Coping Academy — Charter Member T-Shirt and Gift Ideas Index

Janelle Meraz Hooper is an award-winning independent author with five books published in the novel, romance, and short story genres. She is from Oklahoma but now lives in Washington State. Her website is: www.JanelleMerazHooper.com. You can also read her short stories, essays, and other writings at The Blue Rose Bouquet. She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached at: JanelleMHooper@comcast.net.

Chronic-Illness.org invites you to read about Janelle Meraz Hooper’s systemic lupus and arthritis experience:

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View the design for the shirt Pammy is wearing and other slow going designs on this page.

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Make a statement, raise awareness, and prove that you’re getting beyond the frustration that accompanies whatever slows you down with these upbeat

It’s better to be slow going than to be not going at all!

t-shirt and gift idea designs.

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Diets Streamlined for Those with Disabling Chronic Conditions

(Revised) There are lots of diet plans to choose from. Each has its own claims to fame — or at least its promise of a more healthful eating lifestyle. Part of the problems with those diagnosed with syndromes and conditions like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FM) is that not everybody experiences exactly the same symptoms. For example, some with Fibromyalgia have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS); others do not. Therefore, the same as not every treatment plan works for everyone diagnosed with CFS or FM, there isn’t a “one size fits all” eating regimen either. Many find they must match their diet with their (for lack of a better word) form of their disease, syndrome, or condition.

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Anyone who copes with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS, CFIDS), Fibromyalgia (FM, FMS), or any other fatiguing disabling chronic condition or disease will be able to relate to this comic strip:

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Excerpt from:

10 Natural Remedies That Can Save Your Life
by James F. Balch (Doubleday, April 1999)

GARLIC :

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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.

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by Bernie aka TigerLilea

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.

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by Pamela Rice Hahn

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.
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Time Management for Those with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, & Other Disabling Conditions

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.
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