*There's always someone worse off than you...but that doesn't mean that your pain doesn't count*

Friday, September 17, 2010

Lupus commercial????!!!

So at this point, I'm used to CONSTANTLY seeing those lyrica commercials that continuously remind me of the amazing medication for all of the pain of fibromyalgia I have that it didn't help.  Not that its not an amazing medication (I have friends that it just worked wonders for and that's awesome!).  But personally, I cant help but getting bummed out and changing the channel every time I see the commercial.  I don't think its the lyrica...I think its just the constant commercial about Fibro and I love the awareness but its still frustrating.

So this morning I was sitting in front of the mirror getting ready for a business trip I didn't end up taking because I was in too much pain.  Lately it's been every joint, but doesn't stop there.  Especially my legs but sometimes my arms...feels like my bones are from my hips to my toes and from my shoulders to fingers, exploding from the inside out! Ok maybe a better way to describe it is I completely broke my foot about 2 years ago and about a month in...that still sharp if I step on it but constantly nagging sore and strong pain that you can't get out of your head.  I know realistically its probably the muscles/tendons/etc. surrounding the bone, but boy it feels like my bones just hate me!!!  Anyway - I finally thought I would be able to get out of bed this week to get to this meeting that's about 2 hours away in our other office, but after I did my hair and my meds kicked in...still felt like I hadn't taken anything.  When it gets like that, pushing on the brakes on my car is so painful, I decided driving wasnt in the cards this morning.

So anyway for some odd reason I think CNN or one of those strictly news channels was on - I usually turn a music channel on in the morning, but was too lazy to find the remote.  They were talking about social media marketing anyway which is one of the things I do for a living so I figured, eh...I can consider this working right?  Then I'm looking in the mirror and a commercial comes on and I hear..."my joints hurt so bad I wake up in pain every day"...ok...could be that RA commercial...so I keep listening..."I wanna know why my hair is falling out" - ouch.  Makes me think back to 2 nights ok sitting in the shower crying as I picked up clumps of hair from clogging the drain...then pulled off handfulls from my hairbrush...ok now you have my attention a little more..."a little pain in my knee...that's how it started"...wow same here..huh...this is weird.  Not a commercial I've heard before...but sounding so familiar...I still didn't look up at the tv. Then "this rash on my face?" - which I don't have much problem with thankfully...but that got my attention immediately to look up at the tv in time to see a girl...25...my age say "It feels like my body is attacking me". Finishing with a woman saying when you don't have answers it may be time to ask the right question - and back to the girl on the examining table - "Could I have lupus?"

So I was stunned.  Before I was diagnosed, I had hardly heard anything about this disease let alone seen any commercials about it.  And now...long awaiting a diagnosis but only 2 months in...here's this commercial describing everything seemingly out of nowhere staring me in the face.  For the first time, I didn't have the urge to throw up and turn it off as quickly as possible, but thought...wow - thank God.  This disease needs all the attention it can get and this commercial should play as much as the fibro one!  Granted, its a PSA from the lupus foundation of america, not a pharmaceutical company but I was actually happy about it!

Anyway, sorry for the babbling, but usually I hate the tv reminders...I feel so distant from them.  But this one I felt connected to!  Here's the link to the PSA's - the one I saw was the last one (multicultural) so be sure to check it out.

http://www.lupus.org/newsite/pages/ad-council-psa.html

Hope you all are doing well..i've been really sick so I haven't had much time or energy to post.  I know its hard on days like these for me...but I'm trying to think of the good things...and trying to stay distracted.  Have a great weekend :)