Decisions | Chronic Rants

Breathing a sigh of relief: we had the sense to re-elect Obama

November 7, 2012

I was worried last night that Mitt Romney could be elected president. Actually, it was more like scared. Well, to be honest, I was absolutely fucking terrified!

A few days ago I wrote about Romney’s lack of compassion when it comes to providing healthcare for the non-millionaire sick people in this country. You see, unlike every other industrialized country, the United States does not have universal health insurance. Incredible, right? I had planned to write about some of his other stances that could affect us, but I didn’t feel well for several days and wasn’t able to write. I didn’t feel better until this evening, and by then I had already reveled in the wonderful news: President Barak Obama was re-elected!

My joy at this news might offend some people and that’s fine. You have your opinions and I have mine. But since this is my blog, I’m expressing mine. 😉

There are so many ways that last night’s election was a good thing, but let me list just a few here, in no particular order, including some great health-related results:

While there is still racism in this country, it isn’t enough to stop Obama’s election or his re-election.
There are now a record number of women in Congress. We are still incredibly under-represented, but we’re moving in the right direction.
There is still misogyny and and sexism in this country, but the worst offenders, those who suggested that there is such a thing as “rape that is not forcible” and that “rape is a form of conception,” were voted out of office.
The Affordable Care Act will not be repealed. I didn’t think it would be anyway, but at least now we don’t have to watch our government waste time and money with the attempt.
Three states voted to legalize marriage equality and one state voted against a ban of marriage equality. This is the first time that marriage equality has won at the polls and it happened in FOUR states!
My own state elected a smart, sensible, honest woman to the senate.
With the ACA safe, women with health insurance will still be able to get free birth control. Now we need to make this happen for the women without health insurance!
With Obama in the oval office, I feel much better about who will next be appointed to the Supreme Court.
It is less likely now that Roe v. Wade will be over-turned.
My state and others passed medical marijuana laws. Finally, there will be a treatment without the horrible side effects of so many (all?) of the others!
My faith in the American people has been generally reaffirmed. Yes, there was the riot on a college campus last night. Yes, there were racist comments being made. But overall, the American people showed themselves to have, in my opinion, good judgement. Overall they were not racist or sexist or homophobic. Overall they voted for the good of the nation, not only for the good of themselves. And now I can breathe a bit easier because of it.

I could go on and on. There was the first Hindu woman elected to Congress. And the first openly bisexual woman. And so many others. But in the end, the important thing is that I feel our country is moving in a great direction. I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

3 Comments | Decisions, Expectations, Healthcare, Medication, Politics, Raves, Relationships: Family & Friends & Dating & Sex | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

Which treatment might have done it?

October 9, 2012

M scoffs at me when I refuse to try multiple treatments at once. She thinks I’m just dragging my feet, trying to avoid being proactive. The truth is, with other parts of my life that is totally true and she’s nail me. But when it comes to medical treatments, she’s way off base – I just don’t want to have something work without knowing which treatment it is. And if something goes wrong, I need to know which treatment it is then, too.

Today a relative asked me for the first time in a long time if my new diet is helping at all. What could I say? I explained that in some ways it’s definitely helping – the daily nausea is gone (woo hoo!) On the other hand, my energy has also improved, and I’m certain that’s at least partly from one of the supplements I’m on. But could it be from the diet too?

I’d broken my own rule and tried many things at once. Unlike any time before, these multiple treatments were all recommended by my trusted naturopath, plus they were recommended in books I’d read and by people I’d met online. Everyone said that this stuff was too important to wait, so it should be done simultaneously. I believe they’re right, but that doesn’t lessen the mystery.

I’m continuing to spend a lot of time and effort following this new diet, because I’m sure that even if it’s not having an immediate effect, it will help in the long term. As for the many, many supplements, I’ll continue those for now. Something is working, and since I can’t be sure what it is, I don’t want to eliminate anything. My naturopath’s plan is to remove me from all of them over time, and to even lessen the dietary restrictions, so I’m hopeful that one day it won’t matter at all what’s working. Still, I’m curious: which treatment might be helping me? And could one of them be slowing down my recovery?

2 Comments | Decisions, Expectations, Frustration, Insensitive, Medication, Rants, Symptoms, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

Please don’t ask me how I am

September 6, 2012

“How are you?”

“What’s new?”

“How’s the insurance situation?”

“What’s happening with your treatments?”

“Do they expect you to improve?”

I know these questions come from a place of love, but for heaven’s sake, STOP ASKING ME ALREADY! The problem, of course, is that I have so many great people in my life who care. I am grateful for that, really I am, but I wish they’d care a bit less verbally!

Every time I speak to someone who I haven’t spoken with in a while (and every time I see my grandparents, who are always anxious for news and forget that we just spoke about it 3 days ago) I get asked some version of these questions. This can translate to no questions for several days, or having this conversation 5 times in 1 day!

One of the challenges of having crappy health is keeping a healthy perspective. I know you know what I mean. Since I am unable to work, I don’t have a job to distract me. Since I am not able to go out much, I don’t have other “news” to discuss. Since I’m not able to date, I can’t distract my friends with tales of lurid sex (but maybe I should just make some up?) This leaves me with a lot of free time to dwell on all the shittiness in my life…. or not. I opt for not. I try hard to keep some balance. I read books and blogs and other useful sources to learn as much as I can about my various health conditions and the possible treatments for them. Then I pursue those treatments. I read books and blogs on personal finance and on various personal development topics so that if (when?) I get better, I will have a life that I truly enjoy. I read novels and watch tv as an escape to a fantasy world. I spend as much time as I can with family and friends, even if some of that time can only be spent by phone or email. I spend time thinking about my situation in terms of my various options (or lack thereof) and how I might handle each scenario. So basically, I try to avoid woe-is-me thinking as much as I can. Sure, I have my off days – who doesn’t? But I try to limit them and to focus on other areas of my life.

And it works. It works really well. Until a friend asks what my current health status is, and if I think I’ll improve, and what the doctor says, and what I’ll do without health insurance (as of this weekend!!!) and where my LTD appeal stands and and and and and….. It drags me back into the mess that is my life, and it makes me dwell on the lousy parts and re-realize how uncertain the possible improvements really are.

So I’m done. That’s it. No more. From now on, I will not answer these questions (with exceptions made for my parents and grandparents, who are all awesome and supportive and wouldn’t put up with this ban even if I tried!) I am going to write up answers to the standard questions, make a personal FAQ, and simply email everyone who wants to know. And if they don’t like it? Too bad. If they really care, they’ll understand that this is what’s best for my sanity, that their questions force me to dwell on the negative when I am trying so hard not to do that. I will try to explain, and then I won’t answer their questions. That’s it. Fini. End.