New Writer on Hurt.com - Marion
Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 9:57PM Welcome Marion to the Hurt.com writing team!
Name: Marion
About me: I'm in my mid-fifties and live with my husband on the Eastside of Lake Washington in the Seattle area. I’m a former academic researcher and now I work as a writer and volunteer. I'm passionate about helping people come through challenges and create better lives.
Experiences with Pain: Fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, knee and ankle injuries, osteoarthritis, back injury, Sjogren's Syndrome
Before I had cancer, I did a lot of hiking, backpacking and rockhounding. I also enjoyed a martial art, armored medieval foot combat re-creation. Over the years I had repeated ankle and knee injuries, plus the occasional back injury. I've re-conditioned and healed a great deal, but I have to be careful to stay in shape and not aggravate old problems. Staying flexible and maintaining good balance is important to me.
Around age 30 I began to have trouble with dry eyes, eventually diagnosed as Sjogren's Syndrome. Although my case is mild it requires that I actively manage dry eyes, nose and mouth and sometimes other symptoms. People with Sjogren's also have a higher risk of lymphatic cancer.
At age 35, I was diagnosed with Stage III Hodgkin Lymphoma. I underwent a chemotherapy regimen called ABV-MOPP. Thankfully, the treatment cured the cancer, but left me with fibromyalgia, osteoporosis and peripheral neuropathy in hands, arms and feet. Managing these and other aftereffects of treatment is a life-long commitment. I walk and do yoga to stay in shape, and still go hiking in summer.
Osteoarthritis runs in my mother’s family and I have it in my neck, knee and hands. My sister also has fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis.
I choose to manage my pain as much as I can with alternative therapies because I tend to experience side effects from drugs. Fortunately, there are many other ways to approach chronic pain!
Why Hurt.com: Making a commitment to Hurt.com lets me share what's worked for me, so that the knowledge can help others get a head start. Learning to work with practitioners, make lifestyle changes, engage with remedies and treatments and understand research is powerful "medicine" for managing chronic pain.
Favorite Pain Management Web Sites:
http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/default.htm
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/pain/chronic.htm
http://www.sjogrens.org/home/about-sjogrens-syndrome/living-with-sjogrens