Fibro And Fabulous ™

I was listening to the Today Show this morning, as I do every morning, to keep up on current events. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, Cheif Medical Editor for NBC reported some interesting statistics about chronic illness and how some major companies are trying to deal with it. 60% of the reported bankruptcies in 2007 were derived from an illness that needed extensive medical care. 75% of medical costs today are from a chronic illness. These costs are from a patients lifestyle and are from four main factors: smoking, inactivity, stress, and/or food choices. 40% of premature deaths in the US are from poor lifestyle choices. 2.5 trillion dollars is the projected spending for health care in the US for 2009. These statistics are pretty astounding to me. It's truly hard for me to grasp at the fact that chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and even fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, are running so rampant in the United States that it is overwhelming the health care industry. It&#

When you have fibro, you sometimes have to get creative when it comes to paying your bills... Don't get me wrong-- some people can have a job before diagnoses and manage to keep it. But most of us need to find ways to maintain our health and wallet by looking for ways to work from home. This article is about three work from home options--- AND YES, they are definitely legit. I have done 2 out of the 3 listed for quite a few years now, and I agree with the magazine's take on the pros and cons. My father always used to say, "Do what you love, the money will come." and he's right. Of course he also used to say, "You won't get rich working retail, but it pays the bills." I can't agree with him on the later-- retail only pays some of the bills, but it was a job for me BF (Before Fibro). Sometimes we fibromites can feel useless because we have no energy to perform at a job, but we shouldn't! Especially when there are places out there whe

That old adage, "You are what you eat" really has new meaning here. I read all of the testimony and I must say that I didn't know that animals were being treated with as many antibiotics as stated. I am allergic to penicillin, I have been since birth. I'm actually so allergic that my throat would close if I were to ever take it. I can get that way with blue cheese too (penicillin is made from blue cheese). I had no idea that animals are being treated with penicillin regardless of whether they are sick or not. Now, you may wonder why this might be a big deal for someone like me. Well, if I become immune to medicines (and in some cases I am thanks to fibro), I run the risk of running out of medications to help me fight off disease. I can't take penicillin or any of its other forms-- not good. This is just more proof to have antibiotic free as possible meat. Because if we don't, we not only have the problem with our meats and vegetation, but we have the

This is a great way to "go green", but this is also great for fibro sufferers with chemical sensitivities. I have not tried all of these paint recipes myself, but they are easy to make and look promising. The paint you buy in a store contains chemicals so it will hold up to fading, mildew, mold, cracking, and peeling. And there are a lot of good paints out on the market today that are quality paints. Some are even low odor. I tend to like Sears paint because it is thick, covers well, and is okay as far as odor. But even I'd like an alternative sometimes. When you decide to paint a room and you are toying with the idea of buying a gallon, ask yourself this one question before you buy a gallon of fumes... "Am I going to love this color for the next 20 years?" If you don't think so, try your hand at this homemade paint. It may just be the breath of fresh air that you need. Make Safe, Natural Paint Shared via AddThis

I love write about self help for fibromyalgia because it's a passion of mine. But I also have a lot of fun writing fiction of the paranormal and science kind. This is a short that's up for an Associated Content contest. It's a piece that was supposed to be a screen play for ScriptFrenzy but it turned into a short. I hope you enjoy it. Forever Friends Autumn thought her distaste for evil only went as far as slum lords, until her blood started boiling over a dream meeting. http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/2011946/forever_friends.html