Ariel's Two Cents

 It's time for an autoimmune update post!  I saw my primary care doctor, Cassandra, yesterday afternoon.  I had to update her on so many different things that I nearly forgot half of it.  Thankfully, Michael was at the appointment with me, so he was able to make sure the things that I forgot about would be mentioned.  This is why it is critically important for support people to be allowed into these appointments.  Most of us with autoimmune disease also have some form of brain fog at the same time.  It's difficult to live with it and even more difficult to manage your chronic illnesses when you're dealing with brain fog, too. Before Cassandra left for a two-week vacation, she messaged me and told me to behave while she was away.  It was a perfectly normal comment for us as we tend to joke about my health and body always causing issues.  She always jokes with love in her heart, never to be mean, rude or disrespectful.  She knows when it'...

 The 4th of July has come and gone now and I'm ready to talk about it.  You see, the 4th of July is usually an awful day for me.  I have complex PTSD from years of trauma and abuse.  One of the many traumatic events I went through was what I call, "The Naked City Shooting", and it has been one of my biggest problems since the day of the shooting.  Immediately after the incident, the sound of fireworks would cause me to cry hysterically, much like a small child who is terrified of something.  It was embarrassing to live life this way, but what was I supposed to do?  How do you undo the damage of trauma?  If it was simple, therapists would not have a yearlong wait list to get services.   In anticipation of the noise, I typically take a clonazepam at around 6 or 7 pm on the night of the 4th of July.  The goal is to be so sedated that no noise wakes me up.  This usually does the trick, in conjunction with my other nighttime medic...