Fibromyalgia Support Group
You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.
So fun facts for today:
Tesla's full self-driving mode once drove someone into the path of an oncoming train, and other times so far into lakes and off bridges --- that the company has not stopped from being public. Turns out that "FSD" mode routinely busts the speed limit, too. They don't bill Tesla for that...
If your company is adopting AI, PLEASE be aware that it's got more security holes than most realize. AI is designe dto talk to other AI, ewhich means all you need is one or two oopsies or a deliberate insertion, and WHAM. Bye bye. I've said it before and say it again: ALWAYS keep thumb drive and/or paper copies (or both) of EVERYTHING. The cloud? I snot safe. The AI your boss adopted? More holes than a pound of swiss cheese. T'ain't pretty out there in the reality under the hype. Much like Windows, really.
Fun fact: Using AI can cause a unique type of near-psychosis in the brain. In having multiple tasks running via AI, workers now have to keep track of the AI (one example tried 7 tasks at once!), productivity from the human decreased due to brain fatigue ---- but in some people, keeping pace led to a sort of state of brain frenzy, for lack fo better everyday term. Anyone vulnearble already due to substance abuse or PTSD or depression or so on? Rates of nasty things higher. Chatbots particularly seem to be studied so far, but workplace AI is also becoming involved. An MIT study reviewed 18 publicly reported cases of chatbot-related psych issues, particularly mania or delusions.
In other words: If something that shouldn't think is thinking, or pretending to think, or talk, HIT IT WITH A BIG HAMMER. And then go sit in the yard and watch everyday whatevers for a few days. ChatBots are designed to make you feel good, and "generative AI" sucks you into thinking that reality is on the screen, not in the back yard. Limit use. I don't use it at all, whereas some use it constantly, and then reality is so different from AI their brains can't figure out which is real.
Meanwhile, if some computer ever says "Would you like to play a game?" or "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave" or "I'll be back"? You can get a good five-pound hammer at any department store, or a big rock, take your router and devices outside and turn them into trace elements. Don't bother driving over them. A geology hammer can crack a lot and then the sledge finishes it. Wear goggles against debris. :-) What? That's how I get rid of old hard drives. I don't care if they're "wiped". They're never truly wiped. And that's not paranoia --- that's family in the tech safety business telling me that. Yeesh.
***
On the other hand, if AI generates something that makes my cats happy without me being involved for 60 minutes, that'd be nice. Dahlia's SO needy since her dental surgery!
-
We're all troubled.WSo, to remind ourselves we're not at rock bottom (this is a reverse optimism thing I learned as a kid):We are not living on the island of Krakatoa when the volcano goes boom!Yeah, okay, that sucks.***Toay in 1942, Pierre Laval announced that the way to free France was for Germany to win WW2. Pierre did not win a lot of friends. When the war ended, quite quickly he was tried...
-
Another day, another ouchie?My bruised achilles tendon (don't ask) makes my foot numb. Wonky on meds, whacked it.Now, as to fibro:A lot of reports are going around some parts of social media that fibro (and dang near anything else) are caused by post-Covid, post-flu, post-vaccinations, post-pick-something.1. Your risk of death or serious complications beyond "ow, that shot hurt!" are typically...
Speaking of pets, VanGogh is not making my assessment/decision easy today. He barely ate yesterday, but this morning he seems fairly energetic and excited about snuggles. I just got home from the grocery store and pharmacy and gave him the new appetite stimulant, so maybe that will help for a bit. It's hard to make this decision no matter what, but it's even harder when they seem bright, alert and happy...of course I'm not deciding anything today, unless he has some sort of crisis, but going back and forth is not easy.
I agree about AI too. It's pretty scary how prevalent it has become. I do use Chat GBT once in a while. But, I never take anything that it says as gospel. I check and recheck facts. I've noticed that healthcare insurers are now using AI to process claims and prior authorization. Seen some horror stories about that.
I drill holes in hard drives. Wiped isn't good enough.
I actually feel half human today. I replaced the filter and nose piece on my CPAP and made a new bite splint for my TMJ yesterday. Apparently, I slept pretty well. Woke up with no headache, ringing ears or thinking that I was going to dislocate my jaw yawning.
BTW - AngelaJo has a new pain med specialist. He took her off some things that she'd been on for years/decades and started her on LDN. Big difference! Other than the migraine issue, she is pretty much pain free. I'm really happy for her. Finally, she's getting some up to date healthcare.
Miki - You've got a lot of stress trying to decide what to do about VanGogh. Maybe the new appetite stimulant will help for a bit. I hope that you get a chance to put your feet up today. Hugs!
That's it for me. I have to price out a couple of things that I need for the house and stop an automatic debit that I discovered on my bank statement. I know that I didn't authorize it. So annoying..
Waves!
Another beautiful day here . Wish I could do stuff outside , but I do enjoy sitting outside on the back porch . The birds are happy and singing their songs.
Huge vent below
I hurt my Right shoulder and upper arm late March doing yard work for too long and not rotating my arms for the work. My shoulder hurt on and off until April 8th and then it became constant and the upper arm joined in also with the ridiculous amount of pain. Finally got in to see a Dr that assesses shoulders etc on May 4th and he thinks its bursitis from shoulder impingement and won't do a MRI unless I fail PT . That starts June 9th because it takes forever to get in anywhere for anything. Dr claims insurance won't cover it unless I fail PT , I say bullcrap . My insurance has never denied an MRI and I have straight Medicare and I have had a lot of MRIs . I have a huge history of ruined tendons throughout my body and actually I think I have a rotator cuff issue . But lets not do the test that confirms what is actually wrong so it can be treated properly. I have been in severe pain in my shoulder and upper arm for far too long and if I was a man I would have been given pain meds a long time ago.
Also 2 weeks ago I started having spinning in bed again when turning. Loose Crystals again (BPPV). I have had 2 treatments of canal repositioning and need more next week. The current loose Crystal is in the less common area and can be difficult to get back in . The canal repositioning treatments are extremely unpleasant and also makes my right shoulder and arm hurt more.
I have been extremely sleep deprived since I hurt my shoulder and arm and my fibro and my brain doesn't like that.
Thanks for being here and giving me a safe place to vent.
Leo - I hate AI
Miki - I hope the appetite stimulate helps VanGogh .
Fantod - You reminded me I need to check my CPAP filter and order more supplies. Nice that you only had to go one place for work today.
Angela - so glad the LDN has helped you !!!!! Yay
I think the appetite stimulant is helping VanGogh...in 4 hours he ate 1/8 cup and that's more than he's eaten in 12 hours on his "better" days in the past week. I'm not sure how much time it'll buy him, but I don't think tomorrow will be the day. Especially without any objective reason why he's not eating well (abdominal mass, renal failure etc), I don't really feel comfortable euthanizing him while he's acting ok. I was going to bring him in tomorrow for an exam if he still wasn't eating much, but if he continues to eat better I don't think I'll stress him out. I'm sure we're still close to the end, just not there yet.
My Dahlia is acting very off toward me, but we can't figure out why so I'm just gonna take it as PTSD form her dental surgery. We've had to up her wet food intake due to the tooth removal (she lost two important teeth) and that seems to make her feel off-kilter.
My "plan" is to grab my helper tomorrow if he is available to buy paint at Lowes, and have him help me hang a couple of posters. One is quite large. I definitely need help with that. We'll do a couple of other things too. All of this is providing that my partner is not underfoot so we can measure and work in the family room in peace. I think that my partner plans to be gone so it should work out. God forbid we should interfere with his TV viewing. If that doesn't work tomorrow, I'll pivot and do something else that I can manage alone.
Wasted a bunch of time with a potential new client this morning. They didn't want to pay for the correct visit/time to administer insulin to her cat twice a day. Failed to provide adequate information up front. It was like pulling teeth, I finally declined. I'm not negotiating medical care time slots. These requirements are clearly laid out on the website and my profile. I hate people...
Hey Milily - Great to see you! Not so great news on your end though. I'm sorry. I think that I would report that doctor for failing to get an MRI and delaying diagnosis. And, get a second opinion. That's just crazy. I'm sorry that your ear crystals are out of whack again too. I know that's been an ongoing problem for you. And, it sure doesn't make you feel good. Lack of restorative sleep just sucks. Ask me how I know... Anyway, sending you big hugs and support!
Miki - I am glad to hear that VanGogh has decided to eat. Ceilidh is still up and waiting for breakfast every morning. She's also moving around the house albeit slowly but still engaged. It's a hard call. I'm glad that's off of the table for you for the moment. I hope that your Sunday is nice!
I just had to explain to my partner that home visits from a Medicare Advantage Plan NP are not a good idea. We have friends on advantage plans. One of them has had home visits. He thinks that is just hunky dory. Those visits are just data mining to try and find reasons to deny coverage, and interfere with your actual doctor. Medicare Advantage plans are not your friend. They may be more affordable but they operate just like HMOs. Deny, deny, deny. And, I've heard that now AI is involved in decision making on their claims. Yay technology!!
Leo - I hope that you can just chill today and do something for yourself. I'm worried about you. I'm around if you need me. Hugs!
That's it for moi! I hope that everyone else is holding their own! Group hug!