Some Health Stuff
First off, the good news:
'Seven genetic types of ME' found
This is obviously bloody marvelous news. One of the biggest problems with treating CFS/ME has always been that, because there isn't a specific way of testing of it or diagnosing it (other than, "We've looked at everything else and come up with nothing, so let's say you have ME," which is how I was diagnosed), it's also pretty much impossible to treat. After all, if you don't know what's causing it how can you treat it? But this could pretty much start the ball rolling on getting further insights into the causes of CFS/ME, and as a consequence how to treat it.
Oh, and it's a score against the doctors and the like who kept on insisting it was "all in the mind".
In more general health news... Hay fever season is in full flow in our house. Nick has it, I have it and poor Jelli has it. The only one not suffering is Mac, and even he jumps when one of us sneezes.
All three of us have the itchy faces and skin - poor Jelli is the worst, as she ends up scratching herself so hard she makes herself bleed and gouges tufts of fur off her jawline. On the other hand, she still looks so much better than she did two years ago when we first met her and she was living outside and getting pwned by the pollen count. We're thinking we're going to have to take her to the vets to see if they can give hay fever stuff to cats (poor thing'll probably have to have an injection, but we're hoping that if it comes to that she won't go on a killing spree; besides, the last time we took her to the vets she was a little angel - surprisingly - and the worst thing she did was passively-aggressivly shed on the exam table).
Nick was pretty bad until a couple of days ago, when I went and got him some Clarityn. Before that, he was having sneezing fits that were lasting for five minutes at a time, and his eyes were threatening to swell shut. On the plus side, we think he's only allergic to the pollon that's about at this time of year (as opposed to me, who reacts to it all) so hopefully that should die down in a few weeks.
As for me... my face and arms itch. The membranes in my nose and the roof of my mouth have dried out and are itching. My eyes are sore and stinging. But all of these are relatively minor compared to my biggest hay fever symptom - I can't breathe. Yes, the pollen is now officially trying to suffocate me, and I get to spend half my day struggling to take a full breath. I know I need to go to the doctors with this, and I intend to try tomorrow, but the problem is that, unless I get a taxi, I have to walk - past grass and flowers and trees and through air full of the stuff that's apparently choking me to death. It's a Catch-22.
'Seven genetic types of ME' found
This is obviously bloody marvelous news. One of the biggest problems with treating CFS/ME has always been that, because there isn't a specific way of testing of it or diagnosing it (other than, "We've looked at everything else and come up with nothing, so let's say you have ME," which is how I was diagnosed), it's also pretty much impossible to treat. After all, if you don't know what's causing it how can you treat it? But this could pretty much start the ball rolling on getting further insights into the causes of CFS/ME, and as a consequence how to treat it.
Oh, and it's a score against the doctors and the like who kept on insisting it was "all in the mind".
In more general health news... Hay fever season is in full flow in our house. Nick has it, I have it and poor Jelli has it. The only one not suffering is Mac, and even he jumps when one of us sneezes.
All three of us have the itchy faces and skin - poor Jelli is the worst, as she ends up scratching herself so hard she makes herself bleed and gouges tufts of fur off her jawline. On the other hand, she still looks so much better than she did two years ago when we first met her and she was living outside and getting pwned by the pollen count. We're thinking we're going to have to take her to the vets to see if they can give hay fever stuff to cats (poor thing'll probably have to have an injection, but we're hoping that if it comes to that she won't go on a killing spree; besides, the last time we took her to the vets she was a little angel - surprisingly - and the worst thing she did was passively-aggressivly shed on the exam table).
Nick was pretty bad until a couple of days ago, when I went and got him some Clarityn. Before that, he was having sneezing fits that were lasting for five minutes at a time, and his eyes were threatening to swell shut. On the plus side, we think he's only allergic to the pollon that's about at this time of year (as opposed to me, who reacts to it all) so hopefully that should die down in a few weeks.
As for me... my face and arms itch. The membranes in my nose and the roof of my mouth have dried out and are itching. My eyes are sore and stinging. But all of these are relatively minor compared to my biggest hay fever symptom - I can't breathe. Yes, the pollen is now officially trying to suffocate me, and I get to spend half my day struggling to take a full breath. I know I need to go to the doctors with this, and I intend to try tomorrow, but the problem is that, unless I get a taxi, I have to walk - past grass and flowers and trees and through air full of the stuff that's apparently choking me to death. It's a Catch-22.