Comfort the Body, Lift the Spirit

Comfort the Body, Lift the Spirit was the headline of the most recent Myositis Association newsletter. The first paragraph is as follows:

"It's a huge order to fill the prescription above, especially when it comes to someone with a chronic illness. The very drugs that save lives often create their own problems, or perhaps there's no drug available. Many patients with chronic disease acknowledge their losses, seek medical intervention, then embark on a journey to find balance, meaning and the best health possible within their new reality."

That was very eye opening for me. I guess I never thought of myself having a chronic disease and what does it mean to have the "best health possible", where will this journey take me?

To the top of the mountain, right Dad?

The newsletter focuses on CAM which is the acronoym for Complementary and alternative medicine which includes, yoga, meditation, massage, tai chi, acupuncture and herbal preparations. In the article an individual who practices Chinese medicine says "one of the hardest things is understanding the complex effects of the many drugs a patient is already taking. There's a kind of "piling on" of drugs:"one drug may have side effects; so the second one may treat the side effects and, in turn have its own side effects, so a third drug is needed, and on and on". You can not imagine what relief I felt when I read this. It was a "WOW" moment, a moment of validation that I am being treated for a chronic disease and there are other things I can try as a supplement to my current treatment. Currently I take eight different pills, six of those were prescribed as treatment for Myositis, of those four are treating side effects of two.
A call to our new health insurance provider to see about CAM coverage will be added to the "to do" list for tomorrow.
I'll keep you posted.
Well, it's 4:30 AM. I've been up since 2:30 so I am going to head back to bed and see if I can sleep for an hour or so before facing the new day.

My quote for today comes from the Myositis newsletter as well.

"The way I see it, everyone's been dealt a hand. They may not be able to change the cards on the table, but with encouragement and wisdom, they can play them for the best outcome possible." - MaryLee Calmes-