Visit to psychiatrist today

Posted on December 7, 2010 by

Saw the psychiatrist today, at the urging of my primary care doctor. She didn’t feel at all qualified to handle the issues brought about by my “Fun with Cymbalta“. So off to see a psychiatrist I went. This was the first time I ever saw one as a patient. I’ve been an involved party before, but never a patient. So it was very much a new experience for me. Continue reading →

Posted in Cymbalta, fibromyalgia, Healthcare, Mental health | Tagged , , ,

Have we found the cause of ME/CFS and FMS?

Posted on December 3, 2010 by

Whittemore Peterson Institute – XMRV.

The spectrum of neuro-immune diseases including: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), Atypical MS, Fibromyalgia and Gulf War Syndrome, share common abnormalities in the innate immune response, which result in chronic immune activation and immune deficiency.

We have detected the retroviral infection XMRV in greater than 95% of the more than 200 ME/CFS, Fibromylagia, Atypical MS patients tested. The current working hypothesis is that XMRV infection of B, T, NK and other cells of the innate immune response causes chronic inflammation and immune deficiency resulting in an inability to mount an effective immune response to opportunistic infections.

Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikipedia fails to mention the FMS link, and is clearly not as positive about any of the links as WPI. Still, it’s something worth knowing about.

More to read: Could a Virus Cause Chronic-Fatigue Syndrome? – Newsweek

Posted in fibromyalgia, Healthcare | Tagged , ,

Homework

Posted on December 1, 2010 by

Went to see the therapist today, for the first time since Barbara died. (We have history, as he was treating her for complex PTSD before her hospitalization, and I was going with her.) The session helped me a lot. No details here, for obvious reasons. The diagnosis is complicated grief . I go back in two weeks (I can’t afford weekly), and I have homework to do. Painful, difficult, soul wrenching homework.

But he’s right. I need to do it.

Posted in Complicated Grief, grief, Mental health | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

My WoW Characters

Posted on November 27, 2010 by

Prior to the upgrade, I was playing the basic edition. As a result, there were certain races I could not play. The one that bothered me most was the lack of the Draenei. That looked like a really fun race.

Today, I created my first Draenei character, and made her a Paladin. Yes, I said “her”. All my characters in WoW are female. Hey, it’s fantasy, right? Might as well take it all the way. Without further ado, here she is: Continue reading →

Posted in PC Gaming, World of Warcraft | Tagged , ,

Switching Off Comcast

Posted on November 27, 2010 by

I did some research, and this past week I shut off Comcast Cable / Internet. I’ve had ongoing issues with the quality of service, as well as consistency of service and pricing. Over the last several months, my bill hadn’t been the same amount two months in a row, and I wasn’t buying pay-per-view. Oh, it only varied a few dollars from month to month, but I could never explain why it varied at all. There were frequent service interruptions, both on TV and internet, but almost never both at the same time. Continue reading →

Posted in Internet, Technology, TV | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Upgrading World of Warcraft

Posted on November 24, 2010 by

I decided to spend $15 getting up to the level where the World of Warcraft Cataclysm upgrade is even available. I mean, so what if I don’t eat over the weekend? I’ll overeat on Thanksgiving anyway. I am such a nerd. Or is that geek? I can never keep them straight, because I am both. Yes, it does hurt. Thanks for asking.

Posted in World of Warcraft | Tagged ,

Mike Huckabee lauds ousting of Iowa justices over gay marriage, courts evangelicals

Posted on November 22, 2010 by

Mike Huckabee lauds ousting of Iowa justices over gay marriage, courts evangelicals.

Mike Huckabee is one scary guy. And this isn’t a recent revelation for me. Allow me to direct you to my past commentary on his 2008 Presidential run. Pay particular attention to An Alternative Future History. Change a few minor details, and this is still a very real scenario. The people in question (Palin, Huckabee) really do seem to believe that a Christian theocracy is the only thing that would “save this nation” from itself.

Posted in Civil Rights, Gay, LGBT issues, Politics | Tagged , , ,

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Posted on November 21, 2010 by

Last night, I attended the Houston Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony on the campus of the University of Houston. I had the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time, and ended up attending with Vanity Wilde and some of her friends. If I hadn’t gone with them, I probably wouldn’t have been able to attend. Read elsewhere about my ongoing medical issues. That’s not what this post is about. Continue reading →

Posted in LGBT issues, Memories, Transgender | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Why Do We Deny Ourselves The Right To Grieve?

Posted on November 19, 2010 by

I think it is time we stop trying to treat grief as a mental illness, and allow people the right to grieve in this society. There are valid sociological, psychological, and physiological reasons for grief, or we wouldn’t experience it. Continue reading →

Posted in Cymbalta, grief | Tagged ,

Last Night’s ER Visit

Posted on November 19, 2010 by

Yes, I went to the ER last night. Continue reading →

Posted in Cymbalta | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments