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(By [http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Leah_Barker/2347652]Leah Barker)
Often times when I talk about advancing into the later stages of Huntington's Disease, people (for a reason I will never know) think that it is comforting to tell me that I might die by getting ran over a bus, or inheriting breast cancer, or tripping on a rock and cracking my head open. They tell me this to say, "Hey, you never know what the future might bring. You might die from something else before you even progress in the disease!"
Okay... what? Almost every person that I confide in tells me things like this. Let me be the first to say that it is not comforting at all. The fact is, I know that I have HD; I know that my brain is degenerating and that someday, it will destroy my mind and my body.
I may look like I'm 23, but in reality, I'm 52.
On a timeline, that is. My clock is ticking faster than yours, whether you want to believe it or not. I don't have a potential long-life span. This is it. It's inevitable. And I'm okay (for the most part).
What most people don't understand or refuse to believe is that I am sick now. With a CAG of 43, I didn't think that my symptoms would start showing until my 40's, but after doing some research, I found that most people with a CAG of 43 begin to endure emotional problems within their 20's.
This is where my depression, anxiety, paranoia, and mild OCD come in. It's so hard to deal with it all, especially when people believe that it's "all in my head." I am speaking for all the other HD victims who are waging the same war. And it is, indeed, a blood-shedding battle that we fight every day, while everyone else goes about their routine business.
On the days that I cannot get out of bed and I have to keep the curtains shut, I am not being lazy. I am fighting the demons in my head that tell me that dying would be better than progressing, and let me tell you, I cannot imagine this mental degradation getting worse, but it has to.
When I don't answer my phone calls or talk to my friends when they want to hang out, it is not because I'm being anti-social. It is because I have days when I'm afraid of crowds or going outside. I'm afraid of the sunlight because it reminds me of a happiness that is slipping further from my grip every day. I'm almost always afraid of something, but it's just that word: something. I don't know what it is or when it will hit. It comes and goes as it pleases, and it steals every ounce of will and inspiration that I cling so desperately to on the good days.
I know there are others who are going through the same thing, and I'm so thankful for the fellow victims who take my hand and suffer with me.
I just want to announce that this is a disease, not a choice. I can only control so much, and it kills me.
My brain is like a big jigsaw puzzle that loses more pieces as the clock keeps ticking. Sometimes, on rare occasions, I think that the puzzle might be complete, but the euphoria only lasts for so long, and then the pieces become lost again.
But I'm going to embrace it. The manic depression, anxiety, paranoia, bipolar disorder, and slight schizophrenia-they are all a part of me, and though they may appear as enemies, I like to call them my friends when they allow me to relate to others who are wading through similar waters.
So, I am going to call them my friends for as long as I have the will, and I plan on having the will for a long, long time. Maybe until my very last breath. Only time will tell.
Leah Barker
Capturingthecorners.com
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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?I-Look-Like-Im-23,-But-Im-Really-52&id=9562424] I Look Like I'm 23, But I'm Really 52
Why Vitamin D or Lack of It May Be Contributing to or Causing Your Health Issues
By [http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Ronald_Vaught/2379960]Ronald Vaught
I'm sure by now everybody has heard of Vitamin D and how important it is for our overall health! If you haven't, please crawl out from under that rock for a moment so I can bring you up to speed! Most people, I'm hoping, are even supplementing with it daily (or they should be). Vitamin D is actually a not a vitamin at all but is a pro-hormone, as it can be manufactured in our body when we are exposed to light. Herein is where our problems arise. We get very little sunshine into our tissues on a regular basis nowadays. Many of us live at a latitude which predisposes us to sub-par sun exposure on our skin (where all the Vitamin D magic starts), or we are slathering on sunscreen for protection against the damaging effects of the sun, (like producing Vitamin D to keep us healthy) which halts our vitamin D conversion!
It turns out that about 40% of the global population is deficient in Vitamin D and over 70% of Americans are either deficient or insufficient in their vitamin D levels. The sunlight we are exposed to daily is our primary source of vitamin D and since we get very little from our diets, if we are not receiving that exposure on our skin, you can imagine how important supplementation now becomes. A deficiency of Vitamin D (a serum vitamin D 25-OH level less than 20 ng/dl) is linked to many chronic diseases, cancers, poor bone health, autoimmune diseases, neurocognitive issues like depression, mood stability and Alzheimer's disease. You can begin to see the importance of having adequate levels for our bodies to operate efficiently and without disease. We have a vitamin D receptor in nearly every single cell in our body and it is responsible for regulating over 3000 of our genes. So, you can understand the gravity of the situation. Unless you plan on sunbathing in the summer and taking vacations to sunbathe in the winter, your Vitamin D requirements might need some attention. I always tell my patients that they should know their vitamin D level. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin (OK, pro-hormone) that needs to be monitored. As with any fat soluble vitamin, toxicity can be an issue (although Vitamin D has a very broad range level of safety).
Where do we start? With a simple blood draw, inexpensive, not routinely done with the normal CBC or CMP, but can easily be added by asking your doctor. The test is serum Vitamin D 25-OH, and is one of the more important numbers you should know.
I had a patient who was suffering from crippling agoraphobia (she felt it unsafe to leave her home). What stood out the most from her blood work results was that her vitamin D 25-OH level was in the single digits at 7ng/dl. Very shortly after supplementing with Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) she had no anxiety, depression or mood instabilities, and her words were, "she felt like herself again"!
Vitamin D is one of the supplements I tell every one of my patients they should be taking regularly for their health. How much you may ask? Dosage depends on your serum blood levels. If you are deficient or insufficient in your Vitamin D levels, work with a practitioner to help monitor it and set your dosing appropriately. That being said, a very safe dosage that you may immediately start supplementing with (until you can have your blood levels checked) is a summertime dose of 5,000 I.U.s and wintertime dose of 7-10,000 I.U.s of vitamin D3. Everyone should be supplementing with some amount of Vitamin D for better health. If you need your levels checked or dosage customized, give us a call and we'll accommodate your needs.
Serum Vitamin D levels should be added to your typical blood draw panels that are routinely assessed for your yearly health. If you've haven't had your Vitamin D levels taken please contact us at http://www.wealliving.com and we can arrange for you to obtain your levels.
Dr. Ronald Vaught, D.C. Is a functional medicine Certified Gluten Practitioner, cofounder of Wealliving.com and owner of Vaught Chiropractic and Wellness. He can be reached at 708-388-1522 or [mailto:drronvaught@wealliving.com]drronvaught@wealliving.com
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-Vitamin-D-or-Lack-of-It-May-Be-Contributing-to-or-Causing-Your-Health-Issues&id=9634779] Why Vitamin D or Lack of It May Be Contributing to or Causing Your Health Issues
