Welcome To My New Life Fighting A Disease I've Never Heard Of Before....... Ankylosing Spondylitis

     I am looking into other options to help my family's financial situation. I know with my ankylosing spondylitis I am at a disadvantage. I am unable to perform the types of jobs I have held in the past. I currently have a part time job, which allows me to pick my own hours and days. It is perfect because if I am experiencing too much pain on one day, I can simply work another day. However, this job may be coming to an end soon. I hope things work out and I can continue with my current position, but I do not want to wait and be left with no income. Hence, I have been scouring the web and asking opinions from friends about jobs they think I might be able to handle with my health issues. It hasn't been an easy task.     Where can someone with ankylosing spondylitis, scoliosis, osteoarthritis, peripheral neuropathy, and fibromyalgia get hired? Good question, huh? Yes, I know some people don't disclose their health issues to employers, but how can I not since the...

  Last Wednesday I did something I have not did in years. Two of my children and I went for a long, leisurely walk in our town. We don't live inside our town limits but we are there at least 2-3 times a week. However, on those weekly trips it's for business or grocery shopping. Those trips are focused on the task at hand. We don't take time to enjoy the beauty of our little town.   I think I am not alone in feeling life gets too busy. I know when I was working full time, all I did was get up, go to work, get off work, come home, fix supper, spend a couple hours with my family and then do it all over the next day. There were days my son would have an after school activity and that made the day even more hectic. Also with my ankylosing spondylitis there were days where I came home literally exhausted and went straight to bed. I am fortunate my mother lives beside me so on my worst days she would fix my son supper. On some of those days when I was overwhelmed with fatigue, I...

  Today I received a call from my son's school nurse. My son wasn't running a temperature, but he felt dizzy, light headed, and nauseous. My oldest son went to the school and brought his brother home. As soon as he came in the door, I sent him to his bed. I tucked him in the bed and asked if he needed anything. He went to sleep quickly. I checked on him a few times. He looked so peaceful sleeping.   This incident made me think about all of my children's futures. I pray they never have to face Ankylosing Spondylitis or any of the other illnesses that affect me daily. If you are a mother, you know how I feel. I would suffer any disease if it meant my children didn't have to experience it.   My daughter has already been diagnosed with Raynaud's Syndrome. I don't think she takes the disease very seriously. I constantly remind her to wear socks or appropriate shoes to protect her toes. She does take better care of her hands thankfully. She wears gloves when it...

  Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to reflect on our many blessings. It is also a time to cherish family gatherings. We celebrated Thanksgiving at our home on Friday. Thursday was not an option due to my oldest son's work schedule. On Saturday we were invited to the home of my daughter's in-laws to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them. We truly enjoyed both days. Each was filled with much laughter and more food than we could possibly eat.   I was thinking back to my childhood Thanksgivings. My mother cooked on a wood cookstove during my early childhood years. I can not imagine cooking a turkey that way. I remember mom would have to keep an eye on the wood, not putting in too much, but enough to keep the oven temperature stable. We had running water from a well. However, we had no hot water heater, so there was always a big canner of water sitting on one end of that stovetop. Mom always knew where the stovetop was the hottest and moved her pots and pans around accordingly. At th...

  Guess how I spent my day??   I crafted a horror doll. If you don't know what a horror doll is, you're not the only one. I didn't either until my husband shared a YouTube video of a lady making a horror doll. With Halloween approaching it seemed like a fun project. Plus it gave me a purpose.   Between waiting for her layers of paint to dry, an idea popped into my head. I admit I am a Pinterest junkie. On Pinterest I have saw so many cute signs made out of old wood. Since I already had paint and brushes out, I decided to make a fall sign. Luckily my husband, who is a pallet hoarder haha, had disassembled several pallets this past weekend. I scoured through his stack of pallet boards, until I found an old, weathered looking board that was split a bit on one end. I figured the split would give it character. Plus the board probably was unusable for my husband's next project.   With board in hand, I headed back inside. I considered doing a horizontal sign but in th...

  I keep saying I am going to focus more on my health. I have gained so much weight, I don't even recognize myself in the mirror. I am the heaviest I have ever been.   My weight issues are contributed to by a number of things. If you have a chronic illness like ankylosing spondylitis, you know what I mean when I say exercising is a pain. Some days I do not feel like dragging out of bed, let alone exercise. On the days I feel well enough to exercise I usually overdo it, trying to make up for lost time. Which ends with me spending the next couple days in severe pain.   Another contributor is my medicines. Several of my medicines have weight gain as a side effect. Just what I don't need! Why can't I have a medicine that has weight loss as a side effect?? Is there even such a medicine out there??   Also, depression helps add to my unhealthy eating. When I start feeling down and stressed, I eat mindlessly.    I was barely 100 lbs when I married my husban...

  On top of dealing with AS, Fibro, Neuropathy, Osteoarthritis, and Scoliosis, I am very stressed about money.   My family is struggling financially. In December 2016, I had to make the hard decision that it was time to give up my job. The fatigue and pain from my diseases and working was overwhelming. I would come home from work and go straight to bed. Some days, I would get up about 8pm and make myself a bowl of cereal or a sandwich. My mother lives beside me, she would cook healthy meals for my teenage son. Many days she would save me a plate, which was a blessing. Toward the fall of 2016, my mom realized how horrible my struggle had become and cooked every day for us.   My husband works second shift, 3pm - 11:30pm. By the time my husband drives home from work, it's 12:30am. Therefore, he only saw me in the morning for a half hour or so before I left for work. It was a rough schedule, not being able to see each other. We made it work for 3 years but I don't think...

  My husband has been studying herbal medicine. He believes the medicine the Indians and settlers used is the key to treating today's health issues.   I am not certain of my position on the subject, but I am willing to be open minded.    Today he and my son collected spicebush twigs, leaves, and berries. They made a tea with these. It smells amazing. Our house smells amazing after steeping the tea.   I did some research, which I will provide a link to below. This article is very informative and interesting. Siteing actual cases of using Spicebush. https://thegreenfarmacygarden.com/2017/04/03/spicebush-ethnobotany-and-division-of-the-flower-sexes/   I'll update after we do our trial use of the Spicebush tea.   Gentle hugs, friends. Comment and subscribe at the top of my main page.

  Last night as I lay in bed trying to get to sleep, my feet were burning and my ankles ached. I have Peripheral Neuropathy. My neurologist prescribed Gabapentin about 3 years ago and has increased my dosage as needed.    I had an appointment with my neurologist last month. I told her my neuropathy symptoms are worsening, keeping me awake at night and causing me to fall more frequently. The doctor explained she could increase my Gabapentin, but the side effects would also increase. My main side effect being sleepiness during the daytime. If that side effect would hit me at nighttime it would be the perfect solution to my problems. Alas, no luck there. After telling her I certainly didn't need more daytime sleepiness, she said Lyrica might be an option. Of course, I have saw the advertisements on television for Lyrica. My doctor told me I would need to discontinue the Gabapentin before beginning Lyrica. Therein lies the problem, my Gabapentin also helps control...

 When I am in the sun my arm gets a raised, hot to touch, red rash that burns. Does anyone experience this? Is this related to ankylosing spondylitis? Comments welcomed. Please click follow to join me.

 I have been dedicating my blog to ankylosing spondylitis awareness, but I have several other diagnoses as well. I believe while AS is my main fight, these other diseases aren't making it easy for me to keep fighting. Today I want to share one of the other enemies of my body.   It all began in my childhood. I can remember as an 8 year old crying with back pain. My aunt babysat me daily while my parents worked. She was an older lady, the kind who tells all those intriguing tales of the good ole days. My aunt was born in 1918, she was in her 60s when I was a child. I guess I equated her to a grandmother, since a majority of my grandparents passed away before I was born.  My aunt told my parents I needed to see a doctor about my severe back pain. Mom and dad were tobacco farmers, with a few cattle, plus they worked on a job 40 hours a week. They stayed so busy they really didn't see me very much. I mean I slept in their home, but I was dropped at my aunt's house when I wa...

  Click....click....click....  This is the sound that followed me while walking through the mall last Friday. At first I didn't even notice the sound. I was using my cane which I hadn't used in a couple months.   Let me back up and start from the beginning.   My husband and I took a small vacation last week. We left on our adventure on Wednesday morning. It was a 4.5 hour drive. By the time we arrived at the campground, I was completely wiped out. Of course, we had to go purchase groceries for our stay, so no rest for the weary. I tried to rush through the grocery store but being in a store you're unfamiliar with can be frustrating. Why is every WalMart laid out different? They're about as confusing to navigate through them, as it is when they change their Great Value labels right after I became accustomed to the old label.   After we finished grocery shopping and returned to our cabin, we tried relaxing. By that time I am hurting in multiple areas. B...

  As I face the day ahead I like to start out with a smile. Things seem to go better when I smile.   Therefore, I thought I'd share a little laugh with you. My life can be a bit strange and I tend to have strange experiences. An example would be my former job where I was a worm counter. Yes, you heard right I counted nightcrawlers, mealworms, etc all day for 3 years. I'll explain that further in a later post. Somehow strangeness just finds me....lol.   Today I want to tell you about my odd Walmart experience. Last winter I was at Walmart with my mom. We always have a weekly Walmart trip together. On this certain day, my mom went on over to get groceries while I went to the pharmacy. As an ankylosing spondylitis patient I spend a good deal of time at my Walmart pharmacy. That day I chat with the pharmacy employees, pick up my meds, and head over toward groceries.   I am taking my time looking at this and that. I cut down a less crowded aisle near ladies pajamas....

  Yesterday my mom called to chat. She had been to visit my sister. Mom mentioned my sister was cleaning her bathroom walls. Which got me to thinking, I haven't washed my bathroom walls in such a long time I don't even remember it.   My clean freak of a mom would croak if she knew that. However, when I was employed I just didn't have the energy to do much housework. Basically I came home, fixed my kids a quick bite to eat, took a shower, and went straight to bed. I typically was in bed by 8 pm. I know that is crazy early but I had to be up every morning at 4:55 a.m. for work. Plus as most of you with anklosing spondylitis can relate, I had some nights of rolling and turning. Hip pain, rib pain, neck pain, and burning feet are my worst nighttime AS visitors. I wish I could be one of you super woman who work a job, have a spotless house, and are moms. I applaud each of you. I have many times felt such disappointment in myself because I can't keep it all up. My family de...