Although I have Fibromyalgia, Myasthenia Gravis and Anemia and am so tired all the time, I often have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Sometimes it’s due to the chronic pain I have, sometimes it’s anxiety, sometimes I get my days and nights mixed up because I nap so frequently during the day and sometimes it’s that I’m over tired.

Some suggestions to help you sleep and possibly get a more restorative sleep are below:

• Avoid caffeine.
• Keep a regular sleep schedule
• Drink warm milk before sleeping
• Don’t eat a large meal before sleeping
• Keep your bed for sleeping or sex only. If you can’t fall asleep get out of bed, try to read or listen to some soft music. Don’t toss and turn.
• Be sure that your bed, mattress and pillows are comfortable. Don’t just choose any mattress because it’s on sale. Research. Try out the various types of platform beds, pillows including body pillows.
• Keep your bedroom dark and quiet
• Use relaxation techniques
• Check with your doctor or pharmacist to see if there are any medications that you take that may be keeping you awake
• Try to avoid long naps during the day
• If your bed partner snores or there is other noise that keeps you awake, try ear plugs

Hopefully these suggestions will help you in your goal to seek a good night’s sleep.

When we are easily fatigued, weak, unsteady on our feet or using an assistive device such as a wheelchair, walker or powerchair we need to be sure of keeping our homes safe.

1. Check for any type of tripping hazards such as loose throw rugs, electrical cords and items in walking areas. Remove these.
2. If you are weak and/or have an unsteady gait, don’t use the tub or shower when home alone. If that’s not possible, keep a cordless phone nearby in case of a fall. Install grab bars and raised commode seats if needed.
3. Be sure that the water temperature is not set too high to avoid scalding.
4. Use a shower seat and hose and don’t use bath oils or lotions in the shower or bath.
5. To save energy, place one foot in bathroom cabinets while leaning over Kohler sinks to do your washing up.
6. Have night lights available so that when waking at night walk ways are lit up.
7. Keep some important lists handy – the address and phone number of the home (you can forget things when you’re in a panic), information on medications and doctors’ phone numbers (sometimes called a File of Life), and contact information for family members.

It is important to a person’s well being to be able to remain at home when ill. A person can feel better about their life and may recover or not have flare ups as often if they are not in an unfamiliar environment.

If there’s a way for me to promote my favorite non-profit, DOUA I do it. I search the internet high and low for places to spread the word about this fine organization. For example on this post I was able to share information on DOUA. When I read about the latest Blog Battle Royale held by Izea I knew this was a great opportunity to not only support the Disabled Online Users Association but a chance to raise some very needed funds too.

My post on DOUA led to new members joining as students. That’s another goal of mine – to inform people who need the services of this non-profit. I also have a link to it on my blogrolls here and on my other blog. One of my goals for this blog is to be an advocate for people with disABILITIES. Providing this resource fits in perfectly with my blog’s theme.

DOUA is an organization for people with any type of disABILITY. It is totally free. The goal is to teach people to use the internet to earn money, especially by selling on eBay. I’ve been fortunate enough to find it at a time when I was at my lowest, feeling like I had lost my ability to do anything worthwhile. I was told I could no longer work and I was almost homebound.

The Disabled Online Users Association gave me the tools I needed to sell items on eBay and to gain back my self-confidence. In their training center I got support and made friends. I am now a mentor at DOUA. I am able to help others who are starting out. I also attempt to find volunteers and sponsors. So being a part of my first Blog Battle Royale can accomplish many things.

To make the mission of DOUA easy to understand, here’s a quote from Marjie Smith, Founder and Executive Director, “Our goal at DOUA is to help the differently-abled become self-sufficient and independent. If you’re disabled and would like to start your own online business, we can help.”

Ever since I was diagnosed with a rare disease, named of all things – Myasthenia Gravis – I’ve learned to do research. I started out at the library because that was the way I was used to doing it. Then as I realized the books were old and the information was outdated I began to use the internet to learn about this disease. When I did I was able to find out about the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation which then helped me to locate a specialist for this neuromuscular disease.

As my diagnoses increased I researched more on the internet. I learned what sites were from accurate medical authorities and what were sited trying to sell the latest cure-all. My neurologist suggested staying informed of new treatments, support groups online, and any new information online. I’m one of the lucky ones. Some people with chronic illnesses have doctors who dislike when their patients do any type of research.

Some suggestions for anyone doing medical research are to keep it in perspective and to look at it in the framework of as much legitimate information you can find. Do talk to your doctor about what you’ve found if you feel it is something helpful. Find some sites where people who have the same diagnosis meet and hear their opinions. Be careful with that too. Some people on social medical sites are there to sell something.

Keep your eyes open for snake oil salesmen. They may pitch the latest juice, plasma cutting, a vitamin or even some type of counseling that you can only get at one certain health resort.

When we have health concerns and we are overwhelmed, we may need to do something drastic to get ourselves back on track, to de-stress. If we’ve tried all of our normal stress relief measures (listening to music, spending a weekend in a hotel in Vegas, or doing yoga) and have even tried some new ones, we may need to seek the assistance of our regular doctor, or a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker or therapist. (For those of us that have a background based on faith we can speak to our clergy person first. Many do have training in counseling.)

Some of us may require medications for anxiety or depression or both. There’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t look at it as a stigma. Look at it as a necessary medical intervention. Sometimes anxiety or depression is reactive. For example we feel nervous or sad because our health has taken a turn for the worse, a loved one has died or we’re dealing with moving to a new place, etc. The medication may be needed just until we get over this area of stress. Sometimes we have a chemical imbalance in our brains that causes anxiety or depression. For this we may need to be on medication for long periods of time or for the rest of our lives.

We have so many health issues to deal with. Don’t leave out your mental health too!

As someone with multiple chronic illnesses I’ve prepared my Living Will, Health Care Surrogate and my Will. I’ve spoken to the people who I would like to help my husband raise our youngest daughter if something happens to me physically or if I die. I have some of my funeral arrangements made. Is this morbid? Not at all. The reality is that I’m sick with many health conditions. They are under control, thank God but something minor can happen and it can cause me great physical harm.

My husband doesn’t like to think about these types of things. When I got us an appointment for an attorney to write up our will, he was angry. I needed to have this done before I had major surgery almost five years ago. I wouldn’t feel comfortable unless I did this.

I don’t have life insurance any longer now that I don’t work a regular job. I know that we need this as our income will drop when I die plus we’ll need childcare. I’m trying to talk my husband into looking into life insurance rates for me. This is another way to feel prepared.