Stiffness in the morning

Julie, you are so positive. I love how you use morning stiffness as a reason for two extra songs and an extra half-cup of coffee!!!! It is turning a challenge into a positive.

I also am stiff in the morning every morning since that illness started and walk more funny than usual until I get going better. I live in a two story house and used to go start coffee and breakfast and then come back upstairs to dress. Now, I probably would take a tumble down the stairs if I did that. I have tried to start slow, not challenge myself to stairs for a while, and to lie back down half-way through the dressing process to just regroup. In that five minute rest, I plan the day a bit, or ponder what is on NPR, or whatever that gets my brain up and running and thinking forward as well. I am usually moving okay enough by the time I get downstairs to take on the weather outside to go to work, but if it is really icey, I do some things in the house to use muscles before adventuring where flexibility and compensation are needed. I have decided that one New Year’s Resolution is to be more positive, so I think I will try Julie’s approach to mornings!

Stress (and serious illness) will also cause hair loss usually about two to three months after the major stressor. Low thyroid can as well as Dawn mentions.

There are cute hats out there made for cancer patients. I used to get a quarterly catalogue of really cute ones from a place associated with breast cancer. We have these catalogues at work for the teens with cancer and I can try to find the name and web address if you are interested.

WithHope for a better way to live with these diseases.