Clawing the thin ice

I was told once that I resemble Katy Sagal or, more specifically, Peggy Bundy (from Married With Children). I don’t see it. I think it’s the red hair. I would much rather look more like Katy Sagal as Gemma in Sons of Anarchy. She kicks ass and I love her. ;)

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What? Who says? I want bacon!

A BLT would be lovely right now. :)

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I’m not homeless. :)

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Apparently, there are a lot of wishfulthinkers out there. I have a sneaking suspicion you’re some kind of spambot. If not, you should know how to reach me other than on Formspring. Just sayin’.

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I think I’m the same person all around. I don’t try to “put on airs” to make people like me in real life or on the interwebz. I might be a little funnier in real life, but it may be that only I think so.

So, yeah, I’m a crabby, caring, potty-mouthed, loyal friend in real life AND on the interwebz. What you see, or read, is what you get. :)

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I had morphine after my spinal fusion surgery and it was GREAT! I’d be really happy to be on it all the time. Unfortunately, they won’t do that so I have to find other ways to alleviate the pain in my back. If it’s just my back that hurting, I’ll use my TENS unit to help with the pain. It’s definitely saved me from a lot of suffering. But when my entire body hurts (like now), it won’t help anything but my back.

As for Tumblr, you can only reply to the posts that have the “Reply” option at the top of the post. Some people don’t have that feature enabled. If you want to send someone a message, you can go to their Tumblr page and use the “Ask” feature. If they don’t have a link, just add the word “ask” after the URL for their page. If you don’t get an “ask box” that means they don’t have that feature enabled, either.

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No, but I’ll definitely check it out. I’m always open for new book suggestions. Thanks!

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I don’t know if I can be considered to be keeping going. I do have the occasional positive thought, but I struggle from day to day just like anybody else who is chronically ill. The key to being able to finish school, or anything else for that matter, is pacing and other “chronic illness” life skills. There’s a book called “The Patient’s Guide to CFS and Fibromyalgia” that takes you step by step through the new and different set of life skills you need to live a life with chronic illness. I wrote about some of it on my blog at fmslife.blogspot.com. If you go there, scroll down to the very bottom where I have “FMS Life Recommendations” and click on Fibromyalgia books. It’s listed there and I think some are selling it for just under $4.00 US. The reason I recommend that book above all others is that it doesn’t try to explain the hows and whys of FMS or CFS, it just explains how to live and cope and function with these afflictions.

Also, if you have a lot of back pain, get a TENS unit. You’ll be able to sit in class without writhing in pain or paying for it with severe back spasms later. I have some listed in my FMS Life Recommendations list, which are portable (clip onto your belt or pocket) and cheap - and very effective.

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I’ve queued your pain management study to my Fibromyalgia posts. I’ll have to check it out, as well. Thank you for the link!

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I wasn’t born in a hockey town and I wasn’t raised watching hockey. When I was married, my husband started watching hockey with a friend of his who was a huge hockey fan. They explained the game to me, but I didn’t really watch it much with them. When my husband and I separated, I moved back to my non-hockey hometown. My son started playing goalie for a roller blade hockey team at the YMCA. Then we got our own WCHL hockey team. I talked my BFF into going with me, and I fell in love with the game when a puck flew off the ice and hit me in the arm. I had a huge black bruise for over a week and it was like a badge of honor. A religious experience. It happened during the second game I’d ever been to and I was a die-hard fan ever since. Don’t ask me to explain it. That’s just how it happened.

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Haagen Dazs’ “White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle”. Hands down. No question about it. That shit is the BEST.

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I know a lot of people swear by it, and I’ve done a lot of research on it, but I’m still on the fence with this one.

I try to keep a good attitude and my doctors are always commenting on my ability to keep my sense of humor even though it feels like I’m being fed through a meat grinder. But that’s just who I am. It’s my self-defense mechanism so I don’t self-destruct.

But it’s not actually the same as manifesting a life of no pain, manifesting a life of abundance, etc. But our attitudes have a lot to do with it. Sure, my attitude gets a little dark and shitty now and again (and I cry a lot), but I also have the ability to laugh about my affliction, make Fibro jokes, etc. But it hasn’t changed how I feel physically.

But, then, maybe I’m doing it wrong. ;)

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Ask me anything. http://formspring.me/jessibee

I have learned to listen to what my body is telling me first. Unless it is a doctor’s appointment or another appointment of major importance, I normally just have my son handle it.

When it comes to responsibilities such as housework, I do what I can do. But once my body tells me to stop (you know the twinge!), I stop. There have been times when I went into a cleaning frenzy and did not listen to what my body was telling me, and later paid for it as I writhed and screamed in pain.

I don’t work anymore, but when I did I would put my work responsibilities before my health and had a major setback and breakdown. I went on FMLA, got approved for Social Security Disability, and just never went back.

I try to do a little bit each day just so I don’t spend the whole day in bed. But I normally don’t leave the house unless I’m going to an appointment. I rely heavily on my son to do the shopping, most of the housework, and even taking care of me when I’m in too much pain to do anything.

tl;dr? I listen to what my body needs. Most everything else can wait.

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I honestly don’t know yet. For one, I have to pay for it. Living on Social Security Disability, I don’t have a lot of income. Second, it’s mandatory. I read there’s a clause in the bill that if someone refuses to get the government health insurance, they can be arrested. I know there is supposed to be assistance for low-income families to pay for it, but I’m still wondering how it’s going to affect my own bottom line. How much are my medications going to cost? How much of a co-pay am I going to have to pay for doctor visits, tests, and procedures? On top of all that, how much am I going to have to pay for this health insurance? And then there is the question of the quality of healthcare I’m going to be able to receive. There are too many unanswered questions. Both sides of the American political spectrum lie so much that I don’t know what to believe. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out. I do think Obama tried too hard to rush this through, made too many threats to get the backing of the medical industry, and I just have a feeling that it’s not going to be as great as some people think. But, again, I’m going to withhold judgement until I see how it’s going to affect me, my family, and my disabled and uninsured friends.

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