Fatigue and Endometriosis

(click on the title above to access the article I'm referencing in this blog post)


I have always found it difficult to deal with juggling parenting, full-time university student, volunteer committee Vice Chair, and other various responsibilities. However, I have faithfully practiced the art of denial in most cases where I felt like I was lacking when I failed to have enough energy to complete the tasks of the day.

Through researching vague leg pain (quite sharp and distinct in feeling, vague in cause) I found a link to reality and non-reality: a close family member has endometriosis and chronic fatigue. I have experienced the intense "urge to nap" more often than not in my life and wanted to call it "chronic fatigue syndrome" but it didn't seem to match the symptoms I was finding online. Enter the vague leg pain: it has gotten worse over the preceding months but around the same time every month (I'll leave it at that) I get a sharp shooting pain in one or both legs starting at the lower back or hip area.

Since I was in pain this evening, I thought I'd research it online and at http://www.endo-resolved.com/fatigue-article.html you'll find an article on self-care--a concept quite foreign to me until lately. It also has links on endometriosis. Check it out.

And, oh yeah, I'm no longer dwelling in the Desert of Denial. My fatigue is real. I choose to take care of myself today and thank God for the internet! :-)

Watch out for the evil octopus... ;-)

I was bored out of my skull in Genetics this evening and would rather tell you about the octopus than the fact that I finally took allergy meds and am happy to state that I am no longer trying to scratch my eyelids off or pull out all my eyelashes... enjoy! thanks to eureka! science news.com (either click on the title above or copy and paste the code below into your browser...
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/04/15/tentacles.venom.new.study.reveals.all.octopuses.are.venomous

Facebook Users and Lower College Grades (click on this link for story)

As if it wasn't sad enough to give up what little I *had* of a social life, now they're saying that Facebook use has been linked to lower grades in college. Although there's more than one study that has shown results similar to this type of result for Facebook usage, I believe there still needs to be studies done to counter this argument. :-)

Source: esciencenews.com

New Methamphetamine Test -- Industrial Hygienists Create Instant Test To Identify Traces Of Crystal Methamphetamine

Just in case you were thinking that law enforcement had forgotten all about our "Meth Problem" in the United States, here they go -- or went, according to the date on the above-referenced article -- being innovative in finding new means by which to alleviate some of the fears and dangers to meth-lab cleanup crew members, as well as spark a new flame of worry under the heinies of those currently involved in meth-lab usage.

Here's the background info:
ScienceDaily (http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/0310-new_methamphetamine_test.htm#) -- Industrial hygienists developed a quick swab test to identify dangerous residue of toxic chemicals left behind in the creation of homemade methamphetamine. This test works like a pregnancy test. Swabbing the suspected surface leads to a color change if meth is detected, allowing for safety precautions and immediate clean-up when necessary.

Research Interests and Varying the Content of My Blog

Hi y'all! This is just a check-in to let you know that I will now be posting sites "of academic interest." These websites and/or links to articles will give the reader/perusing blog follower a chance to see what my academic interests encompass. A few of my more broad interest categories are as follows:

1. Drug Addiction/Alcoholism; particularly the biopsychological factors that play a role in establishing and maintaining addiction

2. Addiction's Effect on Family Subsystems

3. Child Abuse and Neglect

4. Bipolar Disorder

5. Prevention of Teen At-Risk Behavior Through Use of Supportive Measures

6. Program Development for At-Risk youth