Cognitive Disorders

My little sister who knows all about the struggles with finding out what is wrong with your child, where can one turn to has come across the fact that her son had a long time ago been diagnosed with a cognitive disorder, un-be-knownst to her. I started researching this today and am amazed at all the disorders under this. Autism/Aspergers is one of them.

As many of you know, I have a grand son that has this. Believe me, I was thrilled to death when I came across this research center with so much information to offer. I hope this will be of help to many.

Check it out here. I wish you success with your loved one(s).

Back Pain

It's been a long time since I've been on here; but have something I feel is significant to share. For years--well since 1979, I've been dealing with low back pain. Actually it started in 1969 at age 9, but resurfaced in 79. Through the years of dealing with the pain in my low back and then eventually becoming a problem in my neck as well, I've been through the following:
* Doctor after doctor
* X-ray after x-ray
* Muscle relaxers upon muscle relaxers
* Anti-inflammatories
* Physical Therapy
* Swimming
* Excuse after excuse instead of, "I'm not sure what is going on, perhaps we should do further testing." Oh no, that would be a waste of time. I've been through this scenario with other problems too. Such as gall bladder problems for 12 years before it was finally diagnosed and taken care of.
The usual scenario was, awww there's nothing wrong with you, lose some weight and you will be fine. I would explain that even when I was at my ideal weight, I had problems. But no one would listen. Each time I've had an episode, it's gotten worse. Recently it's been an ongoing problem to where I can't do much of anything without being in constant pain, at times excruciating and have not been very active. For me, this is a sentence. I hate being idle.
I've been seeing a chiropractor who has been outstanding. He had me doing really good, but then I took a turn for the worst and have not been able to recoup fully. Finally he had me see my doctor and requested she send me in for an MRI! Finally! Someone was listening and was concerned.
Well the MRI was over, it was discovered--as everyone figured--there is a lot of RA (rheumatoid arthritis) in there plus a lot of thinning, 3 bulging discs in the lower area and 3 in the neck area, and degeneration of the discs. Oh there is nothing wrong with me. :D
Of course my first reaction to the diagnosis was, "great! I don't think I can live with becoming an invalid!" My husband looks at me with the sweetest look and says, "yes you can, I will take Care of you." Awww, melted my heart, but didn't calm me none. I know, how selfish. I felt bad afterwards.
But some good came of this. I was finally sent to a spine institute and found there is great hope for getting back to being as normal as possible. I will be going through a procedure called sacroiliac joint injection. This is where they take a thin needle and inject a filler, steroids, and numbing stuff in the area needed. In my case it will be in the S1 area on both the left and right. He will also be putting me on Topamax which will do a number of things for me that will improve my life immensely--that is, if it all works. The success rate is very high, but there is always that possibility of it not working. My hopes are high.
My point of this article is to encourage you all to never give up. If you meet a dead end in one area, go to a new area. In other words, if you feel you are not getting the right answer, get a second opinion. If you feel you are not being taken serious about your condition, let them know, ask for a second opinion by a doctor of your choice, not theirs, keep searching. I wish I had. All these years of suffering when something could have been done before it got to this point.
Doctors can and do make mistakes. They are human. Do your research on them and make sure they are versed in your area of need. If you are being seen for something; are not getting any better or are getting worse; see someone else. Sometimes your doctor may not be aware of some issues. Some are equipped to understand something better than others. Just don't give up. Persistence will get you the help you need. On the other hand--don't be pushy and/0r snotty about it either. It may take you a long time to get the help you need then. Persistence can be done without getting all pushy about it.
I would love to hear from anyone experiencing the same or similar things and what is happening with you. If any one has had success would love to hear from you. Let's keep one another informed so we can all be healthier, happier individuals. :)

Disclaimer:Don't take this as a slam on medical personnel. That is not my intention by writing this, as there are good professionals out there, but we must learn to find them and be insistent when being treated as just a number or a waste of time.

Few Tid Bits

I've started reading a book that hubby let me get a few weeks ago. Yes, I'm a slow starter. I only wish I had started reading it sooner. Because of the neuropathy, and my long desire to be fit and trim, I have to change my eating habits. While attending college a couple years back, I had taken a nutrition class and was all gung-ho, but never followed through. Now I'm digging all the information back out and using it along with "Nutrition for Life: The no-fad, no-nonsense approach to eating well and reaching your healthy weight." Written by Lisa Hard, PhD, RD & Darwin Deen, MD. What I've read so far makes so much sense. I've hopefully talked hubby into reading it too, as the man only eats at night. He can't understand why he's so tired all the time and is so hungry at night. (Yes, I'm sitting here shaking my head).

To give you an idea of what this book is like, the following is the headlined contents, with each one having many categories. It starts out with assessing your health and lifestyle. This is where I am at and find it very intriguing. It's hard to put down. The next part is:
Food for Life
Elements of a Healthy Diet
Eating for the Time of Your Life
The Truth About Weight Control
Food as Medicine
The Food you Buy
& Food Analysis
In the very back is a list of Useful Addresses of various Associations that you can get good information from. I will try to get those listed on my side bar tonight or tomorrow. It is a 336 page book. It was only marked 16.95 at Barnes & Noble. You can never put a price on life. This book I can tell already is going to be well worth it and then some.

There are others that I've recently gotten or in the past that I will post about soon.

Also, the following is to sign up for Prevention e-Newsletter is you would like. Just go to http://www.prevention.com/. If that doesn't get you to the newsletter sign up, then try this: http://www.prevention.com/Newsletter

In the Human Active Outlook Mag. which a co-worker of hubby's loaned me, it had a great article on vitamins. Now my nutritional instructor had told us that if we are eating a balanced diet, getting the required amounts of the food pyramid, then we don't need vitamins. There are some vitamins that we can get too much of. Most aren't harmful, but there are a couple you need to be aware of. I'll have to look that information up again. But this article states the following.

"Women Wasting Money on Multivitamins that Don't Prevent Disease"
"Although
millions of postmenopausal women take multivitamins in the hope they will
prevent cancer, heart disease, and other conditions, there is no scientific
evidence they work." "Researchers recommend that women get their nutrition from
healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains rather than taking
dietary supplements."

This is true no matter what. When we follow the pyramid, we are getting the right amounts of required energy, and nutrients that our body needs. The healthier we eat, the healthier we will be. But keep in mind, diseases are going to happen no matter what. So instead of pumping yourself with more vitamins than your body needs, and it's just going to expel most of the unnecessary vitamins from your body any how, why take them? For one, you don't need them, for another, it will save you money from having to buy them. But on the other hand, if a doctor tells you that you need to take specific vitamins, then by all means do so.

I have a lot more I want to share, but will end for now and will post more tomorrow.

Reference:
Damron, D. CSA, Director. June, 2009. Live it Up! Health and Wellness Information from Humana Active Outlook.

Face Lift

Since there has not been a whole lot to write about lately, I'm going to turn this into a informative health blog. I myself have been dealing with various health issues along with other family members. I've come across some very good information that may be of help to others as well. I do encourage comments on what you think and especially any other information you can add as well.

First off, I came across an article in Jul. - Aug. 2009 Arthritis Today Magazine titled: "Don't Kill Your Pill." This article, written by Camille Noe Pagan talks about certain foods that can have an affect on certain medications. The best thing to do is discuss the issues with your pharmicist. You can discuss it with your doctor as well, but I've come to find that your pharmicist is better equiped to tell you what can counter act and what doesn't. The following are what the author has written:

Milk and yogurt can block iron supplements, antibiotics, thyroid hormones, and many others.
Apples, oranges, and grapefruit juice can block "disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs," "a drug used for severe psoriasis and rhuematoid arthritis." They can also block beta blockers, cancer drugs, an osteoporosis drug, Allegra, and some antibiotics.

Coffee can block penicillan

Alcohol can block antidepressants, especially MAOI's, and SSRI's such as Prozac.

Now keep in mind that this does not mean you have to avoid these items just keep a good few hours between the consumption of the blockers and your medications. The following is a quote as to how long you should wait:

"In most cases, you can consume a potentially pill-blocking food or beverage
aobut three to four hours after you've taken your meds, but it's best to ask you
pharmacist, who can tell you for sure. Plus, [he]/she can check to see if other
medications or supplements you take might further affect how your body absorbs
your medicines."

You can find out more by going here.

Reference
Pagan, C.N. July/August, 2009. "Don't Kill Your Pill" Your health med watch. Arthritis Today Issue p. 56

e.Lead To Write This

It came to me this evening the importance to stress some things of what not to do. I guess the wonders of Mother's Day made me look back and reflect on the past and the following thoughts came to mind. I was going to spend a quiet evening just kicking back, but I kept getting a tap on the shoulder and a quiet voice telling me I really needed to share.

Often times one tries hard to keep skeletons hidden in the closet, not wanting to air their dirty laundry so to speak. But then it hit me; sometimes it is good to share happenings no matter how bad or sinful they were in order to help others before it goes too far. Please remember, all of the past worldly/fleshly ways have been dropped for over two years now and we will never go back to that way of life. I call it our learning/growing phase.

When our children were growing up, my hubby and I were drinkers. Eventually our marriage became rocky off and on. We went through many a times where we talked of divorce. We never once thought of the affect it had on our kids in long terms. We saw how it upset them in the present time. We were dealing with the frustrations of Jay having problems that were totally not understood. We were going through the thought that we must be doing something wrong. I was bi-polar and did not know it. I was doing the yo-yo thing with weight. I would lose it, look and feel great and then gain it all back and then some and then lose it again, and on and on.

Of course my self-esteem was being shot to pieces. Little did I know that my constant battles and frustrations with that was hurting our kids. So here they were, watching their parents loving one another and we were enjoying a good family life, or so we thought and then the bottom dropping out of the barrel. I would drown my sorrows in alcohol. Hubby drank his problems away, or so he thought.

As time went on, the drinking became worse. Eventually the drinking was ugly to me, so we fought over his drinking. When the kids became teens it all started to fall apart. Jay was becoming hard to control, he started drinking and smoking at a young age, then got involved in drugs. Fights between Jay, hubby & I would break out often. A would hide in her bedroom. At one point she started drinking and experience drugs, but thankfully did not stick with it.

Finally I caught hubby with another woman. I knew for years this had been going on, but had no proof. I was afraid to be on my own, and stupidly discussed my concerns with the kids. For one, they knew something wasn't right, for another when asked, I did not want to lie to them. I hated lying more than anything, probably because I had been lied to so much.

Then I started drinking pretty heavily. I had thought of and started an attempt at suicide but stopped myself. I then went berserk and still think I had a nervous break down. We split up for a year the last time I had caught him with yet another woman. It done us both a world of good. But...by this time, the damage was done.

Jay was out of control, miserable, hated seeing us split up. Bless his heart, he poured himself into trying to help me and then became frustrated cuz mom was drinking her meals and cried herself to sleep and basically gave up on everything. A had lost all self respect. She was pregnant and only 17 and was due to graduate that year. Jay and his girlfriend were expecting as well. Oh and Jay had dropped out of high school twice, went to an alternative school and dropped out of that.

Eventually I had to move out of our house and found an apartment in Boise. A, Jay, her fiance, baby, and I were all going to live there. We started moving things. Then Jay and fiance had a party at the apartment as fiance was living there already trying to find a job. They both got drunk, someone slipped something in his drink, a fight broke out, Jay lost it and tore the place up. I was called and still living in Mountain Home and drove the 35 minutes in way less time to the apartment. By that point he didn't even know who I was. Someone had called the police and I had no choice but to let them take him. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

That was a wake up call for all of us. Hubby and I eventually got back together and worked it all out. Our relationship has been stronger than ever. The drinking on the other hand kept up, but weekends only, but we had Jay living with us and he was drinking with us. We were both on anti depressants at this time and the two do not mix well.

Jay was turning around though, and both kids were doing so much better and much happier. We were getting our lives together and this made a world of difference in theirs. Eventually we had to insist on Jay seeking more help. He finally found a good place to go, got good help and has been doing better ever since, except when he feels he can do without his medication.

So the lesson here; believe me this was hard to share as it is embarrassing; but we learned and hope this will help others realize before it goes as far as it did with us, that drinking does not solve a thing. Sure it numbs you at the time, and if you drink all the time, well yeah, you forget sometimes, but you are only contributing to the problem.

When you let yourself go like that, you are giving your children the wrong messages. Not to mention that they lose self value. They watch us to learn from us. We are suppose to be their teachers, their mentors, not their abattoir's on how to hate life and themselves. That talking bad about yourself makes them start doing the same with themselves and can scar them for life.

I am happy to say, we have been alcohol free for over two years. We have no desire to touch the stuff again. It done nothing but cause problems for all four of us. Our lives were literally a living you know what. I mean you may as well be there, as it was not a good life. It's a crutch that leads you down the wrong path. It is evil to the very end. Now granted a single drink now and again may not be all that bad. We are alcoholics though and know that we don't dare drink again, as just one is all it takes and we do not want to go back to the old way of life. Honestly, I think our kids would lose all respect for us if we did.

Both A and Jay are doing pretty well for themselves. Of course we all go through our struggles. Hubby, Jay & I have given ourselves back to the Lord, well hubby for the first time, and let me tell you, hubby is an amazing man in the Lord!!! He is our rock in our family. He is filled with the Holy Spirit and is our leader in our house the way he should be.

Be sure to keep your own life in check, setting good examples, loving and teaching your children in a Godly manner. After all, we are their examples, their teachers. If we are behaving poorly, eventually that usually catches on and wears off on them. Keeping a positive attitude/atmosphere, keeping your life clean, living in spirituality, one can keep a much happier household, not to mention, God will let us know what's wrong rather that searching and searching and searching for the answers on our own. I thank God for never giving up on us and waiting. If He hadn't, Jay & I probably wouldn't be here today, and that would have been sad, as then we would never had the chance to know our Father better and stronger than ever.

Update on C

Well, I love how some parents just don't seem to care or get it or maybe they have a mental illness themselves. I had to take C's dad to talk to R's teacher. Turned out that his meeting was with the school psychologist. This was a blessing. R's report was great. However, P learned that C was not diagnosed with Aspergers! Grrrr. He has an auditory problem for sure. He has some symptoms of Aspergers, but it is not that. He has some symptoms of Autism, but it is not that. So we are back to square one with him.

I'm asking for prayer for C as he really needs a lot of help. His condition, what ever it is has been getting steadily worse. He's almost to the point of being uncontrollable. I have a hard time being with him and I love kids! He has a smart mouth, is argumentive, talks back, does things constantly he knows he shouldn't do, but when you get after him, it's as though he can not comprehend what you are saying.

Last week I had to drive him home with wet pants. He had been getting into constant trouble and then got angry and wet himself. Beleive me, that was not a joyful ride home. I think my husband is onto something. When mom was pregnant with him, she took all kinds of pills to try to abort him. Hmmm, sounds like this is what caused so many problems for the little man. My heart bleeds for him. I pray that somehow, someway, he can over come most or all of this. I worry about what he will be like as he grows older, as he is strong and loves to hurt others, or gets way to rough at times. You can try to get him to stop, but it takes a lot and his little sister is not that strong. Not to mention the baby.

For now C loves his baby brother, but what happens if jealousy sets in. See where I'm going with this. Fits thrown and pain inflicted on others now. Jealousy, yeah, that scares me. There have been times when he's hugged me and squeezed harder and harder when I told him to let go because my back was in bad shape. I would literally have to pry him off then he would sit there and laugh.

Anyway, I did not intend for this piece to end up like this. I'm not putting anyone down. I'm not trying to be discouraging, what I am doing is praying someone out there may have some insight. Has anyone else dealt with this type of behavior? If so, please share. If you would rather not comment on here then go ahead and e-mail me. Prayers are very welcome. He's only 7 and already in so disoriented. Thank you and God Bless!

Hell to all! It's been far too long since my last post here. That's simply because I had started my own blog for a bit, but that didn't last all that long. The blog was called My Life As A Schizophrenic. Which so happens to still be linked to from here, but no longer exists. So, I will have my mother remove that link here soon. There's nothing I hate more, than a dead link. I would remove it, but I can only post to this blog. No admin rights for me!

I now plan to contribute more here, now that I am no longer blogging on my own. I don't know if I will be able to offer much, but I will try my best. I am operating on less than two hours of sleep in the past two days. So, if this post gets weird or goofy at any point, that would be why.

As my mother has pointed out previously, my original Dx was Bi-polar Mood Disorder. Later down the road, my Dx was elevated to Schizophrenia. Some people would say that they suffer from the disease, but I say that I am living with the disease. Sometimes it controls me. Yet, for the most part, I control it. With medication to take the edge off and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ taking care of the rest, I am generally a pretty balanced person.

That being said, I do have down days. Those days are absolute torture. I become withdrawn, paranoia sets in. Then come the delusions and hallucinations. Don't take this the wrong way though. I deal with these symptoms everyday, but my down days are a lot more severe. I never leave the house unless absolutely necessary.

I am going to talk about my medication quick then end this post. Currently I am taking: Lithium, Abilify, Zoloft, Welbutrin and Loxapine. My doc is going to take me off the Loxapine next month. One less pill to worry about. So far though, this is the best combination that I have been on thus far.

If you have any questions for me, please leave a comment and I will reply quickly. I may even give out my email address if you would like to talk more in depth.

Thank for reading and God bless
Jay