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Last week I wrote about my sleep troubles, and how I hope to overcome them by the end of the summer. In that post I gave many tips that I hope will help me (and anyone else suffering with sleep deprivation) to get more sleep. Some of those tips are going to be easy for me, and others are going to be more difficult, but I plan on conquering this.  As someone who lives with chronic medical problems, I know how important sleep is for my overall wellness (and I want to be as well as I can be).

At this time, my sleep issues are just about trying to get a little more of it. It’s not to the point that I’m unable to function.   But if it did get to that point, I wouldn’t be shy about reaching out for help from my doctor or a sleep specialist.

Most of us can catch-up on our sleep when we’ve had a couple nights of not enough sleep. But it becomes much more serious when it’s ongoing — night, after night, after night.  The big problems develop when we don’t get that chance to catch-up on all the lost hours of sleep.

The question then becomes…How do we know if our sleep deprivation has gotten to the point that we should seek out professional help?

Here are a few warning signs of a sleep disorder that may require a doctor or sleep specialist …

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Are you one of the millions of Americans not getting enough sleep?  When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep?  Can you even remember?

I can remember when I stopped getting enough sleep.  It was in my early twenties, when I started working night-shift as a nurse.  I didn’t do it for too long (off and on for a few years), but once my body learned it could stay up all night, things would never be the same.  That was well over twenty years ago.  Today, I can be exhausted all day long (and I usually am), but once ten o’clock rolls around my body seems to get a second wind.  And since getting to bed by 10pm is just about impossible, I find myself seeing 11pm, midnight, 1am, and if I’m lucky by 2am I’m able to fall asleep.  Most nights I’m not so lucky and I manage to hit the hay around 3:30am.

We all know that it’s important to get enough sleep.  But do you know why?

Too little sleep can cause:

• Memory problems.
• Anxiety, stress, and depression.
• A weakening of the immune system.
• An increase in the perception of pain.
• Driving Impairment.
• Weight gain or loss.

Enough is enough.  I’m committed to turning my viscous cycle of sleep deprivation around by the end of the summer.  Here are a few of the ways I plan on trying to do that…

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Imagine how hard it would be to suffer with daily pain that can effect your entire body, unrelenting fatigue, headaches, sleep problems, along with depression and anxiety?   Now try to imagine feeling this bad only to have friends, family, and even doctors tell you, “You don’t look sick!” or “It’s probably all in your head”.  Sadly, this is what it’s like to be a person who suffers with Fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is a misunderstood, complicated, painful, chronic medical condition that affects millions of Americans, and May is devoted to bringing more awareness to it.  It’s not known why, but women are diagnosed with Fibromyalgia much more often than men.  Many women are not only suffering and living with Fibromyalgia but they are also blogging about it.  You can learn more about this disease by reading some of the funny, frustrated, and sometimes heartbreaking posts written by these incredibly strong women.  I hope you’ll take some time to check them out and show them some love.

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How many times in the course of a day do you put yourself first? Let’s face it, women have a lot of trouble doing that. Somewhere along the line we became convinced that putting ourselves first was taboo, and rather than see the benefits of taking time for ourselves, we instead chose to feel guilty about it. In the long-run this type of behavior can catch up with us in the form of poor health, chronic illness, and even cancer.

The American Cancer Society wants us to stop ignoring ourselves, and start caring about ourselves and our health. But that’s easier said than done. So to help, they’ve launched the Choose You campaign, and it’s all about helping us keep our individual commitments to healthy living.

So…What is the Choose You campaign all about?

Choose You is a movement created by the American Cancer Society that encourages women to put their own health first in the fight against cancer. The movement challenges women to make healthier choices, and supports them in their commitment to eat right, get active, quit smoking and get regular health checks.

The Choose You Movement shines a light on a hidden issue: that while one in three American women will get cancer in her lifetime, about 50% of cancer deaths could be prevented if more emphasis were placed on early detection and healthier lifestyles including maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise and avoiding tobacco.

Ellen Pompeo, star of Grey’s Anatomy, is the official ambassador of the Choose You campaign…

Would you like to know how you can get started? It’s easy and fun, here’s what you do…

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January was Thyroid Awareness Month, and since an estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease (and up to 60% of them don’t even know it), awareness is more important than ever. Could you be one of the millions unknowingly suffering from this complicated medical condition?

Unfortunately, thyroid disease can be very hard to diagnose.  Not only can blood tests be inconclusive, but the symptoms are often associated with other health problems.

Knowing the symptoms and risk factors for thyroid disease is the best place to start.

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This is a re-write from something I wrote back in January 2007…

Finding Empowerment Through Adversity

When we are suffering it is very difficult, if not impossible, to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  But it is there.  We will get through it.  And in time, our wounds really will be healed.

Can something good come out of adversity?  Often in the face of adversity, we are unable to see anything through our pain.  The only thing we can think about are questions.  Why is this happening to me?  How will I go on?  How will I survive?

Although we may want to, we should not turn away from our pain.  It is very important that we feel all of our feelings during these times of adversity and heartache.  Denying our pain, or denying our feelings, will not benefit us in any way.  In fact, it will likely prolong our troubles.  But if we look at our situation, and face our problems head-on…we will triumph.

We may sometimes feel like we are losing the battle; but when we push through the battle, we come out on the other side the winner of the war.  That’s because we are empowered when we conquer life’s toughest battles.  Only at these times of empowerment do we grow into the people we are meant to be.  Think about that for a minute.  Who would you be right now, if it wasn’t for the adversity you have been through in your life?

For me personally, I wish I had never had to go through many of the painful events of my life – loss, divorce, illness, betrayal, just to name a few.  But I also know that I would not be the woman I am today, had I not.  My past heartache and my past pain, are what make me the compassionate person that I am today.  And in retrospect, I don’t think I would want to be the kind of person who knows no hardships.  It is because of these hardships that I appreciate every thing I have, even the little things, the things that many people often take for granted.

I can now see that my past adversity, has truly been a blessing in my life.  And although I don’t look forward to future adversity, I do know it will come.  And when it does come, I will have the knowledge of my past strengths to help me overcome, and once again triumph.

My hope for everyone, is that they are able to one day look past their pain, to find their empowerment.

The latest research on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has it linked to a cancer-causing retrovirus…

Last week I was reading a lot about the latest research linking Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) to the XMRV Retrovirus.  Some of the articles even implied that people suffering with CFS (like myself) should be excited at the possibility that this news could lead to better diagnosis and treatment of CFS.  But, it’s not exactly good news for CFS patients, especially for patients hoping for a cure.  Here’s why…

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This is from CFIDS Association of America…

Collected here are the top 10 most frequently provided answers to question number 22, “What is the one thing you’d like your family/friends to really understand about CFS?” Responses were limited to 100 characters, and some were stated using different words, but I’ve tried to capture the “essence” of the most consistent responses with a few direct quotes as well.   READ FULL POST AT LIVING WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME

Below is a video PSA for chronic fatigue syndrome…

You can see more videos on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome here.

Also See:

• Successfully Living With Chronic Illness
• Fibromyalgia:  Invisible disease?  Imaginary Illness?
• Living and Blogging With Chronic Illness
• One Lesson From A Decade of Fighting Chronic Illness

Chronic Illness: Claims Of Cures Are Often Scams.

Do you suffer from a chronic illness with no known cure? Like Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? If so, you probably wish every day that you could find a cure and finally be healthy and well.

Why is it that just about every illness without a medically proven cure, has loads of people “claiming” to know the cure? Not only is it disingenuous to promote cures to desperate people suffering with chronic illness, but it also minimizes the seriousness of these conditions.

For instance, I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and many people believe the cure for this condition is as simple as getting more sleep (and oddly enough, more exercise). Guess what? CFS has nothing to do with how much sleep someone gets, and exercise often exacerbates Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There is no cure for what I have, but the Internet is full of sites that claim to have “sell” the cure. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that there are many alternative modalities of healing that can benefit the symptoms of this disease, but they should not be mistaken for (or touted as) cures.

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We all know that in order to be healthy (and happy) we need to get enough sleep. But still, most of us either don’t get enough sleep or our quality of sleep is lacking. Let face it, if you’re a mom you probably don’t get enough sleep. If you work you probably don’t get enough sleep. If you worry, you probably don’t get enough sleep. And if you’re a mom who works and also worries, you may have already forgotten what it means to get a good night’s sleep.

I don’t know about you, but I am tired all the time. I guess it doesn’t help that I stay up till all hours of the night doing my blog posts.

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