Sparkling With Crystals

Live Nine Lives

2011-12-18T00:16:00.000-06:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

2011-11-17T12:11:00.001-06:00

Have you thanked a Druid today? I have. :)

2011-11-03T17:48:00.001-05:00

Inspired by Aeryseth & The Dragons, I've gotten out my historical fiction novel for November Novel Month. Early Tudor period, 1526.

2011-10-22T11:56:00.001-05:00

Oh yeah - glad we all made it through the end of the world again.

Do Seed Companies Control GM Crop Research?: Scientific American

2011-09-22T05:00:00.000-05:00

"For a decade their user agreements have explicitly forbidden the use of the seeds for any independent research. Under the threat of litigation, scientists cannot test a seed to explore the different conditions under which it thrives or fails. They cannot compare seeds from one company against those from another company. And perhaps most important, they cannot examine whether the genetically modified crops lead to unintended environmental side effects." Scientific American article by the editors, online, August 13, 2009

This is not a new article but it's news to me. As I was reading, corn popped into my head. Corn is regulated by the FDA as a pesticide - a pesticide - due to genetic modifications that cause the GMO corn blooms to disperse insect-killing chemicals into the air that were bred into the plant predecessors.

Has any research been done on the effects of this pestilential corn, just for example? Only research approved by the breeders of the seed is released.

Please read the article. If you have any interest in non-GMO foods, please consider contacting your Congresspersons about it.

Do Seed Companies Control GM Crop Research?: Scientific American

2011-09-06T19:13:00.001-05:00

Made it thru the storm, we're fine, lost another tree. Phone came back early YAY but probably no power for days. Yay gas stove! :D

Sharethis: Severe Solar Storms Could Disrupt Earth This Decade: NOAA - International Business Times

2011-08-08T22:43:00.000-05:00

"In a huge solar storm back in 1859, telegraph offices worldwide were hit, some telegraph operators reported electric shocks, the telegraph systems malfunctioned and even paper caught fire."

Paper caught fire??? Don't anyone tell me that solar activity can't possibly affect a person's energy system: brain, spinal column, nervous system, and subtle energy body.

I've tracked solar activity and compared it to my Meniere's and migraine attacks. Can't be more clear that certain levels of solar activity trigger neurological events in me.

If you've got the records to back up your triggers, then you've got the records.

My problem with solar activity right now is that I can't find a way to counter it. I love the sunshine too much to move underground. And aluminum foil deflector beanies do not work.

I've got documentation on that too. XD

Severe Solar Storms Could Disrupt Earth This Decade: NOAA - International Business Times
Severe Solar Storms Could Disrupt Earth This Decade: NOAA - International Business Times Source: ibtimes.com The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency that focuses on the condition of the oceans and atmosphere, said that a severe solar storm could cause global chaos, wreck satellite communications and take down the most important power grids in the world for a period of years.

Parin Stormlaughter sent this using ShareThis.

2011-06-19T12:01:00.001-05:00

Attn Fathers: If your first family doesn't love you as much as your other families, YOU GOT WORK TO DO. Not them, YOU.

Come Join the Fun! The Johnson Method of Shooting Fish in a Barrel

2011-06-16T00:23:00.001-05:00

Edit: More information about Michael Johnson and www.txchronicpain.com
Another interesting Facebook thread.

************************************************************

The Johnson Method of Shooting Fish in a Barrel

Please consider following Mary Shomon if you have any thyroid issues, think you might, or if you know someone who does. She does a comprehensive job of tackling thyroid conditions from as many angles as she can find, and she finds more every day.

If you have time, read through all the threads associated with The Johnson Method of Shooting Fish in a Barrel. This is the sort of thing we all must do to help alert each other to the dangers that lurk.

Yes, I have thyroid disease. I have eleven thyroid nodules and have had two biopsies. I expect to be referred for a third next time I see my endocrinologist.

Copyright 2008-2011 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Open Letter to Christian Fortune Tellers

2011-06-06T01:30:00.000-05:00

Dear Christian Fortune Tellers:

God has not called me to suffer on your behalf; however, due to your insistence on publicizing what you believe to be the Mind of God, which in fact has proven you not to be prophets, I am suffering grievously.

If you purport to have knowledge not contained in the inerrant Word of God, such as His opinion on minorities you don't like, the date of the end of the age, and permission to burn writings of other religions for nothing more than notoriety's sake, explain your discernment process and identify your brethren who have assisted you in this process.

When you put yourself above the spreading of the Gospel, an action which is not in the Mind of God and never will be, you endanger simple praying Christians LIKE ME.

There are many people who would love to see me dangle. They torment me when people insert themselves into the Good News and spread themselves instead of the Gospel. It makes every day into Christmas Eve night for them.

I neither ask for nor deserve to feel frightened when any kook puts me in danger for any reason. Just as God hasn't stopped any of you from acting like idiots, He is highly unlikely to stop anyone from doing anything including wrongdoing towards me.

I call on Harold Camping, Westboro Baptist Church, and Terry Jones to either clearly disclose the discernment process which leads you to believe your actions are the Mind of God, or to cease and desist from your current behavior which endangers the faithful like me.

Sincerely yours,

Parin Stormlaughter

Copyright 2008-2011 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Ok, ok....

2011-05-26T11:41:00.000-05:00

Snake oil made by snakes is very likely excellent for snakes, and reptiles in general. Modern-day snake oil is unlikely to contain any snake at all, which is probably why it is ineffective for anything except the revenues of the snake oil salesman.

Snakes rule.

Copyright 2008-2011 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

2011-05-21T06:46:00.001-05:00

Now a pack of semi-sentient dimwits are after me. Sheesh. You get to guess whether they're Christian or Pagan. I'm off to pray.

ShareThis: Why Almost Everything You Hear About Medicine Is Wrong - Newsweek

2011-05-12T06:34:00.000-05:00

"The upshot for consumers: medical wisdom that has stood the test of time—and large, randomized, controlled trials—is more likely to be right than the latest news flash about a single food or drug." Sharon Begley, author of the News Week online article

Ladies and gentlemen, I rest the case I began to make when I started the Sparkling With Crystals blog.

It'll be three years ago next Monday when my father died. I knew he was dying. I believe he himself knew he was dying. Starting at the end of April, he would ask me the date of my younger daughter's high school graduation every day or two. We buried him on a Monday, and she matriculated on Wednesday. He hung on until classes were over. All she had left was cap-and-gown day.

I had watched the finest medical research to be had on this Earth keep my father alive but unwell for 18 years. He was awfully sick when he died. He had two separate and unrelated cancers, one of which had metastasized; he had Type II diabetes; he had high blood pressure; he was depressed; he had developed what I've seen called chemo-brain; he even had a bedsore. He was very, very sick for the last two years of his life, and unwell since his prostate diagnosis when he was 56. He delayed surgery and starting his treatment for about six months. I want to write that story some day.

For the vast, overwhelming duration of his life after his diagnosis he was sick, tired, hurting, suffering, oppressed, and so were we.

I was ready to change to a new direction in managing my health. I was not improving, my father did in fact die of the disease that the urologist treating his cancer had told him would not kill him -- so, I closed my eyes and jumped on rocks.

Using what Western medicine considers alternative and complementary treatments were old hat to me. It's one of those family stories, my brother teasing me about my homemade 'oils and unguents, salves and balms' when we were teenagers.

I knew from simple public school history classes that all ages have dealt with snake oil. The Age of Reason produced some of the most interesting medical reading: If the explanation and/or treatment for an illness sounded right to the prominent doctors of the day, it must be right and was exempt from further discussion. To challenge or deviate from the "what sounds right" path was to collect little more than scorn, desperate cases, and less money.

Faith and funding of the wise-woman or cunning-man healers has waxed and waned. The Church had valid spiritual reasons to oppose healing which utilized methods not in line with Church teaching. I recommend Witches, Midwives, and Nurses (Second Edition): A History of Women Healers by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English. Seeing this topic from both sides, it's clear that the Church saw sick souls as spiritually at risk when consulting healers who worked with non-human spiritual and energetic beings. And it's plain risky no matter how well you believe you are able to protect yourself from the fully sentient beings' agendas. As well, they're unnecessary. Perhaps convenient, but nothing is free in this world. Make a deal with the devil and you will pay the price. You will. God Himself will see to it that you do unless you repent.

Anyway...

I had made up my mind that I wouldn't explore or share traditional healing techniques that had not withstood the test of time. No trying things like packing open wounds with fresh horse dung for me. I've never had an interest in dealing in incorporeal beings to accomplish what I was after. Even angels work for God, not for me, so I don't talk to them or to demons either one.

God gave us logical minds and doesn't appreciate when we're so open-minded that our brains fall out. New ways to use the ancient techniques that worthily continued to be taught to succeeding generations are assuredly worthy of being considered.

When I started this blog, I had planned-out and considered standards for what I would do and what I would not do, is what I mean.

Now, a clear and well-written article that was no doubt planned to stir the pot (or cauldron, as the case may be) has been published that substantiates my personal belief that much of what Western doctors give us orders to take, do, and submit to are nothing more than...wait for it...

Snake oil.

Please read the attached article. Consider your own health, the regimens you follow, the advice, prescriptions, protocols, and pharmaceuticals that your health consultants order. Decide what you will and will not do. And keep in mind:

When someone dies from a Western medical treatment during a study or afterwards, he or she has in fact died. That information is the least likely to be published, least likely to be known to your doctor, and possibly never accessible by anyone looking for it.
Age of Reason thinking has not withstood the test of time. Simply seeming to be correct isn't enough of a reason to chose any medical treatment no matter the source.
Cutting edge is not necessarily better or wiser. Ecclesiastes is always there to remind us that there is nothing new under the sun.
If your logical mind can't wrap around anything you read or hear from anyone, take that seriously. Talk with others and continue to study until you can figure out why.
Be strong in your belief system, whatever it may be. You will not be able to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong to you if you are not solid in what you believe.

And know that the Sparkling One never gives medical advice and most assuredly wouldn't dream of diagnosing anyone with anything. She hasn't cured herself yet, so she's not coming anywhere near you. :)


Why Almost Everything You Hear About Medicine Is Wrong - Newsweek Source: newsweek.com If you follow the news about health research, you risk whiplash. First garlic lowers bad cholesterol, then—after more study—it doesn’t. Hormone replacement reduces the risk of heart disease in postmenopausal women, until a huge study finds that it doesn’t (and that it raises the risk of breast cancer to boot). Eating a big breakfast cuts your total daily calories, or not—as a study released last week finds. Yet even if biomedical research can be a fickle guide, we rely on it. But what if wrong a...

Parin Stormlaughter sent this using ShareThis.

2011-04-30T23:38:00.001-05:00

Power's back on. Things would have been quite different had it not been for the help of Most Excellent Assistant Offspring & future SIL.

2011-04-28T17:35:00.001-05:00

Got dial-up even with no power! But, laptop battery will soon give out so I'm off again. We're fine, lost two trees, love you all.

2011-04-28T17:34:00.001-05:00

AHA!

2011-04-27T00:34:00.001-05:00

Next: sling-shots with rolled-up socks. This man is my hero. http://ping.fm/D9uED

2011-04-01T05:47:00.001-05:00

Have you fallen on your knees before God to thank him for Old Path Druids today? I DID. And I thanked the Druids too.

Parin Stormlaughter has shared: Migraine Research Foundation

2011-03-01T17:07:00.000-06:00

This is an interesting article. Read between the lines.

The opening paragraphs are telling. It seems that the Migraine Research Foundation went into this ready to conclusively prove that morphine is bad for migraine treatment. The study results did not support that hypothesis.

Basically, the study did not prove its hypothesis but justified its existence through other interesting findings. The whole article is interesting if you're an egg-head like me. Continue to scroll down for other research projects and results if you're interested.

There will come a point in time when guidelines will state that opioids should not be prescribed for migraine treatment unless a well-managed and effective prevention regimen is also present.

What must happen before migraine treatment reaches that point:

Extensive and effective data-mining must be performed to clearly and unequivocally measure the effects of triptan usage. The data-mining must include locating the number of stroke and other cardiovascular event patients who were treated with triptans within 72 of the discovery of the event. If patients were not specifically asked about triptan usage prior to the event, that must be clearly noted as well. It must include locating the history of triptan usage by people identified as having MRI/CT lesions of people who also have migraine.
Well-designed data-mining studies must locate and clearly establish the effects of prevention regimens in patients who have opioids in their attack management plans.

These things must be kept in the forefront of the minds of everyone who has migraine, lives and works with migraineurs, studies migraine, or treats migraine:

No one has ever fallen over dead from one proper opioid dosage for migraine; however, people have fallen dead from ONE dose of a triptan
Until the effect of triptan administration on stroke and other cardiovascular patients has been thoroughly data-mined and further studied, nothing else is worth study
Nothing can or will take the place of prevention of attacks.


Migraine Research Foundation Source: migraineresearchfoundation.org

Parin Stormlaughter sent this using ShareThis.

Shared: Reporter's on-air gibberish was due to migraine - Entertainment - Television - TODAYshow.com

2011-02-18T01:08:00.000-06:00

What a sight. What a teaching moment for migraine!

I have migraine. When this happens to me (and it has), I simply have to stop talking. It's an odd sensation, not to be able to make your mouth form the words you want to say.

Best wishes and good luck for Serene Branson. The article says that she's no stranger to migraine. I send her gentle hugs.


Reporter's on-air gibberish was due to migraine - Entertainment - Television - TODAYshow.com Source: today.msnbc.msn.com KCBS-TV reporter Serene Branson was doing a stand-up Sunday when her words became incoherent. She was examined by paramedics after her broadcast and went home to recover.

Parin Stormlaughter sent this using ShareThis.

Open Response to a Doctor Who was Well-Treated by a Fellow Doctor

2011-02-13T10:18:00.000-06:00

"Have you had similar experiences when a healthcare provider went the extra mile to show you they cared?"

Nope.

You're another doctor and you are acquainted with the fellow doctor you saw. He felt guilty when he saw you in the gym and remembered he had not gotten back in touch with you. What, do you think he'd have risked ignoring you in front of the others in the gym? Or horrors, what if you'd approached him first??

I'm a toadstool with many signs but in all the wrong places. I don't have a gym membership nor money for one. I'm not long-time friends with doctors.

You're a doctor who was cared for by his office staff with attention and respect because doctor's offices close ranks. I make low-cost home-made treatments for myself from plants I forage out of the woods or with rocks from the dirt.

I'm terribly sorry you've got something to deal with health-wise. It's true, the old saying that if you have your health, you have everything.

But it's great to be you, isn't it?

Sincerely,

The Sagittarius Sun of Cynical, Sarcastic Bluntness

Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

2011-01-28T16:08:00.001-06:00

Outstanding analysis from Diana Lee. If you've ever felt like an unwilling doctor's guinea pig... http://ping.fm/3xLA2

Sharethis: NBA bans Dwyane Wade's migraine goggles - CBSSports.com

2011-01-28T09:39:00.000-06:00

In the workplace, reasonable accommodation regulations creates a level playing field for otherwise successful employees who need devices in order to perform work properly.

I believe Dwayne Wade would more than qualify as successful employee. Migraine is most assuredly a disabling condition for which a number of devices have been developed which promote productivity.

I'd go to bat for him if I were coach, so to speak.

Please read the short article. Thanks to @themigrainegirl on Twitter for sharing.


NBA bans Dwyane Wade's migraine goggles - CBSSports.com Source: cbssports.com

Parin Stormlaughter sent this using ShareThis.

The Trauma of Migraine and Meniere's Attacks

2011-01-24T20:00:00.000-06:00

It has become clear to me over the last year, which I've spent working closely on emotional hygiene, that I've vastly underestimated the trauma of both migraine and Meniere's attacks that are part of the events.

I don't feel up to drawing a picture for you of the trauma of these attacks as I experience it. I dealt with a combination migraine/Meniere's attack over the weekend. I'm not over it yet another attack cycle has started. Thanks be to God this attack appears to be migraine only and not a combination attack.

Some months ago, I determined that I would take a dose of the Bach Flower Remedy (BFR) called Rescue Remedy each time I treated an attack with medicine. It has helped enough that I see now I should consider taking a dose for every attack whether I treat it with medicine or ride it out with complementary treatments. I've got a good preventative medicine regimen that's reduced the intensity of the pain significantly, quite well enough to make the expense of the drugs and their side effects worthwhile.

Attack trauma has contributed to my lack of function and neither Valium nor Effexor addresses it sufficiently. The support I get from Twitter and Facebook friends who endure the same thing is priceless. There's a problem when I need help immediately and no one is around and yes, this makes me needy. I state it clearly here now.

I've got all 38 of the BFR and several extremely good books including the comprehensive The Encyclopedia of Bach Flower Therapy by Mechtild Scheffer. This book is not for beginners but once a person is familiar with the way the Remedy system works, it's well worth a purchase.

There are hundreds of flower remedies available. Bach Flower Remedies do not work the way any of them work. BFRs require effort on the part of both a patient and practitioner, if one goes that route; however, for me the simplicity is so encouraging and the results so long lasting that I knew it was for me.

Right now, I'm overreacting because I've mislaid my Encyclopedia. I've taken a dose of Rescue Remedy along with Indocin for the attack cycle that just started. I need to make up what's called a dosage bottle but it'll have to wait until I can find my Encyclopedia.

Who knows? One day when I'm well, I might include training as a Bach Flower Remedy practitioner when I finish my Master's in Transpersonal Studies.

As always, if anyone doesn't understand the hoopla of migraine, Meniere's Syndrome, fibromyalgia, and triggered attacks like that, I'll be glad to give you my take on it. Please comment and we'll talk. The comments are moderated just to keep out spam. I'm still getting Asian porn spam and that just doesn't do it for me. LOL

Bottom line is that I'm going to work more closely this year with the trauma aspect of attacks. BFR Star of Bethlehem, which is one of the components of Rescue Remedy, is for long-term trauma even if it occurred decades ago. The less trauma I experience and the more aggressively I treat what's already happened, the more function I believe I'll regain. Every crumb of function is worth fighting for like a pit bull.

Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

2010-12-31T15:54:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! The Onion Radio - American Bar Association Recalls 230,000 defective lawyers. http://ping.fm/ZARWB

And now for something completely different...

2010-12-22T02:34:00.001-06:00

Cattell's 16 Factor Test Results

Warmth	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	74%
Intellect	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Emotional Stability	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	46%
Aggressiveness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	54%
Liveliness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	46%
Dutifulness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	66%
Social Assertiveness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	62%
Sensitivity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Paranoia	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	46%
Abstractness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	86%
Introversion	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	34%
Anxiety	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	26%
Openmindedness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	82%
Independence	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	86%
Perfectionism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	62%
Tension	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	46%

Take Cattell 16 Factor Test (similar to 16pf)
personality tests by similarminds.com

Cattell's 16 Factor Key

Factor: low score - high score

Warmth: cold, selfish - supportive, comforting

Intellect: instinctive, unstable - cerebral, analytical

Emotional Stability irritable, moody - level-headed, calm

Aggressiveness modest, docile - controlling, tough

Liveliness somber, restrained - wild, fun loving

Dutifulness untraditional, rebellious - conforming, traditional

Social Assertiveness shy, withdrawn - uninhibited, bold

Sensitivity coarse, tough - touchy, soft

Paranoia trusting, easy going - wary, suspicious

Abstractness practical, regular - strange, imaginative

Introversion open, friendly - private, quiet

Anxiety confident, self assured - fearful, self-doubting

Open-mindedness closeminded, set-in-ways - curious, exploratory

Independence outgoing, social - loner, craves solitude

Perfectionism disorganized, messy - orderly, thorough

Tension relaxed, cool - stressed, unsatisfied

[Tough] Love beats Hate: Are you still wiggling?

2010-11-27T06:17:00.000-06:00

Whew. Now that the situation that moved me to want to participate in the blogger event Love Beats Hate seems to have calmed to a simmer, I feel better about sharing.

Love Beats Hate is a movement organized by Diana Lee of Somebody Heal Me and Jeanne of Chronic Healing.

How to list all the reasons a person might have for interacting with the world in any given manner!

My reputation seems to precede me occasionally. Other times I get pecked by the least little rooster chicks. A little rooster came after me the other day and it took every bit of love in my heart not to squash him like a bug. By the end he had pretty much exposed all of himself that there was to see, and the show was over. He'll learn eventually.

If you were there, you saw this. If you weren't, it's gone now. It was a classic example of discernment.

Parin Stormlaughter I have become doctor phobic. Just the thought of a doctor visit sends me spiraling.

[rooster] OH boy, here we go again with the mighty storm laugher! REALLY? Your life is spiraling out of control not just your head! Mary Jane is gonna get her fired and doctors are evil. I would ask what you do endorse but your political views are waaay too obvious. [Original Poster] is my homie and I dont want your toxic ooze in my community. I wish there was a captain storm slaughter abortive pill we could all take, or you would hop in your fairy costume and fly the fuck outta here.

Parin Stormlaughter LOL go smoke a bowl, [rooster].

When I saw this, I hadn't the foggiest notion what this fellow was talking about. I'm retired on disability pension so there is nothing for me to get "fired" from. [Original Poster] and I have participated in a couple of chronic illness online support communities for a number of years. She knows me. No idea what community he thinks I'll be oozing toxicity into.

It seems he has associated me with a political view on cannabis. Where on earth he got that is beyond me as well. Anyone who reads my blog is quite aware that I consider plants to be premier medicines, foods, companions in their own way - but, until Federal law changes, cannabis is illegal to grow and/or possess in all 50 states. And you can bet that if I wanted to utilize cannabis, I'd grow it myself. There is not a professional cannabis farm that grows organic cannabis on a large scale. They're likely to use just as many chemical pesticides, weed killers, chemical fertilizers and whatnot as any other non-organic farmer. Who knows? There may be a "Round-up ready" cannabis seed out there. Not for me. I use organic for virtually every plant that goes into my body. If cannabis ever becomes legal and I decide to try it, I'll grow my own thank you very much.

The discussion is moot. I'm not spending any time thinking about cannabis. There are plenty more plants for me to explore that I can legally grow myself, or that will grow wild without a bit of work from me.

[participant] Well that's original!

Parin Stormlaughter [rooster's] just mad because I keep denying his friend requests.

[rooster] Anybody want a good laugh...maybe even a storm of laughs? I dont have anything to say beyond youre a lune and here is proof http://sparklingwithcrystals.blogspot.com/

Parin Stormlaughter Thank you! More traffic, the better. But you're hijacking [Original Poster's] post, eh? Come & comment on my blog! Please!

Yep. While he was blasting me on this thread, he was sending me multiple requests asking to follow me.

Why would anyone do that?

[rooster] Thanks but no thanks...I aint messin with the power crystals you use over there...you witch doctor types are dangerous in your intention alone! FREAK!

Parin Stormlaughter Full disclosure: I'm Tweeting all this too. Fear God, [rooster]. I'm nothing to be afraid of. :)

By this point, I was giggling.

[rooster] I am an atheist, I dont fear god or any of your stupid superstitions retard! what differnce would it make if you were tweeting it? Are your fellow losers gonna come at me in minnions? just go back to WoW were you are still cool.

Parin Stormlaughter I've never played World of Warcraft in my life. Somebody got into my checking account and drained it for a WoW site.

I had made a Ping post previously about Word of Warcraft that appeared on all my sites.

Parin Stormlaughter No joke, [rooster]. Leave poor [Original Poster's] post alone & fight me on my blog.

Parin Stormlaughter But, I'm touched that you care. :-*

[rooster] well for that I am sorry...nope I am not really! HAHA, you spread your moronic filth that rots the minds of your race. False hope in prayers and other BS just makes people believe that everything will be ok, melts polar ice caps, kills millions in wars, leads to disease spreading...youre a wretch and I hope you die!

Parin Stormlaughter *sigh* And what moronic filth is that, [rooster]? You certainly credit me with an awful lot of power.

Parin Stormlaughter Oh - what race am I btw?

Parin Stormlaughter I really am sorry, [Original Poster], but baiting [rooster] is just too much fun.

[rooster] its all there dumb dumb read it again

By this time, tears of laughter and sarcasm had overcome me.

Parin Stormlaughter But [rooster]! I want to see you say it again! And again! And again! Something about your special choice of words...can't quite pin it down...

[rooster] and btw, i only friend requested you so that i could tell you without inconveniencing [Original Poster]. If you had half a brain you would have figured that out. if you actually cared about [Original Poster] you wouldnt tell her your affraid of docs this month when you said you trust them last month! empty words!

Parin Stormlaughter Busted! My "comment" field is open to everybody and always has been.

You just wanted to see my gorgeous face...

Parin Stormlaughter And my blog is your favorite, so why not comment there?

I think that secretly, you wish you were me, with all my powers to melt polar ice caps and spread disease, ALL BY MYSELF.

[rooster], jealousy isn't necessary! I'll teach you everything I know for FREE!

It goes on. He makes sexual references, calls me a subspecies, and tells me he sincerely hopes I die in pain again. Oh, and he says I have a "sour attitude".

I was collapsing with laughter. Nothing would have induced me to beat this man with anything but love!

He really had not done his homework. I'm really not much fun to fight with, truth be told. I never fight unless I feel certain I'll win, and I take no joy in besting others. This poor entrepreneur wasn't worth going to war over. He wasn't after the original poster and I can take care of myself.

It is so glaringly obvious that he does not have a clue who I am or what I believe, nor does he have the slightest concern about anyone who is chronically ill. He hasn't read my blog nearly as closely as he would have anyone believe. Well, I hope that's the case. Maybe he read it and simply didn't understand. That's always possible.

Somebody flagged his comments. It's an important thing to do and next time he comes at me like this, I'll flag them myself. Hard to feel regretful for egging him on, though. I can take care of myself but another chronically ill person retired on disability pension reading his attack on me might have been dreadfully hurt by what he said. It was important to them to see that love beats hate, even if it's tough sarcastic love.

I wish him well. I'll continue to pray for him.

"May God bless him, may He give him all kinds of good things and if possible, may He love him more and more." St. Therese of Lisieux

Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Love Beats Hate Blog Event

2010-11-14T06:00:00.001-06:00

Too many of us who are chronically ill and disabled have to give up our precious spoons to fight off attacks from sometimes aggressive and assuredly misguided people.

I plan to participate in this blog event with an article about a dreadful episode that happened to me recently. Blogger Extraordinaire Diana Lee of Somebody Heal Me is helping to organize the Love Beats Hate Blog Event. Check out Diana's article and the list of participating blogs.

Next Wednesday November 17, 2010, consider contributing a article. Love Beats Hate better than anything. :)

Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

The Moral of the Story

2010-11-13T07:18:00.000-06:00

Why I don't cook, use knives or other sharp objects, operate motorized vehicles or heavy equipment, or do much other than type and get sarcastic with assholes. This is a copy-and-paste from my personal notes.

Valerian and Lavender Vodka Stress Tincture

1 oz finely chopped dried valerian root
1/2 oz lavender buds
10-12 ozs plain vodka

Combine all ingredients in a 16 oz vinegar bottle and cap tightly. Label and date. Shake gently but thoroughly. Set aside on the counter for 8 weeks or so. Strain into an 8 oz bottle, cap tightly, and transfer label.

Dose is 1/4 tsp every 30 minutes until symptoms diminish. Dilute in 1/4 cup water or chamomile tea if desired.

11/13/10
This will teach me not to make medicine when I’m migrainey. This should have been made with feverfew instead of valerian. I misjudged the size of bottle I would need, choosing one that was too small. I was only able to get in 1/2 oz of lavender instead of a full ounce like Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe called for. I spilled vodka trying to transfer the whole mess into a larger bottle. I had enough vodka to fill it to about the 10 or 12 oz level.

None of this is fatal. The combination should work quite nicely. It just wasn’t what I had planned to do. And when I was through, I felt like crying.

So, what I’ve made is a nervine for stress, anxiety, and sleep instead of a migraine preventative preparation. And now I’m out of vodka so I can’t make the correct one.

Moral of the story: Don’t make medicine when you should be taking medicine.

Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

2010-11-10T22:29:00.001-06:00

Love of money is the root of all evil. Addiction to World of Warcraft is a trigger for my prayer intervention.

Please pray...

2010-11-04T17:08:00.001-05:00

I'm spheksophobic - wasp phobia. Please pray for this poor lady. http://ping.fm/7rz9g

2010-10-19T14:19:00.001-05:00

In people-overload state. Taking a break to discharge all this energy. I love you all.

Ground it out, you energy vacuum! Part I

2010-10-14T02:41:00.003-05:00

10/14/10 Edit: gah, mentioned a link then forgot to put it in. It's there now. :P
******************************************************************

Take it or Leave it Category: Take what's useful...you know the tune. :)

One of the things we chronically ill folks will say in a heartbeat is that we will do nearly anything to treat our situations and get well. Of course, a generalization that broad would need clarification and individualization after all (no Santaria or Palo Mayombe, Briyumba or Kimbisa or anything in that category for me, for example). But if we can find something relatively safe with a reasonably good chance of working, we'll take a look at it.

Once I was able to concentrate solely on getting well, I jumped into healing with both feet. I couldn't work full time at a paying job so I determined that I would work full-time every day at getting well. I asked every doctor I had for all the recommendations that he or she could think of. I work closely with all my doctors and wouldn't dream of doing anything that they would disapprove.

I pondered and prayed, and several ideas presented themselves. I consulted an exquisite crystal healer and it changed the course of my healing. It became apparent that I had problems with my energy bodies. While prescription medicines and a couple of supplements did their things, I began work on my energy bodies.

I define my energy body as my internal nerve structures, spine, any and all nervous systems; and my external energy body such as aura, chakra system, and the weird energy fields I have no expectations that I'll ever fully understand in this life.

Donna Eden has developed a system by which people can use their hands to manipulate their own body energies (or the energy fields of others). I approve of her system. First, her system gets my thumbs-up because it teaches people to use their own energy and does not utilize the energy of anything or anyone else. It does not resemble such systems as Reiki which call on "universal energy" which, in fact, does not exist. But that part is for another column. Second, her system WORKS. Third, her system is easy to understand and remember.

So after working with her system and home rock medicine (wouldn't ever consider what I do as real crystal healing), I felt better but not sufficiently better. I began homebrewing mead and medicinal beers, foraging my semi-wild backyard for healing herbs, and then I fell and broke my neck.

Yep, I broke a bone spur off my C-5 vertebra. Come to learn that I've got spine problems from my C-1 all the way to my tailbone. So, I added get spinal work done to my list.

I wasn't getting good results from chiropractics. Every adjustment seemed to trigger every symptom I had so I gave it up.

Honestly, at that point I was stumped. I made an appointment with Pam Oslie, a psychic in California. She had very specific--Edgar Cayce-type specific--recommendations for work on my spine that I needed. She cautioned me that I might need rods on either side of my spine if I couldn't get the problems fixed (yeah, I've got scoliosis too). Anybody coming at my back with a knife will get what I'd give anybody attempting to stab me in the back. So, just don't go there, docs.

Anyway, now I'm getting superb physical therapy treatments on my neck and back according to her recommendations--very good results!! The treatments have tremendously improved the flow of nerve impulses throughout my entire self. If the physical therapist I were seeing had less education and experience, I don't believe he would have been able to locate the problems solely by touch. They don't show up on x-rays or MRI but do show up--ok, get this--Pam Oslie saw them and the PT can feel them. The doctoral student who conducted the evaluation caught every single nuance in my (lack of) balance and the PT will help with it as well.

One thing that continues to trouble me is utterly perplexing sensitivity. I'm not sensitive - I am the sensor itself. I'm not a careful observer - I'm the Princess from The Princess and the Pea. That was one of my late father's nicknames for me. He'd say, "All right, Princess and the Pea..."

I can't innumerate everything I've done to combat this, fix it, reduce it, overcome it, bury it, obliterate it, embrace it, integrate it, dilute it, give it away--you cannot imagine what I've done to address this. I have had absolutely no success at all, none, zero, zilch. I am becoming more and more sensitive every day.

I've carefully read and learned about my astrological natal chart as part of my healing work - hell, I've about gotten all that's out there of pharmaceuticals and Western medicine so I plunged into complementary and more esoteric, metaphysical work.

In my astrological chart, I found the reflection of my sensitivity which was comforting in a way. It said to me that for the most part, I had not caused it; however, it is utterly part of who I am and cannot be separated from my self-ness. According to chart progressions, I can expect it to get worse, or to say it another way, I will become more intuitive, sensitive, aware of energy, psychic, and so on as I finish up the second half of my life. My energetic vacuum will self-upgrade to industrial strength in about 10 years. It's bad now. I cannot picture what it will be like in 10 years.

Before I spoke with Pam Oslie, I had read her book Life Colors: What the Colors in Your Aura Reveal and taken her online "aura color" test. I had done my little thing and determined that she would be a good fit for what I needed to know.

She told me that, in her system, I was a "life color" that she doesn't see often: Crystal. Well, "Crystal" was tied for second place on the online test I took but once she described "Crystals", I was convinced that she was right.

Crystals, one might say, are no one until we're with someone. We don't have much energetic personality so to speak until we come in contact with another person. When we do, we suck energy from the other person and fill our aura out with the "color" of the other person.

When I'm with a "yellow", I'm yellow. When I'm with a "blue", I'm blue. On page 155 in her book, Pam Oslie says

Crystal is a rare Life Color. Crystals have clear auras and are known as the "aura chameleons". Like chameleons, their auras will change colors to match those of the people they are connecting with at the time. They then take on the characteristics, emotions, and thoughts of that color. Consequently, in power Crystals can get along quite well with almost anyone. Yellows, for example, feel they can relate to Crystals who, when they are with them, act and think like Yellow. Later when the same Crystals spend time with Sensitive Tans, the Tans feel as if they have found kindred spirits. However, Crystals' inconsistencies can also confuse people. One minute Crystals think and behave like Greens. Later they can act like Blue. The more they bond with others, the more their personalities change. Because Crystals tend to absorb the colors of other people's auras, people can, at times, feel an energy drain when they are in the presence of Crystals.

Yep, she's got that right. I'm a pure energy sucker and until I started working on healing my energy body, I wasn't even aware of the extent to which I was vampiring others. If I get low on energy, I'll start looking for energy wherever I can find it. Here I discuss the results of a test the chiropractor ran on the energy levels of my two daughters and myself, same day, same technician. It seems I run half a tank low on a regular basis.

She doesn't have as much about Crystals in her book as she does other Life Colors. Her best recommendation for my Crystal problems is to immerse myself outside in Nature which, to me, is only the most wonderful thing next to sex... :D

Next, more on my Crystalline self and the various Nature things I'm doing to solve my issues. I've gotten a piece of more specific, concrete advice to chew on so to speak.

So, I'm consulting psychics and learning to read astrological charts, working with rocks and herbs and foraging wild plants from my backyard along with taking prescription medicine and going through physical therapy.

Still think there's anything I won't do to get well? Within reason, of course? :)

Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

"Forbes Was Wrong On Monsanto. Really Wrong." by Robert Langreth

2010-10-12T14:40:00.001-05:00

I'm sharing this everywhere. This is an extremely important article. He who has eyes to see, let him see! She already sees it.

http://ping.fm/w1hXI

2010-10-10T21:42:00.001-05:00

Question: Good Celtic music bands? Open to all genres. Thanks!

Chemtrails: Calling all conspiracy theorists!

2010-10-10T06:01:00.000-05:00

One day about 10 or 12 years ago, the forecast here was for sparkling sunshine and clear blue skies. At lunchtime, jets flew over leaving expanding trails that left the sky overcast for the rest of the day.

The television meteorologists didn't know how to explain it to the viewers. They simply reported that the sky was clear as had been forecast, then it wasn't and they had no data to show what had happened. They did this one time. In spite of how many times it has happened since then, no one has said a word.

When some jets leave trails and some don't, when those trails expand massively, and when that phenomenon cannot be explained, something is wrong.

"A" shaped contrail??
I took this picture in April 2006

Governments around the world do things all the time. Private citizens do too and the government cannot or will not engage them. Chemically sensitive people like me get sicker and sicker when more and more chemicals are introduced into the air, water, and soil.

The video is extremely well done, haunting music with quite an expert at the sound board. Troubles me that the music runs throughout the whole thing like a B-movie. It's done to manipulate emotion and retain viewer attention. This issue shouldn't need those movie tricks.

It's beyond me why no one is able to figure out who is spraying. Many of the jets that do this are painted pure white with no identifying numbers or symbols. What airport allows egress and ingress to that kind of jet?

I've been following this issue for a long time, a very long time. Virtually no progress has been made except that for about ten years, most of the spraying around here now occurs during the colder months. At first, the spraying was conducted year 'round.

About 4 years ago, several of us took a break at work and watched a sky-writer plane advertise a processed meat manufacturing company. I took a couple of pictures. I wondered at the time what was in the spray. Maybe it's the same substance that the jets spray. I took the pictures in September 2006. My last day before suddenly becoming disabled was two months later, November 2006.

I certainly don't know what's going on in the sky. I do know what's going on with my sensitive self. My sensitivity is getting worse.

2010-09-15T05:18:00.001-05:00

Woke up singing "Dance with Me" by Orleans. :D

Ill-wishing

2010-09-07T04:37:00.000-05:00

This one is rather "out there" so, as always, take what's useful and discard the rest. :)

I sustained a blow to my energy body first thing Saturday morning. I'm still recovering. Thank you to my incomparable friends for their love and help. I'm working hard to get well enough fast enough that I won't miss physical therapy in a little while. It has been wonderful so far and I cannot miss an appointment now!

There is a thing called ill-wishing that Christianity for sure advises against and no doubt other belief systems of good-will find wrong as well. Ill-wishing can cause bad effects in the one wished ill upon, it isn't character-building for the ill-wisher, and simply isn't constructive to resolving the problem. There are several proven and time-honored methods for deflecting ill-wishing and even turning it back upon the ill-wisher.

I only recommend what my belief system advises. Matthew 5:43-45 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

What's sad about ill-wishing, or rather what is particularly sad about this specific event, is that I was completely uninvolved in any way in the problem that the wisher was faced with. I was a victim of false accusation generated in her own mind. The wisher did try prayer afterwards to "make me not hate" her but I've never hated her to begin with! My heavens, I don't hate anybody!

This is a classic example of false accusation, bad conscience, and how it can cause true assault on someone else's energy body. I felt the surge of hatred and anger just as truly as though she had been in front of me swinging her fist. Her ill-wishing physically injured me just as though she had.

Some people have inborn talent to maneuver and manipulate their own energy. They can do things like slam people they don't like and make all their friends line up and "do right". If they're really in denial, they say things like, "people who cross me always have something bad happen to them!" I shake my head when I hear that. You're more likely to be causing the other person trouble yourself by nothing more sinister than your own ill-wishing. Nothing to write home about there.

Some people are more susceptible to ill-wishing than others. I am extremely sensitive to it, so sensitive it would defy comprehension; however, I've got references. I have had to find ways of contending with it throughout my entire life, and it remains a problem now.

One person who has seen how ill-wishing whacks me said, "Well, quit pissing people off!" That wouldn't have helped in this situation because I had nothing to do with it in the first place. I don't often have much to do with things that cause people to ill-wish upon me. I get more general crap from Christian-haters, people who hate my former employer, people who hate my friends, and that sort of thing.

I got whacked because of someone else's bad conscience, Scorpionic desire for revenge, and Leonine conviction that she is leading the way in saving the world by going after people like me. Then she discovered that I wasn't doing anything.

Give me a freakin' break. And keep your ill-wishing to yourself. We're on the same side here and please keep that in mind.

When all this came to light I thought to myself, wow, some people credit me with a lot more power than I have, and some underestimate me entirely.

For the record, I'm in the middle.

Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Sharethis: Press Release – Invisible Illness Week Bloggers Driving Force Behind Awareness Campaign : Invisible Illness Awareness Week 2010!

2010-09-05T17:32:00.000-05:00


Press Release – Invisible Illness Week Bloggers Driving Force Behind Awareness Campaign : Invisible Illness Awareness Week Source: invisibleillnessweek.com

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Sharethis: World Of Technology: Your Mattress Could be Acting as a Cancer-Causing Radiation Antenna

2010-08-31T13:51:00.000-05:00

Oh...me.

Next time I go upstairs, I'll get my EMF meter and take some readings.

Seriously! I have an EMF meter! A good one! XD


World Of Technology: Your Mattress Could be Acting as a Cancer-Causing Radiation Antenna Source: mytechnologyworld9.blogspot.com

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Feeling so good about feeling so bad :)

2010-08-31T00:31:00.000-05:00

Physical therapy resembles manure. Yeah it stinks but once it's worked in well, it's the best thing your garden soil can get.

I feel like I've been pooped-upon, in the sense of the above statement. XD

I'm so sore. I can feel muscles that I imagine haven't been moved in a couple of decades. Again I got manual traction. He also did something he called "upper cervical spine release" where he actually isolated the first three cervical vertebrae and shifted and manipulated around each one separately.

It felt so good that I'm afraid I may have sounded...orgasmic. XD

What he did last TENSday set off many of my symptoms. Stupid stress over the worst sorts of human behavior exacerbated the situation and I had a terrible weekend. I was upfront with him about how bad I felt. He apparently understood what I meant.

When we finished, I felt as much better as I had felt bad when I arrived. I've got some exercises to do and a couple of additional ideas for improving recovery between sessions.

In looking over his educational achievements briefly listed on his business card, he appears to my uneducated eye to be about 2 years from an osteopathic doctor degree. In another state of this Union, he would probably qualify for licensing that Alabama simply doesn't have. He speaks with authority and his manipulations of my spine have been precise and effective. The guy's in the right business. He knows what he's doing.

In one pocket I had put a tumbled blue calcite and in the other pocket, a double-terminated/ET lithium quartz. Vibrationally, calcite helps "break up" old systems that are no longer working (useful constipation treatment is clear calcite in water, or as a formal gemstone remedy). Lithium quartz I believe will help me with my recently-developed doctor phobia. Today, the Moon is in Taurus which rules the neck. Things came together to make today a very, very good neck day.

Ice tonight and tomorrow, my bff Scalene the TENS unit. Onward and upward!

Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

2010-08-27T21:49:00.001-05:00

God bless & provide for His servants who've held my hands, prayed for me, adjured away the evil, & done well for Him.He comes reward in hand

2010-08-27T21:44:00.001-05:00

God bless health care providers & metaphysicians who have helped me, past, present & future. God's saving up the pearls for your crowns. :)

Sharethis: Empi Products, Makers of my TENS Unit I named Scalene

2010-08-27T08:53:00.000-05:00

Just a note before I go and implode: Don't go overboard with the TENS. I've now burned a spot on my upper back near my neck. It was underneath one of the electrodes.

I absolutely will pay closer attention to how long I keep that thing running in the future.


Empi Products Source: empi.com

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Oh Scalene! Whatcha doin' to me, Scalene? :)

2010-08-26T05:18:00.000-05:00

Well! We might be excavating deeply enough to find some real therapy to go along with the drugs to work on my Meniere's Syndrome and Migraine Disease.

At the moment, I'm iced up and doing some music therapy for the pain in my head. The pain's not pounding yet but it will be in a little while. That's what physical therapy on a neck can do! Taking meds now and I'll be off for rocks shortly. Chris told me to expect all this exacerbation of symptoms.

Many of my Meniere's buds and I have a thin strip of painful muscles down the sides of our necks on the side (or sides) in which we also have Meniere's. My right ear is currently diagnosed with Meniere's. The painful strip running down the right side of my neck has made me weep from the relentless intensity. Neither ice nor heat relieve the pain nor even mitigate it. With the Migraine preventative medication regimen I'm on, nearly all pain in my entire body responds to either Advil, Aleve, or if it's Migraine, to Indocin (occasionally I'll need my really big pain guns but not often). They'll relieve the thin strip of pain but not the tenderness when I touch it.

Today, physical therapist Chris got to work on my neck. He worked and worked and suddenly SHAZAAM. He touched that painful strip (which had not been actively hurting and isn't hurting now) and I nearly came off the table from the hurt. I felt it inside my right Meniere's ear HARD.

[As an aside, I felt bad for the other people in the clinic who heard my *ack*. Hope they didn't wonder if Chris was throttling me or something. XD]

He told me he had touched a group of 3 muscles called the scalenes. Scalene muscles are innervated by one or more of the very vertebrae in my neck that I know are in trouble: C-2 through C-7. Chris told me that if we had time he'd get the anatomy book out and we'd look at it but dang, he spent two hours on my backbone as it was and I was a steak tender at the end. I told him I'd look it up on the internet.

Scalene muscles seem to be associated with a repetitive injury called thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). TOS causes, among other things, numbness across the tops of your arms down to the ends of certain fingers. That's a sensation I have during some migraine attacks, usually during prodrome. Won't matter if I have TOS if they can just fix it. Not looking for yet another diagnosis. All I want is to get well.

Anyway, Chris worked like a field medic: he noted how bad he was hurting me but it didn't stop him. He got all up and under my C-1, also called the Atlas bone, but otherwise didn't do much near my vertebrae at all. He concentrated on neck muscles.

Last thing he did on my neck was something he called "manual traction". MY WORD I'd hire that man to do that to me every day. I told him I felt an inch taller but he said he hoped he'd not stretched me but half that. XD

We took a break and he showed me how to use my TENS unit. E-stim which clinics use for pain relief is very good for me so I'm pumped about trying this for pain. Chris gave me free reign to use it wherever I needed it. COOL BEANIES.

[Another aside: TENS units are not designed for the electrodes to be used directly on the head. There is a company that makes an over-the-counter mini-TENS for headache but otherwise, don't anybody use TENS electrodes directly on your head unless your doc or PT tells you to and even then, have them explain why your prescription durable medical equipment TENS unit is safe enough for your head, why not?]

I have enough pain in other places that I could burn up the batteries in short order, I imagine. And, after trying a nice little TENS secret that the owner of the clinic uses for vestibular problems, we discovered last week that it temporarily stopped the migraine pain that last week's work triggered. I'm telling you, Dr. Breathtakingly Arrogant is onto something. He spotted my Meniere's (which is a cochlear condition sometimes called cochlear hydrops) and told me that many of his tough cases have cochlear issues as well as migraine.

I had a rare opportunity, during my first visit to clinic, to be evaluated by a physical therapy doctoral student. She was utterly amazing. Never have I had a more thorough spinal and balance evaluation, ever. She was about to recommend a...walker...but said that if I was doing ok and not falling with my cane, it would do. Elder Assistant Offspring told me that if it ever did come down to a walker, she and my other daughter would pimp it out for me. My only request was for headlights. LOLOL

Anyway, that's a status report on the state of my head. I've decided to name my TENS unit "Scalene". After while Scalene and I gonna hook up and go cruisin'. :)

Some links below to information about scalene muscles if you're just interested.

Scalene muscles drawing
Scalene muscles Source: en.academic.ru

Parin Stormlaughter sent this using ShareThis.

Head and Neck Musculature, innervation of scalene muscles
PT Central - Muscles of the Head Source: ptcentral.com

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Gray's Superficial Cervical Plexus (purple-taupe)
File:Gray784.png - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Source: en.wikipedia.org

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Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

2010-08-25T05:11:00.001-05:00

Guys, go get a cold one. Gals, I've developed a significant latex allergy. Who sells latex-free lingerie? Need help, Google no real help.

2010-08-22T18:51:00.001-05:00

Taking a break. My comments on a blog have been altered into something I did not say. I'm horrified & sickened. How could she?

Sharethis: Shrink Rapping: Signs and Symptoms and Diseases, Oh My!

2010-08-17T13:02:00.000-05:00

Well, THIS was eye-opening. Here's an explanation of one criterion that's used when deciding on a psychiatric referral for some invisible illnesses.

I appreciate the doctor's candid answer.

Please read the doctor's blog post.


Shrink Rapping: Signs and Symptoms and Diseases, Oh My! Source: shrinkrapping.blogspot.com

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Sharethis: Op-Ed Contributor - Good Grief - NYTimes.com

2010-08-14T17:38:00.000-05:00

"For the few bereaved who are severely impaired or at risk of suicide, doctors can already apply the diagnosis of major depression. But don’t change the rules for everyone else. Let us experience the grief we need to feel without being called sick." Allen Frances, an emeritus professor and former chairman of psychiatry at Duke University

Hands down, the most lucidly-considered grief-healing article by an M. D. that I have ever read.

Please read the article and take hope, all ye who despair at the state of Western Medicine. But do note that this M. D. is a psychiatrist. Would that all medical doctors had this outlook towards healing.

I've issued an Exploding Head Warning for today through Sunday, so I'm off to crawl underneath rocks. Storms, heat, melatonin (I believe it's a stand-alone migraine trigger, just need to test it maybe once more), and a classic healing crisis have knocked me back a few steps.


Op-Ed Contributor - Good Grief - NYTimes.com Source: nytimes.com

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2010-08-13T12:31:00.001-05:00

Taking the afternoon off to pray for all the people hatin' on me today. I feel their pain. :(

Sharethis: Why We Should Worry About Prescription Drug Abuse - Newsweek

2010-08-11T20:07:00.000-05:00

This piece of idiocy is adequately refuted by the comments left by readers.

Which adolescents are being prescribed pain meds and then becoming heroin addicts? Which baby boomers are out-of-control with pain medication? What if the children had been properly supervised and the adults properly supported by their families and friends?

I feel a major rant coming on and I don't need it. They make me sicker and set me back getting well.

The goofy article grabs attention by sensationalizing pain medicine use and ends up garbling something about Viagra. The writer expects us to see OxyContin abuse in the same light as Viagra overuse??

I've got to stop or I'll be ill. Please do read both the articles and the comments. If you are under any impression that prescription pain medicine use is a problem, I'll link you to some solid research into the overuse effects of acetaminophen. When this over-the-counter drug came out the television advertisements told us there was no way to ever use too much.

Acetaminophen by brand name is called Tylenol.


Why We Should Worry About Prescription Drug Abuse - Newsweek Source: newsweek.com

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2010-08-10T16:37:00.001-05:00

Ok, I'm sick. I've got what Mom has last week. At least I don't have her high fever. Thank you all for your prayers & good thoughts.

Rough few days

2010-08-09T17:37:00.000-05:00

I posted this on Twitter a few minutes ago.

"Can't catch a break. Fw: The Aug. 7th solar flare might affect Earth after all.New data show a CME heading our way http://spaceweather.com"

New Moon in Leo tonight and all this solar drama has done me up a treat. Thanks to the energy healer, you know who you are, who got in there and unblocked some things. It helped. Praying for your intentions. :)

I'm going to be out of medicine in a few days if this doesn't stop.

Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Just sharing what Migraine and Meniere's together are like

2010-08-07T18:24:00.000-05:00

Today is a dangerous type of day.

I've slept 18 of the last 24 hours, still need sleep. Dreamed that Diana, Princess of Wales, had been married to my old choir director's son. She asked me to please investigate why no one will allow her to excavate the construction accident site where his remains are buried [as far as I know, IRL the man is alive and well and living happily ever after].

Then I dreamed my late father gave me $10 to buy some lobster that was on sale. My brother and cousin weren't interested in lobster so we didn't get any.

Just did a heat/ice alternating thing on my head. It helped the pain somewhat. I've discovered an additional nerve in my face that is now flowing with battery acid. One more to add to the list.

My right ear has stopped doing deep Chinese gong tinnitus. In addition to the regular 4 tinnitus sounds, it's been screaming a high-pitched squeal since yesterday (different from the Morse Code beeps). My left ear has taken up the deep Chinese gongs. Disequilibrium is so bad I'm trying not to walk because I'm just crashing into the wall and furniture.

Rescue medicating on days like today is dangerous. I keep thinking that more will be better. More will not necessarily be better. More of the meds I have could be very, very bad.

I'm sitting here in the dark wearing prescription sunglasses. I can't turn off the loudest of the fans because it's 95o outside and the a/c can't keep up. I may have to get ear plugs. With ear plugs I REALLY hear the tinnitus. The neurotologist diagnosed me with a level of disability from tinnitus by itself. You can't imagine how nuts it can drive you.

I have a good glare screen on my laptop. I utilize the Windows Vista accessibility features to make the screen less painful to my eyes. Today those features aren't helping. I'm typing this with my eyes closed, for all intents and purposes. I need to get off here and I will shortly.

Many compassionate people are so understanding of pain. But unless you have migraine, you can't wrap your mind around how stupid it is. Really, medicating on days like today is dangerous. The impulse is to take more and more and more medicine to make the pounding pain STOP.

I'm into complementary treatments just to fill the gap between medications and relief. I'm going to get some rocks that I know will help until the OxyIR, Indocin, Valium, and Robinul kick in. I'll get them just as soon as I can get up without falling.

Fifteen seconds after I stand up, my head will explode and I'll have a stroke. Well, maybe no stroke this time but there is no way to predict which migraine will be a migraine and which one will be a stroke. My situation includes mitral valve prolapse which, according to a long-prior neurologist who succumbed to pancreatic cancer, is likely to be spitting out tiny blood clots that are traveling to my brain. One day, he told me, my MVP would spit out a blood clot just a tidbit too big and instead of a migraine attack, it would cause a stroke. I'd likely die. Pleasant thoughts but in his defense, he told me this about 6 months before he died himself so death was on his mind.

Biggest issue next to this attack is food. I'm hungry. But I'm not safe in the kitchen right now. I broke off a piece of bread and had it with cottage cheese. That's what I've had today but really, I haven't been awake very long either. Next will be Lucky Charms and milk. I have a can of Campbell's Healthy Request (or Choice, or something) that has no MSG. If I feel better enough after while I 'll heat it up. That will be a big help.

If I get to feeling better I'm going to have to make a comfrey/catnip infusion to help repair the effects of all the Indocin I've had in the last 2 days. This particular infusion is utterly amazing for relieving the stomach pain from NSAIDs.

And, I've gained weight. No matter the pounds, my waist still stays smaller than my hips. That a Sagittarius Sun for you (Sagittarius rules hips and thighs). No joke, I seriously could do with some poundage loss but officially, I'm still proportionate. Go figure.

Just wanted to share how stupid migraine and Meniere's attacks are. Going to try to solve this without taking any more meds for a while. I could barely swallow the last pills I took. My body doesn't want to take any more pills even though my brain believes I need to in order to get relief.

Those one or two distance energy healers that know who you are, if you have time to help out a poor soul, I'll pray for your intentions in return.

I am so f***** up sick.

Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

2010-08-05T01:02:00.001-05:00

Transiting Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, & Vesta are in my 5th House of natal Pluto/North Node conj. I'd like to have an argument please.

Sharethis: Stare at boobs for longer life: Study | TheMedGuru

2010-08-02T18:37:00.000-05:00

Ever on the look-out for ways to improve men's health, I saw this article and felt compelled to share it.

Men, you know what to do. LOOK AT YOUR WIVES. Sheesh.

It's been a long 19 years since I divorced my boob-starer. Sad times for me. :/

Wives, do you part to increase your husbands' longevity. Better he look at you than some other gal, eh?

I'm going to barricade myself against the solar storm set to hit the Earth tomorrow, 8/3/10. Check out spaceweather.com to read about the neat but odd solar eruption that occurred on 8/1. I'm feeling it now.


Stare at boobs for longer life: Study \| TheMedGuru Source: themedguru.com

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Sharethis: Dear White House - The Personal Data Challenge

2010-07-20T13:14:00.000-05:00

Now here's an idea I could get behind.

Please read the article, check out Alexandra Carmichael's CureTogether site, and ponder whether this might be a better use of taxpayer dollars than government-run EHRs.

Not doing well. July is just a bad month for me all around. Going to hide underneath some rocks and read about the monster of an alligator not too far from me in Mulga, Alabama. I've only seen a picture of it but man, it was a beauty. Must have been at least 7 feet long.


dear-white-house-our-personal.php from kk.org - StumbleUpon Source: stumbleupon.com

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Sharethis: CNSNews.com - Obesity Rating for Every American Must Be Included in Stimulus-Mandated Electronic Health Records, Says HHS

2010-07-19T02:09:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't approve of being healthy? Well, I should phrase the question, "who wouldn't like to improve his or her health?" Probably most everybody wants improved health. I sure as heck want to improve my health and I work at it like a full-time job.

The attached article disturbs my long-term thinking. My father chided me for years to stop "what-if?" -ing so intently. My thick Taurus Ascendant brain finally learned not to postulate within his hearing. My brain continued to extrapolate nevertheless.

I "what-if" -ed my way through this article and ended up disturbed at the potentials that this EHR law brought up in my mind.

I'm not huge into BMI as a key health indicator. There are few absolutes in health, I am learning. My issue with EHRs isn't limited to BMIs. The whole thing illustrates what can happen when laws are pushed through before adequate time for reflection is allowed. I expect that many, many issues will arise due to legislation passed since January 2009 that will be the undoing of many.

I metaphorically flipped the mental switch to turn off the "and then...and then...and then..." You can join the fun by letting your mind imagine every wrong thing that medicine and the government can think up to do with your body measurements. Be sure to add in hackers and information thieves who would love to know your information too.

I'm going to drink a nice hot cup of mugwort, mullein, and sweet woodruff tisane sweetened with hops syrup. I'm not going to worry. "Sufficient for the day are the troubles thereof" is how I learned this verse. My current Bible reads, "Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day." Matthew 6:35. I've got enough to do getting from sleep to sleep.

But I'll tell you this from my decades of association with the government under administrations from Eisenhower through Obama: If they can identify a problem they've caused, they'll do the best they can to tax it as stringently as possible as well.


CNSNews.com - Obesity Rating for Every American Must Be Included in Stimulus-Mandated Electronic Health Records, Says HHS Source: cnsnews.com

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Sharethis: How Somebody’s Medicines May Be Making You Sicker - Welcome to the Alliance for Natural Health - USA

2010-06-28T12:43:00.000-05:00

No joke, I've got to figure out a way around Full Moon/New Moon Meniere's/migraine attacks. They're kicking my butt. Through my head.

Medicated patch systems are mentioned in this article as one of the ways pharmaceutical pollution reaches the water supply. I use the Vivelle_dot estrogen replacement patch myself. The package insert gives directions for removing residual components after patch changing - basically, you use rubbing alcohol to dissolve the adhesive and a cotton ball to wipe it away. I'll be redoubling my clean-up efforts now you may rest assured.

I'm hitting the sack with rocks. If I don't have to take any meds I'll be happier, but I'm not going to sit around suffering. I've determined that it's not good for my state of mind. Emotional hygiene is one of my New Year's Resolutions and one I've begun to get a handle on. Never want to lose ground. It may happen, but it'll be against my will if it does. B)


Welcome to the Alliance for Natural Health - USA Source: anh-usa.org

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2010-06-27T18:01:00.001-05:00

She did it! My daughter has been admitted to graduate school to pursue a Master's in Library and Information Sciences. Go LIBRARIANS!!!

Sharethis: Kava Kava - What is Kava Kava

2010-06-27T02:05:00.000-05:00

One of life's joys is to experiment! Try new things! Expand your horizons!

I'm a huge experimenter. Sagittarius Sun in 8th House, after all - the eternal quest to experience quests. I most assuredly experienced a quest recently.

I've been battling depressive dips as part of Migraine prodrome for a few years. They've not always been present. No idea why suddenly they suddenly appeared. Maybe they'll disappear.

I already take a therapeutic dose of a marvelous antidepressant, Effexor XR, every day. It's part of my Migraine preventative regimen which also includes verapamil and Keppra. Other than the regular "blues" that everybody contracts, I shouldn't feel depressed.

These depressive dips don't cause me worry anymore, not like they did when they first started. Still, I don't like them. I never want to have another one.

I was battling one of them the other night. St. John's wort, a safe mood-enhancing herb, isn't something I want to try to combine with Effexor. So I started hunting around for something else to try.

I found again--kava kava root, also called simply kava. I've tried kava capsules but of all things, they make my head hurt! Still, I've used them for social events. I can speak to and perform for 3 people or 3 million people, live or taped or by tin-can telephone if you like. Show biz is a breeze. But please, never ever ask me to go to a grown-up party where I don't personally know and deeply love at least 85% of the folks in the room. Rivers of glow streak my makeup and soak my underclothing. I throw up. I dream of death and it would be easy and welcome. Groan-and-throw-up parties are what I consider hell to be like. Kava has made it possible for me to discharge social duties I'd otherwise never be able to handle. Kids parties? Love'em, threw them for my daughters regularly. Kept me out of the groan-grown-throw-up parties.

But I can't deal with anything else that makes my head hurt. So kava stays in the bottle on the shelf for emergency social appearances.

I have absolutely no idea what possessed me to order shredded kava root a while back. I've amassed a mass of herbs from Frontier Co-op and Mountain Rose Herbs and a couple of other places. I've been reading Susun Weed and Rosemary Gladstar and remembering things I used to do with plants when I was younger.

Anyway - so I remember I've got these shredded kava roots. You shouldn't heat water to make kava beverages because some of the active ingredients are destroyed at 140oF and higher. Capsules would seem like the perfect alternative but many of them contain kava stems and leaves which have been linked to liver damage (and they don't have any good relaxation benefits either - they just fill up the capsules with less of the active root powder). Worse, some capsules are doctored with various kava extracts prepared with chemical solvents that should never be used in the preparation of anything intended for a human body.

So, I've got these shredded kava roots.

I've watched the shows on TV describing traditional methods for preparation of kava beverages. Seems that the roots are never eaten or fermented in any way. They're just powdered, chewed, or ground and mixed with water. Then they're either kneaded or blenderized, strained, and then drunk. Straightforward, really.

Blame it on the Lunar Eclipse that hit my Sagittarius 8th House. Blame it on my own curiosity. Blame anyone but me for wanting to try CHEWING SHREDDED KAVA ROOT to see what that segment of traditional beverage preparation would be like. Mastication seems to make the kavalactones more easily accessed. And it would be FUN.

I had been reading accounts of poor virgin daughters of Pacific Island tribal chiefs who would elope to avoid the chore of chewing kava root for the whole tribe. Poor things! Sexually pure virgins were considered to have what it took to make the perfect kava bolus. Girls have left virginity behind for less than kava roots, it seemed to me. Surely if I was making just a serving for myself (half the average quantity as always at first, to gauge my sensitivity), I could do it.

Chewing shredded roots! I eat carrots all the time! Surely I was up to chewing dried kava! I closed my eyes and dove into a nice pinch of the tablespoon I had settled upon for the 2 cups of water I wanted to use.

Three tablespoons of kava root it took me to decide that this was fun to do--once. The taste was fairly pleasant as dried roots go but the resulting goo was disgusting to look at before getting stirred into water (figured out on the second serving to just put the chewed pinches directly into the tap water), and once I got a small splinter in my throat that wouldn't go up or down for a minute. The blenderizing didn't smooth out the chewed pinches as much as I expected but that worked out well for the straining step.

All in all, it was an adventure in libation. If you shoot the drink it hits faster but wears off quickly as well. If you sip it, you may never know you've had any. But so far, no head pain.

Best of all, this delightful little adventure got me out of the Migraine dumps. Chewing shredded kava roots is like chewing toothpicks soaked in Novocaine. I imagine they'd be splendid for a sore throat or if you bit your tongue or something like that. Once I finally make it through what I've got left, I'm going the powder route which, I understand, is the preferred method nowadays in the areas where kava grows.

If I ever decide to do this again, that is. I'm not convinced that the benefits are worth the effort and besides, next time it won't be a first-time adventure. I'll have to go through this ritual several more times before I decide for sure. There are a couple of things to be aware of so take a minute to read the attached article, please, before embarking on kava.

I'll have to find something else when the depressive dip rolls around again and only an adventure will solve it. Need to make friends with an ethnobotanist, maybe try smoking mugwort or snorting sneezewort, something legal, safe, and new.

I made it through this time better off than I had been before. That's a good goal for next time. Now pardon me while I floss out a Novocaine toothpick. :)


Kava Kava - What is Kava Kava Source: altmedicine.about.com

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2010-06-23T15:03:00.001-05:00

Sweet kitty buried peacefully. All is well. Off to rest now. Thanks to everyone for prayers and good thoughts. May God richly bless you. :)

2010-06-22T09:47:00.001-05:00

APB:sick kitty back at the vet.Vet says this time kitty won't be able to bounce back. Please pray. Good thoughts gratefully appreciated.

Dood

2010-06-19T04:48:00.000-05:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

2010-06-11T08:46:00.001-05:00

@RickWarren on Twitter "When people call an ocean oil spill caused by human drilling 'an Act of God'-THAT friends, is taking God's name in vain!"

2010-06-08T03:42:00.001-05:00

Thank you, everybody, for focusing your prayers & efforts on the Gulf oil gusher from the coast outward. I'm less...stopped up. LOL

2010-06-02T21:45:00.001-05:00

APB: everybody praying & doing energy earth healing FOCUS DIRECTLY AT THE GULF. I'm physically feeling it & I'm ill. More on blog l8tr

2010-06-02T20:16:00.001-05:00

Best article I've seen explaining the current problems in Gaza, Israel, and the flotilla. http://ping.fm/0APpo

But it's fun...

2010-05-29T19:24:00.000-05:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

2010-05-25T02:10:00.001-05:00

*enjoying a nice baked potato with Valbresco feta, and a frosty mug of meadowsweet ale*

2010-05-23T06:28:00.001-05:00

By the way, if you want to verbally contend with me about Christianity, please be ready.

2010-05-21T18:15:00.001-05:00

Dear *cuckoo* Hope a tornado never comes near you. http://ping.fm/PgJFB

2010-05-16T00:15:00.001-05:00

Two years ago today, my father died. Please pray for all of us, especially my poor mother. Thank you and I love you all.

Unplugged until Monday.

Parin Stormlaughter has shared: Hoover Receives National Sustainability Award|ABC 33/40 News

2010-05-14T11:06:00.000-05:00

My little burg. I'm proud of us! :)

New Moon in Taurus, head not as bad as some New/Full Moon attacks, but tinnitus is screaming. It'll be gone by Sunday I expect.

Hoover Receives National Sustainability Award
Hoover Receives National Sustainability Award\|ABC 33/40 News Source: abc3340.com

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sigh

2010-05-08T17:13:00.000-05:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Icanhascheezburger?

2010-05-03T02:39:00.001-05:00

I wonder if natural gas is coming out of the two pipes that are also spewing the raw oil in the Gulf of Mexico?

2010-05-01T19:38:00.001-05:00

I've already smelt it here on this (foothill) mountain http://ping.fm/IfKgh
"Alabama Health Officials Warn Of Risks Caused By Oil Spill"

2010-04-28T21:42:00.001-05:00

Apparently there is newly discovered oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, that wasn't there even earlier this afternoon. God save our oceans.

Sharethis: Medication Overuse Headache Article: Education Through a Biased Lens? ~ Somebody Heal Me by Diana Lee

2010-04-28T15:06:00.000-05:00

Diana Lee has a critically analytical mind. Her commentary on the article she links to is excellent. Everybody read both her article and the one she comments on. What she and the article say are both absolutely right, in addition to being true. At IRS this would be called full, accurate, and complete.

Neither Diana's article nor the one she links to is about what to do in that Land of the Living Dead that exists between the end of pharmaceutical treatments and the end of the attack, but that little problem is a huge problem for me.

As Sparkling readers know, I'm huge into complementary treatments for Migraine and Meniere's, and for all the stuff that bothers me. It appears to me that complementary treatments are a Migraineur's sole port in the storm when he or she reaches the acute reimbursed pharmaceutical treatment limit, limits which despite claims to the contrary are frequently set by insurance companies according to toxicity of the treatment rather than desire to preserve company profits. I am aggressively pursuing complementary treatments to go with preventative work all in close conjunction with all my doctors. I'm all about prevention, myself. The fewer attacks that I have to treat at all, the better for me from my point of view.

Today's Full Scorpio Moon matches my own progressed Full Scorpio Moon and I'm taking the day to doctor it. I did a few little complementary things to prepare for this one and so far, this occurrence of the twice-monthly Full Moon/New Moon attacks is less intense than usual. That's a good thing.

Medication Overuse Headache Article: Education Through a Biased Lens? - Diana Lee, Somebody Heal Me
Medication Overuse Headache Article: Education Through a Biased Lens? ~ Somebody Heal Me by Diana Lee Source: somebodyhealme.dianalee.net

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2010-04-28T12:17:00.001-05:00

Please pray. They're fixing to set the Gulf of Mexico on fire. God save our living oceans.

2010-04-26T21:35:00.001-05:00

Never underestimate empowered Christians. Good night and may pain relief be with us.

2010-04-22T11:48:00.001-05:00

Joyous Earth Day! My mother found another snake & this one's black! :D

2010-04-18T20:21:00.001-05:00

Taking a few days off. Catch you all on the flip side!

Sharethis: Has the FDA lost its mind - again? - Welcome to the Alliance for Natural Health - USA

2010-04-13T23:19:00.000-05:00

Please read this article.

I have no idea what to say about this.

Has the FDA lost its mind - again?
Welcome to the Alliance for Natural Health - USA Source: anh-usa.org

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Sharethis: Healing Wise ... An Abundance of Greens by Susun Weed

2010-04-04T03:20:00.005-05:00

Just a quick note before the Exploding Migraine Warning of a Significant Event goes into effect.

It hurts my heart that I have a substantial belief system difference with Susun Weed; therefore, I don't recommend her books. I do recommend the health information contained in them.

I'm improving daily from the herbal and "green" information in her menopause book. I have mourned my losses from my hysterectomy and ovary removal, integrating that I will never conceive another child, never hold another soul in my body along with my own.

Mourning has broken, and I'm whole again in that respect. You never really get over the death of a child and my four miscarriages will never go away. But now I am strong again with my conception and childbearing in the "experience" column. It hit me quite forcefully that I never dealt with all the physical things that surround surgical menopause after the surgery six years ago this month.

Time to deal with MENOPAUSE. :P

Oh, my word what a blessing Vivelle_dot estrogen replacement created from yam has been! Never, never did I dream that things could be so...even. I see now that a good number of my other maturation issues revolve and repeat themselves because I haven't physically cared for my different self which has had no ovaries or womb since 2004.

Time passes slowly when you're getting well. It passes very slowly when you're anxious to get on with living! My own belief system is maturing as my age progresses and I want to get on with practicing it as well.

In this so-far quiet year, the Mother Earth again has proven herself to be the true mother that she is. Abundant, so abundant, freely giving me her green plants and air, water and sunshine, rain and wind, and the life that is borne of flora and fauna. Husbandry and right use of Earth's abundance will restore me, rebuild me from the inside out and outside inward. Does it cost so much to give time to share what "right use of the Earth" really means?

Well, right this minute, yes! My head is pounding from tax meltdown - my mother accidentally wrote a check to IRS for $5 million. It was a clerical error one would correctly say and we caught it before it got mailed, but all the problems that would have needed to be solved had it made it to IRS burst into my mind. Her reaction to the mistake didn't help either of us. This entire weekend has dealt me an assault on my energy body. A long talk with a friend has helped as has rose quartz along with mullein, yarrow, and mugwort infusion. Tomorrow, Easter Sunday, I plan to be outside as much as I possibly can in sunshine, in the breeze, and taking a walk through the backyard if I can. I need my Earthly mother after taking care of my earthly mother!

Please read the article. Find some abundance to feed.

And go outside: Your Mother's calling. :)

Healing Wise ... An Abundance of Greens by Susun Weed
http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/April10/healingwise.htm?utm_medium=email&utm_source=MyNewsletterBuilder&utm_campaign=Wise Woman Herbal Ezine - April 2010 1410249287&utm_term=Go to An Abundance of Greens Source: susunweed.com

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Sharethis: Biofilms and herbal medicine, Dr. Peter D'Adamo's SWAMI Xpress

2010-04-01T15:17:00.001-05:00

If you want to see a biofilm in action don't clean your teeth for a day, that gunky plaque is a biofilm - an appetizing blend of bacteria, sugars, proteins and bacterial DNA.'
- Carla Ross, http://www.seedsofwonder.typepad.com/

Well, I've must have a biofilm somewhere myself right now.

Night before last, I dreamt that I was showing someone a huge growth (non-existent in real life) on the left side of my neck. Yesterday I woke up with a tremendously painful, swollen, red tonsil.

I've doctored myself with echinacea, yarrow, and mullein infusion, used smokey quartz and amethyst for comfort, and rested and slept. A few minutes ago, my fever broke by itself. No meds taken other than my regular daily Meniere's and Migraine preventative meds.

I imagine it'll be tomorrow before it completely quits hurting when I swallow but I've turned the corner as the old saying in our family goes.

Since the first of the year I've been following a health plan designed by the author of the attached article, Peter D'Adamo, a naturopathic physician pioneer of blood type and health issues. I became sold on his concepts years ago when I saw improvements after making just a few changes in what I ate and how I dealt with stress using Dr. D'Adamo's blood type A secretor recommendations. Both of my daughters have benefited as well from his type O secretor recommendations.

Dr. D'Adamo's SWAMI Xpress System is a secured online database. With a purchased password, a person enters various bits of information such as fingerprint shape, length of certain fingers, specific head measurements, determinations such as which is longer: Torso or legs?

It is even quite detailed about such things as mitochondrial DNA haplogroup (if known) and Y chromosome information.

The database will sort the information input by the purchaser and designate a Geno Type and Epigenetic Worldview Type. What those facts mean to your health are explained in great detail in the printable report generated by the database.

The report includes an exhaustive list of health-improving recommended foods, foods nutritious but neutral, and foods best avoided for well-explained and documented reasons. The report contains much more information but you'll have to explore it yourself to find out!

SWAMI Xpress and information from an associated typing kit determined that I was a GT5 Warrior/Receptor Super-taster. I had already carefully read the book which preceded SWAMI Xpress, The Geno Type Diet by Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo with Catherine Whitney. I was familiar with Dr. D'Adamo's Geno Types and had a feel for the broad ideas of epigenetics.

To paraphrase Dr. D'Adamo's marvelous descriptive terms, I'm a survivor with a mystical bend, one who made it through the war and lived to tell the tales and sing the lays, to teach the lessons of war and live the way of peace. These characteristics are utterly unique to the rest of the world who share my physical sort. Conditions I faced in the womb contribute to my Geno Type and epigenetics. Just as family members might have varied blood types and Rh factors, family members may differ vastly epigenetically speaking.

I'm a lookout of sorts too, one might say, the canary in the coal mine. Receptor types "receive" everything around them and for me that's everything: germs, energy, weather, wind, inflections of a voice and turns of a phrase in speech, timing, temperature, sounds, tastes, and my word the list could go on for another page. Dr. D'Adamo identifies Receptive types as "immune tolerant" and my SWAMI Xpress plan is designed to switch on the genes that protect me from germies and deal with issues like cancer (that can be stopped, and probably frequently gets stopped, by healthy immune systems every day).

I don't believe I've read anything in Dr. D'Adamo's work about Receptives being energetic and emotional vacuum cleaners but that's what I am. In three months my overall health has improved noticeably. I wouldn't say I was any more functional but I'm healthier. My mother is quite dusty and gritty energetically and emotionally, so my vacuum cleaner stays full no matter how often I change the bag, to put this in metaphorical terms. Solving my receptivity to things of that nature is on my list. Unfortunately, it's not covered by SWAMI Xpress!

Please read the article carefully. Consider checking out Dr. D'Adamo's books from the library and seeing if you think you'd benefit from his ideas. The food recommendations are balanced, varied, widely available, and most importantly they're real foods. No diet foods on this plan!

I'll continue to post my progress. I've got other New Year's Resolutions to work on but improving my health between attacks is progressing.

Biofilms, infection and herbal medicine
Biofilms and herbal medicine Source: 4yourtype.com

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2010-03-23T13:10:00.001-05:00

Single coolest arachnid-related event of the year: tiny spider just let himself down on a string of silk about 4 inches from my forehead.

Herbs for What Ails Me

2010-03-19T18:55:00.000-05:00

"If you wonder what herbs you might need, see what's growing around you."
Unknown

I'm feeling better today thanks I am completely sure to the prayers and good thoughts from Sparkling readers. Thank you, so very much.

Today was an absolutely beautiful day - "severe clear" as our local meteorologists say. Mom and I dug up a couple of nice big dandelions, a nice bunch of wild garlic, and found a gorgeous snake. It was small and didn't have the characteristic triangle-shaped head of a venomous snake but we didn't bother it other than taking a few pics (well, Mom asked if I thought she should chop it with the shovel and I liked to have screeched "Don't you DARE!" XD ).

Anyhow...

I've spent some time this late winter reading up on plants that grow around here. One of my New Year's resolutions was to improve my health between attacks. I've always been a plant gal but relied on store-bought and a few cultivated herbs for my oils and unguents, salves and balms as my brother used to call them.

I wish I could remember where I heard the adage quoted above but it's lost in the black abyss that used to be my gray matter. It did pop back into my brain after all these years. I've made a concerted effort to identify the wild plants - weeds, I should call'em what they are - that grow in the relatively protected area of my back yard.

With the help of webcrawler, a botanist Migraine-Associated Vertigo bud o'mine, and my country-reared mother, I have discovered to my unending delight that a number of useful plants and trees are growing free for the digging and clipping in my backyard:

* Sambucus racemosa - American Red Elder
* Taraxacum - Dandelion
* Rumex Crispus - Yellow Dock, also called Curly Dock
* Verbascum Thapsus - Greater Mullein
* Viola Odorata - Sweet Violet
* Glechoma Hederacea - Alehoof, also called Ground Ivy and gill-go-over-ground
* Adiantum - Maidenhair Fern
* Acer Rubrum - Red Maple
* Quercus Palustris - Pin Oak
* Carya - Hickory Tree
* Allium Canadense - Wild Garlic, also called Wild Onion
* Cornus - Wild Dogwood Tree
* Pinus Palustris - Longleaf Pine
* Carduus Nutans - Musk Thistle

And at least half again as many more still to be identified!

I know, I know - what on earth could Pin Oak do medicinally? Nothing that I know of, but the leaves can be used in such things as meadmaking instead of oak chips and oak cubes for aging. Longleaf Pine? The green needles placed in boiling water and the steam inhaled help congested sinuses and lungs (and many parts are edible if you're Euell Gibbons, which I am not).

I don't expect to use all of these plants. The inner bark of Dogwood is a very strong, considered "harsh", laxative. Not going there. The American Red Elder berries are not usable this year unfortunately. Alehoof does have some mild medicinal properties but its claim to fame is in clearing beer. I actually don't care for Hickory nuts and Maidenhair Fern is endangered in some states so I'll let it be.

But the Dandelion, Yellow Dock, Mullein, Sweet Violet, and Wild Garlic have already been put into use. Gonna have boiled Musk Thistle root here in a little bit. And, I've cultivated lavender, roses, a yearly-rotating variety of kitchen herbs, and my mother grows the best tomatoes you'll ever put in your mouth.

So, I'm now adding wild backyard plants to my complementary regimen. Somehow I feel better already.

Or I did until I heard that my mother, who happened to run into my daughter recently, told her, "Oh, your mother is fine. She pulled weeds out of the backyard this morning and she's eating them for lunch." :)

Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Annual Month-Long March Meniere's/Migraine Attack

2010-03-18T08:20:00.000-05:00

***Simul-posting***

Somebody please put me out of my Meniere's/Migraine misery. Just let me live in the process.

Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Sharethis: Furious backlash from Simon Singh libel case puts chiropractors on ropes | Martin Robbins | Science | guardian.co.uk

2010-03-14T11:42:00.000-05:00

Three-day combo Meniere's/Migraine attack, but wanted to comment on this.

The sad aspect of this controversy is that there indeed may be an energetic aspect to many conditions. A person may have nothing that a doctor can identify as wrong, yet be in poor health. Chiropractics and energy medicine may be able to resolve the poor health and return a person to radiant vitality and well-being even though no medical condition were ever to be identified to have caused the decline in health.

Many complementary and some alternative treatments have millenia of flawless track records for restoring radiant vitality and well-being to the sick and the well alike. I'm working with rock medicine, energy medicine, and herbal medicine to restore mine. I believe it will be a step forward to be better between attacks.

Going to take more meds now. My prev med regimen, smokey quartz, and Maxwell House Lite have settled my stomach and given me a window to eat some soup. I'll make it. I always do.

Read the article. Please comment if you feel so inclined.

Furious backlash from Simon Singh libel case puts chiropractors on ropes
Furious backlash from Simon Singh libel case puts chiropractors on ropes \| Martin Robbins \| Science \| guardian.co.uk Source: guardian.co.uk

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Sharethis: Victims of electrosensitivity syndrome say EMFs cause symptoms - latimes .com

2010-02-16T16:22:00.000-06:00

Giving out from C-6 vertebra-exacerbated Migraine but can't let this one go without a comment. Please keep in mind that I'm at the beginning of a major attack.

Don't trust all the headlines you read.

First article: Commentary on the second article.

Vastly different headlines, different conclusions. Microwaves are so dangerous that microwave ovens are shielded with LEAD. What levels of microwaves were the study subjects exposed to? Are they at cancer risk now?

This resembles the campaign to convince the public that monosodium glutamate (MSG) isn't a neurological trigger because studies can't prove that anyone is allergic to it. What a straw man! Forget allergies. They were never the issue with neurologically sensitive people anyway. Study the MSG/neurological triggering problem if you want the answer to the MSG/neurological triggering phenomenon.

And keep in mind how few people there are other than Migraineurs who understand Migraine as a genetic brain dysfunction disease. Think of the blogs and bulletin boards out there working extremely hard to set the record straight. Migraineurs, how long has it taken many of us to find a doctor who takes us seriously? How many family members and friends tell us that there's really nothing wrong with us that "living right" won't fix? That our problems are all in our heads? Who all has been called hysterical by the medical community or, to use the medical slang, a "turkey"? Or a "little papers" patient?

Bottom line: if it triggers you, it triggers you. Anyone who tells you differently should be shunned.

Sheesh.

I'm going back to bed with ice on my C-6.

This should be discussed in greater detail. Please comment if you have a different view point. It may be a day or two before I can get back to you but this is important.

Victims of electrosensitivity syndrome say EMFs cause symptoms
Victims of electrosensitivity syndrome say EMFs cause symptoms - latimes.com Source: latimes.com

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Experts: 'Electrosensitivity Syndrome' a Mental--Not Physical--Problem
Experts: 'Electrosensitivity Syndrome' a Mental--Not Physical--Problem Source: healthcentral.com

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AminoSweet®: The World's Best Aspartame (??)

2010-02-12T09:38:00.000-06:00

Aspartame, a well-known trigger of neurological symptoms, is being rebranded by the world's leading manufacturer as a natural sweetener, made from two amino acids that taste exactly like sugar. I'm not making this up.

Ajinomoto Group has created a quick dissolving formulation of aspartame and is marketing it in Europe under the name AminoSweet. AminoSweet will target processed food producers according to the FAQ document below.

As of today, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration website search engine doesn't locate any documents with the name AminoSweet. I have no idea if sodas and yogurts will suddenly show up on store shelves in the U. S. with an ingredient named AminoSweet. If you see it, it's aspartame and the label might not have any other wording to clue you in.

When aspartame was introduce as NutraSweet 25 years ago, it took me about 2 days to discover that NutraSweet triggered Migraine attacks in me.

I am of the firm opinion that aspartame will become the "tobacco" of the 21st century. Apparently the chain of stores ASDA in Europe are of the opinion that advertising their store brand as having "no hidden nasties" such as aspartame was good enough for a judge to agree to allow the stores to continue using the label wording to the dismay of Ajinomoto Group who plans to appeal the decision.

Please, read the articles. If aspartame is a trigger for you, be on the label lookout for AminoSweet(r), The World's Best Aspartame.

Technical Information - AminoSweet
Technical_information_booklet.pdf (application/pdf Object) Source: aji-aspartame.eu

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Ajinomoto brands aspartame "AminoSweet"
FoodBev.com \| Ajinomoto brands aspartame ��AminoSweet�� Source: foodbev.com

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Anjinomoto defends reputation of aspartame
FoodBev.com \| Ajinomoto defends reputation of aspartame Source: foodbev.com

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Asda wins aspartame battle with Ajinomoto
FoodBev.com \| Asda wins aspartame battle with Ajinomoto Source: foodbev.com

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Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Vertigo into Vertigone in Two Easy Steps! XD

2010-01-25T17:50:00.000-06:00

Very quickly--wanted to share this bit of success before I crash and burn entirely.

Late last evening, I got hit suddenly by three punches of vertigo within about 10 minute's time. Today vertigo and nausea are washing over me wave after wave, tinnitus is absolutely shrieking like a banshee and my ears are poised to expel their contents like projectile vomiting. Oh, and I've got pounding head pain as well.

I ate oatmeal with hempseed oil to see if that would settle my stomach. Nothing happened. I took both Robinul and Valium, the two prescriptions that my neurotologist gave me for Meniere's symptoms. Two and half hours past and other than feeling drowsy as well, I had every symptom that I've had all day.

Between waves, I made 16 fl ozs of peppermint tea and put in two small spoonfuls of my homemade Honey Stuff which has a good dose of ginger in it into each teacup. Ginger is perhaps the top-of-the-line non-Rx vertigo and nausea treatment out there. I put Bach Flower Remedies Scleranthus, Wild Oat, and Gentian drops in the tea cup as well.

Not only does this peppermint/honey/citrus/ginger tea tastes utterly divine, but in this last half an hour the vertigo has slowed to a small constant rather than strong waves and the nausea has vanished completely.

Could it be that the meds simply took longer than 2 1/2 hours to work? Possible but my stomach was actually empty enough when I took them that they should have hit my system within about 20 minutes or so. They did not.

I can certainly feel them now nearly 3 hours later. Hell, in another hour it'll be time for more and the last dose has only just begun. I'm of the firm opinion that this tea rebuked the rising tide until the meds had a chance.

If you haven't got a jar of Honey Stuff in your fridge, consider making some up on a day when your over health and ability suns are shining. It has proven itself valuable and, when stored in properly sanitized containers in the fridge, should last for at least a year.

I'm off for a crash landing. Take care. Hang in there.

Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Peace, love, herbs, and Honey Stuff

2010-01-20T16:23:00.002-06:00

Physical vulnerability along with opportunistic viruses means: Time for peace, love, and Honey Stuff!

Got way, way too aggravated at the Office of Personnel Management last week. I believe I might have made myself physically vulnerable in the process. In addition, our house has been filled with plumbers, the gas company, the phone company, technicians, and repairmen of all sorts and every one of them has been hacking and coughing.

I was concerned that I might have to take the day off tomorrow from my full-time job of getting well but I realized that in fact, I'll be working overtime. No rest for the weary!

Here's a recipe for a natural honey, ginger, and citrus virus remedy that's as delicious as it is effective. Glad I've got some in the fridge already!

Gonna jump on this like a chicken on a june bug and mother-love it right out of my system. Mullein leaf tea and hops syrup now, neti pot, Sambucol (elderberry and echinacea syrup), and yarrow before bed. And soup with raw garlic stirred in just before I eat it. I know, I know, but raw garlic is useful for viruses. Once it's cooked, some of the therapeutic benefits disappear. Since that's why I'll be using it, it'll only get as hot as the soup itself right before I eat it.

Gonna get nice and peaceful underneath some rocks as well. Rocks just make me comfy and content, and when they're hot from the sun...oh me... Bloodstone, amethyst, clear calcite, clear quartz, and rose quartz are all marvelous help for viruses. Smokey quartz is really nice for the aches and pains right at first.

This should be gone by tomorrow.

I might get so peacefully, tonically herbal that I put on a headband and start flashing peace signs. XD

Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Help the Red Cross - now

2010-01-13T23:34:00.000-06:00

Short post, but critical.

The earthquake in Haiti has made the Red Cross run dry of supplies. Time to roll up our sleeves and take out...

Some blood.

The Red Cross designated me as a "newborn donor". I'm A- (neg) always welcome by the heart patients at our university teaching hospital. They have a heart surgery program known world wide.

Now that I know my primary problems are spinal and by extension energy related, I see no reason not to resume donating blood. Yeah, it triggers Migraine but now I've got a better handle on why and how to prepare myself to minimize it. I'll discuss all of this with the nurses at the Red Cross beforehand to be sure. The nurses have always told me they could see no reason for me not to donate, from their side. Well, once my iron wasn't high enough but only once.

Every day, plenty of people need blood. My father was given 9 pints of whole blood in the months before he died of metastasized prostate cancer. The blood didn't cure him, but it eased much of his discomfort especially near the end.

If you can, donate blood soon. I hope to get busy replacing the 9 pints my father received now.

Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Help me, I think I'm falling...

2010-01-04T11:38:00.000-06:00

"Help me, I think I'm falling..."
words and lyrics by Joni Mitchell

I was standing dead still, looking out the window to see if I could discern even the tiniest snowflake, and then crashed into the closet doors to my right. Never even knew I was off balance until I hit the doors. No memory of falling either. I was looking--and then was crashing. The point is that nothing triggered me to catch myself before I hit. Natural off-balance reactions failed completely. No surprise. I test as having no vestibular function.

Woke up with my head numb and heavy-feeling on my right side, where it was hurting last night. My ears are not hearing equally. And I sliced my thumb last night and bled all over celery and cucumber lol.

These next few weeks might be quite rough. The waning El Nino weather pattern is creating one huge system after another, one every couple or three days. I'm trying a new Bach Flower Remedy combination specifically for dealing with weather changes (more on Bach and me soon). Too bad I had not tried it before I fell!

I was quite pleased that I had a couple of good days last week. I'm feeling better between Meniere's and Migraine attacks and that is an absolute improvement. I'm down to all "decafs" now: Decaf coffee, decaf tea, and I've got just one pound of real coffee in the freezer for Migraines that call for it. My sensitivity has gone through the roof. A cup of real coffee now would make me a babbling maniac.

I've got a couple of things on my job plate this year: A new system by Dr. Peter D'Adamo that tailors diet and lifestyle recommendations by running a large number of pieces of data through a web-based calculator; continuing to concentrate on emotion hygiene now working with Bach Flower Remedies; resolved to memorize how to trace my energy meridians; and I'm going to cut my hair myself this year. Really!

This might turn out to be a year of introspection for me. I'm good with that. I need time to figure out more work-arounds such as the cutting-my-hair-myself thing. No way on earth I can lay my purely busted cervical spine into the sink at the shampoo station, just don't seem to be able to find a stylist who understands the words, "I CAN'T HANDLE A COMPLICATED HAIRSTYLE." I'll just do it all myself. So there! :p

I need more time to understand rocks and all the wonderful things they can do. There hasn't been enough (or much of any really) research done on therapeutic external use of minerals so I'll continue to guinea-pig on myself. I am having trouble adapting to how quickly my overall sensitivity is escalating and need time to figure out how to deal with that. I'm having success with 100% pure essential oils, simple, plain and natural foods, and--yes, I'm admitting to this--I've had some success with feng shui. But it all takes time, brain time, silent time, alone time, down time, for me at any rate.

I need more time by myself overall. My mother is extremely resistant to cooperating. I understand that she's grieving still. But now she has a few friends her age, a marvelous volunteer job one day a month that she loves (perfect for a 76 year old), and I'm not going anywhere. Time for some boundary-setting, I guess I'm saying.

I'll be posting fewer columns here as well. Posting my stream-of-consciousness ponderings wouldn't be useful to me nor interesting to all y'all.

Hopefully, a quiet year ahead. I most assuredly need it. I'll bet we all do. :)

Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Christmas Carols for You!

2009-12-21T09:25:00.000-06:00

See if you can guess the names of Christmas songs I've parodied? :D

[title]
We wish you a healthy Christmas!
No headaches upon this Christmas!
A warm, understanding Christmas,
And a pain-free New Year!

Less Migraines we bring, for you and your friends,
Less Migraines for Christmas and a pain-free New Year!

[title]
There we went a-vomiting
Before we gained control!
There we went a wand’ring
Such foggy brain’d trolls!

Love and joy come to you!
May your health get better too!
May God bless you and send you
A year of better health,
May God send you a year of better health!

[title]
I’m dreaming of a white ice pack,
Just like the ones my mother knows,
Where the cold spots freeze you,
And warm spots fail you,
Like men, watching TV sports!

I’m dreaming of a cold ice pack,
With every pounding pain I feel,
May your days be dark, quiet dreams,
Close the door to soften touchdown screams.

[title]
The Cluster and the Migraine,
When they are both full-blown,
Of all the curses that man may know,
It’s the combo that’s the crown.

[title]
In the bleak mid-Migraine,
Dreadful aches and moans,
Right behind the eyeball,
Underneath a stone.

Rocks were piled up, rock on rock,
Rock on rock,
In the bleak mid-Migraine,
Not so long ago.

[title]
Toradol, toradol, toradol rocks!
Toradol eases, toradol stops!
No wracking aching
Dependency free!
I’ll take an IV, if you please!

Toradol, toradol, toradol rocks!
Toradol ‘round the clock!
Toradol is wonderful
An IV heaven sent!
Doesn’t Toradol rock! :D

Merry Christmas if that's your holiday. It's mine. Warm love and wishes for health and happiness!

Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Holiday Cheer - Sharethis: Dark chocolate prevents wrinkles, skin cancer

2009-12-11T03:16:00.000-06:00

Just in time for Christmas...MORE GOOD NEWS FROM THE CHOCOLATE FRONT!

Fear not that high quality, high cocoa solids chocolate is nowhere to be found. World Wide Chocolate is one online purveyor who will bring such Elysian delights to your house, your very abode as it were. They are an online business I recommend. I do business with them and have been very pleased with all transactions.

Right now, yea at this very moment, Callebaut Belgian dark chocolate batons boulangers are melting in my mouth, smooth as liquid black gold. This particular baking formulation has only 44% cocoa solids but I've got chocolate with 80% cocoa solids in the cabinet. HELL yeah I eat baking chocolate! And every sort of bonbon and confection, bakery item and savory dish containing Theobroma cacao that I can think up or find.

There may be some who consume greater quantities of chocolate than I do but I'll put my Theobroma cacao tastes up there with the biggest eaters any day.

Want to know why I don't eat Hershey's kisses? Scroll down to the blog entitled "The Sweet Life" and look for the entry dated Friday June 5, 2009. Read the comments. Yep, there's one from ME. I recommend The Bee Folks. They carry bulk and varietal honey, some nice beeswax products, and Lori had TRIPLET BOYS last Spring. They're good people to do business with. I go through a lot of honey. Lori sells half gallons, gallons, and even larger sizes as well as 8 oz and a couple of 4 oz sizes of premium honeys.

I hope to pull together some Theobroma cacao recipes and projects for the next article. Preview: That last swallow of ~~sediment~~ coffee in the pot that no one wants? Add cocoa powder and another couple of ingredients to make a nice scrub for stretch marks that will tickle your spouse's tongue as well. Ohhhh...yeah...

Chocolate is a Migraine trigger for some people. It appears it may have something to do with endothelial function and production of nitric oxide, which expands blood vessels. [Disclaimer: I have carefully recorded my physical responses to chocolate over the many years I've dealt with Migraine and found one correlation: The craving for chocolate is a sure sign that Migraine attacks are imminent. Eat chocolate, don't eat chocolate, no effect on whether attacks occur in me or their intensity.] Read this interesting article from--Hershey's--about some of the nice things chocolate does for people. The article includes citations but frankly, I'd consider Hershey's Chocolate an expert in chocolate in their own right. They're not my chocolatiers but I'll count on their information any day.

Eat high quality, high cocoa solids chocolate. And honey. Every day. The Sparkling Mother is glad it's good for you. :D

Dark chocolate prevents wrinkles, skin cancer
Dark chocolate prevents wrinkles, skin cancer Source: presstv.ir

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Sharethis: Migraine Increases Likelihood of Stroke - US News and World Report

2009-11-23T07:01:00.005-06:00

Heeheehee! Oh heck yeah, I'm a spoil-sport! An article about STROKE RISK on Thanksgiving!

Yeeebuddy, you got that right. When you're a walking stroke waiting to happen like I am, you don't get time off for holidays from vigilance.

The study appears to have missed the two most crucial bits of information that could have been gleaned had anyone thought to look for them: whether the stroke sufferers had taken any triptan therapy in the preceding 48 hours, and whether any were on Migraine prevention medication (or medication with Migraine preventative effects). I believe triptans may contribute to Migraine progression (including contributing to strokes) but without tracking it or mining it out of previous studies we won't know. All we'll have are the prescribing information warnings and contraindications from the drug manufacturers.

Hmmm...that might be a good project: to put links to all the triptan prescribing information here on this blog.

Full disclosure: I have prescribed for me a triptan called Axert, but not for Migraine. Triptans do not provide any Migraine relief for me. I've been diagnosed with cluster headaches for which Axert is a miracle and they're what the doc prescribed Axert for. I've needed fewer than 12 doses in the last 18 months, one of which I took this week. One Axert and the cluster cycle is busted. That is utterly amazing. Cluster headaches are also called "suicide headaches" because that's an apt description of how they affect some of us. I have no other triptans and they are not in the Migraine portion of my doctor-and-me-drawn-up management plan.

I'm not totally opposed to triptan usage. I believe it should not be the first rescue medication a person reaches for in an attack and I believe it should not be written into Migraine management plans that way. The much-maligned health insurance industry frequently limits the number of doses of triptans that they'll pay for in a month's time. I can't help but wonder if that's because triptans are not harmless.

Anyhow...eat turkey, or tofurduken if you're Weird Al, rest after dessert, take a nice long walk in the fresh air, and know that the Sparkling One is thankful that you read her thoughts.

Wait...that doesn't sound exactly the way I mean it...some people do read thoughts...never mind, the dressing's getting cold. XD

[Article at least number 1,801 Editorial note] Migraine Increases Likelihood of Stroke
Migraine Increases Likelihood of Stroke - US News and World Report Source: health.usnews.com

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Sharethis: Justice Department "Ten Employment Myths" video

2009-11-19T18:20:00.000-06:00

This should be excellent.

I thought about waiting until the video was up on the U. S. government's website www.ada.gov but I still don't see it. If it's available now please somebody holler.

If your employer needs educating about YOUR rights and responsibilities as an employee with a disabling condition, don't wait. Find out on your own like I did and pass along what you learn!

Justice Department Releases ADA Employment Video: Ten Employment Myths: Information about the Americans with Disabilities Act
Welcome to the United States Department of Justice Source: justice.gov

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