Thanks to The Store Wars Veggie Tales-style animation, Chewbroccoli and a galaxy of other characters can help educate you and your family about the benefits of organic foods. The animation even has a “salad bar” cantana sequence!

It doesn’t end there. Unless you’re fortunate to have a store like Whole Foods Market in your neck o’ the woods, finding organic products isn’t always an easy task. More and more supermarkets are adding some organic foods to their store selections, but as anyone who doesn’t have the time and energy to read each and every label can attest, those selections are limited. (Until recently, none of the local supermarkets in my “farm country” smalltown Ohio area have preservative-, nitrite-, or nitrate-free deli meats, for example. So, if I wanted bacon, ham, salami, or other deli cuts, I had to rely on my niece bringing some with her when she visits from Atlanta or a nephew picking some up for me in Detroit — or I had to order directly from the Wellshire Farms Web site. While choices are still limited — and unfortunately far more expensive than regular deli meats, Kroger and WalMart now carry such brands as Hormel® Natural Choice® lunch meats and bacon.)

While the choices may not be certified organic, most local farmer’s markets do have vendor’s who sell locally grown, pesticide-free produce. Another way to find sources of organic foods is to visit The Organic Trade Association Web site; they’re the organization responsible for the “Store Wars” animation and they have an extensive organic foods directory available on their site.

May the (Organic) Source Be With You is a post from: Chronic Illness.org

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Making Your Bed May Be Bad for Your Health

If you are like so many who cope with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, you also cope with allergies. If you must also work to keep your allergies under control, chances are you’ve already taken precautions and other steps in your attempt to allergy-proof your bedroom. That might involve switching to organic cotton sheets, a germ-free humidifier, or an air purifier. According to a recent study, that may not be enough. It appears that something as simple as making your bed every day may be creating a bedroom environment that will worsen your allergy symptoms.

Dust mites love it when you crawl into your nice, warm bed. When you’re snuggled under the covers, you create the perfect humid environment under which those dust mites can thrive.

While you’re sleeping, the dust mites get down to work, hungrily munching on those tiny flecks of skin you shed. The dust mites then show their appreciation for your hospitality by producing allergens for you to inhale while you sleep. The perfect symbiotic relationship — at least from the dust mites’ perspectives. (Actually, a symbiotic relationship doesn’t have to be mutually beneficial, and this one would probably more accurately be described as “parasitism,” but dust mites that get all caught up in politically correct speech are often offended by that term.)

The dust mites love it even more when you hop out of bed in the morning and immediately make the bed. When you pull the sheets and covers up and around the mattress all nice and tight, you maintain that nice damp, dark environment they love so well. While you’re off doing whatever you do while you’re awake, the dust mites remain behind and continue to feast on any teeny tiny little skins chunks you’ve left for them.

On the other hand, dust mites don’t do well in what for them is a dry, desert-like surroundings. Dust mites curse the human-healthy state of an unmade bed. That’s right: Dust mites hate a slob!

An unmade bed with the sheets thrown back willy nilly exposes the bed to air, which in turn removes any moisture your body may have left behind. This causes entire herds of dust mites to dehydrate and die. In fact, that may not be your mother’s or drill instructor’s voice you hear in your ear, threatening you with day-long feelings of guilt if you don’t make your bed; it may be as many as one and a half million frantic voices of allergen-producing parasites. (Okay, although the number can be correct, that part about them each having a voice may be stretching it, but the rest of this article is based on a scientific study.)

Dust mite allergens can trigger asthma and cause other allergy-related problems. Millions are spent every year dealing with dust mite-induced medical problems. Therefore, reducing the number of those pesky critters in a bed is a healthful objective. A recent UK study monitored homes in the hope of determining how to do just that. This Kingston University study discovered that dust mites simply cannot survive in the dryer conditions of an unmade bed.

Sure, you could change and wash the sheets and blankets daily. You could even iron the sheets to get rid of any of the critters that didn’t give up the ghost in the dryer. But why bother? Now you can rise and shine without guilt — and without overexerting yourself by making the bed, secure in the knowledge that by leaving those sheets thrown back you’ll be depriving lots and lots of dust mites of their ability to use the little glands on the outside of their little bodies to extract the moisture they need to survive.

Finally! Some scientific “evidence” that lets us enjoy the benefits!

More information:

Untidy beds may keep us healthy

Allergies Suck T-Shirts and Gift Idea Designs

Revision Copyright © 2010 Blue Rose Bouquet Group, LLC
All Rights Reserved

Do Your Allergies a Favor: Do NOT Make Your Bed is a post from: Chronic Illness.org

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Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet by Elaine Gloria Gottschall

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ (SCD™) is a grain-free, lactose-free, and sucrose-free diet that was originally designed for Celiac Disease. Today the SCD is also used for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Candida, Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Diverticulitis, Cystic Fibrosis, and Chronic Diarrhea. The SCD™ is proving helpful to many with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia as well. The SCD was designed by Dr. Sidney Haas for his young Celiac patients. Years later his son, Dr. Merrill Haas also joined him in his research and together in 1951 they published a book called Management of Celiac Disease. Elaine Gottschall popularized the SCD after her daughter successfully used the diet in the late 1950s to recover from Ulcerative Colitis.

After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in biology and later a Masters of Science, Ms. Gottschall further studied and improved upon the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. She spent four years investigating the effects of various sugars on the digestive tract working mainly on the cellular level.

It is believed that intestinal microbes (bacteria and yeast) contribute to intestinal problems. These microbes need carbohydrates for their energy. The SCD uses carbohydrates known as monosaccharides (single sugars) that are easily digested in the first part of the small intestine, where they are well absorbed and therefore don’t remain in the digestive tract where they can feed the microbes.

The more popular elimination diets, particularly the Candida diets, believe that the ingestion of yeasts and fungi also contribute to the overgrowth of yeast and bacteria in the intestinal tract. However, the SCD concentrates on the elimination of the disaccharides (double sugars) and polysaccharides (starches). The disaccharides include lactose, sucrose, maltose, and isomaltose. The more complex carbohydrates do not completely breakdown in the small intestine and therefore arrive undigested in the further sections of the small intestine and the colon. There they are able to feed the bacteria and yeast. This can lead to malabsorption of nutrients because of injury to the surface of the intestine.

The suggested diet is an all natural diet, including meats, fish, canned fish packed in water or oil, poultry, some cheeses, dry-curd cottage cheese, home-made yogurt, eggs, nuts, fats, butter and oils, whole fruits, some juices, and non-starchy vegetables. Honey is also permitted as it is a single sugar. Yogurt must be home-made and left to sit for 24 hours to ensure it is lactose free. (Store bought yogurt has anywhere from 4.5 to 7 grams of lactose per cup.)

A partial list of foods to avoid are all grains, including rice, cereal and pasta; table sugar; molasses; corn syrup; maple syrup; milk and milk products except those listed above; processed meats; smoked meats; canned meats; canned vegetables; white potatoes; sweet potatoes; yams; corn; parsnips; and margarine.

After following this diet, most people will notice some improvement in as little as three to four weeks. By six months some people are able to decrease or stop taking their meds, and after approximately six months to two years most people can start adding back the forbidden foods one at a time without a return of their symptoms. (Instructions on which foods can be added back to the diet are given beside each food on Elaine Gottschall’s Legal / Illegal Foods Lists.)

Information on Elaine Gottschall’s Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet

How to Make Homemade Yogurt (as recommended for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet™)

Index of Web Sites Featuring the Specific Carbohydrate Diet™

Breaking the Vicious Cycle Web Site

SCD Web Library with SCD Recipes

Revision Copyright © 2010 Blue Rose Bouquet Group, LLC
All Rights Reserved

Details on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ is a post from: Chronic Illness.org

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By their very nature, no illness, accident, or injury is ever convenient. Someone’s medical care should not be based on what is most expedient, practical, or affordable for anyone other than the patient! It’s important that your wishes be known if — because of the inconvenience of illness, accident, or injury — you are unable to speak for yourself. Some believe that the “Will to Live” in which you appoint a health care proxy or health care agent provides you with more safeguards than does a living will.

Recent events have raised concerns among those of us in the disability community that “the danger in our culture is not that we will be over-treated, but rather that we will be under-treated. We already have the right to refuse medical treatment. What we run the risk of losing is the right to receive the most basic humane care — like food and water — in the event we have a disability.” (Source: Fr. Frank Pavone )

It’s somehow become in vogue to say that anyone who wants to die has the right to do so, which is in contradiction to our civic and moral laws against suicide.

For some (who worry that their life wishes may not be honored), a living will is promoted as the answer. The living will lets you make plans for your future health care, but you do so by trying to predict the future. For a living will, you’re expected to make a decision today about what medical treatments you will or will not want in the future. In other words, because of and despite the fact that you don’t know (or can’t totally know) what medical condition you may need to cope with, or what treatments will be available to you at that unnamed and unknown date in the future, some argue that a living will is as open to interpretation as something somebody may claim a patient once said in private.

An alternative is to appoint a health care proxy or health care agent. Your health care agent is someone you trust; you authorize your health care agent to speak for you if, in the future, you are in a condition in which you cannot speak for yourself. Your health care proxy should be somebody who knows your beliefs and values, and with whom you discuss or have discussed these matters in detail. Then, in the event that you cannot speak for yourself, your health care agent can make him- or herself available to ask all the necessary questions of your doctors and clergy; then, once all of the details of your condition and medical needs are actually known and in accordance with your previously discussed wishes, your health care agent makes decisions about your treatment. That’s what makes appointing a health care agent much safer than trying to predict the future by establishing a living will.

Appointing a health care agent in a way that safeguards your right to life is easy. In fact, to protect yourself from having decisions made that are contrary to your wishes and beliefs, the National Right to Life Committee has designed a Will to Live that lets you name someone you trust to be your “health care agent.” Your health care agent safeguards your life when you cannot speak for yourself. In addition, to protect yourself in the event that your named health care agent is not available, The Will to Live also lets you name backup health care agents.

The Will to Live describes the treatment you do and do not want in a way that offers guidance for your health care agent and physicians; provides protection for you, your family, and health care agent from pressure from health care providers and others because it allows your health care agent to prove what you really did want; and gives your family relief from the agony of decision making by making your wishes clear.

In other words, The Will to Live is your signed legal document that names someone to act as your “health care agent” to make health care decisions for you if you develop a condition that makes it impossible for you to speak for yourself; The Will to Live includes your clear, written instructions to your health care agent about what medical treatment you would want if you can no longer speak for yourself.

The “Will to Live” Project has a download page with links to the proper documents for each state available on their Web site.

By their very nature, no illness or accident is ever convenient. Someone’s medical care should not be based on what is most expedient, practical, or affordable for anyone other than the patient!

“We pay great lip service in this country to disability rights, but as the degree of a person’s disability increases, the level of protection that person receives decreases.” -Bob Schindler, Terri Schiavo’s father.

Suggested reading and resources:

The “Will to Live” Project

The “Will to Live” Project FAQ

Will to Live Project Download Page

Not Dead Yet

National Right to Life Committee

Euthanasia FAQ

Recommended Book:

Revision Copyright © 2010 Blue Rose Bouquet Group, LLC
All Rights Reserved

A Better Way to Ensure that Your Health Care Choices are Honored is a post from: Chronic Illness.org

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Your body constantly battles forces that are out to cause you harm, such as dangerous bacteria and viruses. Sometimes even despite your concerted efforts of practicing good hygiene and other preventative measures, one of them slips by and enters your body. When all goes according to plan, your immune system zaps these nasty microorganisms and all is well.

Other times, something triggers the “oops” mechanism in your body and your immune system becomes overactive and, in essence, gets a bit mixed up about what specifically it’s supposed to be doing. When that “oops” happens, your immune system begins to attack the healthy cells it’s supposed to be protecting.

The result can be that an autoimmune illness develops.

Women and Autoimmune Illnesses

There are more than 80 autoimmune illnesses.

Autoimmune illness affects more than 50 million people in North America. While men are by no means immune, women are more likely to acquire an autoimmune illness — often at ratios as high as 50 to 1!

Dr. Sherine E. Gabriel, in an interview about Autoimmune Diseases in Women on the Mayo Clinic Web site, says that autoimmune disorders may be more prevalent in women because “[t]here are some links to the hormone estrogen, but beyond that we know very little.” Naturally, while unavoidable, comments like that cause frustration for those who suffer from such syndromes. Someone with an autoimmune illness is left to search for answers where often there aren’t any. Our health problems confound the medical community as much as they do us.

It appears that hormones aren’t the only culprits. Dr. Gabriel says that current research indicates that autoimmune disorders are caused by multiple factors: “genetic, hormonal and environmental.” She says, “The current thinking is that in order to get an autoimmune disease, you must first be genetically susceptible. … Then you have to be exposed to an environmental trigger such as a virus. The evidence here is much weaker. These are the two key factors. If this happens when your hormones are in a particular state, such as during pregnancy, you could be even more susceptible. I don’t think the cause of autoimmune diseases will turn out to be one thing. It will be a combination of factors that act together to cause these diseases.”

It’s also believed that heredity can make a difference as to which autoimmune illness somebody acquires, because it’s a redundant fact of life that different genes respond differently to different factors.

As if coping with an autoimmune illness isn’t enough, those who have one illness are susceptible to acquiring another. For example, it’s known that Grave’s Disease (autoimmune thyroid failure) often leads to autoimmune ovarian failure. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia are often also associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

A Diagnosis Can Be Difficult to Obtain

As most of people with autoimmune illnesses already know, these various factors also make the diseases difficult to diagnose and treat. Not only can one disease precipitate acquiring another, but many autoimmune illnesses also have overlapping symptoms. In addition, while it’s obvious that not everyone has the same hereditary make-up, we also haven’t been exposed to the same environmental factors and other exposures either. That’s just one of the reasons why, even once an autoimmune illness is isolated and diagnosed, one treatment that works for one person may not help another.

What can be even more frustrating is that there doesn’t appear to be anything one can do to prevent such illnesses. Little is known about which environmental factors trigger responses that can lead to an autoimmune illness.

Some symptoms improve during pregnancy; others can get worse. Women who have never given birth are susceptible to some illnesses; childbirth seems to trigger others. So much depends on the individual. Oral contraceptives that can protect some women increase the likelihood of autoimmune disease in others.

Studies show that smoking may increase the chances of acquiring rheumatoid arthritis. In most cases, however, there is just too little known at this point as to what to do and what not to do to avoid becoming a victim of an autoimmune illnesses. Therefore, those who are living with an autoimmune disease experience the frustration that it’s impossible to know how to protect others in the families from acquiring the same problems. While not technically contagious, because it also isn’t known exactly what happened to cause the illness, it’s impossible to know how to caution anyone else about what things to avoid in order to avoid or evade a similar fate.

The good news in all this is that in most cases, an autoimmune illness in and of itself is seldom fatal.

The bad news is that most do decrease a person’s lifespan.

Knowledge is power. Understanding your body and how it responds to different “triggers” is your first step in managing your autoimmune illnesses. Educating yourself about treatments and ways to cope with your illness (and thereby improve your quality of life) is the next one.

Revision Copyright © 2010 Blue Rose Bouquet Group, LLC
All Rights Reserved

Understanding Autoimmune Illness is a post from: Chronic Illness.org

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by Pamela Rice Hahn

How do you manage your time when your body seems to be sabotaging your every effort to do so?

Anyone who copes with the turmoil caused by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, or another disabling conditions for which one of the primary symptoms is devastating fatigue knows how difficult it is to plan your time. It’s true: Nobody seems to have enough time at his or her disposal. But most people can predict with a degree of certainty how they’ll feel from one minute to the next. Predictability is a key to optimal time management. That’s the stuff of which time studies are made — or broken.

Every life has challenges. And everybody gets tired.

A new mother who longs for the time that seemingly will never arrive when her baby will sleep through the night.

The student studying for exams.

The dad fighting to stay awake until his teenager gets home safely.

But tired is far, far different from full-body fatigue. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia make a mockery of “the mind’s willing but the spirit is weak.” Therefore, the secret is to find your best ways to plan your time so that you can cope, even when your illness seemingly robs you of your spirit. By making a commitment to yourself to do what you can and accept what you can — and cannot — do, you’ll find that you’ll be in a better position to accept the reality that for you, time management must be a priority. The difference is that you must use an entirely different standard to establish those priorities. Once you learn that standard, you can learn how to manage your time when everything else is seemingly out of your control.

Time Management for the Normal Person

A normal person might be able to get by with a To Do List or a Day-Timer®. You need something that’s more flexible. Chances are that you’ll have more success if you keep a Tasks Notebook. (Be patient! You’ll learn why later.)

Before you can appreciate how to set up your Tasks Notebook, it helps to understand what should go on “normal” To Do Lists:

• A Task Notes Page on which you list, as it occurs to you, anything that you need to do — whether now or in the future.
• A Daily Task List onto which you transfer information on chores you’ve put on your Task Notes Page, scheduled appointments, and urgent concerns that come up. A Daily Task List usually has 10 items, no more than two of which should be difficult tasks.
• An Agenda — usually kept with your Daily Task List. An Agenda is your record of the specific times for scheduled appointments, but it can also be used to map out the times during which you feel it will be best to complete specific tasks on your list. (You might remember the good old days when you could create an “artificial deadline” to motivate yourself to get something done. Those deadlines go on an Agenda.)
• A Long-Term Goals List of those things you’ve moved from your Task Notes Page that will require some time and discipline to complete, such as getting out of debt, redecorating your house, writing a book, and so on.
• A Short-Term Goals List of those things you’ve moved from your Task Notes Page that, although they’ll require some time and discipline to complete, can be done in a manageable chunk of time.

The complexity of these tasks will depend on the normal person’s available amount of time in each of his or her time segments.

They can range from such more complex short-term goals as:

• Planning the steps to put in motion to pay off one outstanding bill
• Charting and dividing the tasks necessary to repaint your living room
• Outlining the book you plan to write

Or, they can be as simple as scheduling when they will:

• Vacuum the living room
• Put the dishes away
• Outline a chapter of the book

Time management philosophy for the “normal” person is that with discipline, there can be enough hours in the day to do whatever he or she wants to do. All that’s needed is to break the typical day up into timed segments. He or she determines the number of hours needed for work and sleep, and then plans how he or she expects to spend the remaining hours of the day. (This only works if that person is able to maintain a somewhat predictable routine.)

Then, from that routine, it’s determined which hours would be better spent doing something else. For example, if three or four hours a night are spent watching television and the goal is to get out of debt, that person could move yourself closer to reaching that goal if some of that time was spent working at a part-time job.

As a motivator, he or she would do the math to determine how much time is squandered on non-productive activities. In the above example, that person would figure up how many hours a week he or she watches television (3 x 7 or 4 x 7) and multiple those hours by the 52 weeks in a year. Once that’s done, he or she would discover that — voila! — there are literally 1092 or 1456 hours available to spend working on the goal. For anyone with a predictable schedule, time is a commodity.

Time Management for the Person Coping with a Disabling Illness or Condition

When you must cope with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, or any disabling condition associated with full-body fatigue, time isn’t a commodity. It’s a luxury. You must take control of it in any way that you can. Your first step is to:

Write It Down!

Don’t leave anything to chance.

If it’s something you must do, write it down.

If it’s something you’re thinking of doing, write it down.

When you’re coping with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, or any disabling condition that can interfere with your cognitive skills, you can’t rely on your memory. While others are out jogging for exercise, you’re forced to remain at home to jog your memory in any way that you can.

The Nitty-Gritty of How It’s Done

Your Tasks Notebook

Now that you understand the philosophy of “normal” time management and accept that you really must “write it down,” you can start to adapt that philosophy to fit your situation.

Your Tasks Notebook will give you the one major benefit of writing things down. It gives you a place where you can cross them off!

Choose the notebook style that will work best for you. Your Tasks Notebook can be a three-ring binder, a spiral notebook, or a notepad small enough to slip into a pocket. Whichever style you choose, it should be one that is easy for you to keep close to you at all times.

Unless you can move pages forward (like you can with a binder) or use a notebook with section tabs, start what will serve as your Task Notes Page at the back of the notebook.

That way you always know where to find it. The philosophy of the Task Notes Page is the same: Write down anything that comes to you. If you know in advance that something you write down will be a priority item that you’ll need to be sure to remember to move ahead in your notebook at a specific time, use a different style of handwriting to write down that task. For example, you might write general thoughts and to-do ideas in cursive, and print priority tasks and appointments in large capital letters. Or you could write such tasks in a different color.

At the front of your notebook, have a Today Page. Record the times and locations of scheduled appointments in such a way that they’ll stand out. Write the other things that you hope to get done below those things you know you must get done. As you complete each item, draw a line through it. That includes those things that you weren’t able to accomplish yourself and had to delegate to someone else. As far as you’re concerned, you got it done!

Any item that remains on the list at the end of your day, gets moved to your next Today Page, and so on.

Time Management Success Strategies

Here are some suggestions on ways you can help ensure your time-management success:

• Celebrate Your Capabilities: Make a list of those things you can do that give you pleasure or pride. This helps you establish the proper mindset for determining in what ways you can establish your time management tasks and goals. In other words, make a concerted effort to celebrate what you can do rather than mourning what you can’t.
• Accept Your Limitations: Regardless of how much you might want to do something (like participate on a church committee or work overtime), you’re setting yourself up for failure — and a possible hard crash! — if you try to do something that you’re no longer capable of doing. You’ll let yourself down, and, as a consequence, also let others down in the process. (Good intentions you can’t turn into acts lead to additional stress.)
• Determine Your Prime Times: Everyone has high- and low-energy times of the day. Unfortunately, for anybody with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, or any disabling condition that involves full-body fatigue, the amount of high or peak energy will probably be what you used to accept as your low-energy time of the day. Accept that on most days you won’t have enough energy to get work done in either short high-activity bursts (like throwing another load of clothes in the washing machine before you unload the dishwasher while you wait for the dinner that you just put in the oven to bake) or long stretches (like taking advantage of a canceled appointment by spending an hour cleaning the bathroom or waxing your car). Even so, you can still schedule some events in your day according to those times that will work best — for you and your energy levels.

For example, if you normally sleep until 10:00 a.m., don’t make a doctor’s appointment for 9:00 a.m.

Likewise, if you usually nap at 2:00 p.m., don’t accept a late lunch invitation for 1:00 p.m.

On the other hand, if you know that you’re most alert at 3:00 p.m., schedule your doctor’s appointment for that time and write down any errands you might want to run after the appointment. (Just don’t feel that you must run the errands if you’re too exhausted after the appointment. It’s still multitasking if you follow that appointment by going home to take a nap.)

• Be Flexible: The realities of coping with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, or any disabling condition is to accept that there will be days when you simply cannot accomplish what you’d hoped to do that day. It’s not procrastination when you’re physically not capable of performing a task. Accept that, and move the scheduled task (that you’re not capable of doing) to another page in your Tasks Notebook.
• Learn to Say “No”: It isn’t easy, but let go of any guilt you feel about not being able to do something. Don’t think you need to give an excuse. Don’t get defensive either. Accept that others simply will never fully appreciate the limitations caused by the full-body fatigue of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, or many other disabling conditions.
• Learn to Delegate: Conserve your prime time for your primary tasks — those things you choose when you establish your priorities. Here’s one place where you can allay any guilt you may feel by offering a barter whenever possible. If you can’t carry out the trash but you do bake cookies once a week, offer to give the neighbor kid a dozen cookies every week if he or she will carry out the bags from your house, put them in the cans, and haul those cans to the curb. If you know that once you fix dinner, it’ll push you beyond your endurance if you also set the table and then clean up the mess, then assign those chores to others in the family. If you live alone, cook dinner and use a paper plate and wait to wash the pan, utensils, and silverware until you feel up to it.
• Establish Your Priorities: Your priorities will depend on what you were able to put on your Celebrate Your Capabilities list. Accept that nobody can “do it all,” and that you more than likely can only do a fraction of what that “nobody” can do. Therefore, strive to use as much of your limited energy to complete those things that give you joy.

The reality is that if you must cope with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, or any disabling condition that’s accompanied by debilitating fatigue, your health now dictates how you can manage your time. Others may be able to forego one activity in favor of another, yet still have “time” to squeeze a third activity in the mix. You don’t always have that luxury. For you, time itself is the luxury. Treat it like the treasure that it is. Your time will be more rewarding if you do.

Revision Copyright © 2010 Blue Rose Bouquet Group, LLC
All Rights Reserved

Time Management for Those with Disabilities is a post from: Chronic Illness.org

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Our society as a whole is very goal-oriented, and when you have a chronic illness like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia you may feel discouraged when you can’t accomplish as much as “everyone else” does. Setting goals gives you a way to work toward and measure your accomplishments.

To be effective, goals must be:

1. Measurable. We’ve all made goals like, “I’ll exercise more” or “I’ll do more around the house.” However, it is impossible to measure “more” so you can’t tell if you’ve met this goal or not.On the other hand, you can measure these goals: “I’ll walk around the block every day” or “I’ll wipe down the kitchen counters on Monday, dust the office on Tuesday,…”
2. Attainable/realistic. Set your goals according to what you can accomplish, not what you think you should accomplish or what “other people” do.Consider your illness; your goals may change from day to day or week to week as your illness goes into remission or exacerbation.

   It would probably be unrealistic to make a goal of, “I’ll do all the laundry every week on Monday.” A more realistic goal might be, “I’ll do one load of laundry every other day.” If you’re having a severe exacerbation of your Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia, you might make a goal to just wash a load of clothes one day, and fold and put it away the next day.

3. For you! Only you can work toward your goals. Do not make goals like “my husband will lose 20 pounds” or “my daughter will get straight A’s on her report card.” Your husband and daughter are the only ones who can accomplish those goals! You can make goals for yourself that will ultimately help them, like, “I’ll ask my husband to walk with me every evening” or “I’ll check my daughter’s homework every night.”
   

   How to Set Your Goals

   1. Write them down. When you write down your goals, it makes them become “real” and you in turn become committed to working toward them. You might be motivated by recording goals in a fancy notebook, or you might just want to jot them down on sticky notes and put them on your mirror. Do what works for you!
   2. Document your results. Keep track of your progress. Put a star on your calendar the days you exercise, keep a journal recording the books you’ve read, or make a list of the new healthier recipes you’ve tried. Now you have visible evidence that you’re accomplishing something!
   3. Make intermediate goals. If you have a big goal, you’ll need smaller intermediate goals. A goal stating, “I will clean the whole house, basement to attic, including the closets, by the end of the year” is overwhelming without smaller, intermediate goals. You might make a goal to clean the basement in January, one bedroom a week in February, and one closet a week in March.

   On days when you are able to cope with your Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia, try breaking your daily goals down into manageable steps. For example, instead of preparing a hamburger casserole supper in one session, set the table in the morning, brown hamburger right after noon and refrigerate it until later, and then assemble the casserole after a nap.

   1. Evaluate your goals. Evaluate each goal about a month after you make it. At that time you’ll have met it (congratulations!) or need to re-evaluate it.If you’ve made a weekly cleaning plan, are you able to get the scheduled tasks done every day? If so, great! Make this schedule a permanent part of your life. But if you find you’re too tired by Friday to get that day’s jobs done, either take a day off during the week or break your jobs down into smaller chunks. Re-evaluate your new goal in another month or so.

      If you’re lucky and your illness wanes and surges predictably, consider making two chore schedules: one for when you’re feeling good and one for when you’re not able to do as much.

   2. Give yourself rewards! (This is the fun part!) Along with the satisfaction of reaching your goals, rewards will motivate you. A great reward is taking a warm bath while reading a new novel. Based on your energy levels, you might choose something that brings you enjoyment, like seeing a movie with a friend, working in your garden, or taking a leisurely walk.

   Don’t be intimidated by all of these guidelines and steps to choosing your goals. The process is vital to setting and reaching goals, and easy if you follow the suggested steps. Your days will be more meaningful when you’re working toward something. Setting goals gives you something that you, and you alone, can control — and you’ll feel wonderful when you meet your goals!

   Shelly Burke is a happy, at-home mom. She and her husband have two children and many pets. Shelly is the author Home is Where the Mom Is: A Christian Mom’s Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home, from which this article is adapted. For more information, or to download a FREE goal sheet and read an excerpt of Home is Where the Mom Is, visit www.homeiswherethemomis.com.

Article Copyright © 2005-2010 Shelly Burke
All Rights Reserved

Setting Goals While You Cope with a Chronic Illness is a post from: Chronic Illness.org

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To help in your efforts to educate yourself about additives that can adversely affect your health, consult:

Wikipedia Food Additives Information

MedLine Plus Food Additives Information
U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health

Alphabetical Listing of Food Additives, Their Codes, and Links to National Library of Medicine Citations

Food Additives (uses other than as flavouring agents) Database
Administered jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)

Food Intolerance Network
This Australian Web site is “http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/” and shouldn’t be confused with the .com site by the same name that was created to counter the food additives information mentioned on this site.

Birds Eye in the UK bans artificial food additives from their products

U. S. Food and Drug Administration Explanation of (Justification for?) Food Additives

Food Navigator
Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development in Europe

Nutritional Ingredients: Preservatives and Their Link to Allergies and Sensitivities is a post from: Chronic Illness.org

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What is Fibromyalgia?

Defining Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia — which is also sometimes referred to as Fibromyalgia Syndrome, Fibromyositis, Fibrositis, or Myofascial pain syndrome — is a chronic disorder characterized by tenderness in localized areas of the neck, spine, shoulders, and hips sometimes referred to as tender points or pressure points.

What are some of the other symptoms associated with Fibromyalgia?

In addition to the tender points, Fibromyalgia is also associated with other body disturbances, including:

• concentration problems
• fatigue
• headaches
• irritable bowel syndrome
• joint discomfort
• morning stiffness
• muscle spasms
• muscle weakness
• musculoskeletal pain
• numbness in hands and feet
• sleep disturbances
• temperature sensitivities
• tingling sensation that may travel throughout the body
• widespread pain in joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues

Some Fibromyalgia victims also suffer from anxiety and depression, as a consequence of the illness rather than as a cause of the syndrome.

What are the criteria for a Fibromyalgia diagnosis?

Diagnosis is difficult. Currently there is not a medical test available to diagnosis the condition directly. At the present time, diagnosis is based on patient history and tender point sensitivity. A Fibromyalgia diagnosis requires a history of widespread pain lasting at least three months, and pain and tenderness in at least 11 of 18 tender-point sites. These tender-point sites include fibrous tissue or muscles of the:

• Neck
• Shoulders
• Chest
• Rib cage
• Lower back
• Thighs
• Knees
• Arms (elbows)
• Buttocks

Graphics that will help pinpoint the exact locations of these tender points and see which muscles are affected:

• American Academy of Family Physicians illustration of and explanation about the muscles affected by Fibromyalgia tender points
• Caring Medical Center illustration identifying the 18 Fibromyalgia Tender Points

Long-standing, body-wide pain with defined tender points is the primary characteristic of fibromyalgia. These Fibromyalgia tender points are distinct from trigger points seen in other pain syndromes. However, unlike tender points, trigger points sometimes occur in isolation and are a source of radiating pain, even in the absence of direct pressure. The pain associated with a tender point increases upon palpation of that tender point.

Pain and Causes of Fibromyalgia

What type of pain is associated with Fibromyalgia?

The soft-tissue pain of Fibromyalgia is described as burning, deep-aching, gnawing, radiating, or shooting, and ranges from mild to severe. Fibromyalgia victims also often wake up with body aches and stiffness. For some, that pain and stiffness improves during the day and increases again during the evening, and some have the opposite time table for pain and pain tolerance. On the other hand, many with Fibromyalgia have day-long, unrelenting pain. Pain can also increase from anxiety, cold or damp weather, increased physical activity, and stress.

While Fibromyalgia pain can be similar to that which occurs with types of arthritis, Fibromyalgia pain is seldom accompanied by the significant swelling, destruction, and deformity of joints present in diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

What causes Fibromyalgia?

The cause of this disorder is unknown. Fibromyalgia can develop on its own, or as a secondary affliction to other musculoskeletal conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or autoimmune illnesses like systemic lupus. Some believe physical or emotional trauma may play a role in development of Fibromyalgia. Also, some evidence points to the possibility that Fibromyalgia victims have abnormal pain transmission responses.

The possibility also exists that the sleep disturbances common in Fibromyalgia patients may actually cause the disorder. Another theory suggests that Fibromyalgia may be associated with changes in skeletal muscle metabolism (such as improper metabolism of the lactic acid excreted into the skeletal muscles during exertion and exercise), possibly caused by decreased blood flow, which could cause the “burning” sensation, chronic fatigue, and weakness.

Most illnesses are assumed to be triggered by an infectious microbe, such as a virus. With Fibromyalgia, no such virus or microbe has been identified.

While an exact cause for Fibromyalgia at present eludes medical professionals, research shows that Fibromyalgia patients appear to have an enhanced pain sensitivity and response originating from the central nervous system. Traumatic illness or injury may trigger the condition. Also, research continues to determine if other factors may lead to the development of Fibromyalgia, such as autoimmune dysfunction, connective tissue disease, environmental factors, genetics, or nutritional deficiencies.

Fibromyalgia Risk Factors and Treatment

What are some of the risk factors associated with Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia does seem to run in families, which points to a possible inherited tendency toward the disease, though evidence of this is preliminary rather than conclusive.

Fibromyalgia also has an increased frequency of onset among women between the ages of 20 to 50. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, the prevalence of the disease has been estimated between 0.7% and 13% for women, and between 0.2% and 3.9% for men.

What medical tests are used to diagnose Fibromyalgia?

In addition to establishing the presence of 11 of the 18 tender points, laboratory, x-ray, and other tests may be done to rule out other disorders that have similar symptoms.

Other underlying ailments, such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis, are also often present. Tests are done to check for these underlying conditions as well as to confirm Fibromyalgia.

What treatments are available for Fibromyalgia?

In some mild cases, symptoms sometimes decrease or go away altogether when stress is decreased or lifestyle changes are made. A combination of treatments can include counseling, medications, patient education, and physical therapy. Many Fibromyalgia victims also find support groups helpful.

For some, antidepressant medications are sometimes prescribed. Studies show that antidepressants (in lower doses than those used to treat clinical depression, which is a separate disorder) can decrease depression, improve sleep quality, release pain-killing endorphins, and relax craniofacial and skeletal muscles. Other medications sometimes used include anti-inflammatory pain medications and medications that work on pain transmission pathways, such as the epilepsy drug Gabapentin.

Eating a well-balanced diet and avoiding caffeine may help ease sleeping problems, and may help reduce the severity of the symptoms. Lifestyle measures to improve the quality of sleep can be effective for Fibromyalgia. Reducing stress and improving coping skills may also help reduce painful symptoms.

Fish oil, magnesium and malic acid combinations, vitamins, and other supplements may be effective.

Some may find relief from fibromyalgia symptoms by increasing exercise, especially low impact exercises, like walking and swimming, and later selective aerobic exercise. Beginning an exercise program slowly helps stretch and mobilize tight, sore muscles. High-impact aerobics and weight lifting may cause increased discomfort. Symptoms can also sometimes be relieved by gentle stretching and light massage, as well as acupressure, acupuncture, and relaxation techniques.

Severe cases of fibromyalgia may require a referral to a pain clinic.

Long-term effects and symptom comparisons

What long-term effects should somebody with Fibromyalgia expect? (In other words: What is the prognosis?)

While Fibromyalgia is a chronic problem for which there may be some fluctuation in the symptoms, there is no proof that Fibromyalgia Syndrome results in an increased death rate.

What other conditions mimic the symptoms of Fibromyalgia?

Cancer, depression, cervical and low-back degenerative disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, HIV infection, hypothyroidism, Lyme disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and sleep disorders may have symptoms similar to Fibromyalgia; however, none of them are known to be caused directly by Fibromyalgia.

Treatment Problems and Solutions

Are there any other factors that make treatment difficult for Fibromyalgia?

Management of Fibromyalgia is difficult because it requires a multi-therapeutic approach. The degree, frequency, and location of pain can vary from day to day for Fibromyalgia patients. In other words, a Fibromyalgia patient’s level of discomfort may range from mild muscle stiffness to extreme, radiating pain severe enough to cause complete debilitation that makes it impossible to carry out simple daily activities.

Keep in mind that most treatment primarily focuses on managing the symptoms. Because the severity of these symptoms varies from person to person and day to day, an efficient treatment plan focuses on trying to determine the underlying causes and establish an effective regimen to alleviate the symptoms sufficiently to allow the Fibromyalgia victim to meet his or her lifestyle goals. This requires an individualized plan. Determining what constitutes that plan is made more difficult when a Fibromyalgia victim’s pain and fatigue hinders the focus, determination, and dedication to take the necessary control to implement and maintain a treatment regimen.

Are there any factors that make treatment easier for the Fibromyalgia patient?

Perhaps first and foremost is the support of family and friends. It helps tremendously when the Fibromyalgia victim has the understanding of loved ones regarding the condition and the limitations it causes. Friends and family can help the patient apply the personalized Fibromyalgia management program. For example, this support can help the patient work through the lows and depression that can result during those times when pain levels are high. That support also includes gently ensuring the Fibromyalgia victim doesn’t overdo it on days when the pain is less severe.

This support of family and friends combined with a well-rounded, personalized management program created with the assistance of a knowledgeable physician who will work diligently to determine the underlying factors promises the best chance for improvement.

Are there any known ways to prevent Fibromyalgia?

There is no proven prevention for this disorder. Maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits is believed to help prevent most illness. Likewise do good sleep habits and stress coping skills. If, despite your best efforts, you develop the symptoms of Fibromyalgia, contact your health-care provider. The only way you can adequately treat any illness symptoms is by pinpointing as best is possible what is causing those symptoms. That includes ruling out other conditions that can mimic the symptoms of Fibromyalgia.

Copyright © 2004-2010 Blue Rose Bouquet Group, LLC
All Rights Reserved

Additional information:

Fast Facts about Fibromyalgia
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Fibromyalgia Resource

The pain from fibromyalgia is real, researchers say
An article about how University of Michigan doctors say widespread evidence verifies validity of condition, and say patients need to be taken seriously.

What is Fibromyalgia? is a post from: Chronic Illness.org

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by Pamela Rice Hahn

What is Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)?

Whether you call it Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), Environmental Illness (EI), 20th century disease, Total Allergy Syndrome, Idiopathic Environmental Illness, or Chemical AIDS, or if you suffer chemical sensitivities along with the devastation of Gulf War Illness (GWI), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), or Fibromyalgia (FMS), those who share my diagnoses are allergic or overly sensitive to many substances most of the world takes for granted.

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s Position and Policies on Multiple Chemical Sensitivities: Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance states that the condition is referred to by more than 20 different names, which in itself is a challenge. Adding to the confusion is the fact that the “terms refer to complaints of patients who report recurrent non-specific symptoms referable to multiple organ systems that the sufferers believe are provoked by exposure to low-levels of chemical, biological, or physical agents” and that “no consistent physical findings or laboratory abnormalities have yet been found to differentiate MCS patients from the remainder of the population.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration, “Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) is a highly controversial issue” because not everyone accepts that adverse reactions to chemicals “is classifiable as an illness.”

Chemicals are everywhere! In her photo essay No Safe Haven, Rhonda Zwillinger reports that between 1940 and 1980, the production of synthetic organic chemicals increased from less than 10 billion pounds per year to more than 350 billion. (Those figures are much higher than that now; while the United States and most European countries have improved emission standards since that time, the additives used to comply with new environmental regulations often cause problems for those with chemical sensitivities, which makes any exhaust fumes that much more problematic. It’s impossible to do away with all such emissions or exhaust in modern society. Therein lies the problem….)

Chemicals are not always a bad thing. Chemicals have improved the quality of life for many because of the resulting increased food production and improved sanitary conditions. However, for a growing segment of the population — 2% with severe symptoms and as many as 20% with some sensitivity, chemicals in their various forms (preservatives, insecticides, perfumes, etc.) moderately to drastically decrease the quality of life.

Because of sensitivities to synthetic scents and/or preservatives, some perfumes often smell like insecticide to someone with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Perfumes and other chemical agents can trigger the auras that precede a migraine, cause laryngitis, or cause vomiting. Even something as commonly used as chlorine in tap water can cause skin irritation or swollen ankles following every shower, not to mention increased dizziness while in the shower. Forget about drinking the stuff! Contending with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity means that food that others take for granted might trigger a reaction (hives, boils, or a rash or digestive problems) because of a problem preservative, additive, nitrites and nitrates in meats, or artificial flavoring

In the meantime, please take the time to look over the informative links I’ve compiled for this page. Knowledge is power!

Revision Copyright © 2010 Blue Rose Bouquet Group, LLC
All Rights Reserved

Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Personal Stories

The bullet points directly below are to individual articles:

• No Safe Haven: People With Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Are Becoming the New Homeless
  (E/The Environmental Magazine, September-October 1998)
  Photographs and Interviews by Rhonda Zwillinger
• Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
  (American Family Physician, Editorial, September 1998)
  ROY L. DEHART, M.D., M.P.H.
  University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
• Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome
  MICHAEL K. MAGILL, M.D.ANTHONY SURUDA, M.D., M.P.H.
  University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
  Article that accompanies above American Family Physician Editorial.
• Adverse Effects of “Inactive” Ingredients
  A chart that shows the possible side effects caused by food dyes
• Health Effects of Air Pollution NO ROOM TO BREATHE:Air Pollution and Primary Care Medicine
  Jefferson H Dickey, MD
• Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS): What It Is, What It Is Not, And How It Is Manifested.
  Transcript of a speech given by neuropsychologist
  SHEILA BASTIEN, Ph.D.
  PSYCHOLOGICAL CORP., Berkley, CA
• Everyday Exposure to Toxic Pollutants
  Environmental regulations have improved the quality of outdoor air. But problems that persist indoors have received too little attention
  by Wayne R. Ott and John W. Roberts
  (Article, Scientific American, February 1998)

CHEMICAL INJURY INFORMATION NETWORK
The Chemical Injury Information Network (CIIN) is a tax-exempt, non-profit, charitable support and advocacy organization run by the chemically injured for the benefit of the chemically injured.

MCS Referrals & Resources

PHOENIX RISING: Living with Chemical Injury

ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS NETWORK

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
More than 1 MILLION Material Safety Data Sheets (350,000 from 1300 manufacturers; 700,000 from public access databases); links to MSDS software, service, training and product providers; links to Government MSDS information; and an MSDS knowledge base where you can ask questions.

American Academy of Environmental Medicine
Environmental Medicine is the comprehensive, proactive and preventive strategic approach to medical care dedicated to the evaluation, management, and prevention of the adverse consequences resulting from Environmentally Triggered Illnesses. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine is a group of clinicians from various specialties banded together in the 1965 and formed a medical society.

MCSurvivors
A wonderful resource site!!!

Jury Awards $10.6 million to Victim of Perfume Exposure

BetterBasics
Annie Berthold-Bond’s how-to site for less toxic living

REFERENCE
Links to the Merck Manual, Medical Dictionaries, and other useful information.

What is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) and Environmental Illness (EI)? is a post from: Chronic Illness.org

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