My Chronic Life

I learned about this day from Lisa. Thanks for sharing this info with me.

Miscarriages occur often in women with Chronic Illnesses. This is a subject that many of us are not aware of. I’ve had three myself and the sadness and grief are indescribable. Knowing that my medical conditions may have caused this to happen had me feeling guilty for a long time.

After my third miscarriage (this is after having Peanut, two before her and then one after) I decided I would not get pregnant any longer. I now believe that this was a blessing in disguise because I was later diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis. With all of my health issues carrying, having and caring for an infant may have made me or the baby very sick.

I found some info I’d like to share with you. This is not to scare you but prepare you if you chose to become pregnant if you have a chronic illness.

“Autoimmune disorders, heart disease, kidney and liver disease, diabetes—chronic illnesses such as these cause as many as 6 percent of recurring miscarriages. If you have a chronic illness, find an obstetrician experienced in caring for women with your condition.”

From: You & Your Baby: Pregnancy. (c) Copyright Meredith Corporation 2006. All rights reserved. You & Your Baby is a trademark of Meredith Corporation. Written by Laura Riley, M.D.

The rest of her article can be found here.

Please light a candle in memory of our losses and in unity of our strength as women. Please reach out if your grief is overwhelming. And share this Wave of Light Day with others. Let the healing continue with each day.

You’ve heard about friends with benefits. What about bloggers with benefits? Get your dirty mind out of the gutter!

I’ve been amazed with the wonderful things that have been happening since I’ve been blogging. First I won this domain and set up for a year from a contest from Everyday Randomness and 2 Cheap Blogs.

Yesterday I won an MP3 player from a contest held by The Reality of Brat. And today I won a $5 Amazon gift card and banner ad on Cash Buddy Cafe. And I have the opportunity to win more!

The last prize package came from Blogger Love. This forum is having it’s grand opening contest today. But it’s not all about prizes. It’s about fun, friendship and learning…a lot! I’m really enjoying the time I spend there. Come on over and join in on the fun!

This is not the normal thing I post about but these photos are so beautiful I just couldn’t pass up sharing them with you. From what I understand Pink Dolphins are actually albinos. They are rare but so lovely to look at.

These photos are from Calcasieu Charters web site.

I hope you enjoy them:

It’s almost 4:30 PM and I’ve hit that point of no return. There’s no way to stay awake, nothing will work. My eyelids feel like lead. I’m getting klutzy, falling over my own feet and having trouble typing. I know I need to give in and take a nap.

Peanut is home from school. I hate doing this when it’s just the two of us, but I can’t help it. No matter what I do, sleep is calling me. She’s got her homework started and I’ve told her I’ll be in the den taking a nap. Poor thing, but she’s used to it. Or is she?

My dentist appointment today wasn’t as bad as I thought. The shot he gave me for pain worked very well. Actually I didn’t even feel him give me a shot. This guy’s amazing. I was really tense for the procedure and once I got the shot I began to feel sleepy. I checked for the MG symptoms but it wasn’t bad. It was just a feeling of weakness or fatigue. I brought my sunglasses thank goodness as the bright dental light really bothered me.

Everything went smoothly. The temporary crown was in place and the dentist came back in the room to see how things were. Then without any warning, he just said, “Open as wide as you can”. He put in an impression mold. This was different than the others he used before. The others, two to be exact were just on the top of my mouth. No biggie.

This one was a full mouth tray. After he put it in I began having a panic attack. The assistant was in there but she was walking around not looking at me. I started banging my feet on the chair, then my hands. Then when she got close enough, I tapped her on the back.

All she said was that it was going to be only 5 minutes. If she took it out, she’d have to do it all over again. She said, breathe through your nose. Got me a paper towel for my tears and went back to her work. I banged the chair again. She turned around. I pointed to the floor with both index fingers trying to “tell” her to stay with me.

She got it. She realized I was crying not just tearing from the mold. So she stood near me and had me breath slowly. She kept checking to see if the mold had hardened so she could remove it as quickly as possible. At last it was over.

I told her that it wouldn’t have been so bad if I knew what was happening. I explained to her that with having MG the feeling of not being able to catch my breath or swallow and of choking is entrenched in my brain. The memories came flooding in.

A real, live panic attack in the dentist’s office. Good one. Let’s see how I can top that.

Oh yeah, when I went to make my appointment for my other crown. The receptionist said there was nothing in my chart about it. So she checked with the dentist. He said that yes I needed it and if I would’ve told him, he could’ve done both of them at the same time. He actually asked me if I wanted to get back in the chair to do the other one. Guess what my answer was?

That’s me - a scared patient. I know it’s dumb. I’ve been through so much but going to the dentist scares me. Even if it’s just a teeth cleaning. Today I’m going to get a crown put on. And….he has to use a lighter anesthetic due to the Myasthenia Gravis (MG). Wonderful!

In an earlier post I wrote about how mothers with Chronic Illnesses do things differently. Recently when I was sick with a cough and cold I learned just how much Peanut reacts to my health issues.

I became sick on a Friday while she was at school. Hubby happened to have the day off from work as well as Saturday and Sunday. So she was busy with him while I was zonked out. But when Sunday night came around it was a different story.

Peanut told us that she didn’t feel well. She had a headache and a sore throat (some of the symptoms I had). We took her temperature and looked at her throat but realized it was not real when she began to eat pretzels and run around the house.

At bedtime she complained again. Hubby told her to go to sleep because there wasn’t anything wrong with her. She kept getting out of bed because she was scared. She finally admitted that she was afraid to leave me home alone while she was at school. She’s seen too much, been afraid too much and doesn’t want to face something happening to me.

I guess this is pretty typical of children who have parents with chronic or life-threatening illnesses. I’m praying that a support group will be started either at our church, school or somewhere in our community.

Moms, have you had to deal with these issues?

When you look at your life and have a habit of seeing negative things like me it’s tough to find something that you’ve done that others may see as a kind act or caring on your part.

I come from a Social Work background so I’m used to giving of myself, to helping, to lending an ear and to researching information for people. It just comes naturally for me.

A few weeks ago I got an email from a friend that I’ve met online who may have Myasthenia Gravis. She’s having a really tough time getting a diagnosis. In fact she’s even having trouble to get time off from work to go to any doctors’ appointments. We’ve been keeping in touch by email as she often has questions about new symptoms she’s experiencing or just to vent about how tough it is to work a full time and part time job when all she wants to do is sleep or rest.

Anyway, she emailed me about an outing her son and daughter-in-law wanted her to attend. It was an outdoor Renaissance Festival. She was afraid to go because she didn’t know if she’d ruin their day if she started to feel weak and had trouble walking.

I told her that fear isn’t what keeps us going. It’s important to be smart about our limitations but that there’s ways around almost everything. I suggested renting a scooter or asking if someone had a travel wheelchair she could borrow, to be sure she stayed cool and out of the direct sunlight and to drink lots of water. And to GO and have fun!

She wrote back a few days later and thanked me. She really didn’t take my advice. She ended up purchasing a cane with a seat attached, but she said that I really encouraged her. She was honest with her son and d-i-l about her fears. They showed her by still taking her that they loved her and by understanding she may need to go a bit slower, rest or even leave if it got to be too much for her.

I felt so good after this. I’ve been helping her with medical info, linking her to websites and trying to help her find a neurologist but this simple act of giving her hope for one day seemed to be the most special thing I’ve done for her.

If you’d like to share your own Random Act of Kindness there’s a great contest going on at The Reality of A Brat.

A blogger friend has started a blog to help her brother-in-law fight cancer. Mike had Esophageal Cancer more than a year ago. He had to have his esophagus and part of his stomach removed. He also went through chemotherapy at that time.

Mike learned that the cancer has returned in his spine and ribs. His doctors have given him 4 months to 2 years to live. With a loving wife, children and extended family he is not giving up hope.

The chemotherapy that he requires now is not fully covered by his health insurance as it is considered experimental. He also is seeking alternative treatments and taking supplements so he can withstand the chemo.

Please visit Fighting For Mike. You can make a monetary donation, send used ink cartridges or cell phones for recycling, pray and spread the word to the blogging community, your family, friends and even your church.

There is always hope when there is love.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month - I think everyone knows someone touched by this disease. Go Pink for the cure!

Lupus Awareness Month - A Chronic Illness with serious health issues. Please visit the Lupus Foundation of America for information.

Celiac Disease Awareness Month - Chronic reaction to glutens.

Dental Hygiene Month - Thank goodnes for Gentle Hygienists. As a person with Sjogren’s Syndrome I have my teeth cleaned every 4 months.

Down Syndrome Month - “One in every 733 babies born in the U.S. has Down syndrome. The life expectancy of people with Down syndrome has increased dramatically in recent decades - from 25 in 1983 to 56 today. In that same span of time, advancements in education, research and advocacy have had a tremendous impact on the opportunities that individuals with Down syndrome have to live healthy and fulfilling lives.” from the National Down Syndrome Society 

Disability Employment Awareness Month - “This effort to educate the American public about issues related to disability and employment actually began in 1945, when Congress enacted a law declaring the first week in October each year “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.” In 1962, the word “physically” was removed to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. In 1988, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to ‘National Disability Employment Awareness Month.’ ” from the Office of Disability Employment Policy