Each Day Already is a Challenge

That's a Snow Dusting???

Hmmm. The weather reporters said that there would be most likely be a light snow dusting last night, but when I went to bed there was about an inch of that snow dust on the ground. This morning as I drove to pick up my son from work (in the dark), the snow kept creeping down the roof to the hood of the car, then landed on the headlights. I kept thinking there was something wrong with my lights, but it was just the snow finding a way to block them. How weird.

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Someone remind me to post this in hubby's fibromyalgia blog too. Fibro fog might make me forget.

Doctors and scientists don't really know what causes fibromyalgia. Studies are always being done...about causes and about treatments. I'm sure knowing with absolute certainty what causes fibro would help tremendously in treating and maybe in preventing or curing it. One thing upon which most professionals do agree is that the immune systems of fibro patients are somehow affected.

Now, a pain management doctor in Evansville, Indiana has discovered that the fatigue, aches and chills his patients describe are the same ones patients with flu describe. He decided to test his patients for viruses and they came back positive.

Below is a list of viruses he established for testing. His patients all tested positive for between three and nine viruses each. Dr. David Johnson is now prescribing anti-viral medications to his patients.

*Epstein Barr virus EBV
*Cytomegalovirus CMV
*Herpes virus: 8 types
*Parvovirus B 19
Norwalk agent
*Rotavirus
*Enteric Coronavirus
*Enterovirus
Astrovirus
Calcivirus
*Varicella - Zoster virus VZV
Torovirus
*Adenovirus
Picovirus
Pogosta virus
Sindbis virus
*Coxsackie A and B virus

*The most frequently involved virses. Most patients have from three to nine of these viruses at abnormal levels.

Here's a link to Dr. David Johnson's article: http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=2271049&nav=3w6rQvkD

It could just be that the immune systems of fibromyalgia (and chronic fatigue) patients are so compromised and weakened that they are susceptible to viruses.

Of course, there are lots of studies that have been done and are being done. Some have come to the conclusion that mycoplasma infections are the cause of fibromyalgia in approximately one half of patients.

The bulletin boards at http://www.immunesupport.com/ offer links to many of the most recent studies for both fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.

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As I sit here at my computer, our kitty, Opera is sitting next to me. She's fascintated with the screen, especially if I go to a page with flashing lights. She just cocks her head and stares. She likes the TV too. Sadly, she's still not gaining any weight. She's just skin and bones.

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Some good quotes I got in an email today:

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. Albert Einstein

Reflect upon your blessings, of which every man has plenty, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. Charles Dickens

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Some people have way too much time on their hands. Hey! Not me! If you're one of those, there is a site where you can build a snowman online. Here's one that caught my attention. It's the nativity scene in snow people. http://snowmanconstructionkit.com/snowman30167_It%27s_All_About_Him.html

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Here's something fun. If you missed the President's State of the Union speech, there's a place where you can click for the to read the speech. But even more fun than that , at this site you can see how frequently the President used certain words in the speeches each year. For instance, he used "Iraq" or "Iraqis" 34 times this year and only twice in 2002. http://www.nytimes.com/ref/washington/20070123_STATEOFUNION.html?th&emc=th

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I'm really tired. After a nap, I have to figure out a way to get a poop sample from both cats. I guess I'll have to sit next to the litter box and watch to see when each cat uses it. Now that really sounds like a fun project. After that nap...