#world young rheumatic diseases day

[brookston]

Holidays 3.18

Holidays

Anniversary of the Oil Expropriation (Mexico)

Austria Asteroid Day

Awkward Moments Day

Bindus Diena (The Day the Bears Wake from Hibernation; Ancient Latvia)

Carnival of Body Music

Casey Jones Day

Cheikh Al Maarouf Day (Comoros)

Colonel Day (Battlestar Galactica)

Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence (Australia)

Day of Internal Troops (Belarus)

De Molay Day

Electric Razor Day

Flag Day (Aruba)

Forgive Mom and Dad Day

Gallipoli Memorial Day (Turkey)

Global Recycling Day

Grandparents' & Grandchildren's Day (Michigan)

International Day of Revolutionary Political Prisoners

Maidenhead Fern Day (French Republic)

Make Peace with Your Parents Day

Marien Ngouabi Day (Republic of the Congo)

Men’s and Soldiers Day (Mongolia)

My Whole Self Day (UK)

National Anthem and Flag Day (Aruba)

National Biodiesel Day

National Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Day

National Day of Remembrance for COVID-19 Victims (Italy)

National Farm Rescuer Day

National Natural Gas Utility Workers’ Day

National Public Defender Day

National Supreme Sacrifice Day

Oil Expropriation Day (Mexico)

Ordnance Factory Day (India)

Paris Commune Anniversary Day

Phoebe, Moon of Saturn Day

Saint Throw-Up Day

Stab e-Barat (Night of Records; Bangladesh)

Sheelah's Day (a.k.a. Sheela Na Gig; Australia, Canada, Ireland)

Sheikh Al Maalouf Day (Comoros)

Sheep and Goats Separation Day

South Carolina Day (South Carolina)

Space Walk Day

Sparky the Fire Dog Day

Supreme Sacrifice Day (Congo)

Take Down Tobacco Day

Teacher’s Day (Syria)

Transit Driver Appreciation Day

Trisomy 18 Awareness Day

World Eagle Day

World Juvenile Arthritis Day

World Young Rheumatic Diseases Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Jambon Day (Ireland)

National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day

National Sloppy Joe Day

Oatmeal Cookie Day

St. Broccoli Day

3rd Monday in March

Act Happy Day [3rd Monday]

Benito Juarez Fiestas Patrias (Mexico) [3rd Monday]

Dangerous Dan's Annual Coffee Cup Washing Day [3rd Monday]

Dribble to Work Day [3rd Monday]

Labor Day (Christmas Island) [3rd or 4th Monday]

Wellderly Day [3rd Monday]

World Folk Tale and Fable Day [3rd Monday]

Weekly Holidays beginning March 18 (3rd Week)

Act Happy Week (thru 3.24) [begins 3rd Monday]

Global Money Week [thru 3.24]

International Teach Music Week (thru 3.24) [begins 3rd Monday]

Independence & Related Days

Aruba (from Netherlands; 1976)

Panay Liberation Day (Philippines)

Festivals Beginning March 18, 2024

AKFCF Convention (Las Vegas, Nevada) [thru 3.22]

American Meat Conference (Nashville, Tennessee) [thru 3.20]

Bar & Restaurant Expo (Las Vegas, Nevada) [thru 3.20]

Culpepper Downtown Restaurant Week (Culpepper, Virginia) [thru 3.24]

IDFA Women’s Summit (Washington, DC) [thru 3.20]

World Tea Expo (Las Vegas, Nevada) [thru 3.20]

Feast Days

Adam Elsheimer (Artology)

Alexander of Jerusalem (Christian; Saint)

Anselm of Lucca (Christian; Saint)

Asklepieia (Ancient Greece)

Barney Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Breasil of Hy-Breasal (Celtic Book of Days)

Cyril of Jerusalem (Christian; Saint)

Edward of the West Saxons (Anglican Church)

Edward the Martyr (a.k.a. Edward, King of England; Christian; Saint)

Exorcist Day (Make the Spirits Disappear; Pastafarian)

Fridianus (a.k.a. Fridian; Christian; Saint)

Goddess of Fertility Day

Hrethmonath (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

John Updike (Writerism; Humanism; Saint)

Oide Matsuri (Departure Festival; Shinto; Japan)

Philo Zilfinger (Muppetism)

Salvator of Horta (Christian; Saint)

Sheela-na-gig (Irish Pagan Fertility Goddess)

Sheep and Goats (Separation) Day (Shamanism)

Socrates (Positivist; Saint)

Usajingu Reitaisai (Shinto; Japan)

Vodka Day (Pastafarian)

Waqf al Arafa (Islam)

Orthodox Christian Liturgical Calendar Holidays

Great Lent begins [1st Monday in Lent; Orthodox Christian] (a.k.a. …

Ash Monday

Blue Monday

Clean Monday (Greece)

Collop Monday

Green Monday (Cyprus)

Hall Monday

Kathara Deftera

Merry Monday

Monday of Lent

Pure Monday

Rose Monday

Shrove Monday

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Unlucky 18th (Philippines) [1 of 3]

Premieres

Alexander’s Ragtime Band published (Song; 1911)

Allegiant (Film; 2016)

The Bronze (Film; 2016)

Cedar Rapids (Film; 2011)

The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown (Novel; 2003)

D.O.A. (Film; 1988)

Dominick and Eugene (Film; 1988)

Flora (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1948)

Getz/Gilberto, by Stan Getz and João Gilberto (Album; 1964)

Happy and Lucky (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1938)

The House Builder-Upper (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1938)

Ice Princess (Film; 2005)

The Lincoln Lawyer (Film; 2011)

The Lost Dream (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1949)

The Man Who Fell To Earth (Film; 1976)

Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (Disney Cartoon; 1933)

The Milagro Beanfield War (Film; 1988)

Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult (Film; 1994)

Paul (Film; 2011)

Pee Wee’s Big Holiday (Film; 2016)

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, by Sergei Rachmaninoff (Piano Concerto; 1927)

Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland Ride; 1967)

The Poet and Peasant (Andy Panda Cartoon; 1946)

Rio Bravo (Film; 1960)

Sanditon, by Jane Austen (Unfinished Novel; 1817) [Last Day She Wrote It]

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty James Thurber (Short Stories; 1939)

The Spine of Night (Animated Film; 2021)

Steamboy (Anime Film; 2005)

Strangled Eggs (WB MM Cartoon; 1961)

The Suicide Sheik (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit; 1929)

Wanted: No Master, featuring Count Screwloose and J.R. the Wonder Dog (MGM Cartoon; 1938)

The Well of Loneliness, by Radclyffe Hall (Novel; 1928)

Whatever and Ever Amen, by Ben Folds Five (Album; 1997)

White Riot, by The Clash (Song; 1977)

Today’s Name Days

Cyrill, Edward, Sibylle (Austria)

Ćiril, Edo, Eduard, Spasoje (Croatia)

Eduard (Czech Republic)

Alexander (Denmark)

Edi, Eduard, Eedi, Eedo, Eedu (Estonia)

Edvard, Eetu (Finland)

Cyrille (France)

Edward, Cyrill, Sibylle (Germany)

Edward (Greece)

Ede, Sándor (Hungary)

Cirillo, Salvatore (Italy)

Adelīna, Ilona, Razna, Sartite (Latvia)

Anzelmas, Eimutė, Eimutis, Sibilė (Lithuania)

Aleksander, Edvard, Sander (Norway)

Aleksander, Anzelm, Boguchwał, Cyryl, Edward, Narcyz, Narcyza, Salwator (Poland)

Chiril (Romania)

Eduard (Slovakia)

Cirilo, Eduardo (Spain)

Edmund, Edvard (Sweden)

Cyril, Cyrilla, Grover, Salvador, Salvatore, Sibyl, Sybil, Sybilla (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 78 of 2024; 288 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 12 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Fearn (Alder) [Day 2 of 28]

Chinese: Month 2 (Ding-Mao), Day 9 (Xin-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025)

Hebrew: 8 Adair II 5784

Islamic: 8 Ramadan 1445

J Cal: 18 Green; Foursday [18 of 30]

Julian: 5 March 2024

Moon: 65%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 22 Aristotle (3rd Month) [Xenocrates]

Runic Half Month: Beore (Birch Tree) [Day 9 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 89 of 89)

Week: 3rd Week of March

Zodiac: Pisces (Day 29 of 30)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 3.18

Holidays

Anniversary of the Oil Expropriation (Mexico)

Austria Asteroid Day

Awkward Moments Day

Bindus Diena (The Day the Bears Wake from Hibernation; Ancient Latvia)

Carnival of Body Music

Casey Jones Day

Cheikh Al Maarouf Day (Comoros)

Colonel Day (Battlestar Galactica)

Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence (Australia)

Day of Internal Troops (Belarus)

De Molay Day

Electric Razor Day

Flag Day (Aruba)

Forgive Mom and Dad Day

Gallipoli Memorial Day (Turkey)

Global Recycling Day

Grandparents' & Grandchildren's Day (Michigan)

International Day of Revolutionary Political Prisoners

Maidenhead Fern Day (French Republic)

Make Peace with Your Parents Day

Marien Ngouabi Day (Republic of the Congo)

Men’s and Soldiers Day (Mongolia)

My Whole Self Day (UK)

National Anthem and Flag Day (Aruba)

National Biodiesel Day

National Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Day

National Day of Remembrance for COVID-19 Victims (Italy)

National Farm Rescuer Day

National Natural Gas Utility Workers’ Day

National Public Defender Day

National Supreme Sacrifice Day

Oil Expropriation Day (Mexico)

Ordnance Factory Day (India)

Paris Commune Anniversary Day

Phoebe, Moon of Saturn Day

Saint Throw-Up Day

Stab e-Barat (Night of Records; Bangladesh)

Sheelah's Day (a.k.a. Sheela Na Gig; Australia, Canada, Ireland)

Sheikh Al Maalouf Day (Comoros)

Sheep and Goats Separation Day

South Carolina Day (South Carolina)

Space Walk Day

Sparky the Fire Dog Day

Supreme Sacrifice Day (Congo)

Take Down Tobacco Day

Teacher’s Day (Syria)

Transit Driver Appreciation Day

Trisomy 18 Awareness Day

World Eagle Day

World Juvenile Arthritis Day

World Young Rheumatic Diseases Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Jambon Day (Ireland)

National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day

National Sloppy Joe Day

Oatmeal Cookie Day

St. Broccoli Day

3rd Monday in March

Act Happy Day [3rd Monday]

Benito Juarez Fiestas Patrias (Mexico) [3rd Monday]

Dangerous Dan's Annual Coffee Cup Washing Day [3rd Monday]

Dribble to Work Day [3rd Monday]

Labor Day (Christmas Island) [3rd or 4th Monday]

Wellderly Day [3rd Monday]

World Folk Tale and Fable Day [3rd Monday]

Weekly Holidays beginning March 18 (3rd Week)

Act Happy Week (thru 3.24) [begins 3rd Monday]

Global Money Week [thru 3.24]

International Teach Music Week (thru 3.24) [begins 3rd Monday]

Independence & Related Days

Aruba (from Netherlands; 1976)

Panay Liberation Day (Philippines)

Festivals Beginning March 18, 2024

AKFCF Convention (Las Vegas, Nevada) [thru 3.22]

American Meat Conference (Nashville, Tennessee) [thru 3.20]

Bar & Restaurant Expo (Las Vegas, Nevada) [thru 3.20]

Culpepper Downtown Restaurant Week (Culpepper, Virginia) [thru 3.24]

IDFA Women’s Summit (Washington, DC) [thru 3.20]

World Tea Expo (Las Vegas, Nevada) [thru 3.20]

Feast Days

Adam Elsheimer (Artology)

Alexander of Jerusalem (Christian; Saint)

Anselm of Lucca (Christian; Saint)

Asklepieia (Ancient Greece)

Barney Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Breasil of Hy-Breasal (Celtic Book of Days)

Cyril of Jerusalem (Christian; Saint)

Edward of the West Saxons (Anglican Church)

Edward the Martyr (a.k.a. Edward, King of England; Christian; Saint)

Exorcist Day (Make the Spirits Disappear; Pastafarian)

Fridianus (a.k.a. Fridian; Christian; Saint)

Goddess of Fertility Day

Hrethmonath (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

John Updike (Writerism; Humanism; Saint)

Oide Matsuri (Departure Festival; Shinto; Japan)

Philo Zilfinger (Muppetism)

Salvator of Horta (Christian; Saint)

Sheela-na-gig (Irish Pagan Fertility Goddess)

Sheep and Goats (Separation) Day (Shamanism)

Socrates (Positivist; Saint)

Usajingu Reitaisai (Shinto; Japan)

Vodka Day (Pastafarian)

Waqf al Arafa (Islam)

Orthodox Christian Liturgical Calendar Holidays

Great Lent begins [1st Monday in Lent; Orthodox Christian] (a.k.a. …

Ash Monday

Blue Monday

Clean Monday (Greece)

Collop Monday

Green Monday (Cyprus)

Hall Monday

Kathara Deftera

Merry Monday

Monday of Lent

Pure Monday

Rose Monday

Shrove Monday

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Unlucky 18th (Philippines) [1 of 3]

Premieres

Alexander’s Ragtime Band published (Song; 1911)

Allegiant (Film; 2016)

The Bronze (Film; 2016)

Cedar Rapids (Film; 2011)

The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown (Novel; 2003)

D.O.A. (Film; 1988)

Dominick and Eugene (Film; 1988)

Flora (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1948)

Getz/Gilberto, by Stan Getz and João Gilberto (Album; 1964)

Happy and Lucky (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1938)

The House Builder-Upper (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1938)

Ice Princess (Film; 2005)

The Lincoln Lawyer (Film; 2011)

The Lost Dream (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1949)

The Man Who Fell To Earth (Film; 1976)

Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (Disney Cartoon; 1933)

The Milagro Beanfield War (Film; 1988)

Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult (Film; 1994)

Paul (Film; 2011)

Pee Wee’s Big Holiday (Film; 2016)

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, by Sergei Rachmaninoff (Piano Concerto; 1927)

Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland Ride; 1967)

The Poet and Peasant (Andy Panda Cartoon; 1946)

Rio Bravo (Film; 1960)

Sanditon, by Jane Austen (Unfinished Novel; 1817) [Last Day She Wrote It]

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty James Thurber (Short Stories; 1939)

The Spine of Night (Animated Film; 2021)

Steamboy (Anime Film; 2005)

Strangled Eggs (WB MM Cartoon; 1961)

The Suicide Sheik (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit; 1929)

Wanted: No Master, featuring Count Screwloose and J.R. the Wonder Dog (MGM Cartoon; 1938)

The Well of Loneliness, by Radclyffe Hall (Novel; 1928)

Whatever and Ever Amen, by Ben Folds Five (Album; 1997)

White Riot, by The Clash (Song; 1977)

Today’s Name Days

Cyrill, Edward, Sibylle (Austria)

Ćiril, Edo, Eduard, Spasoje (Croatia)

Eduard (Czech Republic)

Alexander (Denmark)

Edi, Eduard, Eedi, Eedo, Eedu (Estonia)

Edvard, Eetu (Finland)

Cyrille (France)

Edward, Cyrill, Sibylle (Germany)

Edward (Greece)

Ede, Sándor (Hungary)

Cirillo, Salvatore (Italy)

Adelīna, Ilona, Razna, Sartite (Latvia)

Anzelmas, Eimutė, Eimutis, Sibilė (Lithuania)

Aleksander, Edvard, Sander (Norway)

Aleksander, Anzelm, Boguchwał, Cyryl, Edward, Narcyz, Narcyza, Salwator (Poland)

Chiril (Romania)

Eduard (Slovakia)

Cirilo, Eduardo (Spain)

Edmund, Edvard (Sweden)

Cyril, Cyrilla, Grover, Salvador, Salvatore, Sibyl, Sybil, Sybilla (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 78 of 2024; 288 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 12 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Fearn (Alder) [Day 2 of 28]

Chinese: Month 2 (Ding-Mao), Day 9 (Xin-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025)

Hebrew: 8 Adair II 5784

Islamic: 8 Ramadan 1445

J Cal: 18 Green; Foursday [18 of 30]

Julian: 5 March 2024

Moon: 65%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 22 Aristotle (3rd Month) [Xenocrates]

Runic Half Month: Beore (Birch Tree) [Day 9 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 89 of 89)

Week: 3rd Week of March

Zodiac: Pisces (Day 29 of 30)

[joelvsarthritis]

Juvenile arthritis and me

In this special article for World Young Rheumatic Diseases Day, I give a brutally candid account of my memories and experiences of juvenile arthritis. Please share to raise awareness on this special day. #WORDDay2021 #JiA #ThinkJIA #arthritis #wordday

At times, the most life-changing moments pass you by without a second thought at the point of circumstance. So, in fact, at the time, they are not life-changing at all, not like the tremendous jolt of a traffic accident or death of a loved one. For many, these defining moments of one’s life are not recognised as such until many years later. It is a gradual, slow burn towards the inevitable impact…

[kalyan-gullapalli]

Post # 132

How an Indian taught the world to Shampoo...

In 1784, a Bengali muslim from Patna emigrated to Ireland, fell in love with a "pretty Irish girl of respectable parentage" and eloped with her to London. His name was Din Muhammad. The Englishmen could not pronounce his name. So, he duely anglicized it to Dean Mahomed. Though he belonged to the "Nai" or barber caste, he claimed he was a Sheikh and that he had connections with the Nawab of Bengal. He wanted to be called Sheikh Din Muhammad, but he had to settle for Sake Dean Mahomed.

In the process, Sake Dean Mohamed became one of the earliest Indian immigrants to England. He introduced the western world to Indian cuisine, by starting a restaurant in London - Hindoostane Coffee House. The restaurant offered, amongst other items, hookah with real chilm tobacco, and many Indian dishes. It didn't do too well and had to be shut down.

In 1794, he wrote a book - The Travels of Dean Mahomet - and thus became the first Indian to author a book in English.

But the most significant contribution of this adventurous young man was the introduction of something called Champoo, a.k.a Shampoo, to Londoners and hence to the west.

Therein lies a tale.

Will it surprise you to learn that the word Shampoo entered the English language from India during the colonial era. It is derived from the Hindi word Champoo, which is itself derived from the Sanskrit root Champayati, which means to press, knead, or soothe.

Since the ancient days, in the Indian subcontinent, a variety of herbs and their extracts have been used as hair cleansers. One method was boiling soapberries with dried Indian gooseberries (amla) and a selection of other herbs, and using the strained extract to create a lather. This lather leaves the hair soft, shiny and manageable. Another product used was Shikakai. There were many such methods.

Cleansing the hair followed by a body massage (Champoo) during one's bath was a regular indulgence for Indians. And Nais or barbers across generations had learnt this art and skill of Champooing.

Now, Mahomed also worked in London for one Mr. Basil Cochrane, who had installed a steam bath for public use in his house and promoted its medical benefits. There, Mahomed introduced the practice of Champooi or "shampooing" (or Indian massage). 

In 1814, Mahomed and his wife moved to Brighton, 75 kms south of London, and opened the first commercial "shampooing" vapour masseur bath in England.

He described the venture in a local paper as The Indian Medicated Vapour Bath, a cure to many diseases, giving full relief when everything else fails; particularly rheumatism and paralysis, gout, stiff joints, old sprains, lame legs, aches and pains in the joints. 

This business was an immediate success and Dean Mahomed became known as Dr. Brighton. Hospitals referred patients to him and he was appointed as shampooing surgeon to both King George IV and William IV.

He also wrote two books on the subject:

Cases cured by Sake Dean Mahomed, Shampooing Surgeon, and Inventor of the Indian Medicated Vapour and Sea-Water Bath (1820)

Shampooing; or, benefits resulting from the use of the Indian medicated vapour bath.

Sake Dean Mahomed died in 1851, but his Shampoo had caught on. Slowly it spread across Europe and then to America, and ironically came back to India in a synthetic form, in a bottle.

The irony was - India, once a practitioner of natural Champooi, now became a consumer of synthetic Shampoo.

And only the rich could afford it!

Until, one Mr. C K Ranganathan, the son of an agriculturist and small-scale pharmaceutical packaging entrepreneur named Chinni Krishnan, from Puducherry, launched India's first shampoo in sachet form - Chik shampoo - at price point of INR 1, in 1983. The rest as they is history. Today 75% plus of all India Shampoo sales are in sachets. And Chik shampoos are case-studies in B-schools across the world. The story of Shampoo came a full circle!

On 15 January 2019, Google recognised Sake Dean Mahomed with a Google Doodle. This post salutes one of modern India's earliest successful emigrant-entrepreneurs and the first Indian to author a book in English - Sheikh Din Muhammad.

[questionsonislam]

How should we see the illnesses like depression and stress from the point of view of religion, how should one be treated spiritually? Are there any hadiths of our Prophet regarding the issue?

Answer 1:

Depression is one of the most common diseases of our age. The uneasiness or, to use the frequently used word, the stress that causes that disease brings along many other diseases; it can cause cardiac diseases and many similar diseases. When its reason is examined, it is seen that the delicate balance among the cells are influenced directly by the stress.

For instance, our immune system protects us from many diseases including cancer. A healthy immune system is only possible through a lifestyle that is free from stress. When we have no troubles or apprehensions, our lymphocytes struggle against infections, rheumatic diseases and even cancer and overcome them.

Praying Allah and trusting in him is necessary for it. Doubtlessly, a person who always prays Allah and who is aware that anything that happens to him is a special test from Allah and who trusts in Allah will overcome the trouble more quickly. The attributes of our Exalted Lord, who eliminate the troubles and answers our prayers are stated as follows in the Quran:

" Or, who listens to the (soul) distressed when it calls on Him, and who relieves its suffering, and makes you (mankind) inheritors of the earth? (Can there be another) god besides Allah? Little it is that ye heed! (an-Naml, 62)

Our Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) stated that stress caused illnesses as follows in hadiths:

"Whoever has a bad temper keeps his spirit in trouble; whoever has a lot of grief makes himself ill."

"Various types of anxieties bring about various types of illnesses."

"There is nothing worse and fiercer than anxiety in the creatures of God Almighty."

"God Almighty did not create an illness (trouble) without a remedy. Whoever finds out about that remedy, recovers; whoever cannot find out about it, lives with that illness. However, death has no remedy."

Troubled, or in today’s words, stressed life is a result of the life of people who do not believe or who live far away from the high ethics that belief gives man. Today doctors state that it is necessary to have a tranquil and peaceful constitution, and an easy, secure psychology free from anxiety in order to be protected from the effects of stress. A tranquil and peaceful psychology is only possible through practicing the high ethics of the Quran. The promise of our Lord for his believing slaves is stated as follows:

"Whoever works righteousness, man or woman and has Faith, verily, to him will We give a life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions." (an-Nahl, 97)

"Say: "It is Allah that delivereth you from these and all (other) distresses..." (al-Anam, 64)

Answer 2:

As a matter of fact, depression, which is described as: “the state of hopelessness that a person falls into when he cannot realize his targets, cannot protect the nice things he has or he notices the probability of losing those kinds of things”, can be said to be the problem and even the “fate” of the people not only in this age but throughout history.

Man is “week, poor, ephemeral and mortal; unlike animals, man is aware of that fact.” He wants everything but he cannot own anything in its real sense; He is afraid of and influenced by everything but he cannot dominate anything; he knows that everything is mortal that everything will end one day even in his best times; so, in my opinion, it is amazing when he does not fall into depression not when he falls.

It usually happens due to heedlessness. He tries not to think about the things that he is afraid of; he consoles himself with the things that he seemingly owns; he tries not to remember death and separation. However, when some inevitable incidences destroy the heedlessness, the postponed fears and hopelessness flood the body and he falls into depression.

Depression almost seems to be a natural outcome of being a human being. As a matter of fact, the researches show that depressive findings (sleeping disorder, common groundless physical complaints, frequent crying, hopelessness about future, lack of self-confidence, exhaustion, not enjoying life, etc) are present in 60% of people in various levels. As a psychiatrist, when people whom I am introduced to say jokingly, “in fact, I need to see you”, it seems to me that they confess that truth insensibly.

Is it not possible to overcome depression, which is such a common and general annoyance? Is there not a remedy for those troubles of weakness, poverty and mortality? There is, of course; and he who looks for it will find it; if he looks for, of course. Besides, people generally make a mistake when they think that the problems of weakness, poverty and mortality that are very disturbing at the beginning are unsolvable and imagine that they do not exist.

When a trouble is visible, it can be solved; however, someone who closes his eyes and consoles himself with imaginations cannot possibly find a solution. Only a person who carefully listens to the warning, “laugh at the death like a man; listen to it and find out what it wants” and who says, “yes, I am weak, poor and mortal; they hurt me a lot but what can be the remedy of those problems?” can approach the solution. It certainly means to suffer somewhat but there is “no gain without pain”.

Let us ask the question in a different way. Is a patient who says, “Everything is in vain; what I want does not happen; we will die in the end; life is meaningless” more consistent or a consoler who says, “take it easy; let it go; do not think about them; do not think deeply”? Is it not inevitable for those people who use the logic of the ostrich to fall into the same pit of depression when their heads hit the wall?

As a matter of fact, are we all not in a tiny room with walls made of mirror? Since all walls are made of mirror, the intertwined images make us feel as if we are in a larger room; however, do we not understand that we are in a tiny dungeon when we hit the wall with our heads? Do our imaginations not fly away then? Do we not lose our sleep? Do the sweetest situations not give us pain? Does the polish of the false paradise in the world not crack with each death, loss and grief?

I never forget a piece of news that I read in the tabloid supplement of a newspaper. A group of artists went on a picnic in order to have a very enjoyable day. The article that described the entertainment in detail ended with the following sentence: “When the day ended, everybody was very sorry because a very nice day had ended.” How strange! Isn’t it? Even the best things give pleasure only when they are being experienced; when they end, they are replaced by pains. “Loss of the pleasure is pain.”

I remember one more thing; when I was young, I used to listen to the commentary of the football matches of my favorite team on the radio with excitement; what I hated most while I was listening to the commentary was the words of the commentator, “the last 15 minutes of the game”, “the last 10m minutes”, etc. It gave me pain to hear that the thing that I took pleasure from was going to end soon. To know that something nice will end destroys the pleasure taken from it at that moment. “To think about the loss of the pleasure is also pain.”

Some of you may say, “Yes, you are right but give us the remedy if you know it” but we should not forget that it is a dangerous deception to talk about the problems superficially and to try to find solutions without realizing the seriousness of the problems. Therefore, we should continue some more. Let us think about a young man. There is someone that he loves very much and he imagines a happy future with her. However, he notices that the sentence, “We will be together forever, my darling” is a lie. Let alone forever, it is doubtful whether they will be together for a year. He will be separated from the person that he loves so much sooner or later. He will probably have to do with a togetherness that will probably not be correspondent with his imaginations and ideals. He tries to console himself by giving his heart to her overlooking those facts. How long will it last?

Let us imagine a mother. Her child, for whom she can donate her life, can face an illness or a misfortune any time. Even if she guards her all the day, a tiny microbe can make her beloved child ill, cripple him/her or kill him/her. What can console her? Let the professors and philosophers speak and answer that question!

No, what they will say is, “they are the harsh truths of life; you will accept it. Occupy yourself with other things; take up hobbies. Try to be happy with what you have succeeded and what you have; realize yourself, etc.” We want to ask using the words of Badiuzzaman: Can someone condemned to death take pleasure from the decoration of the dungeon? Can a spirit that can only be satisfied with a paradise as large as the world be deceived by villas whose water and electricity can be cut off?

However, for a man who looks at things through the glasses of belief, the following expression in the verse is valid: “la khawfun alayhim wa la hum yahzanun” (on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve).

A person having real belief loves the people he loves for Allah. His darling is the reflection of Allah’s mercy and beauty. He has the hope of living an eternal and peaceful life together with them without being separated from them in the everlasting life.

When he is separated from his beloved ones, he consoles himself by saying, “separation is temporary”. He entrusts his beloved ones to the mercy and protection of Allah, Who is the best of the protectors and the most merciful of the merciful ones.

He sees misfortunes, disasters, illnesses, as divine warnings and kaffarah adh-dhunub (sin eliminators) thanks to what he learns from the Quran.

When he earns or loses worldly goods, when re reaches a rank or falls down from a rank, he says, “it is He Who gives and it is He Who takes”; he aims the ranks of the hereafter and the eternal rewards, which are the permanent and real goods and ranks.

He welcomes temporary troubles and problems by saying, “since this world is a temporary place of testing, there will be some discomfort in the testing.”

He says, “This world is a waste book”; he does not blur his mind with the dirt and confusion that he cannot correct; he becomes busy with keeping his own book of deeds clean.

He says, “Let us see what God will do; whatever he does, he does well.”; he watches it all through the window; he does not go inside.

If he has fallen into sins, heedlessness and disobedience, he says, “it is wrong to abandon hope from the mercy of Allah”; he opens a new page by entering through the door of repentance, which is always open. He finds the real peace and happiness in this world.

The way to get rid of depression, which is not the disease of this age but all ages, is to pay attention to the message coming from beyond ages.

[elitephysiocare-blog]

Physiotherapy Services Oakville

Back pain is a symptom caused (in most cases) by an injury in one or more parts of the spine. It can be located in the upper, middle, and/or lower back.

This article will talk about the most common: Lower back pain, also known as “lumbago”.

It affects nearly 60% to 80% of people throughout their lifetime. This means that 6 to 8 people out of 10 will experience low back pain. It’s the most common cause of disability in young adults: in the U.S. only, an estimated of 149 million work days are lost yearly due to low back pain, costing $100 to $200 billion a year. It’s a costly condition with repercussions in the patient’s life, the overall productivity, and the healthcare system.

It can be caused by numerous reasons, but the root cause is usually a bad posture. Other causes include accidents, sports injuries, and aging. Even though the low back pain can be disabling, it usually improves without surgery in 90% of the cases.

Anatomy Of The Back

To understand the causes of low back pain, let’s make a brief review of each part of the back:

Vertebral Column/Spine. It’s a column formed by approximately 33 bones called “vertebrae”. The spinal cord travels throughout the column. It’s divided into regions:

Cervical: This corresponds to the neck. It has 7 vertebrae.

Thoracic: Corresponds to the chest and the middle back. Has 12 vertebrae.

Lumbar: Corresponds to the lower back. Has 5 vertebrae.

Sacrum: It’s located in the pelvis. Has 5 fused vertebrae.

Coccyx: It’s at the end of the sacrum, where our tail used to be millions of years ago. Has 3-4 fused vertebrae.

Vertebrae. These are the building blocks of the column.They go from the base of the skull to the bottom end of the spine. They protect your spinal cord and help you stand straight. The lumbar vertebrae are the biggest ones. They support most of our weight and are responsible for most of our mobility.

Inter-vertebral disk. These are cushions placed between each vertebra. They have a gel-like nucleus, surrounded by a fibrous ring. They are shock absorbers and help with the mobility of the body.

Spinal cord. It’s a long, thin collection of neurons that goes from the brain to the end of the column. The nerves that go to the upper and lower limbs leave the spinal cord through a hole between each vertebra.

Nerves. They’re a collection of neurons that send and receive instructions from one place to another in the form of electrical impulses, acting like cables.

Muscles. These are the ones responsible for our movements. Each muscle is made of thousands of fibers that fusion themselves to form a cord called “tendon”. The tendon attaches to the bone. When the fibers contract, they pull the bone they are attached to, generating movement.

Ligaments. These are tough, fibrous bands attached to two consecutive bones. They restrict the movement, stabilizing the joints.

Symptoms

The related symptoms of low back pain will depend on the cause, and may include:

Sharp, stabbing, mild, dull, severe, intermittent, and/or constant pain.

Symptoms in one buttock/hip/leg, such as muscle weakness, tingling, numbness, burning sensation.

Worsening with bending, lifting, sitting, standing, and/or walking.

Sciatica symptoms: Pain from the low back down the glute and leg of one side, numbness, tingling, and/or muscle weakness.

Causes Of Back Pain

Back pain can be caused by numerous factors:

Poor Bio mechanics

Human bio mechanics can be defined as the way our joints, muscles, bones, and related structures work together to do what our bodies are supposed to do: Move. Good bio mechanics are translated into a healthy body. Movement allows the proper distribution of blood throughout the body, aiding the transport of the nutrients every cell needs to function.

Poor bio mechanics can occur for a number of reasons, and all of them can cause low back pain:

BAD POSTURE. In our present lifestyle, static postures are kept for long periods of time, i.e. working on a computer or standing all day. The body adapts to that posture overtime, perceiving it as “normal”. Finally, that can cause conditions or injuries like herniated disks or spinal stenosis, which will be described later.

SCOLIOSIS. It’s an abnormal curve of the vertebral column, causing deformity in severe cases. An individual can be born with scoliosis, or develop it through childhood or teenage years. Patients with arthritis can develop scoliosis as well.

OTHER CAUSES. Obesity and flat foot include changes in the biomechanical distribution of the body for long periods of time. Both are risk factors for low back pain.

Disk Injury

The intervertebral disk can get injured as well, causing low back pain and other related symptoms. The most common type of disk injury is the disk herniation:

It’s also known as “slipped” or "ruptured" disk. It happens when the gel-like center of the intervertebral disk pushes against the fibrous ring that surrounds it, squeezing its way through. In early phases of the herniation, the disk has a "bump" that could compress the spinal cord. As it advances, the nucleus can spill into the spinal canal, increasing the compression of the spinal cord and the nerves.

This is a common consequence of a bad posture. The bad posture compresses the intervertebral disk unevenly, e.g. does more pressure in the anterior part of the disk. This pushes the gel-like center backward, forcing its way through and creating the bump in the weakest area of the fibrous ring.

Other causes of disk herniation include:

Accidentally with lifting, pulling, bending, or twisting with heavy loads.

Wear and tear. As we age, the intervertebral disks gradually “dry”, losing their shock-absorbing properties and making them susceptible to injury.

The symptoms of a disk herniation may vary depending on many factors such as: exact place and size of the bump, area of the nerve injured, age... to name a few. They can range from mild to severe low back pain, and often include muscle weakness, tingling, numbness, and/or burning sensation in one leg, as well as gait impairment. Symptoms can last from weeks to even years.

Spinal Stenosis

A stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of a canal within the body. Therefore, a spinal stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal, where the spinal cord goes through.

A common cause of a spinal stenosis is the collapsing of intervertebral disks. This is common with age due to “wear and tear”. The disks lose their normal height and get closer to each other, narrowing the space of the spinal cord. This is also referred as “osteoarthritis”.

The body might respond to this by growing new bone on the edges of the vertebrae - called “spurs”- which worsen the stenosis condition and could compress more nerves.

Symptoms of spinal stenosis resemble the ones of a herniated disk: mild to severe low back pain, and include tingling, burning, weakness or numbness sensations in one limb.

Traumatic Event

Specific movements like bending, lifting, or twisting with heavy loads could cause low back pain. These are usually related to muscular spasms and should cease after 48-72 hours. The pain is commonly accompanied by stiffness and soreness.

Sports Injury

Direct contact sports like rugby or football may cause low back pain. Also, over-activity can cause muscle soreness in the low back muscles. Besides the low back pain, other symptoms include stiffness and soreness that goes away in 2-3 days.

Other Causes

A stressful environment, depression, anxiety, and smoking are risk factors for low back pain.

Red Flags

If you have the following medical history or if you are experiencing the following symptoms with your low back pain, please consult a healthcare professional:

Osteoporosis.

History of cancer.

Constant pain, that doesn’t decrease despite your position or activity level.

Fever, chills.

Unexpected/unintentional weight loss.

Numbness, tingling or weakness in the groin area, both arms or both legs.

Increase of pain with coughing or sneezing.

Burning sensation while urinating.

Problems with bowels/bladder control.

Pain that prevents from sleeping.

Unresponsive back pain therapies.

Treatment

Most of the cases of low back pain -and its emotional and economic consequences- can be prevented with physical activity and an active lifestyle.

For the ongoing cases of low back pain though, physical therapy and massage therapy are two of the best options for a non-invasive treatment to this disabling condition. Both help to reduce pain, improve mobility, and enhance the overall recovery in the short-term:

Physical therapy has shown to be very effective in patients with low back pain. Furthermore, physical therapy treatment in the first two weeks of experiencing lower back pain substantially reduces costs and healthcare resources over a 2-year period. This means quality-life improvement for the patient, reducing or even avoiding painkillers and going back on track faster. (7)

Regardless of how long you’ve been experiencing low back pain, physical therapy without pharmacologic treatment is recommended as the first option of treatment. (8)

Massage therapy has shown to provide significant benefits, including relaxation, pain reduction in the short-term, and increase of mobility. (9)

Pharmacologic therapy is recommended for patients without positive outcomes of these therapies. The last resort will always be surgery.

References

Elrich, G. Low back Pain. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2003;81:671-676. Available at:http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/81/9/Ehrlich.pdf

Duthey, B. Background Paper 6.24. Low Back Pain (2004). World Health Organization. Available at: http://www.who.int/medicines/areas/priority_medicines/BP6_24LBP.pdf

Hoy, D., March, L., Brooks, P., et al. The global burden of low back pain: estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2014;73:968-974. Available at: http://ard.bmj.com/content/73/6/968

Most Americans Live With Low Back Pain - and Don’t Seek Treatment. From the American Physical Therapy Association. Alexandria, VA. April, 4, 2012. Available at: http://www.apta.org/Media/Releases/Consumer/2012/4/4/

Low Back Pain. American Association Of Neurological Surgeons. Available at: http://www.aans.org/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Low-Back-Pain

Low Back Pain. American Academy Of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Last reviewed: Dec, 2013. Available at: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/low-back-pain/

Child, J., Fritz, J., Wu, S., Flynn, T., Wainner, R., Robertson, Eric., et al. Implications of early and guideline adherent physical therapy for low back pain on utilization and costs. BMC Health Services Research. 2015, 15:150. Available at: https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-015-0830-3

Qaseem A, Wilt TJ, McLean RM, Forciea MA. Noninvasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2017;166:514–530. Available at: http://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/2603228/noninvasive-treatments-acute-subacute-chronic-low-

          Visit our website www.elitephysiocare.ca

[nadziejastar]

Day 255: A Midsummer Night's Dream

“Ay me, for aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth. . .”

The summer solstice, also known as midsummer, is when the sun reaches its highest position in the sky. It happens on June 21st. It is the day with the longest period of daylight, which makes it the longest day of the year. This is a very important day in the game. It’s shown to you as soon as you begin. On this day, Xion talks about how she dreams every night and begs Axel to tell her who she is. Axel tells Roxas why the sun sets red. And it’s revealed that Saïx can’t really “see” Xion. Nomura likes Shakespeare. Versus XIII had a tagline based on Hamlet. So, it’s not surprising that KH has Shakespeare references, too. 

“Are you sure 

That we are awake? 

It seems to me 

That yet we sleep, we dream.” 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comic fantasy of four lovers who find themselves bewitched by fairies. There's only one mission available on Day 255, and it’s in Wonderland. A dream world set in a forest. It’s just like the play, which involves magic love potions and fairies who live in a forest. The main theme of the play is love, and the crazy and absurd effects it has on people. A Midsummer Night's Dream is full of strange, dream-like sequences and irrational behavior. Probably the most basic significance of dreams in the story is the representation of unreality, or the distortion of time and consciousness.

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

This line is one of the most famous in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for its humor, but it is also thematically important: first, because it captures the exaggerated silliness of the lovers’ behavior; second, because it marks the contrast between the human lovers, completely absorbed in their emotions, and the magical fairies, impish and never too serious.

Hearts and Emotion

Watching that foolish beast flail about only deepens my disdain for humans and their incessant need to be pinned down by feelings. We became Nobodies precisely to avoid the shackles of emotion. It was only later that we realized the scale of that loss: that some things simply cannot be done without a heart. Nonetheless, I see nary a pleasant thing about it.

Xemnas is a good representation of Puck. Xaldin represents this ideology well, too. Puck is a mischievous fairy who delights in playing pranks on mortals. His antics are responsible for causing chaos within the group of young lovers.

“If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumbered here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream"

This is another famous quote. Puck speaks these lines in an address to the audience near the end of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, extending the theme of dreams beyond the world of the play and putting the reality of the audience’s experience into question. 

“And the quaint mazes in the wanton green For lack of tread are undistinguishable: The human mortals want their winter here; No night is now with hymn or carol blest: Therefore the moon, the governess of floods, Pale in her anger, washes all the air, That rheumatic diseases do abound.”

As many of the characters believe that the magical events of the play’s action were merely a dream, Puck tells the crowd that if the play has offended them, they too should remember it simply as a dream. At the end of the game, Roxas wakes up from a dream, and remembers none of the events you just played through. 

“Another moon: but, O, methinks, how slow This old moon wanes! she lingers my desires, Like to a step-dame or a dowager Long withering out a young man revenue.”

The moon is often depicted as a feminine virginal obstacle to romance, which male characters find 'cold.' At the play's opening, an impatient Theseus complains to Hippolyta with the above quote. Much of the play takes place at night, and there are references to moonlight, which changes the appearance of what it illuminates. One of the main themes of the play is transformation---things are not always as they appear.

“Sweet Moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams; I thank thee, Moon, for shining now so bright; For, by thy gracious, golden, glittering gleams, I trust to take of truest Thisby sight.”

However, at times, the moon is depicted as assisting or blessing lovers instead. In Act 5, the wedding play is performed for Theseus and Hippolyta. In it, the moon lights the way for lovers Pyramus and Thisby. Here, the moon's light is 'golden' and 'sunny' rather than cold and gloomy.

“Four days will quickly steep themselves in night; Four nights will quickly dream away the time; And then the moon, like to a silver bow New-bent in heaven, shall behold the night Of our solemnities.”

Unlike Theseus, Hippolyta is content to wait the four days until the wedding. Here, the moon is transformed in the course of a few lines into the image of fruitful union contained in the "silver bow," an implicit reference to Cupid's arrow, which draws lovers together. Utilizing the imagery of the silver bow, Hippolyta also invokes Diana (or Artemis), the virgin huntress who is the guardian spirit of the adolescent moon. In this guise, the moon is the patroness of all young lovers, fresh and innocent, just beginning their journey through life.

“Things base and vile, holding no quantity, Love can transpose to form and dignity. Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. Nor hath Love's mind of any judgment taste; Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste.” 

However, this quote is BY FAR the most famous from the entire play. I think this idea was actually the foundation of the entire story in 358/2 Days. Essentially, love has the power to transform “base and vile” qualities into “form and dignity”—that is, even ugliness and bad behavior will not deter someone in love. This is the case because “love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind”—love depends not on an objective assessment, but rather on an individual perception of the beloved.

Roxas: Have you gone nuts? Xion's a person, not a puppet.

Axel: She's smoke and mirrors, Roxas. And when I looked in the mirror...It wasn't you I saw.

Xion is nothing but a robot---a puppet. She is not really Kairi. She’s all smoke and mirrors. But Sora has transformed something base into something lovable, based solely on his most precious memories---those of Kairi. It's only in the person’s mind that she has any form at all. 

Xigbar: If people see with their hearts, Saïx, then you're even blinder than the rest of us.

Saïx is nothing but a vessel of Xehanort---a puppet. He is not really Isa. He’s all smoke and mirrors. But Axel has transformed someone vile into someone lovable, based solely on his most precious memories---those of Isa. It's only in his mind that Saïx has any dignity at all.

[cbdorigin-blog]

The History of CBD: A Brief Overview

While decades of cannabis prohibition may lead some to assume that the therapeutic benefits of CBD are a recent discovery, that’s far from the truth.

The first documented use of cannabis-derived medicine dates back to 2737 BC when Chinese Emperor Sheng Neng used a cannabis-infused tea to aid with a variety of ailments including memory, malaria, rheumatism, and gout.

Queen Victoria is believed to have used CBD to alleviate menstrual cramps during her reign, which ended in 1901.

Throughout history, cannabis had served as a valuable therapeutic resource; however, during the rise of modern medicine, it was not recognized by most in the medical community due to a lack of scientific evidence.

It wasn’t until 1839, when Irish physician and medical researcher, William B. O’Shaughnessy, published a study which investigated the plant’s therapeutic effects, that researchers did begin to consider the medical applications of cannabis.

In his study, which was then quite controversial, O’Shaughnessy explored the rudimentary effects of cannabis and thoroughly described its potential medical applications, particularly as an anesthetic.

While the Irish researcher may have not realized it then, he had just opened the door towards the discovery of the compounds that would one day be referred to as cannabinoids.

The Discovery of Cannabinoids

Nearly a century after O’Shaughnessy published his study, advancements in research and technology revealed the presence of compounds within the cannabis plant.

The first discovery of an individual cannabinoid was made, when British chemist Robert S. Cahn reported the partial structure of Cannabinol (CBN), which he later identified as fully formed in 1940.

Two years later, American chemist, Roger Adams, made history when he successfully isolated the first cannabinoid, Cannabidiol (CBD). His research is also responsible for the discovery of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Early Research of Cannabinoid Pharmacology

During the early stages of cannabis research, scientists had limited knowledge of cannabinoid structure and an only partial understanding of the biological composition contained within the plant.

Because of this, early researchers could not accurately determine which compound was causing which effect.

Dr. Raphael Mechoulam made the first breakthrough towards understanding the effects of individual cannabinoids in 1963 when he successfully identified the stereochemistry of CBD.

A year later, Mecholam’s discovered the stereochemistry of THC, which revealed the cannabinoids direct relationship to the euphoric effects associated with marijuana use and disassociated CBD as a mind-altering compound.

As research advanced, a landmark victory occurred, when New Mexico passed the 1978 Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Act, a bill which legally recognized the medicinal value of cannabis.

The momentum continued during the 1980s as Dr. Mechoulam and his team conducted a study on the potential application of CBD for the treatment of epilepsy as a hypnotic.

In the study, Mechoulam and his team administered daily doses of 300mg of CBD to study a group of 8 subjects. After just four months of treatment, half of the subjects stopped having seizures and the others exhibited a decrease in the frequency of their seizures.

This was a huge breakthrough that had the potential to change the lives of more than 50 million epilepsy sufferers from around the world.

Unfortunately, the discovery was not as publicized any type of breakthrough, due to the stigmas towards cannabis during that time.

The work of Dr. Mechoulam and the other early cannabis pioneers would not go in vain though.

Less than a decade later, interest in the therapeutic applications of cannabinoids revealed the discovery of additional cannabinoids, further understanding of cannabinoid structure, and the amazing breakthrough of our body’s Endocannabinoid System, a network of receptors that interact with receptors found in cannabinoids.

As research progressed, it would eventually lead to an explosion of interest across the United States.

The Rise of CBD in the United States

In 1996, California passed Proposition 215, making it the first state to legalize medical marijuana

Within a few years, 7 other states followed suit, including:

Oregon, Alaska, Washington (1998)

Maine (1999)

Hawaii, Nevada, Colorado (2000)

With the legalization of medical marijuana, patients in those states now had legal access to cannabis, and researchers could expand their studies into cannabinoid medical uses.

This prompted research into the potential of CBD for the treatment of a variety of ailments such as chronic pain, epilepsy, and numerous neurodegenerative diseases.

While the stigma towards cannabis had begun to shift, it still fell under a very gray area of the law, and because of CBD’s close relationship to the controversial plant, it was judged under those same laws.

While the distinction between CBD and the other cannabinoids was more known throughout the scientific community, it was foreign knowledge amongst those who could actually impact these laws – the general public.

Based on surveys from 1998-2002, more than 2 out of 3 Americans opposed cannabis legalization. One of the major factors that contributed to America’s opposition at the time was the prevalence of stigmas like “marijuana is a gateway drug” and others of the sort. This led Americans to believe that cannabis is dangerous, addictive, and harmful.

Based on the country’s current position towards cannabis at that time, changing their beliefs, educating the masses, and enacting CBD-specific laws seemed impossible, with a timeline of 25-40 years being optimistic.

But in the 2000s, an interesting phenomenon began to happen.

People began to share their personal experiences with others.

From Rick Simpson, a man who found relief from a rare form of skin cancer to countless others––the unique and moving stories of CBD-users revealed how CBD could deliver relief from conditions like anxiety, depression, insomnia, arthritis, fibromyalgia and more.

The genuine, organic nature of the stories and the openness of those to share their personal and vulnerable experiences for the purpose of helping others fueled a surge of awareness across the country.

Then, in 2010, a powerful story about the health benefits of CBD emerged and ignited the movement that would change the world forever.

The Amazing Story of Charlotte Figi

Charlotte Figi, a young girl in Colorado, was born in 2006 with a very rare form of chronic epilepsy known as Dravet Syndrome.

Dravet Syndrome is a very rare and devastating form of epilepsy that affects approximately 1 in every 16,000 to 21,000 infants.

By the age of just four, Charlotte had lost much her ability to walk, talk, and eat, and experienced 300 seizures per week.

While her parents had tried every option modern medicine had to offer and some, they realized that traditional doctors could not help their daughter and hesitantly turned to cannabis when Charlotte was 5.

After consuming a small dose of CBD oil extracted from a high-CBD cannabis strain, Charlotte’s seizures ceased almost immediately.

After hours had passed and Charlotte didn’t have a seizure, Charlotte’s parents realized that CBD had worked.

Today, Charlotte experiences 2 to 3 seizures per month, which has literally restored her opportunity to live a normal life. In an interview with CNN, Charlotte’s parents confirm that their daughter is happy and thriving as any normal girl and believe everyone should know about what CBD did for their daughter.

As a symbol for hope, the inspiring story of Charlotte Figi, Rick Simpson, and the countless others who have shared their experience, has fueled a massive level of support, awareness, and passion, which continues to drive the CBD movement forward today.

CBD in the US Today

In the years since Charlotte’s story, the stigma towards CBD and cannabis in America has dramatically changed.

Those that once opposed cannabis, now turn to CBD for relief, and its therapeutic properties are helping to change the lives of people around the country.

We are still just on the brink of this great movement, which is continuing to thrive at exponential rates, surpassing everyone’s expectations and achieving the impossible.

Here are just a few of the landmark events that have occurred:

There has been a massive growth of awareness and surge in the retail sales of CBD, leading analyst to predict that the CBD market could reach a value of $22 billion by 2022

Research has revealed even more therapeutic applications of CBD

Hemp-derived CBD was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill

The FDA approved of a CBD-based oral solution called Epidolex

CBD products are now being sold online in stores across the country, including major retailers like 711, Sephora, and Neiman Marcus.

The Future of CBD

While the perception towards CBD has progressed dramatically over the years, CBD still is not fully normalized across the country. There are still many who stand in opposition to CBD and other cannabis-derived compounds and many more who aren’t aware of their benefits.

In order for CBD to reach its full potential and change the lives of as many people as possible, there’s still more work that needs to be done. While there may be some challenges ahead, the strength of the CBD community has shown that nothing is going to stand in its way.

CBD is here to stay.

I hope that this brief article has helped to inform you about the rich history of this amazing cannabinoid and, more importantly, I hope that it has inspired you to learn more and become more involved with this amazing movement.

Cannabis compounds like CBD have the potential to impacts the lives of millions of people, and with continued effort from all of us, it can change the world!

Spread the word and keep a lookout for our next article!

Thanks for reading!

[roperfree-blog]

The blog is about weekly updates of current affairs, malaria campaigns, events and issues of Uganda in regards to fighting malaria and around the globe. On the other hand, it promotes Roperfree Brand Products; Roperfree Mosquito Repellents & Roperfree Aromatherapy worldwide as one of the best natural, health, essential oil products which save lives and branding across the globe due to its uniqueness, organic nature, effectiveness, efficacy & other benefits related to testimonials & reviews from existing customers. Roperfree is social enterprise started by innovating Roperfree Mosquito Repellent to provide effective solution in the battle against malaria in Uganda and across the globe and its one of the first mosquito repellent to be made in Uganda with pure essential oils to combat malaria so the blog makes it easier to our valuable readers who are interested in malaria information while promoting the products around the world in building confidence, loyalty and customer base plus providing valuable information in regards to our products, malaria news, health news and skincare solutions. Roperfree Aromatherapy came after the mosquito repellents and the blog will highlight the benefits of the products such as; skincare, body-care, hair care, stories from the public related to relieving joint, muscle and body pains in order to get more customers. Keep on checking for the latest updates on our weekly blog from Twitter, Face book and You-tube channel to know how Roperfree and its products are doing and the campaigns against malaria. Roperfree came up with an idea by its founder Mr. Yusuf Kawoya Kasumba to fight malaria through innovation of Roperfree Mosquito Repellent essential oils to stop malaria in Uganda and the rest of world in 2017 the concept acquired in Canada while doing Business Marketing Diploma at Humber College 2012.   As Canadian citizen I wanted to make this world a better place by putting my profession into test to stop malaria deaths in Uganda my country of origin. Malaria is a global concern which has no vaccine whereas it is associated with death, poverty and stagnant economy, malaria cause the high death in the Sub- Saharan Africa including Uganda. According to the Ministry of Health malaria kills 100,000 per year, mostly young children, pregnant mothers and the elderly plus the vulnerable such as displaced people, refugees & homeless. Lack of malaria sensitization and knowledge of preventative methods are still a challenge in the rural communities due to misunderstanding of the disease. Uganda government has been making efforts in malaria reduction by providing interventions such as, insecticide mosquito net, spraying homes with DDT but still malaria cases are still high due to the to the reasons that there is no viable solution as solutions in place like free distributed mosquito nets are prone to misuse, do not give maximum protection because mosquito start to bite during the day and there are only effective during sleep time whereas the DDT. Is raising severe health concerns due to its chemical components Mission and Vision: We are fighting to eradicate malaria in Uganda and social business model of Roperfree aims at cutting malaria by 50% in the first five years, targeting mainly the vulnerable groups in rural and urban centers such as; children below 5 years, pregnant mothers, the elderly, displaced people & refugees in camps. To achieve this goal we started doing malaria campaigns by sensitize people in the urban and rural communities while offering free resourceful information and  Roperfree repellents oils targeting the most vulnerable groups As we envision a malaria free world, our mission is to become a vibrant social responsible organization & getting partnership, distributors for our Roperfree repellent oils for market expansion to cover the whole country. When Roperfree mosquito repellent was getting reputable stand in the market due to its benefits; we introduce Roperfree mosquito Aromatherapy oils to our communities which is helping in relieving body pains such as; rheumatism due to the aging population in the rural and urban centers plus fighting skin infections after realizing that most people in the rural have hygiene challenges which is causing skin infections. So since the inception of Roperfree Aromatherapy we have managed to make reduction in that area and to our surprise aromatherapy oils are moving faster than mosquito repellents due to versatility and benefits Solutions: Roperfree Mosquito Repellent essential oil which is all natural, pure organic, great scent and no reported side effects so far is creating a positive impact by fighting malaria thus by saving lives. Our social business model is to create employment via chain of distribution; Our repellent essential oils are versatile do not need water, electricity, proper shelter to function so eliminating all barriers and limitation than other repellents on the market and they can be used anywhere without limitation which is a competitive advantage to other repellents & preventative methods available on the market Uganda is agriculture, herbal growth, and other sectors of employment will be created in form of chain of distribution which will stimulate economic growth &development of the country. Malaria sensitization in rural & urban centers is vital whereas income from sales is invested back & searching for new market to lower down the price so as to be more affordable & currently we are supplying major supermarkets & Pharmacies in Kampala while we are position our product on the Internet to outside world via social media platforms and selling on all major e-commerce platforms.

[lucywithlupus]

Top 10 Myths vs. Facts about Arthritis

Top 10 Myths vs. Facts about Arthritis

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Intro

Arthritis is the most common cause of disability in the United States. It affects 23% of the working population, almost 54 million people. And let's don't talk about the elderly population!

Everyone know arthritis exists, its unavoidable. But not many people know what it is or even acknowledge its existence in a regular way.

I was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis when I was just 13 years old. It was a very traumatic experience for an awkward preteen like me. Not only did I have to deal with the regular dose of cringiness that comes with high school drama, puberty and the discovery of Tumblr, but also this strange condition that I would have not thought of having in a million years was right there, standing at my door like that uninvited neighbour that will sit on your couch, expect to pamper and you just sit there waiting for them to leave.

Only that arthritis never left my side: it was there all day, every day, every single day for the last 6 years.

A short way of putting it, arthritis translates to "joint inflammation", and it is a symptom. You heard me right: arthritis is medically defined as a symptom. It is usually caused by an illness you currently have or had, but it could also present itself independently as a disorder.

In that case, arthritis is any disorder that affects the joints. Joints, being the area where two bones meet, are under constant friction when moved around. The joint capsule (joint sac)and synovium (joint liquid that lubricates the joints) can swell, causing stinging pain, visible swelling and pain, overall stiffness, redness, and limited mobility. It may also result in long term partial or generalized bone loss/ erosion and/ or cartilage loss. The best way I could describe it is having your knees be injected with jelly (ew) and the jelly squeezing your knee into itself everytime you want to get out of bed in the morning, or go up the stairs, or rush to that history class because you are late again.

An article by Social Science & Medicine explains that the characteristics of this disorder and what treatment is most appropriate to use really depends a lot of the time length since diagnosis- aka how long you had the disease-, the socio-economic and social background of the patient and the relationship between the patient and their disorder.

But why does it happen in the first place? As said, it could be another disease entirely isolated from your joints. But no one really knows why this disorder occurs to this day. Some suspect it is caused by genetics, environmental factors, stress, or none of them. No origin, no clear way to get rid of it, simple.

Being a teen with arthritis ain't easy, let's be real. I had to quickly learn how to survive my daily shenanigans as both a maturing, growing woman and handle my joint inflammation all at the same time. It was always confusing for others to realize that I had a medical condition that asked me for extra help every now and then. They also struggled to know what to know, how to react and what to expect. That's perfectly normal, but don't worry I gotcha.

Warning: I am not saying you do any of these nasties, but if you do or know someone who does, make you so send them this for some lovely PEP.

Links below :)

And now, without further ado, here we go Top 10 Myths vs. Facts about Arthritis!

Myth 1: Only old people get arthritis

When people think about arthritis, the first thing that comes to mind is probably your grandparents trying just a little harder to get out of their chairs. It has something to do with their joints, right? And most likely will never get better with time.

Telling people I have arthritis is like dropping an elephant right at their brains, and I can never know what their next move will be. Most of the time, they are shocked, surprised someone so young could carry such an elderly condition.

“Are you kidding?” “That is not funny” “Oh, interesting: you ARE serious”

It's understandable that human curiosity gets in the way of what is coming out of your mouth dear friend. But no, I do not appreciate you looking at me like a circus attraction, look at my knees in an awkward way or just stare into the sky asking the aliens maybe for more things to ask.

Instead, do like when there's fire: stop, drop, roll on the ground back and forth. Maybe not the last two but you get the point. Hold your queries train and be respectful at all costs. We could happily answer your questions without needing to feel attacked and you ignored. We do not owe you an answer, but place yourself in our shoes first beforehand, please!

Fact 1: All walks of life can get arthritis.

There is no scientific evidence that shows a correlation between arthritis incidence and age or sex. The only thing for sure is that osteoarthritis is most common in the elderly (age thee, folks), while other disorders like lupus are more common in young adults and teens (hint: me!).

That's the truth people: there is no such thing as a person that “looks” like they have arthritis. People with arthritis are big and small, tall, medium or short, old or young, fat or thin, thick or slim, work full time, study or not work at all. People with arthritis come from so many places, have different races, colours, hair and body types, religions, lifestyles, families, relationships, places they live in, places to go and places they won't go. People with arthritis can be disabled in other things, visually impaired, mentally challenged or ill, be missing a limb, be blind or deaf or have speech impediments. They have tattoos, some like to dance, paint and sing, others like reading books, watch movies or go outside. Some like pineapple on pizza, some don't (don't set this blog on fire people: make pizza, not war). Some chose conventional medicine, some chose alternatives or none at all. Just like you and me, there are so many types of people in this world, and some of the people you already know and admire are probably going through a rheumatic struggle right now and you never noticed. Arthritis has no shape, no stereotypical mould we follow. Isn't it amazing?

Myth 2: It's a disease.

Words have a lot of meaning, and for this reason, one must choose very carefully about how to talk about someone else's health, especially if you do not know them or what they go through.

Words like “sick”, “troubled”, or “ill” are incorrectly used to refer to arthritis. Sure, I am not going to stand up and run a mile as effectively as the nearest person, but that doesn't you the right to make me feel any less healthy, inferior or weak.

Criticizing my lifestyle and wellbeing choices, how I chose to medicate myself or whether or not I will try these ancient magical fairy dust your family kept buried in their backyard for generations is irrelevant, just like you judging my outfit today. My taste is exquisite, thanks.

So, if you feel inclined to stick your nose into people's property, think about how it would feel if someone had strong opinions about your daily choices. Because living with arthritis is that: daily choices we make to get by, just like anyone else.

Fact 2: It's a medical symptom or disorder.

Yeah, it's true. Not so exciting anymore, right?

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIH) defines arthritis as the symptom of joint inflammation, usually a symptom of something else but can also be a diagnosis of its own. It is also defined as a diagnosis of its own that affects the joins. Arthritis can cause joint swelling and pain, overall stiffness and limited mobility, redness and may result in long term partial or generalized bone loss/ erosion and/ or cartilage loss. This is because the joint capsule (joint sac)and synovium (joint liquid that lubricates joints) swell, causing a stinging pain.

So yeah, not a disease. Symptom or disorder it's just fine to thank you.

With that information in mind, maybe you can stop worrying about my business and start focusing on your next time.

Myth 3: There is only one type of arthritis.

Arthritis is an umbrella term to refer to any inflammation of one or more joints. That's it. But that doesn't mean things cannot get a little complicated or confusing.

There are many kinds of arthritis: spondylitis, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis, etc. The list goes on.

The American Rheumatism Association (ARA) determined the criteria for rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis in 1956. The criteria were established by 5 committee members after studying 332 cases in 19 American cities. There are 11 original diagnose criteria to this day (links below!). There are three main possible diagnoses:

       ○ Definite: at least 7 criteria and 6 weeks of joint symptoms

       ○ Probable: at least 3 criteria and 6 weeks of joint symptoms

       ○ Possible: another set of criteria

The main indicator of an arthritic disorder is Rheumatoid factor (RF), which is basically the "good to go" lever that says with utmost medical evidence that you have arthritis. However, other indicators, treatments, and criteria are still sensitive, not specific, impractical and circular. Also, initial studies were mere surveys, misclassification ensued, incorrect tables and comparison squares were used to collect and analyze data, etc.

Over the last 60 years, medicine has developed a more uniform vocab, communication to allow for better comparison, teaching, diagnosis and awareness raising.

There are so many options! That's why we are everywhere, watching you. Have fun knowing that.

Fact 3: Rheumatisms are diverse and unique to all.

Even though arthritis might be looking more like a Wikipedia reference list right about now, it does not have to be ultra difficult to understand that rheumatic conditions like arthritis are incredibly varied and personalized to the patient's body.

Rheumatologists- aka joint doc- have a hard time finding cures and data and pills to give because of this reason. Remaining calm, doing your research on your type of arthritis and letting others know what it is and how they can help you is the best way to pull through!

Myth 4: We need help always.

I remember in high school and a few months in uni, I started calling myself grandma, and consequently, my friends did the same. I thought it was funny, laughing at myself and taking lightly something that I already had to deal with anyways. Plus, it matched my quiet (lie), caring demeanour (also lie lol).

A few weeks ago I realized that that may have been a mistake, as it makes others associate me with an old lady who constantly needs help: whether from doctors, my parents or family, my professors or my friends.

When you have limited mobility 24/7 and you are still a teen that heavily depends on your parents to drag you to your doctor- sometimes literally- give you your meds and scold you everytime you wish to do anything remotely fun, it can begin to build in your developing brain that fears of doing things that have nothing to do with your disease.

You fear to live your safe haven called home, loose that adventurous feeling to party hard and enjoy those sneaky teenage drinks and, deep down, fear for your plans of the future and how some of them might get chucked off your life forever just because you have a rheumatic disorder.

In high school, I used to hate myself for that. I hated myself and my body for not doing what I wanted them to do. To a point where I was delusional: I would tell myself that this was not my body, it could not be, my body couldn't be this weak and fragile. The boy was I wrong!

Also, don't get me started on how people think you are “faking it” because you want the attention and the extra benefits.

Sweetie, next time you (under highly mysterious circumstances) slip in my long list on how wrong you are and you roll down the stairs and break your ankle crying because you won't be able to go to Karen's party next week, call me. We will have some quality time together. Your petty butt, me, panadol and some good pep talk to hopefully make your brain work.

Truth 4: People with arthritis don't need help, always.

No one fakes being sick. No one is that insane, or persistent. Although things like stress and lack of care can worsen inflammation, no one is really faking the reality of the facts.

Sure, I do get help because I am disabled- yes, I am clinically allowed to use that term if I chose you, don't get triggered. That means I am allowed to take shorter queues in supermarkets, take special lifts, use the biggest bathroom stall. Thankfully, we live in a world were now electrical doors, ramps and tons of other aiding infrastructure is available for people like us and more :) Working, studying, medical, recreational, transport, industrial and domestic aid is stepping up its game on that area, and we haven't even talked about non material ways of help! (a new post!).

No friend. I do not need your help right now thank you. I appreciate you trying to bombard me with wonderful ideas on what I should or not do. I understand your concern and I am happy you are trying your hardest to help me. But maybe taking a chill pill and closing all those tabs, having a nice conversation and some tea is the best thing you can do right now.

I have the stuff to do, let's be real. We all do. I am a full-time student, but that doesn't mean I still don't have time to take care of myself and what my body needs. Years of experience have taught me a lot, and so will to you, dear arthritic friend. Things do get better :)

Myth 5: People with arthritis are lazy.

Now we travel to the other side of the spectrum:

“Well, at least you get to chill in bed when you want and get away with it! That sounds like fun to me!”

Yeah, if fun means having to attend blood tests, scans, doctors appointments, pill regimens, and regular checkups weekly, monthly or more in extreme circumstances. And being at home resting is no walk in the park either: you might need to get a higher shelf, you might struggle to fix your pill schedule, you might slip and die and no one will find your lying corpse (ok too much drama, I will calm down).

But yeah, you get the point. People with arthritis have the stuff to get done, sometimes double or triple more stuff that you have to get done on a daily basis. We are not lazy in any sort of way, but sometimes we do get overwhelmed and the need to chill for our own safety. Its normal, healthy and fun.

Fact 5: They are trying as hard as anyone else.

I am not lazy. Everyone that knows me knows I have absolutely zero chills. I enjoy working, shocker! I like learning, getting my stuff together, reading and doing all sorts of things. I also love taking care of my body, researching on how I can help it help me do the things I enjoy so much.

Yeah, I might need a little pushing around sometimes, but that is because of things I cannot control. My joints can have a crisis at any second, and you bet I will not roll on the supermarket floor in agony with my shopping bags when I can calmly proceed to the disabled people line and avoid everyone some trouble- including me.

So please, if you see someone not standing up for the old lady on the bus, do please find her another seat because I can't stand up right now. Work those legs and offer your own seat!

Myth 6: Their problem, my problem.

Living in a time where your private and virtual life constantly overlaps is exciting, but also means that what we perceive as private gets a little blurry.

Again, the whole fairy dust story. This time, a mist of sprinkles and cupcakes or pain and misery blinding you, not letting you perceive reality as it is. Yes, we are getting Neo up in here.

When you tell people you have arthritis, the immediate shock leads them to a very natural place: survival mode.

"You should try this or that!" "Have you considered this? It has Oprah's recommendation, so maybe it will work." "Maybe God is trying to tell you something, better get to work."

"You must be feeling/ perceiving/ doing/ acting/ treating yourself this way. It's the best way!"

There is no such thing as the best way. Scientifically speaking, there are so many ways to treat arthritis, and with all the criteria, surveys and medical information available, it is completely impossible to say to full certainty which of these treatments is actually the best. Maybe Oprah's works for her and some of her fans, but it may not work on my body, and that's ok too. I don't need to feel disappointed that I failed Oprah or anyone, or angry that my body did not react the way it was expected too. I have enough issues to work through already!

So before you aggressively google "how to cure arthritis asap", stop and think about other healthier ways you can vent your worries and actually help us with things we need every day.

Fact 6: Their business is their own.

Ok. This is it. This is the end. In the words of Freddy Mercury, "I don't want to dieeeee, Sometimes wish I'd never been born at all". *epic guitar solo*

You have Arthritis, the Big A. And you have to learn with it and fast, God knows for how long.

Formulating a plan of attack right now may not ease your inner emo right now, but don't sweat it.

Arthritis is no piece of cake, at least it will not be in at least a couple of years. You slowly build habits and coping mechanisms that make those creaky joints just a little better to grip.

So do not come to me with a Shakespearean monologue on how devastated I should be, how my life is over, or worse: how miserable you are for living the unimaginable tragedy of having a disabled buddy. What an incredibly sad event man! How brave of you! I will attend your funeral.

But dress code: facts!

Myth 7: They must be miserable or boring.

Unfortunately, as do other medical issues, arthritis falls under phenomena called invisible illness. These are like those angsty preteens always standing at a 45-degree pose in the school lockers: cold, mysterious, and most of the time unseen. No one bothered to understand them and preferred to go away and check their snapchats streaks as they scoot by.

Arthritis sounds dark and spooky, but I am not sad all the time because of that. Heck, I am sad that my toast gets burnt in the morning, not because I have a life-threatening condition that may or may not stay with me forever! Priorities, people.

I had a hot minute to consider what is important enough to worry about in life. It's part of growing and learning how to cope with this disorder.

So please do not remind me of how sad I must be feeling, or how disappointed my family and friends must be. I am no burden to them, no burden to me and no burden to you, lovely sir. Respect that.

Fact 7: We are fun and approachable.

The angsty teen could have never flowered into a beautiful butterfly goddess without the help of self-worth and friendship. Let's be friends! Let's go out, grab a coffee, talk about the latest gossip or Instagram challenge, watch a movie, a party (with moderation kids), talk in the phone, etc.

Arthritis is hard, and sometimes being open about it with other people your age can be challenging and a struggle. But maybe you can take the lead and show us how fun life can be. Who knows: maybe a lovely friendship will flower.

Myth 8: They must be ultra freaky about everything.

I might not be the most "normal" person in the world, but I am no freaking dinosaur, ok?

Yeah, I take pills, measure my temperature, cancel plans and then remake them because of crisis periods, sit down for a little longer than the average human, etc.

I am not weird or freaky. Sure, I enjoy indie and pokemon soundtracks, but that is aside of the point. We are not here for your entertainment or mean comments about our medical condition.  We do not appreciate being so rudely excluded just because you think you discovered the next cure for cancer or something when looking at us take paracetamol.

Truth 8:  Who wants to be, really?

Relax pal. You will continue your Black Mirror analysis of my life later.

We are just trying to get by. Mean looks or side glances will not help in that process. Get to know us a little better first before putting a magnifying glass at our faces!

Myth 9: They must take huge amounts of commercial medicine.

Warning: I am not your doctor. No degree, no genius, no Jesus. You have been warned.

This is a very touchy subject so bear with me. Whether we take commercial meds is our business. The most common treatments for arthritis are ibuprofen and paracetamol. These divas could be complemented or replaced with a million different treatments, like other medication, natural treatments, nutritional supplements, meditation and diets, surgery or biological agents. The list is literally endless.

How someone chooses to treat themselves is their or their caretaker's concern, not yours. Do not suggest a million treatments at once, you are just confusing us even more!

Commercial medicine is neither good or bad, as long as your doctor or specialist is aware you are taking them. Period. Debate over.

Fact 9: Not necessarily.

Look, guys, it's getting late and I am very lazy right now. I am not about to name and explain every single possible you could take or follow, and I am not going to tell you which is best. Life ain't fair.

Just follow the one you, your caretakers and your specialist see fit. You will have plenty of time to experiment in your own time.

Myth 10: They are all the same.

Short answer: NOOO!!!!

Done.

Fact 10: Shush and listen.

This post is already hella long so I will be short and sweet.

You have ears, use them. Perhaps they are attached to your brain, and your brain has wiggles called neurons, right?

Listen to us arthritis folk. You and we might be amazed by how hardworking, brave, happy, smart, funny, witty and overall badasses we can be if we stick together.

Like Troy Bolton said so gracefully, "this is the last time to get it right, it's now or never". To most of us, that is literally a fact. Enjoy life, what it gives you, what it doesn't and learn to listen.

Listen to your body, to your mind, to others and, most importantly, to yourself.

Aaaand that's all folks! I hope I did not roast you in a permanently bad way or made you feel sad or shocked. Thanks for dropping by and I will see you with future posts!

Links and comments below babies :)

Bye!

References

(1) Yukinori Okada. Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discovery. Nature. 2013; Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature12873 .

(2) Versus Arthritis. What is arthritis? Available from: https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/arthritis/.

(3) Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC). Improving the Quality of Life for People With Arthritis

At A Glance. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/arthritis.htm.

(4) Frank C. Arnett, Steven M. Edworthy, Daniel A. Bloch, Dennis J. Mcshane, James F. Fries, Norman S. Cooper, et al. The American Rheumatism Association 1987 Revised Criteria for the Classification of Rheumatoid Arthritis. American College of Rheumatology. 1988; Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/art.1780310302 .

(5) Dennis Gray. The treatment strategies for arthritis sufferers. Social Science and Medicine. 1985; 21 (5): 507-515. Available from: https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/arthritis .

(6) National Institute of Arthritis and Muscoskeletal and Skin Disease, (NIH). Arthritis. Available from: https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/arthritis.

[brookston]

Holidays 3.18

Holidays

Anniversary of the Oil Expropriation (Mexico)

Awkward Moments Day

Bindus Diena (The Day the Bears Wake from Hibernation; Ancient Latvia)

Carnival of Body Music

Cheikh Al Maarouf Day (Comoros)

Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence (Australia)

De Molay Day

Electric Razor Day

Flag Day (Aruba)

Forgive Mom and Dad Day

Gallipoli Memorial Day (Turkey)

Global Recycling Day

Grandparents' & Grandchildren's Day (Michigan)

International Day of Revolutionary Political Prisoners

Make Peace with Your Parents Day

Men’s and Soldiers Day (Mongolia)

My Whole Self Day (UK)

National Anthem and Flag Day (Aruba)

National Biodiesel Day

National Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Day

National Day of Remembrance for COVID-19 Victims (Italy)

National Farm Rescuer Day

National Natural Gas Utility Workers’ Day

National Public Defender Day

National Supreme Sacrifice Day

Oil Expropriation Day (Mexico)

Ordnance Factories’ Day (India)

Paris Commune Anniversary Day

Stab e-Barat (Night of Records; Bangladesh)

Sheelah's Day (a.k.a. Sheela Na Gig; Australia, Canada, Ireland)

Sheep and Goats Separation Day

South Carolina Day (South Carolina)

Space Walk Day

Sparky the Fire Dog Day

Supreme Sacrifice Day (Congo)

Take Down Tobacco Day

Teacher’s Day (Syria)

Transit Driver Appreciation Day

Trisomy 18 Awareness Day

World Eagle Day

World Juvenile Arthritis Day

World Young Rheumatic Diseases Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Jambon Day (Ireland)

National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day

National Sloppy Joe Day

Oatmeal Cookie Day

St. Broccoli Day

3rd Saturday in March

Girl Scout Sabbath [3rd Saturday]

International Sports Car Racing Day [3rd Saturday]

Maple Syrup Saturday [3rd Saturday]

National Corn Dog Day [3rd Saturday]

National Quilting Day [3rd Saturday]

National Tequila Day (Mexico) [3rd Saturday]

Recorder Day (a.k.a. Play the Recorder Day) [3rd Saturday]

Save the Florida Panther Day (Florida) [3rd Saturday]

World Blender Meetup Day [3rd Saturday]

World Whisky Day [3rd Saturday]

Worldwide Quilting Day [3rd Saturday]

Feast Days

Alexander of Jerusalem (Christian; Saint)

Anselm of Lucca (Christian; Saint)

Asklepieia (Ancient Greece)

Barney Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Cyril of Jerusalem (Christian; Saint)

Edward the Martyr (a.k.a. Edward, King of England; Christian; Saint)

Exorcist Day (Make the Spirits Disappear; Pastafarian)

Fridianus (a.k.a. Fridian; Christian; Saint)

Goddess of Fertility Day

John Updike (Humanism; Saint)

Oide Matsuri (Departure Festival; Shinto; Japan)

Philo Zilfinger (Muppetism)

Salvator (Christian; Saint)

Socrates (Positivist; Saint)

Usajingu Reitaisai (Shinto; Japan)

Vodka Day (Pastafarian)

Waqf al Arafa (Islam)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Unlucky 18th (Philippines) [1 of 3]

Premieres

Alexander’s Ragtime Band published (Song; 1911)

Allegiant (Film; 2016)

The Bronze (Film; 2016)

Cedar Rapids (Film; 2011)

The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown (Novel; 2003)

D.O.A. (Film; 1988)

Dominick and Eugene (Film; 1988)

Getz/Gilberto, by Stan Getz and João Gilberto (Album; 1964)

Ice Princess (Film; 2005)

The Man Who Fell To Earth (Film; 1976)

Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (Disney Cartoon; 1933)

The Milagro Beanfield War (Film; 1988)

Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult (Film; 1994)

Paul (Film; 2011)

Pee Wee’s Big Holiday (Film; 2016)

Rio Bravo (Film; 1960)

Steamboy (Anime Film; 2005)

Whatever and Ever Amen, by Ben Folds Five (Album; 1997)

White Riot, by The Clash (Song; 1977)

Today’s Name Days

Cyrill, Edward, Sibylle (Austria)

Ćiril, Edo, Eduard, Spasoje (Croatia)

Eduard (Czech Republic)

Alexander (Denmark)

Edi, Eduard, Eedi, Eedo, Eedu (Estonia)

Edvard, Eetu (Finland)

Cyrille (France)

Edward, Cyrill, Sibylle (Germany)

Edward (Greece)

Ede, Sándor (Hungary)

Cirillo, Salvatore (Italy)

Adelīna, Ilona, Razna, Sartite (Latvia)

Anzelmas, Eimutė, Eimutis, Sibilė (Lithuania)

Aleksander, Edvard, Sander (Norway)

Aleksander, Anzelm, Boguchwał, Cyryl, Edward, Narcyz, Narcyza, Salwator (Poland)

Chiril (Romania)

Eduard (Slovakia)

Cirilo, Eduardo (Spain)

Edmund, Edvard (Sweden)

Cyril, Cyrilla, Grover, Salvador, Salvatore, Sibyl, Sybil, Sybilla (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 77 of 2023; 288 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 11 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Nuin (Ash) [Day 28 of 28]

Chinese: Month 2 (Yi-Mao), Day 27 (Yi-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 25 Adar 5783

Islamic: 25 Sha’ban 1444

J Cal: 16 Ver; Twosday [16 of 30]

Julian: 5 March 2023

Moon: 12%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 21 Aristotle (3rd Month) [Socrates]

Runic Half Month: Beore (Birch Tree) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 88 of 90)

Zodiac: Pisces (Day 27 of 29)

Birthdays

John Smith (1824)

William Ebling (1828)

James Toohey (1850)

John Updike (1932)

Jason Chavez (1968)

Alexandra Nowell (1985)

Events

J. Ernest Miller patented a Design for a Beer Mug (1873)

Philip Best Brewing changed their name to Pabst Brewing (1889)

Anthony & Michael Stiveson patented a Metallic Keg (1890)

New England Brewers Association founded (1902)

UK Gov't declared a proper pour of a pint of beer to be 95% liquid (2002)

S.S. Steiner patented the Hop Plant Named “Bravo” (2008)

Chikamitsu Takagi patented a Bottle Cap Opener (2014)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 3.18

Holidays

Anniversary of the Oil Expropriation (Mexico)

Awkward Moments Day

Bindus Diena (The Day the Bears Wake from Hibernation; Ancient Latvia)

Carnival of Body Music

Cheikh Al Maarouf Day (Comoros)

Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence (Australia)

De Molay Day

Electric Razor Day

Flag Day (Aruba)

Forgive Mom and Dad Day

Gallipoli Memorial Day (Turkey)

Global Recycling Day

Grandparents' & Grandchildren's Day (Michigan)

International Day of Revolutionary Political Prisoners

Make Peace with Your Parents Day

Men’s and Soldiers Day (Mongolia)

My Whole Self Day (UK)

National Anthem and Flag Day (Aruba)

National Biodiesel Day

National Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Day

National Day of Remembrance for COVID-19 Victims (Italy)

National Farm Rescuer Day

National Natural Gas Utility Workers’ Day

National Public Defender Day

National Supreme Sacrifice Day

Oil Expropriation Day (Mexico)

Ordnance Factories’ Day (India)

Paris Commune Anniversary Day

Stab e-Barat (Night of Records; Bangladesh)

Sheelah's Day (a.k.a. Sheela Na Gig; Australia, Canada, Ireland)

Sheep and Goats Separation Day

South Carolina Day (South Carolina)

Space Walk Day

Sparky the Fire Dog Day

Supreme Sacrifice Day (Congo)

Take Down Tobacco Day

Teacher’s Day (Syria)

Transit Driver Appreciation Day

Trisomy 18 Awareness Day

World Eagle Day

World Juvenile Arthritis Day

World Young Rheumatic Diseases Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Jambon Day (Ireland)

National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day

National Sloppy Joe Day

Oatmeal Cookie Day

St. Broccoli Day

3rd Saturday in March

Girl Scout Sabbath [3rd Saturday]

International Sports Car Racing Day [3rd Saturday]

Maple Syrup Saturday [3rd Saturday]

National Corn Dog Day [3rd Saturday]

National Quilting Day [3rd Saturday]

National Tequila Day (Mexico) [3rd Saturday]

Recorder Day (a.k.a. Play the Recorder Day) [3rd Saturday]

Save the Florida Panther Day (Florida) [3rd Saturday]

World Blender Meetup Day [3rd Saturday]

World Whisky Day [3rd Saturday]

Worldwide Quilting Day [3rd Saturday]

Feast Days

Alexander of Jerusalem (Christian; Saint)

Anselm of Lucca (Christian; Saint)

Asklepieia (Ancient Greece)

Barney Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Cyril of Jerusalem (Christian; Saint)

Edward the Martyr (a.k.a. Edward, King of England; Christian; Saint)

Exorcist Day (Make the Spirits Disappear; Pastafarian)

Fridianus (a.k.a. Fridian; Christian; Saint)

Goddess of Fertility Day

John Updike (Humanism; Saint)

Oide Matsuri (Departure Festival; Shinto; Japan)

Philo Zilfinger (Muppetism)

Salvator (Christian; Saint)

Socrates (Positivist; Saint)

Usajingu Reitaisai (Shinto; Japan)

Vodka Day (Pastafarian)

Waqf al Arafa (Islam)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Unlucky 18th (Philippines) [1 of 3]

Premieres

Alexander’s Ragtime Band published (Song; 1911)

Allegiant (Film; 2016)

The Bronze (Film; 2016)

Cedar Rapids (Film; 2011)

The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown (Novel; 2003)

D.O.A. (Film; 1988)

Dominick and Eugene (Film; 1988)

Getz/Gilberto, by Stan Getz and João Gilberto (Album; 1964)

Ice Princess (Film; 2005)

The Man Who Fell To Earth (Film; 1976)

Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (Disney Cartoon; 1933)

The Milagro Beanfield War (Film; 1988)

Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult (Film; 1994)

Paul (Film; 2011)

Pee Wee’s Big Holiday (Film; 2016)

Rio Bravo (Film; 1960)

Steamboy (Anime Film; 2005)

Whatever and Ever Amen, by Ben Folds Five (Album; 1997)

White Riot, by The Clash (Song; 1977)

Today’s Name Days

Cyrill, Edward, Sibylle (Austria)

Ćiril, Edo, Eduard, Spasoje (Croatia)

Eduard (Czech Republic)

Alexander (Denmark)

Edi, Eduard, Eedi, Eedo, Eedu (Estonia)

Edvard, Eetu (Finland)

Cyrille (France)

Edward, Cyrill, Sibylle (Germany)

Edward (Greece)

Ede, Sándor (Hungary)

Cirillo, Salvatore (Italy)

Adelīna, Ilona, Razna, Sartite (Latvia)

Anzelmas, Eimutė, Eimutis, Sibilė (Lithuania)

Aleksander, Edvard, Sander (Norway)

Aleksander, Anzelm, Boguchwał, Cyryl, Edward, Narcyz, Narcyza, Salwator (Poland)

Chiril (Romania)

Eduard (Slovakia)

Cirilo, Eduardo (Spain)

Edmund, Edvard (Sweden)

Cyril, Cyrilla, Grover, Salvador, Salvatore, Sibyl, Sybil, Sybilla (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 77 of 2023; 288 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 11 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Nuin (Ash) [Day 28 of 28]

Chinese: Month 2 (Yi-Mao), Day 27 (Yi-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 25 Adar 5783

Islamic: 25 Sha’ban 1444

J Cal: 16 Ver; Twosday [16 of 30]

Julian: 5 March 2023

Moon: 12%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 21 Aristotle (3rd Month) [Socrates]

Runic Half Month: Beore (Birch Tree) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 88 of 90)

Zodiac: Pisces (Day 27 of 29)

Birthdays

John Smith (1824)

William Ebling (1828)

James Toohey (1850)

John Updike (1932)

Jason Chavez (1968)

Alexandra Nowell (1985)

Events

J. Ernest Miller patented a Design for a Beer Mug (1873)

Philip Best Brewing changed their name to Pabst Brewing (1889)

Anthony & Michael Stiveson patented a Metallic Keg (1890)

New England Brewers Association founded (1902)

UK Gov't declared a proper pour of a pint of beer to be 95% liquid (2002)

S.S. Steiner patented the Hop Plant Named “Bravo” (2008)

Chikamitsu Takagi patented a Bottle Cap Opener (2014)

[weareboxing]

The boxing world was left stunned at the premature and tragic death of Australian ring phenom Les Darcy #OnThisDay in 1917. The middleweight great's brief but brilliant career came to a sudden and prosaic end when the young fighter died a long way from home in Memphis, Tennessee as a result of a complication of diseases. Darcy was idolised in Australia but when his country readied to join the Allies in the Great War he failed to enlist in the army as he was his family's sole bread-winner and public opinion turned against him. He stowed away on ship bound for America two days before his 21st birthday. He reached New York shortly before Christmas 1916 and was shunned by the press and labeled a draft dodger. A fight was agreed with world class Brooklyn middleweight Al McCoy, but the New York governor refused to issue a license for a fight involving Darcy. Other states' governors followed suit and a six-month tour, promoted by Tex Rickard, failed to materialise. Darcy joined the US armed services (aviation corps) and intended to become a US citizen in order to gain permission to fight. He wanted to prove he was the world's best middleweight. He'd already beaten a slew of the best Americans on offer back in Australia. Men like Jeff Smith, Eddie McGoorty, Jimmy Clabby, George Chip, KO Brown, and Buck Crouse. The ban was eventually lifetd and Darcy managed to arrange a fight with Milwaukee's Len Rowlands but had to be cancel owing to the infection of a tooth spreading to his tonsils, which were removed. It then spread to the heart, causing dilation, and rheumatism and pneumonia ensued. Death was sudden and unexpected. He had rallied and said that he was "feeling fine" but died quietly and quickly a few minutes later in the hospital. He was just 21 years old. Darcy's last statement for his parents was:- "My greatest wish was to have five fights before doing my duty to the United States as an aviator, and so be able to send money home." His body was shipped back to Australia, where he was mourned as a hero. James Leslie Darcy "The Maitland Wonder", Oct 31, 1895- May 24, 1917 #boxing #BoxingNews #LesDarcy (at Maitland, New South Wales)

[flowerarepower]

KALANCHOE LAETIVIRENS CARE GUIDE AND PROPAGATION | itsaboutgardening.com

Kalanchoes Laetivirens is a wonderful houseplant with gorgeous vegetation and also is mostly understood for its magnificent Mother of Thousands looks. It is a member of the Stonecrop Family and comes from the Genus Bryophyllum, which has 35 to 37 types. When it comes to growth, the span rate of this plant is 20 cm tall and 7 centimeters in diameter. While the fleshy green leaves with tiny market around the edges are the plant's popular attributes organized in an angled pattern. They are Petiolate, Ovate, and also Crenate.

Kalanchoe Laetivirens Scientific Information

Kingdom : Plantae

Division : Magnoliophyta

Subdivision : Magnoliophytina

Class : Rosopsid

Subclass : Rosidae

Superorder : Saxifraganae

Order : Saxifragales

Family : Crassulaceae

Genus : Kalanchoe

Species : Kalanchoe x Laetivirens

Basic Information

Height : 20 cm

Width : 7 centimeters

Flower Color : Pink, Golden, Green

Flowering Season : Early Spring

Leaves : Petiolate,Ovate, and Crenate

Kalanchoe Laetivirens General Care

Kalanchoe Laetivirens is an one-of-a-kind succulent. It is a beautiful enhancement to your plant collection, especially if you put it in a stunning container.

Cultivation

Perennials like completely dry to moderately damp soil in a bright to half-shady place. You could use a gritty loam needs to as the structure. The plants can hold up against temperatures as low as -7 ° C. The plants are best expanded in a cool or warm environment; growing them outside is only feasible in frost-free climates. During development, use a substance fertilizer every 6 weeks. Also, make sure you comprehend the differences in between the products used while picking a pot.

Water

When effectively looked after, K. Laetivirens can be rather lovely. Water these succulents in the same way that other succulents do. The fashion you water your plant is critical to its wellness. The most convenient method to water this succulent is to immerse it in water and then dry it. Carefully take care of the succulent need to dissuade overwatering. In the summer, only use a significant amount of water. In the wintertime, just offer a percentage of water.

Pest and Disease

Waxy fibers and also honeydew indicate mealybug infestations on leaves and shoots. Apply pesticide or usage predacious ladybirds to manage the issue naturally. You can indicate an aphid problem by honeydew, galls, and flawed fallen leaves. Use a chemical or organic control techniques, such as parasitic wasps or predators like Aphidoletes Aphidimyza. Acknowledge downy mildew infection by checking on white tufts or a white covering on the lower surface area of the fallen leaves. Remove the contaminated plants as well as treat them with a fungicide. Improve air flow, maintain the origins moist, and also don't sprinkle the plants above to stay clear of infection. Leaf spots show a microbial or fungal problem. Microbial areas are angular and also yellow-rimmed, whereas fungal areas are round and also have a fruiting body region. It is a fungal infection, so destroy the infected areas and also use fungicides.

Blooms

In regards to flowers, the flowers of this plant are little when kept inside your home, and also the most exciting characteristic of it is the young plantlets that expand on the tops of the gigantic leaves frequently. Additionally, Kalanchoe Laetivirens creates panicles of hanging, brilliant gold green, or pinkish tubular flowers. Perennials create hair follicles. And usually, they show up from January via March or generally throughout early spring.

Kalanchoe Laetivirens Propagation

You can utilize Cuttings, leaves, offsets, and also seeds to propagate the plant. This succulent does not need constant repotting.

By leaves

Take a fallen leave from the mother plant as well as delicately remove it. It ought to be a healthy and balanced fallen leave that has actually not shed any of its stalks. In this way, the propagation will certainly succeed. Enable a couple of days for it to unsympathetic prior to replanting. Pick well-draining dirt for your brand-new delicious plant. Do not neglect to water the soil mix when it comes to be completely dry.

From Cuttings

When reproduced the plant from cuttings, use a clean knife or scissors to carefully reduce a leaf from the mother plant.

Allow a few days for it to unsympathetic before replanting.

For your new succulent plant, pick well-draining dirt.

Do not neglect to water the dirt mix once it becomes dry.

From Offsets

You can utilize offsets to circulate the plant. Before you may multiply from the key plant, you may need to wait numerous years for it to generate a baby plant. Let’s Get Started.

Cut the infant plant from the primary plant with a sharp knife.

After eliminating the excess dirt from the countered, please clean it up.

Allow it to create unsympathetic for a couple of days prior to replanting.

For your new succulent plant, choose well-draining soil.

Don't fail to remember to sprinkle the soil mix once it ends up being completely dry.

Using Seeds

This succulent is a sluggish grower. As a result although you can use seeds to reproduce it, it is not suggested. Plant the seeds in a well-draining soil mix to multiply from them. You can utilize this procedure in the open air. According to research study, Kalanchoe Laetivirens has shed its ability to generate seeds and also currently just recreates through plantlets. It can rapidly leave hand when going down these young plantlets since it is a prolific breeder. While this truth gives many plants for the propagator, people who are not thinking about including more plants might find caring for K. Laetivirens boring. Worry not concerning getting rid of the plantlets; there will be much more on the healthy, still-growing K. Laetivirens.

Benefits of Kalanchoe Laetivirens

Medical plants have actually offered forerunners for numerous artificial medicines and also are a considerable supply of restorative substances. Plant-based medicines make up 75% of all prescribed medications around the world despite the improvements in organic synthesis modern technologies. Bryophyllum species that are up to the Crassulaceae Family as well as belong to the Genus Kalanchoe are perennial herbs that grow in the wild and also are known as conventional medical plants in exotic Africa, China, Australia, and also South America. Some Bryophyllum varieties have actually been used in conventional medicine to treat infections, rheumatism, and inflammation. In this research, we checked out whether a K. Laetivirens remove could effectively generate cytotoxicity in A549RT-to cells, along with the molecular mechanisms by which a section of K. Laetivirens can promote MDR turnaround and also apoptosis. We found that a Kalanchoe Laetivirens extract boosted apoptosis in A549RT-to cells, at the very least partly, by reducing P-GP expression as well as task, moderated via reductions of NF-B expression and activity. Happy Gardening Everyone. Have Fun

[major-artery]

February 2nd - Rheumatoid Disease Awareness Day

TW: Medication, needles, blood, pain.

<I actually made this post last year on Facebook, but have updated it for today.>

Today is Rheumatoid Disease / Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness Day. You are in for a long read; feel free to skim through, read the entire thing, or skip it entirely. There are times it may be “TMI”, but I feel it’s all a necessary part of my journey. 

A lot of people know, a lot of people don’t. I’m sure my people knows at this point, but I have this “invisible” disease. I have been officially diagnosed for... wow, how long has it been? At least five years. I tested borderline for JRA when I was young, but drastic measures / hard medications were not encouraged because I was a kid, maybe it was a phase, maybe it would pass. 

It didn’t. I’ve been suffering with it silently for most of my pre-teen to adult life.

When you get sick, you go to the doctor; you’ll get some antibiotics, maybe a cough syrup. They’ll tell you take it easy, and in a few days you’ll be better. You will never hear those words as someone with RD/RA – or most invisible illnesses, for that matter.

At my first Rheumatologist appointment, I didn’t know this. I had come to see the Rheumatologist after a hospital visit; I’d had debilitating pain in my knees and ankles – they were so swollen I couldn’t move and the throbbing was agonizing. As I sat in the office, the doctor assessed me the best she could – asked me all the personal questions, gave me a physical, squeezed my joints, and checked my blood.

There was no immediate diagnosis. She didn’t want to assume until there was nothing left. I was sent for more blood work, x-rays, and thrown on prednisone. We discussed the possibility of other medications that may be needed down the line – their positives and their negatives. It mostly went in one ear and out the other side. All I kept thinking was that it would be over soon, I would be “normal.” 

While I was on the prednisone I felt like I could bench a tank, but it also made my sick to my stomach. My next visit to my doctor did not go as I planned. Far from it, actually… I felt I had made progress, but my blood work showed degradation. There was more inflammation in my blood than before – even though the prednisone felt like it was helping, I was getting worse. By this point I had been tested for many different things, all coming back negative.

The official diagnosis came – I had Rheumatoid Disease. I had done some research on it, and through work I had learned a lot about it and the different types of drugs that are on the market. Everything I had ever heard didn’t matter though. Now I was the one wearing those shoes.

My Rheumatologist asked me if my husband and I were planning to have kids. “One day, I’d like to, sure.” The whole reason why she was asking was because she was going to put me on Methotrexate (MTX.) It’s a drug that is used in the treatment of patients going through chemotherapy – it takes your immune system from “hero to zero.” What I learned was the real truth about RD/RA – that your immune system has gone “haywire” and it views your joints (and at times other parts of your body as well) as an infection, something that needed to be illuminated. This is what causes the swelling and painful joints. You can’t have kids while you’re on these powerful drugs.

All of a sudden, in the span of ten minutes, I could no longer have children (unless I came off my medications for at least six months, would mean I would be in pain,) I could no longer go to hospitals to visit sick friends and family without it being a detriment to my health (or be around anyone sick for that matter), that a common cold could actually land me in the hospital (and has). Hand sanitizer, religious hand washing, and birth control were absolute musts.

--Medication Rant Here--

Bi-weekly visits to the Rheum began with repeated blood-checking. The small dose of MTX was not working efficiently. I was bumped from 4 pills a week to 6, then from 6 to 8 (a “maximum” dosage.) More visits, more unfortunate news. My doctor started me on a combination therapy of MTX and an injectable medication – Humira.

Six months passed, things seemed to be working well with Humira. My poor husband – as much as I was suffering, I put the pressure on him. I found that when it came time to give myself the injections I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bring myself to press the plunger on the auto-injector. (As an aside –the auto-injectors look like really thick pens. You push the trigger button on top, and it plunges the needle into your skin and automatically administers the entire dosage. Pictured above.) The loud click scared me, and the pain of the medication being administered so quickly by the syringe scared me even more. Like clockwork when it came time for the next dose, I’d go into a full meltdown and anxiety attack. I found myself literally biting onto pillows, crying my eyes out, and begging him to not do it. It sometimes took hours for him to talk me down. I was hysterical and inconsolable. 

Almost a year after starting, I was taken off of MTX and left on Humira. Blood work throughout these passing months showed there was no real improvement. Once my prescription ran out my Rheum wanted to move me onto a different biologic / DMARD (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug). She wanted to move me onto Enbrel. I had heard nothing but positive things about Enbrel, and was excited to begin the treatment.

My doctor’s office called me while I was at work – my insurance would not cover the Enbrel, and I had to come in to discuss other treatment options. I was heartbroken. I remember going into an empty office in my building to cry it out. I had finally convinced myself that even though the idea of being on another auto-injected medication scared me, finally having peace from pain overtook it. Onto the next medication, I guessed.

The next time I saw my rheumatologist, we discussed something a new drug I hadn’t heard of but had been on the market for a long time. I was beginning to feel like a lab rat. I started Cimzia soon after – which was different than the auto-injectors I had been used. This was a manual plunge-syringe. The syringes come pre-filled and capped, I just needed to remove the cap, stab, and inject.

I actually took a liking to the Cimzia. I gained a lot of confidence in giving myself the two doses, one in each leg, because I could control how I “stabbed” myself with the needle, I could control how fast I pushed the plunger down and administered the medication.

But like the Humira, the Cimzia worked for a short amount of time then became ineffective. I was switched to Xeljanz – a twice a day pill instead of a bi-weekly injection. I’d found that I’d become more “tired”, lethargic even on this medication. It helped keep the swelling and the pain away for the most part. Just as with the MTX, Humira, and Cimzia, after almost a year the symptoms were becoming worse again. I was taken off of Xeljanz, and switched back onto an autoinjectable medication. 

I had to fight my insurance for Enbrel. This time I was going to get it. I spent hours on the phone, hours in my doctor’s office. I cried, I got angry. My insurance was still insisting I hadn’t “failed” on enough medication to “qualify” for Enbrel. 

After much perseverance, I am on Enbrel today. I have been on it a few months. It’s another auto-injector. My husband has to do my shots for me, because I have an uncontrollable twitch reaction to rip the pen away when the pain starts. But I don’t have the panic attacks anymore. It’s like I’ve become used to knowing it’s going to hurt, and it’s going to suck, but that’s just the way it is. My thighs are covered in bruises from the harshness of it. The injection sites swell and itch. More than once I think we’ve struck a vein because of the amount of blood that seeps out when the needle is removed. That always sucks. 

--End Medication Rant--

I was so angry with the world when I got my diagnosis. I was angry that some people didn’t seem to understand what I was going through was serious. “Oh, at least it’s only Rheumatoid Arthritis.” “You can’t have that – you’re not old…” I exhausted so much time and my precious energy being upset at things that were out of my control. Suddenly everyone was an expert in my illness, everyone know what could “cure” me – miracles.

When someone asks me how I’m feeling, I have to go through an internal monologue of “Do you actually want to know how I’m feeling? Do you want me to put that burden on you?”

I go through periods of guilt when I feel helpless; it makes me upset and makes me feel lazy when I ask my husband to grab me something from the fridge, to cook and clean up afterward, or sometimes (which hasn’t happened in a long time) to cut up my food for me. There are times where just putting on pants is a challenge and I have to ask someone to do the button for me. It’s embarrassing, and it’s heartbreaking.

I recently wrote a letter to myself – and I think a lot of people with invisible illnesses can relate.

“Dear Jessi,

It’s not the end of the world, I promise. I need you to take a deep breath, and really read what I’m about to write to you. Wipe your tears – wipe them off on your sleeves if you can’t reach the tissues, maybe even a pillow. Get comfy, because shit is about to get real.

This isn’t your fault. There is nothing you could have done to prevent this; your body was basically on a self-destruct timer with no wires to cut to stop it. You did not do anything to deserve this. People have crosses to bear – this is yours.

There will be people in your life who won’t understand what you’re going through. You can try to educate them, but sometimes you have to just turn the other cheek. You will make plans, and just as quickly you will cancel them. It is out of your control. Stop being embarrassed. Ask for help. Let people think whatever they want to think, and fuck’em if they don’t want to be compassionate.

They’ll still see you as the loveable weirdo, a little ditzy at times, maybe a klutz who obsesses way too much about RPGs. None of that changes because of your RA.

I mean what I’m about to say in the most positive way possible: you will -never- be cured. I’m going to be blunt about it because no one else will be. But you’ll persevere – you’re a boss-ass bitch. Your pain will be managed for most of the time. I’m not saying it won’t get bad, because it will. And you’re allowed to cry.

You are not the person you were a few years ago. You have all these rules to live by, and you’ll be worried that you won’t be able to go through with plans. There will be tools to help you, even if it’s a wheelchair.

IT IS OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY. Do NOT let anyone tell you otherwise. There will be days where you will roll over to turn off your alarm and you can’t. Don’t panic – take the time you need to get mobility back in your joints. When you’re out, use your handicap placard. You’re suffering. Do not let the dirty looks or comments sway you.

Appreciate your husband a little more every single day. He’s there for you – even if he’s pestering you about your medication, when your next doctor appointment is, or where that bruise came from (followed shortly by poking it.) You may not be able to keep up at times, and he will always change his pace for you.

Have you used all of your spoons today? I think you did; you probably over-extended yourself, and you’ll regret it tomorrow. But are you happy now? Then it was worth it.

Most importantly – at heart, you’re still you, even if your body is weird as fuck. You are not your illness. You are not any less of a person.

I love you. You should love you, too.”

So, this is me. Today I do my best to educate people on what I live with. Welcome to my world. Please, ask me questions, I may not have an answer, but I may have an experience. I’m a member of the #cureArthritis squad – and my goal is to spread information about my disease.

Thank you for taking the time to read; please consider making a donation toward RD/RA Research. It is one of the least funded research topics in the United States. And please feel free to share this post. <3

https://www.curearthritis.org/sponsor-specific-research/

[monasteryicons]

Saint André, Miracle Man of Montreal

Rising above a hill in Montreal known as Mount Royal, there stands one of the largest cathedrals in the world – the Oratory of Saint Joseph. Its great height of 361 feet is matched by its massive girth, which is large enough to hold within itself many of the world's largest shrines. If one were to ask who built this magnificent house of God, he would be told “Brother André.” Small in stature, unassuming in appearance and manner, Brother André Bessette was great in the Kingdom of God. On October 17, 2010, the Catholic Church canonized this unassuming porter whose miraculous ministry to the sick and needy earned him the title “the miracle man of Montreal.” Born in a pious rural family in Montreal, Canada in 1845, Alfred Bessette was a frail child whose poor health and chronic indigestion carried over into youth, and old age, up to his death at the age of 91. In his youth he met Father André Provencal, who inspired the devotion to Saint Joseph that became the hallmark of the young saint. It was at this time that he formed the lifelong habit of immersing himself in prayer for hours before the Blessed Sacrament, many times in long, deep conversation with Saint Joseph. In 1870, Brother André determined to join the Congregation of the Holy Cross, armed with an introductory letter from Father Provancal which said, “I am sending a saint to your Congregation.” Despite the chronic health which threatened his continued residence in the community, in 1872, Brother André was received into the novitiate and assigned as the porter of the College. In later years, he quipped “My superiors showed me the door and I stayed there.” He quickly became a beloved friend of the students, whom he taught “What the Holy Spirit did for the Apostles, He will do for you.” He realized this in his own life, and soon his reputation as a miracle worker began to grown among the students of the college. One day, as the pious porter was scrubbing the floor in the parlor of the college, a lady came to see him, having heard of his reputation. She was so afflicted with rheumatism that she could only walk with the assistance of two men supporting her by holding each arm. Her request to Brother André was simple enough: “I am suffering from rheumatism. I want you to heal me.” Not looking up from the floor he was still busily scrubbing, Brother André said to the men assisting her, “Let her walk.” The woman walked out unassisted. As the school’s doorkeeper, Brother André saluted and bid farewell to the many guests who came to the college. Having a keen interest in their spiritual welfare and a sympathetic ear for their problems, the little doorman could often tell who was in need of his prayers or counsel. One day he noticed on the face of a guest — the father of a boarding student — a preoccupied, strained expression. When Brother André learned that the man was worried about his sick wife, he told him, “But she is not so sick as you think. At this very moment she became better.” The man was quite cynical, for he knew that his wife had been ill for many years. Yet upon arriving home, his wife greeted him at the door, perfectly healthy, in good spirits, and inquiring about the couple’s children. The man later learned, upon speaking with his wife’s nurse, that she had asked to be taken out of bed exactly when Brother André pronounced the words, “At this very moment, she became better.” Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims – Catholics, Protestants, Jews and unbelievers – flocked to him for the healing of their souls and bodies. Often this was affected through “Saint Joseph’s oil,” a mixture that Brother André rubbed on wounds and sick limbs after burning it before a statue of Saint Joseph. Although all claimed the miracles were worked through the humble porter’s faith, he himself scoffed at these claims and felt he only did the work of Christ. If Brother André had any mission, he said, it was to teach devotion to Saint Joseph. In 1890, he conceived the desire to honor Saint Joseph by the construction of a great shrine on the mountain by the College. The pillars of Saint Joseph are draped with hundreds of crutches and other prosthetics that testify to Brother André’s God-given power to free the crippled and diseased from their maladies. Today the saint’s relics lie in a black marble sepulchre in the back of the Oratory. And the grand cathedral is itself a living spokesman of the great message of Brother André’s life: “Ite ad Joseph – go to Joseph!” Pope John Paul II said, “We venerate in Blessed Brother André a man of prayer and a friend of the poor, a truly astonishing man... In each age the Holy Spirit raises up such humble witnesses of the Gospel, who turn things topsy-turvy.”