-
Archives
- March 2021
- October 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- August 2016
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
-
Meta
Category Archives: Life Before
The Body and My Body
If asked to guess what holiday is hardest for me, I don’t think Independence Day would top most people’s lists – but it is. Maybe when I say that, though, it comes into focus – really, you couldn’t design a … Continue reading
Posted in Life Before, ME/CFS
Tagged agnosticism, body strings, camp, campsickness, Christmas, Easter, faith, holidays, hugs, Independence Day, life before, music, St. George's
15 Comments
Hindsight
Living with a disease of unknown etiology is, let’s say, problematic. The lack of a well-defined cause stymies efforts toward a cure, and opens up a gaping void that gets filled, at best, with wide-ranging science, but more prosaically with … Continue reading
Posted in Life Before, ME/CFS
Tagged acne, ADD, ankylosing spondylitis, antibiotics, anxiety, childhood, Chimp, cognitive dysfunction, crash, Dad, diagnosis, disability, etiology, history, PCOS, regret, vertigo, work
15 Comments
Prandial Problems
I hated my mother’s bunny jello mold. She bought it before my brother or I were born, thinking that when she had kids, it would be fun to make them bunny-shaped jello. And it probably would have been, for most … Continue reading
Posted in Life Before, ME/CFS, Uncategorized
Tagged beef, bunny, chicken, childhood, Chimp, Dad, fish, food, histamine, jello, lamb, meat, Mom, sleep, vegetarianism, Wahls protocol
33 Comments
Losing My Voice
A conversation at our house recently: “So when you think of things that the illness has cost me, things that were a big part of my identity, things that I loved to do, what’s the first thing that comes to … Continue reading
Posted in Life Before, ME/CFS
Tagged childhood, Chimp, history, Mom, music, performance, singing, stress, symptoms
22 Comments
New Bottle Paranoia Syndrome
One of the things that consistently makes life more exciting around here is my case of New Bottle Paranoia Syndrome. My present state of NBPS has reached its current form because of a long series of unhelpful surprises my body has … Continue reading
Posted in Life Before, ME/CFS, Uncategorized
Tagged ADD, anxiety, depression, freakshow, meds, Mom, panic attacks, Prozac, Ritalin, side effects
23 Comments
And So This is Christmas
Warning: This video contains a lot of disturbing imagery. I know I’m late with this post. Would you believe that trying to have Christmas with the tiny store of energy ME/CFS allows me caused me to run late on writing … Continue reading
Gratitude
One of the more difficult things to deal with about being this ill is the feeling of uselessness imposed by my physical limits. Even as long as I’ve been ill, I’ve never quite gotten over the guilt of not being … Continue reading
Posted in Chimp, Life Before, ME/CFS
Tagged anniversary, arthritis, Chimp, crash, fairness, gratitude, love, Mom, wedding, work
23 Comments
My Secret Identity
An old friend who is a serious comic book collector flattered me recently by likening me to the character Oracle. For those of you, like me, who aren’t intimately familiar with the DC universe, Oracle is the nom de guerre of … Continue reading
Posted in Life Before, ME/CFS
Tagged career, creeping, nostalgia, Oracle, reunion, school, secret identity
113 Comments
One Foot in Front of The Other
I was once a runner. I wasn’t always. I took it up after I left NYU in 1995. I’d been teaching myself to cook at college, and turning out to be unfortunately, deliciously good at it, so the second half of … Continue reading
Posted in Life Before, ME/CFS
Tagged Chimp, diet, exercise, nature, running, treadmill, walking, WFM, wildflowers
30 Comments
Losing My Edge
(Lyrics here.) One day about three years into my illness, when I was still well enough to be working but sick enough to be doing so from home, I met my departing boss – let’s call him Brad – for … Continue reading
Posted in Life Before, ME/CFS
Tagged Chimp, confidence, crash, dizziness, food, sleep, work
32 Comments
