I’ve been writing this post in my head for months – since January! Somehow it never got written, and then new things kept happening that I thought should be included…  and suddenly it was November. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so I am determined to finally get this post written and online. I can’t think of a more appropriate time to post it. Living with a chronic illness often means that we are forever bemoaning the loss of yet another person who has jumped ship from our lives.

It seems my body is less than satisfied with one diagnosis. Lupus wasn’t enough so it developed fibromyalgia. When that wasn’t enough it developed gastroparesis. Simply put, having gastroparesis means that my stomach muscle doesn’t contract properly and I end up with food stuck in my stomach for hours at a time. Often, this means that I just throw it back up because my body gets confused. I have issues with acid reflux because the food and acid get stuck there. It also means

Last week I was sent on a 2 day business trip. Trips can be a difficult proposition for people with lupus and other chronic diseases. Travel is exhausting, and getting somewhere often requires exposure to all kinds of nasty germs. Then there’s the trip itself. When I travel for fun I try to plan enough rest breaks, etc. I don’t have that option on a business trip. The agenda is already set – and you can’t go skipping things because you’re tired. By the end of the trip, here a