If our temperatures continue to hover around 8C at night fall will arrive earlier than normal this year.  The leaves are beginning to turn yellow and my flowers are no longer healthy looking.  Usually, our summers are hot and humid and we spend as much time as possible at the lake.  Not this year.  There were not enough hot humid days to tempt one to head out to the nearest beach.

My family doctor together with my cardiologist decided to up my pain medication which has made a huge difference in my daily life.  It does not make my life pain-free but it helps me cope with the pain I am left with.   Thanks to the added pain relief my blood pressure levels have been better controlled.  This in turn prevents my heart muscles from further thickening.  I need to remind my readers to research thoroughly the pitfalls of drinking radioactive iodine to dimmish the effects of Graves Disease.   When I was diagnosed with Graves Disease I was given one option to deal with this problem.  I was given a leaded mug with radioactive iodine and told not to touch the container but to drink the contents using a straw.  If you are presented with this diagnosis please research the treatment that is offered very thoroughly.  It could mean the difference between a healthy life and a pain-filled life.  There is a lot of information on this site.  It documents not only my story but the stories of many other patients facing a thyroid disease diagnosis.

After I was diagnosed with Graves Disease I was told that if you get one autoimmune disease you are susceptible to more.  At first, I did not believe this.  After all, dealing with the aftereffects of Graves Disease and radioactive iodine was enough grief to last me a lifetime To my dismay the autoimmune diseases started to pile up.  First bone and joint pain showed up.  After 20 years of suffering and trying to explain to the doctors how I felt I was diagnosed with arthritis.  I have no idea why it took 20 years after my initial Graves Disease diagnosis to come up with the arthritis diagnosis.  Then I was told that I now had Planus Lichen.   Lichen planus is a condition of the skin, hair, nails, mouth, and genitals.  On the skin, lichen planus often appears as purple, itchy, flat bumps that develop over several weeks. In the mouth and genital mucosa, lichen planus forms lacy white patches, sometimes with painful sores.  Then came the Ménière disease and the list goes on.  Enough complaining.

I am continuing to add pictures and videos to my Veseli Ukrainian Dance Ensemble group, the Steinbach Minor Hockey group, and the MHV  Museum Ladies Auxillary.  The Veseli site is at  https://www.facebook.com/groups/916933582369514  and the MVH Museum site is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/287065537176869.

Until next time.