Hey everyone, I'm BACK!!

[anxious one]

HI GUYS!!!! :bunny:

Don't pass out or anything, but I have finally got myself a new keyboard!! Oh, the excitment to see each word appearing on the screen just the way I printed it!! hallelujah!! :bow:

Ironically, I can't talk for long as I am in the midst of an animal lib campaign that is eating up a lot of my time and I have approx 20 mins to get showered and dressed and ready to take claudia to swimming and then myself to an animal lib meeting...

I am in the midst of a flare, but otherwise ok... I had a full check up at the doctors last week and except for anticardiolipin antibodies still being present in my blood, everything else was A ok... kidney function fine which is what i was most worried about. Anyone else have these antibodies?? Dr says it is common foir them to occur with inflammatory conditions but mine are still at a low level so he doesn't feel it neccessary to treat them.

Anyway, must go but hope everyone else is well and I am so looking forward to chatting with you all again!! :)

Hugs, Sara

[jaime15]

Sara.........I know you are so glad to be rid of that thing!!!!!!! ;)

I sure hope your flare ends soon for you! :grouphug:

[Dixiefireball]

glad you got a new keyboard i been threw so many keyboards lol.

[kelly McC]

Glad to hear from you. New keyboards are fun.. Take care hope your feeling better
huggs,
Kelly

[ICNDonna]

It's great to hear that you finally got rid of that old keyboard. I had a bum one once and it was horrible to deal with it.

Donna

[anxious one]

I didn't realise so many people knew about my old shonky keyboard!! :biglaugh:

Thanks guys! :)

[andcohen]

Yeh!!! Bet you thrilled to bits. You must be flat out with your extra duties at the moment. Hope you stay resonably pain free so you can continue with your animal lib. taskes, are you enjoying the extra work?
Take care for now.
Andrea :)

[anxious one]

Hi Andrea!! So glad you reponded! Where the heck is everyone? :loco:

Yep, the animal lib stuff is definately giving me something else to focus on (besides IC) which is great and much needed. I am never, ever pain free... except I had one great day last week but by the evening I was in pain again. :mad: I am definately better than I used to be but still in pain.

Went out for dinner on Saturday night and had a tomato pasta as there was NOTHING else I could eat. Asked for it with "minimal sauce" and it arrived swimming in it. People just don't get it. On the flip sided we went out the other week to a gourmet pizza place and I asked for no sauce on the pizza. When it arrived the waitress had also told the chef to put this "capsicum jelly" stuff in a bowl on the side- as she thought if I couldn't eat sauce I may not be able to eat that either. She was right! Sometimes you can be lucky.

How is everything with you?? Going ok?? Haven't seen anyone else around the board- where are all the aussies??

I'm going to e-mail Nadia now, we are supposed to be taking the kids out to an indoor play centre today.

Take care and I'll talk to you soon!
sara :)

[deviation72]

Hi Guys,

Good to see you back Sara. Hi Andrea! It's been very quiet here hasn't it?

I'm OK - had a major flare last week but am feeling a bit better now. Even the Digesic wasn't helping the pain....

On that note - what meds do you guys use for pain? I've been prescribed Digesic which usually works (bar last week) but I can only get a script for a box of 20 with no repeats which is a right PIA. For lesser pain I use Mersyndol or Nurofen Plus but of course those have the wonderful (not) side effect of constipation :rolleyes:

Hope you are both keeping well - hello to everyone else as well! :grouphug:

[deviation72]

Hi again guys,

Just had a thought that I'd already asked the pain meds question and had a look back.... and there it was. So ignore my previous question....

Sorry guys, having a bit of a blonde day... heh heh... I can laugh as I am a real blonde... :)

[anxious one]

Hey kirsten!! :)

Was getting very worried about where evrybody was. I am in a flare at present also... last night was probably the worst pain I have been in for quite some time. I upped my endep to 70mg (from 60) and didn't do a thing except keep me awake all night, really jittery and then I had to take phenergan to get me to sleep! :rolleyes: The joys of it. You know what, I almost never take pain killers. Not because the pain isn't bad enough but I just hate taking more meds. With panadol and nurofen it makes my bladder worse, with panadeine forte it makes me sick. When the pain sets in I reach for the heat pack or the Ice pack, drink bicarb soda and munch on antacids. My vulvadinia is the worst usually over the IC, the phenergan and ice pack usually helps that. When they both kick in, I'm done for. :mad:

A few times I've had to go the ER and beg for morphine. Not since December... touch wood!!!!!

Am in pain now. :mad: My period is due so that always makes things worse. It all just sucks!!!

Thanks for replying and letting me know you are all still out there. Stay well!!!

<<<<HUGS>>>>

Sara :bunny:

[Rosalie]

Hi there everyone
nice to see... hear.... er read ffom you all. Sorry to note that you both have been in pain and not having a very good time. I hope that you both are feeling better today. I haven't been around much. I have been dealing with my 19yr old son's depression. He is under the care of a Psychologist and psychiatrist for medication. However, he is having a bad time at the moment. I'm still coming to grips with this wretched disease. I just want to wrap him up and keep him from further problems but I know that he has to face them. He says that he is constantly fighting the demons that beset him just to be able to get through the day and sometimes he is too tired of the battle and that's when we see the effects.
I don't doubt that he will come through this one day and be a better person for it, if that is possible as I already this he is wonderful.
Anyway, thats my bit for the moment.
Rosalie

[anxious one]

Rosalie, I am so sorry to hear about your son. :grouphug:

I suffered a lot of depression throughout my teens and I know how hard it is on everybody involved and affected by it. Having said that, I don't really have any advice on how to get through it! :rolleyes: I hope that whatever the problems are that is causing the depression will be dealt with and that way he can move on. I think it is even more dangerous for issues to be shoved down inside only to tear you up when you least expect it.

Stay strong Rosalie and it is great that you are so supportive. We are always hear if you need to chat, about anything. :)

Talk to you soon,

sara

[Rosalie]

Thanks Sara
At the moment I feel like I am goimg to fall apart. I cry at he drop of a hat. Just seeing his world come to a grinding halt is almost more than I can take. I know its early days with our understanding of it and tomorrow he is going to make an appointment for David and I to see his phsycologist. I've just had a good cry to my sister who has been in NSW traveling with a group of Buddhist monks.She had worked for lifeline and suggested I ring them to get contacts with support groups not only for sufferers but also for carers.
I thought that if Campbell spent some time with her and the monks it might help as he is interested in Buddhism.
I need people to talk to at the moment. Ones who listen and offer advice. My husband just doesn't get it as yet. He thinks CJ is just lazy! The poor thing isn't lazy, he is exhausted from fighting the demons that he says just want to tear him down and destroy him. I hate this disease. I can't put a bandaid on it to fix it. I'd rather have the asthma attacks and trips to hospital like when he wa little. At least then I knw what to do.
I won't apologize for rambling because I know that everyone here cares and that's what I need right now.
Thank God that I found all of you. I don't have too many that I can turn to right now or that I trust not to critisize my boy. He is the most beautiful sole that I know. It is just breaking my heart.

[anxious one]

:grouph :grouphug: ug: I am so sorry for what you are going through.

People that critisise people with depression don't understand that it is a genuine illness and not something that you can have control over. Considering it affects something like 1 in 4 people throughout a lifetimes, it clearly happens to all different kinds of people. I know what you mean though. When I was a teenager I suffered serious depression and eating disorders from about 13 to 19. I tried to kill myself on a few occasions, most seriously at the peak of it at about 18.I had to listen to many people saying that I was only doing it for attention and I needed to pull my sh*t together. How easy that would have been! :rolleyes: While it's true that depression is a cry for help, people don't understand that the depressive thoughts rule your every waking moment. Everything is affected by them until you are just consumed with depression 24/7. I became clingy towards close friends and loved ones, then detached and push everybody away. My poor mother used to cry and cry and cry. I felt so guilty for doing this to her , yet I couldn't stop it. I wish I knew what to say to help you but I think all you can do is be there for your son, without suffocating him or crowding him. He needs to know you are there (which I'm sure he does!) without feeling that you are crowding him.

Stay strong Rosalie, this won't last forever. At lkeast he is getting the help that he needs and he has you- a wonderful, loving mum.

We are always here for you to chat or just to "listen" :)

<<<HUGS>>>

Sara