<snip>

Coping purrs on the way.

Purrs and healing thoughts are on their way.

Kate.
(Owned by Fudge, Caramel & Meg)

Purrs indeed.

Is there another depression drug you could go on that doesn't have the
side effects of Effexor?  My doctor was making plans for me to try
something else, since Effexor was making me sleep 16 hours a day and
forget stuff.  I am fortunate so far in that I've been off the Effexor
since May and haven't felt the need for medication since.

Bright Blessings.

--Fil

Purrs for you to feel better soon. I am dealing with sore shoulders for over
a
year and depression at times.  So I understand how you feel. I need to buy a
computer chair with high back and arm rests, probably a neck rest too.

Have you tried  St. John's Wort? It is a herb
for depression and comes in pills and tea bags. But it  may diminish the
effectiveness of certain drugs. So better check with your doctor or
pharmacist
first.

Winnie

Lots and lots of purrs on the way.

Victor

Sorry to hear (read) this. I have lumbar spine trouble myself so
empathise.
At times like this I find nothing more soothing than fetching & cuddling
a
cat. Why don't you do the same? (Maybe not your Bandit, tho').

A remodelling of your workstation might well help too: it's important
to maintain correct spine position (lumbar lordosis in my case).

Supportive purrs for your improvement

Gordon & the FF

Hey, it's a lot to deal with!  Unremitting pain is just not an easy
thing to shrug off.

Even if you don't want medication, do you think maybe just talking to
a therapist a bit might help with the depression?  Just a thought.

Sounds like you're coping pretty well, actually, considering all that
you're dealing with right now.  Many soothing, pain-relieving purrs
for you.

Purrs being sent to CatNipped

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

Yikes!  I have trouble sleeping but I'd be out like a light for 2-3 days if
I took all of those!

Coping purrs on the way.

Jill

You got it, CatNipped.  Purrs for coping with things and things to
ease up both coming from my household.

Ginger-lyn

Home Pages:
 http://www.spiritrealm.com/summer/
 http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats)
 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~summer/index.htm (genealogy)
 http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against
                        Animals in Movies Website)

You've got our best purrs.

I haven't dealth with disk disease personally, but I've tried to offer
support to my mom and my brother while they deal with similar issues. So
I can appreciate just how uncomfortable it can be. And I can really
related to the depression thing, having done battle with that (and having
to take myself off Effexor - what fun!).

Our best coping and feel-better purrs are enroute.

Dan

Somebody emailed and mentioned change (thanks you!), and that gave me a
brilliant idea.  I *LOVE* change, and any type of change will lift my
spirits.  So, between when I first posted (8:30AM) and just now (11:30AM)
I....

[OK, I know this probably isn't the best thing for my back, and other,
pain - but nobody has ever accused me of being the sharpest tool in the
shed!]

moved all the books from the floor of the built-in bookcase to the first
shelf, took everything off my computer desk (including breaking down my
computer set-up) and moved it into the garage (21" monitors are *HEAVY*),
moved all the other furniture out of my office into the garage, ripped up
the (grungy, nasty) rug, carpet, and padding off the floor, moved my desk
into a different position, took a leaf-blower to the room to get rid of all
the dust and pieces of carpet padding, dusted everything else down, put
everything back into the room, set up my computer again, create a page of
pictures, and am posting this.

OK, my back feels worse, but my depression is definitely better (OK, even a
bit manic, maybe?!).  ;>

Here's before and after pictures, of course:

http://www.possibleplaces.com/A_Change/

Hugs,

CatNipped

Purrs, hugs, and maybe some ideas.  I _really_ have to get Mr. Clark and
myself into pet therapy training; he regards himself as nurse to anyone
he finds in distress.

Have you ever consulted a multidisciplinary pain management service?
There are certainly several in Houston; the one at MD Anderson has an
especially good reputation.  Remember that chronic pain is physically
different than acute pain, and many physicians don't really know how to
treat it.

Another thought: there are an increasing number of uses for
anticonvulsants, both for pain and for emotional distress. The first
choice might be gabapentin (Neurontin, but now generic). I've had it
prescribed, in very low dose, for panic disorder, supplementing
clonazepam. This is not an approved indication, but came out of
brainstorming with academic physicians.

If your shoulder or back is from nerve irritation, an anticonvulsant
might desensitize it. Another possibility, if either pain is close to
the surface, is capsaicin cream. Have you tried that?

We return you to Mr. Clark for a thorough nose and hair wash.  
Hmmm...Rhonda is really more the nose kiss specialist.

I will send you all the coping purrs you need.  It won't do a lot of good.

You are overworking.  Both in your new job (and didn't you say you were one
of the worst people to be allowed to work at home?) and with your home and
this biking thing.

Your new employers will only expect from you what is reasonable in an 8 hour
working day.  Do not work at home longer that you would if you were in an
office.  You are burning yourself out, and this is why you are crying,
because your mind is telling you to slow down.  I've been there.

You must slow down a lot and take some chill-out time and I don't mean
galloping up the road on a bike.
I wonder if you feel guilty if you are not doing something all the time,
like you *should* always be active.
Not so.
It's OK to lay on the sofa, listen to music for an hour with a cat  purring
nearby and not move and let your thoughts drift after working hard, so
please try and do this.

You are close to burn-out.  Realise this.
From my experience, if you calm down your workload and take time to relax
EVERY DAY you will feel better in a matter of weeks.

Tweed

I think you're supposed to whimper, not whine; otherwise you
don't get the T-shirt.  Check with Tweed.

Of course you're worn down.  Dealing with constant pain takes
energy, and then there's no way to build it up again because you
can't rest comfortably.

Any time it gets to be too much, you're welcome to cry all over
us -- even if you get the fur of some us a little wet.

On the way.  Heidi's right here to get them started, and she's
in purring mood because she *just got fed*.

Hey CatNipped--sorry to hear what you are going through.

I, too, have Fybromyalgia.  I had an intense two years with it about a year
ago.  I was, too, in denial until I was ultimately forced to manage the
symtpoms to have any quality of life.

I tested a few things and I now have almost no pain, fatigue, etc.  The only
issues I have now is I get frquent muscular headaches, some difficulty with
concentrating, and a loss of interest of things I previously enjoyed.

Here is what I found to work for me--may not for everyone else--hoping
something here will help you.

1.  Meditation--whether it be just relaxing and listening to music, some
breathing techniques, and aids for inner relaxation--pictures, cards, books,
etc.

3.  Cutting way down on sodas, diet sodas, coffee and caffiene, anything with
artificial sweeteners, white flours and sugars--white stuff, and worked to
get away from processed foods--now for my personal choice I did cut out meats
considering all the hormones and antibiotics.

All my research and personal experience with fybro--is that chemicals
aggrivates things.

4.  I make sure that I get at least eight hours a sleep a night--and a nap if
I can.

5.  Ironically, the one thing that has help me the most--is showers.  Very
hot showers and I massage my body vigorously with one of the scrunchy things.

6.  Elimnating stress where I could--especially my perception or
internalizing of such.

It has taken me a little over a year of taking baby-steps and trying or
eliminating things--but I can tell a considerable difference now--I feel
better than I have in probably 10-15 years and I turned 37 next month.

Much love and healing for you!

Sincerely,
Jen

Purring and praying all around from us for you to feel better.
Lily & her mama
Jazz, RB

Many coping and pain-relief purrs coming your way. It sounds like you
could benefit from visiting a chronic pain specialist because you've
got lots of different problems all feeding into one another. If you
can lower the pain level even a little it might help a lot.
I remember reading that fibromyalgia is closely linked to sleeping
problems - you don't go down into a deep enough level of sleep to heal
the everyday fatigue damage to your muscles, so it builds up and up...
relaxation should help you. I know you said you can't physically stop
and do nothing, so what about activities that keep your brain active
but let your body rest awhile every day? Crosswords, word puzzles,
listening to books on tape or music, reading - anything you can do
while relaxing propped up on pillows in bed  (or in a recliner). Even
watching a good movie on the idiot box! You need as much physcial
relaxation time as possible...
I don't have fibro but I had a big depression problem which messed up
my sleep (as well as my entire life) and the more sleep I got every
night, the better I coped during the day. When I listened to my body
and did what my body needed (going to bed at a regular time every
night and getting plenty of sleep, eating decent food, resting in the
daytime if I needed to, GENTLE exercise every day) it helped me more
than anything else I could have done. I sleep about nine hours a night
now, but I figure that's just what my body needs.

[[ usually cope with my Fibromyalgia by trying to totally ignore it and
getting on with my life.

However, lately that's been hard to do because of some other stuff going
on.

The degenerative disk disease has been unremitting in my lower back for
the
last 10 weeks - 24/7 - the pain even enters my dreams.  Along with that,
for
the same length of time I've had a crick in my neck that just won't go
away
(I think part of what is contributing to all this is my desk set-up at
home - I'm thinking of totally rearranging everything).  Along with that
my
left shoulder (on which I've had bone reconstruction surgery) has been
giving me hell again.  Along with that, the Fibromyalgia.

It's all just starting to wear me down - I'm getting physically tired and
worn out (even taking two Ambien, 2 Tylenol PM, a Melatonin tablet, and 3
Valerian root capsules every night doesn't help me sleep restfully).

And I find myself spiraling down into another depression (gee, haven't
been
*there* for over 2 years!).  I've found myself just sitting at my desk
and
crying for no reason quite often lately (like now).  Taking medication
for
the depression is *not* an option after what I went through trying to get
*off* the Effexor!  I'm still riding my bike an hour a day (that's all
I've
been able to work back up to after the pneumonia) - and exercise usually
helps me with depression (I'd hate to see the shape I'd be in right now
if
I
weren't exercising!).

Oh pfffft.  Sorry about this all this melodrama - I hate it when I whine
(want a little cheese with that whine, Lori?).  Pardon me, I'll stop now!

Anyway a few coping purrs would be greatly appreciated.

Hugs,

CatNipped]]

Well, you've got plenty of prayers and purrs headed your way from THIS
direction!

First of all, I now work in a rheumatologist's office, at the front desk.
We have MANY patients with fibromyalgia. Between seeing them, and knowing
some persons who have that condition, I can vouch for the fact that a
flareup can have a tremendous impact on a person's quality of life.

So, if you have a rheumatologist already, if you haven't made an
appointment with him/her, I recommend making a call and setting one up. If
you haven't got a rheumatologist, then your primary care physician should
help you find one.

As for depression: boy, do I know how much THAT sucks with a capital S.

Maybe those won't have the unwanted side effects that made you want to
stop taking Effexor.

Believe me, I'm the last person in the world to think that throwing pills
at everything is automaticaly the best solution. I only take the
anti-depressant meds and the blood-pressure meds because I HAVE to. My
body, left to its own devices, can't get its serotonin levels right and
doesn't manage its blood pressure properly, either. And since one of the
side effects of uncontrolled depression and/or high blood pressure is
*death*, I'm pretty motivated to keep the serotonin and blood pressure at
levels where I can function properly. ;o)

However, here are a couple of other directives that my doctor gave me when
I first started on meds.

a) Limit carbs. They cause a spike in serotonin levels, which is why
depressed people often crave carbs. However, the effect wears off and the
serotonin levels can plummet, leaving the person feeling worse than
before. My doc's advice was "pay attention to how many carbs you eat, and
eat no carbs after dinner".

b) Get sunlight. That helps the body produce serotonin.

c) Get exercise. That helps serotonin production, too.

So, there you go. You're doing the exercise part already if you're riding
the bike regularly. If you try to make sure and do the other two items
also, even if you decide that meds are the way to go, maybe you'll manage
with a lower dose.

I hope all this helps.

Donna, Captain, and Stanley (both of whose advice is "dote on kitties,
that's a guaranteed remedy for all ailments")

Hey Catnipped :)

I was wondering if you've ever looked into Feng Shui, I have a friend who
suffers the occasion bout of depression (less and less now but it was severe
a few years ago).  She took a course in Feng Shui and then arranged her home
using its principles for energizing and enhancing aspects of her life.  It
seemed to have worked for her.  She also is a great cat lover and her
instructor taught her how to incorporate the cats' toys, furniture, etc into
her living arrangement to compliment her "power spots". Just a thought.

Also, I noticed in the pictures of your home (by the way, lovely lovely
home, I'm envious:)), that you have a few aquariums, do you spend alot of
time in your office?  Have you thought of putting a small running fountain
in there?  I'm thinking of getting one for my work area.  I travel an
incredible amount and lately it seems to be zapping my energy completely, so
I was thinking the tranquil sounds of a fountain as I work would do wonders.
HEHE now that I've spelt it out, I'm going to get one for my office at work
as well. Cool.

Lots of purrs to you from this little corner of the world, and my dog sends
you a big lick :) the cats send a head nuzzle!

From experience, I believe pneumonia doesn't go away fast, it can takes
months, so part of what you're feeling could be leftovers.  I hope you start
feeling better soon.

Got our two purr machines on duty for you.  Care for a small dollop of
doggie drool (it's the best Scooter can do)?

Sam, closely supervised by Mistletoe

purrs on the way

Lots of purrs are on their way.  I hope life eases up on you soon.
------
Krista

I really wish there was something I could do. Please do not overdo the
biking, 1 hour seems like a lot so soon after you had pneumonia.
Lots and lots of purrs, gentle hugs and best wishes for you to start feeling
much better really soon,

Purrs that you feel better soon.
Suz&Spicey