About
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My faith has always been the glue that has held me together. I am a Christian, a spiritual and spirit-filled being. I've always known about Jesus in a personal way, he was like a presence near me, around me - it is so hard to explain. I see his caring for me in amazing ways; miracles, answers to prayer, guidance, and saving me from myself in spite of my choices. I should have been dead by now, but I am not because he saved me (in more ways than one!)
I've had diagnosed Sjogren's Syndrome for 26 years at the time of this writing. I got diagnosed with it after having mono, they told me I was positive for Lupus first. I've got a raging hiatal hernia (and bad strictures because of it), a bad stomach, and my bowels rebel if I'm not careful. I have trouble swallowing and need gravy or something of that viscosity to eat easily. My eyes are scraped and damaged because I have no tears. I haven't been able to cry in at least 15 years. I get weird, labor-pain like nerve pain in arms, legs, side, abdomen, back and have trigeminal neuralgia in my head/ear. Sometimes I get ocular headaches and go blind in one or both eyes. My back and neck cause me nearly constant pain, they have my entire life, but car accidents and age have made the problems worse. With all of that going on, how would I know if something was just me or something new, a "NOW WHAT?!?"
I feel like one of my worst attributes is that drugs are not my friends. I've successfully avoided almost every one of them because the side effects are intolerable. My choice is do I suffer, or suffer-suffer and have to take drugs to counteract the new suffer? For example, I eat tums like candy because the little purple pill and things like it made me insatiably ravenous, depressed, have headaches, and my hair fall out. I use estrogen in a spray called Evamist. 1 spray, the lowest dose, just enough to keep me sane. It is my mood regulator. Other than occasional Tylenol or Ibuprofen and Refresh tears, I take nothing. When my stomach tolerates it, I drink Pinot Grigio wine in a tall glass, over ice, and with water in it. I like chocolate, cake, and potato chips, I am cutting down and/or eliminating them. That's the extent of my vices.
Medical drama aside, I love to write, create, garden, read, swim (ok, play mermaid with my sister while drinking our beverages of choice...), walk around in my yard and look at gardens, plants, and the progress we've made - and animals. I love animals. Watching our kitties, chickens, or the wild animals and birds we feed, is seriously how we entertain ourselves and our visitors. I am not kidding. I also love having people come visit me. I mean for days, not hours. We've set up our home to specifically include visitors. Ask anyone who has been here. I can't think of what else to include...
Here I am circa 2004. Those were the days, my friend...
I've had diagnosed Sjogren's Syndrome for 26 years at the time of this writing. I got diagnosed with it after having mono, they told me I was positive for Lupus first. I've got a raging hiatal hernia (and bad strictures because of it), a bad stomach, and my bowels rebel if I'm not careful. I have trouble swallowing and need gravy or something of that viscosity to eat easily. My eyes are scraped and damaged because I have no tears. I haven't been able to cry in at least 15 years. I get weird, labor-pain like nerve pain in arms, legs, side, abdomen, back and have trigeminal neuralgia in my head/ear. Sometimes I get ocular headaches and go blind in one or both eyes. My back and neck cause me nearly constant pain, they have my entire life, but car accidents and age have made the problems worse. With all of that going on, how would I know if something was just me or something new, a "NOW WHAT?!?"
I feel like one of my worst attributes is that drugs are not my friends. I've successfully avoided almost every one of them because the side effects are intolerable. My choice is do I suffer, or suffer-suffer and have to take drugs to counteract the new suffer? For example, I eat tums like candy because the little purple pill and things like it made me insatiably ravenous, depressed, have headaches, and my hair fall out. I use estrogen in a spray called Evamist. 1 spray, the lowest dose, just enough to keep me sane. It is my mood regulator. Other than occasional Tylenol or Ibuprofen and Refresh tears, I take nothing. When my stomach tolerates it, I drink Pinot Grigio wine in a tall glass, over ice, and with water in it. I like chocolate, cake, and potato chips, I am cutting down and/or eliminating them. That's the extent of my vices.
Medical drama aside, I love to write, create, garden, read, swim (ok, play mermaid with my sister while drinking our beverages of choice...), walk around in my yard and look at gardens, plants, and the progress we've made - and animals. I love animals. Watching our kitties, chickens, or the wild animals and birds we feed, is seriously how we entertain ourselves and our visitors. I am not kidding. I also love having people come visit me. I mean for days, not hours. We've set up our home to specifically include visitors. Ask anyone who has been here. I can't think of what else to include...
Here I am circa 2004. Those were the days, my friend...
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