the schools will take old cell phones or batteries to recycle. Check with your local school system for more information.

Recycle your cell phone for cash
http://www.simplysellular.com/

Cell phones for soldiers
http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/

You can get that old Junker car out of your yard by recycling. You can sell the car to a junk yard for cash. Some charities will take that Junker off your hands and it becomes a tax deduction on your income taxes. Just think old Junker sure has value to someone, other than being a lawn ornament.

Some schools will take the old newspaper and recycle them for money. When you go on vacation most of the newspapers will let you donate the paper to a local school while you’re on vacation. An even better option is to view your newspaper online, instead of receiving it at your door. The schools can always use the Campbell soup labels for education to get some great stuff.
Anyway you can help the environment is an important step in keep our world

The Health benefits of lavender

source: www.en.wikipedia.org


Lavender has a sweet fruity flowered and woody undertone scent. It can be found growing wild in southern Europe, along the Mediterranean Sea. The plant is lavender; with a grayish undertone. It looks a lot like rosemary except it had more leaves on a stem. Lavender has been used for its healing affects for centuries. The word lavender comes from the Latin word ‘lavare’, which means ‘to wash’. Lavender is a shrub that grows to about 23.62 inches.

It has a calming and soothing affect on children and adults alike. Lavender has health benefits for anxiety, depression, mood swings, and insomnia and arthritic conditions. It comes in a wide variety of products from skin care to essential oils. There are some lavenders that have a strong scent and others have a light scent.


I have used lavender to calm my aching muscles, joints and nerves. I use four lavender products: lotion, body wash, body spray, and bubble bath. I have used the curel lavender lotion and healing garden lavender lotion. I like both of the brands because they are not greasy. I don’t like lotions that are greasy so these are great. I would recommend both ones to anyone. I use the Kmart brand bubble bath and body wash. It is used in baby lotion by a few of the baby companies to help

Lavender can be grown inside and dried. It can be put in a piece of cheese cloth and tied with a ribbon and hung under the faucet, to enjoy in the bath tub. Some people use lavender in their tea. You can drop a few drops of Lavender essential oils on piece of cotton to enjoy the aromatic relaxing affects throughout the house. It can also be dried and used for it potpourri properties.

The benefits of lavender are numerous and a lot of them can be found all over the Internet. I was amazed by all the things lavender is used for. I would recommend lavender to anyone whose looking for a natural way to help what ails them. Of course check with your doctor before using any herbs.

Chronic Chick First Post

What is a chronic chick you ask?



A chronic chick is someone young that's dealing with any chronic health condition.



Do you have to see the health condition?



No, you don't have to be able to see the chronic condition



What are some chronic conditions with chronic chicks?



Lupus, ADHD, Depression, arthritis, diabetes, stroke, ethers danlos, scleroderma, and many more, I can't think of right now.



Why did I start this blog?



I started this blog to help others young and dealing with a chronic condition.