Nov 20 2008
On the State of the Union
Red and blue comprise two-thirds of the American flag — the symbol of our country. Without them, only surrender remains.
Nov 17 2008
Notes on Cymbalta, Lyrica
Having received two similar questions via email last week, it seems useful to make further note about Lyrica and Cymbalta. Both are currently the only two medications FDA-approved for the treatment of Fibromyalgia. But said approval doesn’t make either of them the end-all be-all cure for us. Just as my current NP pointed out to me, our body chemistry is as unique to us as our fingerprints, and what works for one individual may not work for another.
Nov 12 2008
Creating Stamps with Amazing Mold Putty
I found this box of Amazing Mold Putty (Michaels) in July and wanted to try making molds for polymer clay projects. I love it; it’s fun, flexible, and, as I’ve discovered, versatile. Using the same shamrock stamp I blogged about back in July, I mixed equal parts of putty into a small ball (work quickly, it activates immediately and cures in approximately 20 minutes), squished it into the stamp, inverted the stamp, and flattened it against the ceramic tile I use for clay. I trimmed off the excess and then let it set.
The results were great. Not only does it stamp well with pigment and dye inks (I haven’t tried solvent-based yet), but, as the lower image indicates, it’s self-sticking and adheres beautifully to acrylic blocks (so far, to anything with a shiny surface, including the sticker face of a wood-mounted stamp).
I suspect if one didn’t want to carve linoleum or rubber, one could also use polymer clay to make master plates (er, matrix boards?). Clay plates might even afford deeper, more consistent lines. I suppose we’ll just have to give it a try.
If you use linoleum, carve deeper than I have here. Although it works, the stamp shown is too shallow and requires cleanup around the outer edges. But, as you can see, it still produces a clear, consistent line. Happy stampin’!
Nov 12 2008
Provigil - End of Trial
Today I transition from trying Provigil for two weeks to taking it every morning indefinitely. It passed the test. Not with flying colors, but certainly well enough to facilitate a seven-hour trip to Roanoke on Monday, leave me with energy when I got home, and not feeling completely annihilated the following day. Today’s the ultimate pass-fail for Monday, though; the crushing exhaustion usually catches up with me the second day following an excursion.
I haven’t had any adverse side effects on Provigil, and although I can tell it’s in my system, it’s not uncomfortably intrusive. My appetite has changed, but is neither eradicated nor amplified out of control. Provigil does make me a bit … hmmm … happyhappyHAPPY (!!) when it first kicks in, but this seems more a psychological reaction than it does physical; I don’t feel amped out of my skull on amphetamines and driven by that mustmustMUSTcleaneverynookinthehouse compulsion. I do exercise caution in that first hour. I’m not too keen on post-exertional malaise sneaking up and catching me unaware. Awareness is the Fibromite’s best friend.
As of yet, I haven’t been able to find any research on whether or not Provigil causes serious long-term damage, and I will continue searching, but I’m not giving up this medication without a fight. I still slog — it’s NOT a magic bullet — but I don’t feel as if I’m trudging uphill everysingleday and getting nowhere. On Sunday, I even challenged Jon to a game of Scrabble — got my tush handed to me (on the fancy china, no less!) — and never once felt lost or befuddled.
It’s nice, the possibility of thinking and writing from a clear mind again, or the ability to read more than a book a month (not counting craft and hobby books, which fall under “picture books”). Maybe I won’t have to keep notes about the notes I keep. :)
It’s nice, this not having to pretend I’m hopeful.
A caution if you’re considering taking Provigil: it’s not FDA approved for Chronic Fatigue or Fibromyalgia and your insurance company may refuse to pay for it. It’s expensive ($75 or more a month; I take 100 mg daily), but not ridiculous (like Lyrica), and — my opinion only — is more effective at what it does. FDA approval could be a curse, driving the cost up (as was the case with Lyrica) and rendering it inaccessible to almost everyone who might need it. Next, Provigil doesn’t reduce pain. However, I find not having to constantly resist the accumulation of pain and fatigue makes a difference in how I perceive pain.
On some days, it’s enough.
Nov 06 2008
Notebook - For Gail
She inspires me to seek: myself, art, myself and others through art. No matter how great or small, she cheers my efforts, encourages my curiosity, and supports my debris-collecting habits. She squirrels away bits of scrap fabric, lends me her stamps, and hunts up old, broken jewelry to send me home each visit with pocketfuls of stuff that no doubt makes the men-folk roll their eyes when we’re not looking (but remember, guys, I’m eying your junk stashes, too).
She likes girlie pinks, butterflies, and light blue. She’s drawn to paisley prints and Mary Engelbreit patterns (the busier, the better) — a reflection of the perpetual locomotion she is? Where do the Zen minimalist and the flitting butterfly meet? I suppose … somewhere in between.
Happy day.
