Rant: Victim versus Survivor

I need to start this rant out with a disclaimer.  I'm not the sickest person with Addison's and Hypothyroidism you've ever met.  I'm not particularly smart.  I DO have an attitude and a passion for helping people with AI. I DO have a good quality of life despite taking meds 5 or 6 times a day.

Runners, you might want to sit this one out.  It's an Addison's rant that might bore you...

I spend a great deal of my time and energy answering questions on my forum, fielding phone calls, exchanging texts and responding to personal emails regarding Addison's Disease.  I've been doing this for over three years now and I'm noticing a trend.

Some people ask me for advice or information.  They print out the info, read it, learn it and pass it on to their doctor (via paper or verbally).  They then do research to round out their understanding and tailor their knowledge to their own experience.  They make some effort to conform to the habits that people with Addison's Disease need to follow (as backed up by medical research, not just opinion).  They post to my forum, call, email or text me with new information that sometimes contradicts the info that I've given them and sometimes dovetails nicely.  I learn from these people.  They are the survivors, they are the people who get well or, at the very least, handle their circumstances as they come along.  They fight like hell.

Oh, the victims, just the thought of the HOURS and DAYS I've spent providing information to these people made me sigh aloud!  They are apparently too ill to print out the medical studies that I've researched and linked for them.  It's too much work to print it out, let alone read it, understand it and take the info to their doctor.  They are too ill to beg someone to print out the link for them also.  They are too tired to find someone to be an advocate for them.  Apparently contacting me and asking me question after question (which they promptly dismiss outright or just ignore), might have magical powers and cause them to be well.  Ugh, I've even offered to talk and give info to a partner but it's too much effort for the partner to call me and collect information for the sick person.  I understand how it feels to be sick and unable to do much for months at a time.  There's no way to get well if you have doctors who are mistreating you because you won't inform yourself.  NO WAY.  It seems that often doctors cause a cascade of problems for people with AI and treat symptom after symptom with drug after drug, causing the inevitable extended hospital stay and prolonged pneumonia (seems to be really common for people with AI).

Don't be a victim.  Read about your diseases and how they are best treated.  Experiment within reason on your own to see what works for you and your body.  Get deficient hormones replaced to normal, MIDRANGE NORMAL, ranges!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  There's absolutely no way you can stop being a victim without learning and understanding your diseases.

The best way to start?  Read the medscape.com summary of your diseases.  PRINT THEM OUT.  Ask people who have the diseases what they do and see if it's reasonable for you to emulate what they do (with a doctor's permission).  Be a freaking survivor, damn it!

If you want to be a victim or martyr, please evaluate your motives.  Are you "happy" in the victim role?  Is it "easy" for you?  Are you scared to have a life outside of sickness?  Do you think that getting well means being confrontational with doctors (IF YOU BELIEVE THIS LOAD OF SHIT, YOU ARE VERY, VERY WRONG.  Getting testing and treatment you need with doctors can be done nicely and so that they don't even notice.)?  Do you just fear change?  If the victim talk made you mad and you can relate to it, think about your motives for staying a victim and see if any hit home.  

Start doing and become a survivor.  Stop being a victim. 

GET WELL AND LIVE.

Shit you see on a run

This is a license plate that I saw a couple of weeks ago.  I think it's a really good motto for all people, healthy and chronically ill (like me!).  For two years now, since February 13, 2010, I've been walking a mile a day minimum.  A mile a day might not seem like much but it adds up to 730 miles over the last two years. Because my friend Steve has inspired me with his 400 day running streak, I've upped the ante and I'll be RUNNING one mile a day.  I really, really encourage you to start your own exercise streak.  If you set your goals attainable enough, you can feel like you're accomplishing something when you streak!

Below are some random pictures of what I've seen during my walks and runs.  Enjoy!

Yeah, this guy was at the gym but being at the gym and sitting on a ball doesn't make you lose weight or get in shape.  You have to Move It!!!!!!!

My husband is a Giants fan, I took this for him.

Really?  Only one girl?

Mole cricket, ewww.

I haven't found any money at all during my runs here.  A 4GB thumb drive, working lighters, etc but no money.  I  LOVE finding money.  Well, I was having a bad day and found this haul over a couple of miles! Finding money will turn your day around.

This is pathetic and I'm going to email the county about it.

Yes, I'm pervy.  I call this, Unintentional Statue Porn.

So many turtles in the waterways.  Very cool!

A nice, fresh bong.  I could have smoked up right then and there if I had any dope.

Funny, I was thinking about Barkley when I found this.  At Barkley, you have to rip pages from books (with appropriate titles) as assurance that you've completed the entire course.  This one, "If Tomorrow Comes."  Appropriate for Barkley!

This person needs to revise the writing on the sign!

From a morning run, very different view than I'm used to for the last 25 years.  I'm not complaining, just pointing it out.