There is a difference between brain fog and memory loss. Brain Fog is related to chronic illnesses such as Fibromyalgia, Sjogren’s Syndrome, ME/CFS, etc. It’s also related to lack of minerals or vitamins, some prescription medications and some forms of chemotherapy.

Brain Fog feels like you are confused and forgetful. You may not be able to do remember words easily. You may feel “spaced out” or that you’re in the clouds. You have difficulty keeping on task. Simple tasks that you were able to do easily such as add numbers become difficult. With Brain Fog or because of it you may feel sad or depressed.

Memory Loss is permanent and progressively gets worse. One day you can’t remember where your keys are or what a KVM is. As your memory loss gets worse you can’t remember your own family member’s names or the directions to your home. You begin to lose cognitive functioning of all kinds. Memory Loss is often related to Alzheimer’s Disease, Alcoholism, Dementia, Stroke, HIV, Brain Tumors, etc. This is a much more serious problem.

If you have any type of problems with your memory please see a physician.

This is a continuing series which began with this post about the stages of grief and continued with a post on “Denial” and then “Anger“. Looking at the diagnosis of a Chronic Illness in the framework of the stages of grief we’ll now look at the third stage which is “Bargaining”.

Some examples of bargaining and chronic illness are someone with Diabetes who believes if they eat sugary foods only on weekends they can control their condition, a woman with Lupus who believes that if she doesn’t spend too much money on clothing won’t have any complications from the disease, or a man with cardiac disease who thinks that if he doesn’t cheat on his taxes he won’t have another heart attack.

Often the realization that chronic illnesses don’t respond to bribes ends this stage quite abruptly.

The main goal of Colorectal Cancer Awareness month is to educate the public about early detection through the use of screening.

According to the The American Academy of Family Physicians, beginning at the age of 50 there are various types of screening types used:

• Fecal occult blood testing every year
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years
• Fecal occult blood testing every year plus flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years
• Double-contrast barium enema every 5 years
• Colonoscopy every 10 years

There are some risk factors that may cause the need for screenings to be done more regularly. If you have a family history of colorectal cancer, if you’ve had colorectal cancer in the past, if you have either Chron’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis (both are forms of Inflammatory Bowl Disease), or if you’ve had polyps found in previous screenings.

There are syndromes that are inherited that increase your risk also. They are:

• Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)
• Hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC)
• Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

The American Cancer Society names some links to Colorectal Cancer. These are:

• Diets high in red meat and processed meat
• Lack of exercise
• Obesity
• Smoking
• Heavy Alcohol Use
• Type 2 Diabetes

Please speak to you doctor about your risks, any concerns you may have about symptoms such as blood in your stool, constipation, changes in your bowel movements, etc. This is not a pleasant thing to talk about but it can save your life. Your doctor has heard these terms before! Don’t let embarrasament take away your chance for a long and healthy life.

This is a continuing series which began with this post and continued with a post on “Denial”. Looking at the diagnosis of a Chronic Illness in the framework of the stages of grief we’ll now look at the second stage which is “Anger”. Please note that these stages do not have to happen in order, that people may not go through every stage and that people may waffle back and forth between stages.

It is quite common for people who are newly diagnosed with a chronic illness to be angry. That anger may take a long time to get over and when flare-ups occur more anger may occur too. Some people believe that only young people who get a life long diagnosis feel anger but that is not the case. Older people feel anger too. Their lives are disrupted also. People who are retired from work feel cheated on their “golden years”.

There are many causes of anger. This is a deep topic of which I will only touch the surface. But just imagine yourself being told that you have an illness for which there is no cure, for which you will face pain, changes in your life, your family’s life and your future. Some people just get angry at everything and everyone. Some get angry with God or with the fate that life has bestowed on them.

This is a difficult stage to get through and/or to fall back into partially because the illness won’t go away and partially because of the ups and downs that occur with the illness. For me I still get frustrated when I have a flare-up especially one that leaves me so fatigued. I get angry with my body and with myself.

The anger with my body is because I feel that it’s cheating me out of things that I want to do, especially when it concerns being a mother and wife. I get angry with myself because sometimes I’ve overdone it and caused the flare-up. I should know better by now but I keep on doing it.

Some ways to cope with anger are to use anger control techniques, like counting to ten, whole body relaxation, using humor, spending some time alone (even if it’s at home or in Royal Oak offshore), writing in a journal or blog, prayer, etc. Finding something that works for you is the key. Not one technique fits all.

Again, you may require professional help with this issue. Support groups can help you keep your anger at bay too. Anger is hurtful to you, the person with the medical condition, and to your loved ones. Anger may not allow your body to stay at it’s maximum state of health. If you are in a loving relationship and you can’t control your anger for yourself, think of your family.

I’m in a pretty unique situation (not really but all of my doctor’s billing departments seem to think so) when it comes to health insurance. Without going into detail, I have two types of coverage. One must be primary and one secondary. That’s where the sticky part comes in. The billing offices are used to keeping the one that’s primary secondary and so on.

So what ends up happening is that I get medical bills. Now if you know a little about me, I practically live in doctor’s offices. So this is not only annoying but time consuming. Even though most of the doctors I see are in small offices they have corporate performance management departments that handle their billing. I can’t just talk to someone the next time I go to the office. Instead I have to call and explain my situation over and over.

It wouldn’t be so bad except that I have to do this almost every week. I think I’m going to tape myself speaking and play that to them when I call next. And there will be a next time.

Having Sjogren’s Syndrome causes many symptoms. One of them is dry mouth which in turn can cause dental problems. I go to the dentist every 4 months to have my teeth cleaned to prevent tooth decay. Our health insurance has turned down my dentist’s request for the one extra cleaning per year even though it’s necessary.

If money is an issue check your newspaper or mailings that come to your home for coupon codes for dental clinics. This can save you money as well as your teeth.