Cures or Hype?

I have watched videos and read testimonials on different blogs and sites for the past couple of days. I watched the trailer for a documentary that is to be released soon dealing with food and chronic diseases. Everyone, it seems, is jumping on the bandwagon of "curing" diabetes, fibromyalgia, hypertension and a myriad of other diseases so common in our society today. I have to wonder, what exactly is the motivation? Is it money, fame, or a sincere desire to help?

A few sites tout their system or treatment as revolutionary and the cure for fibromyalgia and CFS. One that I viewed tonight dealt with electrical impulses. The doctor in the video stated that you would have to be screened and then it would be decided if you were a candidate for treatment.

A new documentary "Forks over Knives", the trailer I spoke of previously, looked at the western diet as the cause of all our chronic illnesses. This appeared to advocate a vegan diet and called for the exclusion of all animal products in the layman's diet.

Another website called attention to vitamin D and the miracle of adding "their" particular supplements to the diet. I have personally tried this approach with no reduction in symptoms noted over a 3 month period. I did have the bloodwork done and was diagnosed with a low level of the vitamin and took the doctor recommended dosage.

Of course, there is the virus factor that has been bandied about too. This one remains interesting to me but does not appear to be attracting the interest of a majority of researchers.

The most plausible research to date seems to be the CNS link to trauma and the onset of CFS/fibromyalgia. No cure has been suggested but I believe more will be said about this topic in the future.

Okay, that all being said, what do all these sites claim? Cures: supplemental vitamin D, certain herbal supplements, vegan diet, electrical stimulation of the brain, chiropractic, magnets and so forth. I have tried a few of these and with little noted results. My chiropractor has been of the most benefit with heat packs, manipulation and electric stimulation directly to the muscles, however, this is symptom management, not a cure.

I believe that as chronic pain sufferers, we want to believe these claims. We want to believe the hype. We want to try the products or services in the hope that, just maybe, our pain will be gone. That we can rejoin the normal world. A day, week, month or lifetime of no more unrelenting pain. I fear that we are often throwing our money, faith and even health down a rabbit hole. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is not a good idea. I am not against new ideas but I hate the idea of someone capitalizing on my pain, as if my suffering was something to be played with, to be trampled into the dirt for a profit. I am confident that the research currently being done will shed light on this condition, but until that happens let common sense be your guide. Find a good doctor and stay with him. Find something that works, even if it is as old school as my trusty heating pad. In addition, don't ignore the role of faith and prayer in dealing with the daily pain and fatigue.

Until a cure is found, buyer beware my friends! God bless.

Whine, whine, whine

Tonight I just have to whine. Whine! I am so tired of fibro pain today. The unrelenting pain in my shoulders, the knee pain, the electrical shock like pains in my left foot, this just plain bites! How will I deal with this? Well, after a little while, I will down some muscle relaxer, a vicodin or two and take a hot shower to hopefully allow for some relaxation and tension relief. I will try and lose myself in TV, maybe get my IPOD out for some relaxing Christian music or pray. But . . .

It is Friday night. I long to do something different. A change to the routine, the routine that my body in it's state of pain craves. Not so long ago my husband and I always went out with friends, to dinner and sometimes for a drink. I can not remember the last time we did something like this. Right now, my hubby is at work, getting some paperwork done, knowing that I am in pain and trying to rest. He is a wonderful man, so considerate and loving. He gets the fibro world that I am trapped in.

Fibro world is not like Disney World. There is no fun involved, however it feels like I have been standing for hours in line waiting for my turn on a ride. Fibro world means pain, pain, pain with fatigue and some sprinkling of other conditions and variations of types of pain. What would I name a ride if I could? The twist and pull. That pretty much sums up my neck and shoulders tonight.

I want to leave fibro world. For 15 years I have been a resident, living with a myriad of symptoms, visiting a plethora of doctors and downing hundreds of pills. Not only is fibro world not a fun place to visit, it is very expensive! You take people with you at the start but it is quite common to lose friends and family along the way. That hurts the most.

I am going now to take the meds, stand in the shower under the hot spray and pray for relief. How are you feeling tonight? I pray you are not a visitor to fibro world.

Not tonight

Fibro and knee pain win again. No post tonight. :o(

Prayer Meeting

Last night I attended a prayer meeting without moving from my chair. It was a live remote broadcast from Gospel for Asia headquarters in Texas. There was singing, a message and about 5 presentations on different areas of specific prayer requests. I noticed a diverse mix of people; male and female, children and teens, seniors and 30 somethings.

I did not know exactly what to expect going into the broadcast. I did expect prayer, a message and singing. What I did not expect were the presentations. Ah the presentations. That is where everything changed.

A teenager shared about her mission trip to the streets of a metro area in India. She told of a small street boy, about age 5, who followed her group from place to place. As the presentation continued the young lady became increasingly tearful and had to stop at times to compose herself. She had a picture of the boy and shared it with the audience. What I saw was a beautiful little lad with jet black hair and haunting eyes. Closing her presentation she said she would never forget that little boy and would forever wonder what would become of him. I fear for this little one.

Another presenter was a 20 something young woman. She was modestly dressed with a lace head cover. This presenter shared details regarding dowry killings in India. Apparently there are in-laws and/or groom becomes dissatisfied with the amount of the dowry paid by the bride's family. If the demands for the extra money and/or other compensations are not met the bride's new family may express their displeasure in a horrible way. The new bride is led into the kitchen, doused with kerosene and a lit match is flicked toward her. She burns to death as her new groom watches. The police are told it was a cooking accident. Whew. I could hardly breathe as I listened to the tearful words from such a young person. She went on to tell the story of a poor widow whose 4 daughters committed suicide together rather than burden their mother with the problem of 4 dowries. Wow. I tried to put myself into that world but I could not. In my most horrid dream I could not imagine this scenario. The presentation wound up by telling the audience that yes there are laws against this practice of dowry killings. I still could not get my brain around the stories I had heard.

After the prayer meeting I had the feeling that I had been to another world, another age, another time. The unfortunate thing was that I had not. These things were happening. These things are happening. Horrid things, sad things. Our world is a fallen one, ruled by the devil himself. There are beautiful things too but they can be outweighed by stories like this. I did not feel helpless however. I felt at peace, a peace only my connection with God through prayer could bring. Do you believe in God? Is Jesus your Lord and Savior? If not, and you would like more info and my personal testimony, you can email me at donnakorzun@yahoo.com. I would love to talk with you and answer any questions you may have. God bless.

Shredding, sorting and green thoughts.

Today I am knee deep in shredding. Some of the shredding is mine, some I inherited from my mother. My mom moved in with my sister in August and is on hospice. My job is to shred her unneeded personal papers and be the keeper of family photos. But, today it is all about the shredding, sorting, shredding, resting (because of the fibromyalgia) sorting and shredding.

I do the shredding and sorting because I care about the earth and all the people living in it. It would be so easy to just stuff all the papers in a trash bag and dump it all in my trash can, but I plug along with my task. Hopefully I will not overheat my shredder like I did the last time I had a mega session of shredding.

Yesterday I did more recycling. I had a rare burst of energy and got all my cardboard together along with my plastics. Into the designated yellow bag went the plastics. Luckily my company allows me to mix everything together which is heaven and so convenient.

My husband is even more rabid than me. Both of us remember the first Earth Day. It was our belief at the time that our generation was going to do the right thing, to change federal and state energy policies and step up with more self-sustaining behaviors as a society. As I look around and read articles I can only wonder, what happened to those idealistic dreams? Where are all the people who carried signs and pledged to care for God's green earth? I am not sure. I think a few are still trying to change things but there are not enough. What can we do?

We can do a few things easily:
1. Do business with companies that follow green practices.
2. Recycle as much as possible.
3. Try and buy products that can be recycled and have the least packaging.
4. Use cloth bags for shopping. A product called Tote Buddy will help.
5. Plan your driving.
6. Turn down the thermostat.
7. Research clubs or groups in your area that encourage green ideas.

Anyone can do these few things, if desired. Hopefully someday we will wake up to the fact that we are selling our souls to other countries who will someday hold us hostage over the energy and we use and abuse. I fear that this may happen sooner than later. I can only do my small part, but one part combined with others becomes a movement and a movement becomes change. A change for the better. A change for our future. A change forever. That is my prayer for our nation and our environment.

I am so cold!

I am so cold. Colder than cold. I hate to leave the house in the winter. The cold makes my muscles cramp as I shiver. The cramping and tightening translate into pain. I run the car heat on full blast and put the seat heater on high. This relieves some of the pain, however, those of us with fibromyalgia know that once the pain sets in there will be a long haul to relief.

I was not always this way. As a child my mother could not get me in the house in the winter. I played with my brothers, built snow forts and followed animal tracks in the snow. I watched the squirrels and birds feed from the food and seeds we left for them. Watching the snow fall around me, I would stick out my tongue and try to catch a snowflake. We made snow ice cream. When time came to finally satisfy my mother and come into the house, she often had home-made hot chocolate. Yum! I can't remember my fingers turning blue . . . . .

As I grew older I would often ride my horse out into the snowy fields of our 80 acre farm. Stormy loved the snow and we would be out for hours trudging in the brush, crossing icy streams and trotting down the dirt road by the farm I did not have fancy fleece, just my denims, a sweatshirt with another jacket and plain old work gloves. Yet I was not cold . . . . .

Fast forward to adulthood. I am now a mom of multiple children. I always took them outside to build snowmen, forts and a few lobs of snowball that always drew giggles. My dog Buster, while not the smartest animal alive, loved the snow and ran around playfully anytime the children or I were outside. I don't remember shivering so hard. . . .

Move along to age 40. Coming down the stairs. Slipping and falling. Pain for days despite pain pills, rest and heat. Days and months go by with new symptoms, more pain and the addition of daily fatigue. Forward to the present day. Now I find I am cold. I dress in layers with fleece, scarves, hats, heavy socks and thick mittens. I can't stand outside or I shiver to the point of pain. Pain that racks my body. My finger and toenails turn blue. They burn with a pain that feels like fire. I do not go outside unless I have to. I am afraid of the pain. . . .

Today I am watching the snow. I am so tired that I had to cancel my physical therapy appointment. I can not get warm. I feel like I am trapped inside the house, held prisoner by the cold and frigid weather. I am watching the snow. It drifts down slowly to the ground. So beautiful yet so painful. I dream about the days when I was outside laughing and playing in the snow and thumbed my nose at old man winter. I smile as I think about it all but now it is only a distant memory. No more snowballs, snowmen or icicles on my nose. I just watch from the other side of the glass with a hot chocolate cupped in my cold fingers. I sip slowly from the steamy concoction and try to stay warm. That is what I will do until old man winter leaves and the green of spring allows me outside again.

Thoughts on sacrifice

Recently I have felt convicted about my lifestyle, not that I am driving a Lexus or dining on shrimp cocktails, but still convicted. I am disabled by my chronic health conditions. I receive disability and my husband has a job with above the national average pay. We have good insurance coverage and a retirement plan. I checked on the internet and we are considered in the top 25% of Americans in income. All I could think was, are you kidding me? This only convicted me more. To that end I started thinking about others, people without jobs, people living in poverty, in other countries and in slavery working in substandard factories in the Third World. Now, I was convicted even more. . . . .

Now, what to do about my feelings of conviction. The word sacrifice came to me. Sacrifice. Wikipedia states that sacrifice,used figuratively, is in the general meaning "to give up something valuable for a higher purpose". What can that mean to me in my life, with the weight of conviction that I was feeling?

After thought, I have decided to "sacrifice" in my life. Here are a few things I have come up with:

1. Increase my giving to the Salvation Army. This organization helps people in disasters all over the world and locally in my county.

2. Increase my giving to Gospel for Asia. This organization trains native missionaries to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Asia.

3. Make sure that I am meeting my giving for my local home church.

4. Purge much of my MANY extras to donate to a local thrift store run by a local church to benefit former drug users (women) to reunite with their families.

5. Buy less.

6. Put myself on a restricted budget for a specified amount of time to really learn to live with less (to be blogged on later).

7. Read up on life in the Third World countries.

8. Read more on simple living, making do with less, etc.

9. Read my Bible and really take to heart God's Word to us regarding the poor.

This is where I am going to start. I will be writing on this subject more as it is very dear to me. Please leave any thoughts on this subject as I begin my quest to be less of me and more of them. Be blessed.