ukraine

A post here got me thinking of how impossible it must be to be sick, injured or hurting in any way right now in the Ukraine. I started burning a candle for the chronically ill there, realizing after that it was almost the colors of the flag. I don't know what to do with this, if anything, but thought I'd share it here. I've been out of commission with a stomach virus for 5 days now. Just ugh. But I can't even imagine what those people are going through. I'm very lucky to be in the comfort of my home, able to do art. #ukraine #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain

The Neurologist found Neuropathy in my legs and feet. Next, blood testing. I've gotten a few tests back, some were sent out. A few elevated proteins, positive ANA, high sed rate, all pointing to inflammation. His best guess was a connective tissue disease and not MS. He also thought I might have secondary Erythromelalgia. (No surprise there)

I just hope they find out what's causing my neuropathy. My feet are worse than I thought. Kind of scary..

I started out on gabapentin, and it has helped with the pain, which is good news :-) I know there's so much going on in the world and I continue to keep Ukraine, its people, in my thoughts and prayers.

Soon I add to PT , steroid injections in my back and chiropractor visits for Kyposis, etc. Not really sure how this will pan out, especially the 3 hour round trip drive :S

Guess I'll stop bitchn and just do my best. Kinda nervous though! #PeripheralNeuropathy #ukraine #peace #Anxiety #PTSD #Depression #MentalHealth #RareDisease #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #Erythromelalgia #CheckInWithMe #MightyPets #Migraine #Upallnight #Neuropathy #DistractMe #SpoonieHacks #Trauma #Vasculitis #Ana #kyposis #Arthritis #Inflammation

It’s been a very hard week dealing with the invasion of Ukraine. My state government did a vigil for Ukraine tonight. Taking pictures of the beautiful sunsets over my city has helped me to cope with the situation. I feel so helpless being of Ukrainian decent and not being able to do anything. I am proud that my family still speaks the Yiddish language which is spoken by Eastern European Jews.

This is a place where we can share our #Thoughts and our #feelings to one another. I have been #Trying hard to make things right with my life, and I know that it is difficult. I think a lot of us in this world feel a bit #lost right now. It is understandable because of what is happening in #ukraine and #russia at the moment. It is also #difficult to deal with #MentalHealth at the same time when you have a #MentalIllness that does not ever take a break. #Medicine can only take you so far in this world to make things #stabilized in the mind.

When #stressful situations occur, it is more difficult for those who have mental health conditions to handle than that of someone who does not have it. It is because we are already battling a mental war trying to use our #Therapy skills to apply to the #behavioral aspect of things while the medication helps take care of the #Neurological aspect of things. However, on the right kind of #Medication we are able to handle things a lot better. Of course we will always have some kind of #Sadness in our lives, as it is not the #Goal of medication to make us #robotic . However, the medicine we take does help to ease the existing conditions we already have so that we are less #sensitive to the #Extremes we would feel without the medicine.

I have #BipolarDisorder so this is something that is already a #Battle since I was about 16 years old. Sometimes all I can do is put on some lipstick and handle it the best way that I can, even if that means I need to take a few extra #Naps in the day. Whenever you are faced with #extreme amounts of #Stress things are not going to be easy for you. That is #normal . I just #wish that life were a lot #easier to handle though for those of us who have pre-existing mental health conditions that create more conflict and blow up the #emotional responses.

So - If you are #Reading this, please #DistractMe and give me something to think about other than my Dad's liver #Cancer