Deja Vu All Over Again

I've had so many major improvements in my health over the past few months. I've lost 32 pounds, gotten off several medications, seen a drastic reduction in the frequency and severity of my cataplexy attacks, and had a dramatic increase in my energy levels. So, I really didn't see this one coming: the dreaded pain in my side is back. I noticed it creeping in a few weeks ago but hoped it was just my imagination. But one night at bedtime it was so severe that I could not sleep despite the strong sedative I take at night for my narcolepsy. That's when I knew it was really back.

For four years I endured daily pain in my left side. It was a constant pull of heaviness, as if I had a small barbell inside me. Then, at various times throughout the day the sharp, stabbing pains would come. For several days each month the stabbing pain was constant and so severe at times that I would become nauseated. The only way I could function was to stay medicated with various narcotics. Over time, I actually became dependent on the narcotics. The diagnosis was endometriosis. And I had several surgeries to "remove" the tissue that was growing all over my bladder, colon, and other internal organs. But the pain kept coming back with a vengeance. Finally, I found a reproductive endocrinologist that believed most of my pain was not from endometriosis but from two pelvic hernias. He performed a surgery to repair the hernias but also removed endometriosis by cutting out the tissue along with the areas underneath, rather than just by burning it off, which is the typical procedure performed in these cases. After healing from the surgery, I was completely pain-free for over two years.

But with my recent change in treatment for thyroid disease from the substandard drug levoxyl to natural Armour thyroid, my body began performing normal hormone functions again. Unfortunately, I believe this has caused the endometriosis to begin growing again. I haven't had this confirmed by a doctor yet, but I recognize the old, familiar pain. I've been down all week with the pain, unable to stand or walk around much without making it worse. I've tried heating pads and even strong anti-inflammatories that only upset my stomach. But nothing's working. Which is why I'm blogging about this at 2am, unable to sleep again. My doctor tried to blame the pain on "muscle spasms" due to my being overweight, which is classic behavior when doctors don't want to bother with a proper diagnosis. After all, overweight women with unknown symptoms and unexplained pain are surely merely suffering from depression and symptoms caused directly from obesity. Oh, brother! What a cop-out! I'm going back to him tomorrow to strongly suggest he pull his head out of his hindquarters and take me seriously this time. Considering my extensive history, which he didn't bother to consider at my last visit, it's certainly probable I'm dealing with a relapse in my endometriosis.

But this time I'm not having surgery, and I refuse to become addicted to narcotics again. I believe we need to consider my progesterone levels, although I am already taking natural progesterone, and we should probably do an ultrasound to make sure there's no cyst or tumor and that the graft from my hernia repair hasn't become dislodged or anything. And I plan to get a high-quality curcumin (which comes from the spice turmeric) supplement to help with the pain. Apparently I still have some fungus growing in my body, so I will continue to rotate my anti-fungal supplements (olive leaf extract and caprylic acid) and keep sticking to the Phase One anti-fungal diet I've been doing for over 3 months (http://www.knowthecause.com). It would be easy to let this really discourage me and cause me to throw my hands up and surrender to the drugs and surgery solutions the doctors so quickly throw at problems like this. But I know I'm on the right track, although I clearly have a long way to go.

Easy Button - The Conclusion

So, whatever happened with my search for the Easy Button? I'm sure you're dying to know "the rest of the story." I am too! I don't think there IS an end. But there's definitely a lesson in there somewhere. I've been praying for over a year now that God would "show me great and mighty things I do not know" in regard to my health, our business, and my marriage. If you've read previous posts, you know I have these "333" sightings all the time and use them to remind me of Jeremiah 33:3. Each time I see the triple 3's, I pray that request to God. The past 18 months have been very difficult and very uncomfortable. In my experience, if you keep trusting God through times like these, it usually results in God doing a great work in your life. But I'll admit it: I can be impatient. And God and I have had some pretty heated conversations over the past several months. I even asked HIM about the Easy Button. And here's what He told me:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

He kept giving me that passage, and I didn't get it at first. But then I changed my outlook and decided to trust that God had a purpose in all of this. I still don't know everything He has planned, but I started to see that he'd been answering my prayers all along. Without the recent seriousness of my health condition, I don't think I would have had the motivation to take charge of my health like I have. After just a few months, I have seen amazing improvements in my body. I believe there are better days ahead. When we moved from our beautiful home, I was hurt and angry. But the house we live in now is within 15 minutes of our clients and my doctors. And we live within a few miles of all the health food stores where I do a lot of my food shopping. We have a much smaller yard and home to take care of. This has taken a huge amount of stress off my husband, who had to drive at least an hour to get home from work every day, to take me to the doctor, and to make a special trip out here to get the food I need from the health food store. If I have an emergency at home, he can get to me in minutes, and he's been getting home earlier each evening.

There have been some other opportunities in the area of our business that have opened up because of our move, although we're still waiting to see how God works this out. And although I still don't have the answers about why we don't seem to have a support system in our lives to help out with the heavy burden my health puts on our lives, I am hopeful that the Lord will give us His divine revelation on practical ways we can lessen that burden on my husband's life. God has blessed me with the opportunity to work with a Christian life coach, and she gave me a great word picture to give me hope in this area. She explained that people often say, "that's the last straw," in referring to that circumstance that causes someone to say like Popeye, "That's all I can stands; I can't stands no more!" But what if we could remove things, one straw at a time - one burden at a time? We don't have to solve all our problems with some big epiphany all at once. Sometimes it's just one little solution at a time. And that sounds do-able to me.

So, although I didn't find a big red button to push, I'm starting to understand that quiet voice that keeps telling me, "Give it to Me; let Me carry that weight for you. Just rest in My loving arms and trust." His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.

How the Church Can Minister to the Chronically Ill

Ministering to the Chronically Ill: 20 Ways That Take 20 Minutes
by Lisa Copen

Rest Ministries (www.restministries.com), the largest Christian organization that specifically serves the chronically ill, recently did a survey and asked people to "List some of the programs or resources a church could offer to make it more inviting and comfortable." They have provided a sampling of some of the 800+ responses, all of which could be done in 20 minutes or less.

1. Encouragement emails.
2. Make sure the handicapped stalls in the restroom are functioning and clean.
3. Padded chairs or cushions, room for wheelchairs, and plenty of room for my family to sit with me.
4. Be open-minded about a support group for the chronically ill like HopeKeepers. It would make me feel very special, knowing that there is an understanding of people's needs that are not always visible.
5. Add more disabled parking, even if they are temporary spots.
6. Educate the ushers that people arriving late may have difficulty walking or getting out of cars and will need some assistance.
7. Ask volunteers to call people with chronic illness just to check on them when they don't make it to services.
8. When suppers are given, recognize that I may need help getting my meal--or at least understand that I won't be able to wait in a long line.
9. Be gentle when giving people big hugs. It can topple over or hurt a person.
10. Have a video tape of the service, not just a live web cast. Not all our computers work that well.
11. Make sure that the church doors aren't too difficult to open or at least have mechanical assistance if they're unusually heavy.
12. Stop telling me that if I really believed and had faith I would be healed by now. Please don't insist how good I look, because I know for a fact that I look terrible and miserable that day.
13. Offer me ways to serve within the church that can be performed regularly, but not on a set schedule. I still want to contribute, but I need some flexibility so that I can do a job when I feel well enough to do so.
14. Have sermon notes available so I can listen later or even just review what I didn't catch the first time.
15. Acknowledge National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. Rest Ministries has a nice book list of top 100 Christian books for the chronically ill. It would make a nice display in your bookstore that week.
16. Just mention chronic illness occasionally! Don't forget to talk about it in sermons as one of the challenges many people face just like unemployment or divorce.
17. Have Christian volunteers from church that will clean house for small fee. Some have offered to clean my house, but I cannot accept charity yet, but neither can I afford to pay a regular house cleaning service.
18. Help with some of the small costs of providing encouraging books and resources for the church library the chronically ill can check out.
19. Remember how many caregivers are in the church, not just caregiving for their parents, but also for their spouses or ill children.
20. Have copies of sermons for free on CD or computer.
Find over 500 ways to encourage a chronically ill friend in the book "Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend" at www.beyondcasseroles.com
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I know that some days can seem like more than you can handle. Remember that the Lord promises to never leave you or forsake you. Cling to that. Even when you don't feel his presence He is still there. I tell my 6-year-old son that God is working "under cover." I know I am each day, especially righr now!

Blessings,

Lisa Copen, Rest Ministries Founder
Rest Ministries Chronic Illness Pain Support