Warm, Sunny Days Are Just the Best!

Don't ya just love those warm, sunny days???! It makes living with Fibromyalgia so much easier. Cold seems to irritate it more, sinks into your bones and sits there scraping, all the while making your muscles tense up and throb. I don't miss winter when it's gone at all, no way!

I felt pretty good today so I did a little around the house. I hope I don't pay for it tomorrow. When you have FM you kind of have to use it when you have it and try not to over do it when you don't. (Or get depressed that you don't have the energy to wash the dishes, etc.)

Yesterday, I had to go to a local charity that has been helping me to "requalify" for my benefits. I need help paying my rent this month as I don't have my part of it. Although I have been approved for SSDI, I have to wait the mandatory 5 month waiting period before I begin to receive benefits. That is so crappy. How do they expect people to live with no income? Some day I am going to help change all of that. Someday!

I am going to talk to my neurologist about the script he gave me for Provigil, the medicine for fatigue. My insurance co-pay for a 30 day supply is $87.00! (Sure, I will just go pick that off the tree in the back yard!) Of course, I didn't get it filled; I didn't have the money. I am not really sure what to do now to help the fatigue. I may try the Ribose, but it's not cheap either and the insurance definitely won't pay for that!

Well, that's abt it for today. Hope that everyone is having a pain-free day! Take care and thanks for reading.

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Another Way to Save and Earn Money And it's FREE!

As ya'll know I am always looking for a way to either save a buck or earn one without spending one because of being disabled. Well, I found another and thought I would add it here for the readers of the blog.

Check it out!

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Thank you for visiting my Blog! Please share this with anyone you know who has Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!

Fibromyalgia Feedback

In looking over my website analysis tools, I am able to see what people are searching for in the search engines when they arrive at the FM website. Keywords are a wonderful tool to use in writing content because you know that you are providing what people are really looking for. With FM/CFS this can be complicated because of the very nature of these diseases...they are symptomatic. People often search for information to give them relief of a particular symptom rather than just search for fibromyalgia in general. Providing content for every symptom that an FM sufferer may have is practically an unachieveable goal. so today I am kicking myself because I had a visitor who was searching for "aluminum poisoning relief", something that I just happen to know a great deal about because I had it, yet haven't put anything about it on the website because it is very rare. I missed out on helping this person because they were brought to the FM site because Google bot listed it because I mentioned in one sentence that I had been diagnosed with Al. Poisoning. I chose not to ellaborate further on the topic and that person came to my FM site searching for help and I offered none. (Have you seen the KitKat commercial -"Wanna get away?") Man, I could walk under a dime right now. I'll have to do better.

In an effort to better serve my site visitors I am going to add a questionaire to the site asking EXACTLY what my visitors are looking for help with. That way, I can provide them with the help they need and hopefully avoid the situation from happening again. So, if you are a regular visitor to the site, please check for this addition soon and let me know what you need help with.

There are tons of FM related sites on the internet. What makes my site different and why should people visit my site or refer it to others when there are so many sites, most maintained by doctors who are specialists in their field? I'll tell you. Because I am just like them. Because I want to help and because I care. Sure, I have monetized the site as much as is possible, but the truth is, I haven't made a dime off of it and it cost me money to keep it up. The only reason it is there is because I care. Hopefully, that will make a difference along the way and my visitors will see that. When they come to The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Resource Center, noone is trying to sell them a "miracle cure" or a treatment protocol. They can browse the site, hopefully gaining some information that will help them feel just a little better, do a little shopping if they want to, whether it's a Fibromyalgia Awareness Bracelet or a NASCAR T-shirt. They can watch videos about FM, read articles, check out news stories, all kinds of information is available to them and someone just like them made it all available FREE. THAT is why visitors should come to my site and I will try, (even though I get discouraged alot!) to continue to make that available to my visitors. If some along the way choose to support the site -HEY, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL AND HELP ME OUT ALOT! But, it's not what the site is all about. It's about preventing anyone else from having to go through what I did with Fibromyalgia! Not one more person should have to lose their life to this disease! It's abhorable that I or anyone else for that matter has already and there are thousands of us who suffer every day!

The readers of this blog, the visitors to my site, my friends and my family have watched me suffer through the past seven months. If you have read this blog, especially the archives from Yahoo 360*, then you know how hard it has been for me. I have cried my heart out on the pages of this blog now for months. Fibromyalgia is a terrible disease! When you have FM combined with CFS it is even worse. Aprox. 4-11% of the US population is afflicted with these diseases, yet 46% of Americans, when polled, did not even know what Fibromyalgia was when asked. It is no surprise that there is no cure and no effective treatment! I talk to people everyday who cannot work, cannot get approved for disability, are being evicted from their homes and have lost everything, yet, our society ignores their cries for help. Apathetic voters refuse to demand attention from their elected officials for SSDI Reform. I wonder how many will become "disposable" before anyone pays attention. How many of the "homeless people" you see littering your town's streets do you think might be victims of Fibromyalgia, CFS or other autoimmune related illnesses? When the average family is only two paychecks away from homelessness and bankruptcy, what do you think would happen to your family if you suddenly couldn't work, the SSA wrapped you up in a three year fight to get assistance and NOONE answered your call for help? Maybe more people should think about that.

I suppose I should get off of my soapbox and do some of that work I talked about on the website but I really wanted to touch base on the need for Awareness and research funding because so many are suffering and noone is helping. Something really needs to be done.

If you or anyone you know is touched by Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, please refer them to my website, this blog, the squidoo lens, or the site forum for help and support. If I cannot help them, I will make every effort to help them get whatever it is that they need.

Thanks for reading.

Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Resource Center for more information.

For Fibromyalgia Support Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Forum

Thank you for visiting my Blog! Please share this with anyone you know who has Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!

The Challenge of Marketing an Informational Site and Monetizing it!

Things are looking up if I can just get through this one last month of struggling to survive before My SSDI begins hitting the poor and pitiful bank account! My goals haven't changed though, just a little less pressure after this month passes. Although I have added the new NASCAR site and it has been indexed by Google, my passion still lies within the Fibromyalgia site in an effort to help the people who, like me, struggle and suffer needlessly because of this disease. That will never change. The problem is that there is often few ways to monetize an "informational" website. People search the internet for information and as far as they are concerned, that information should be free. Well, guess what people? The hosting isn't free. The time spent in research, writing valuable content, developing web pages and spending endless hours of searching for free traffic generating methods due to a lack of an advertising budget ISN'T FREE!

Still, visitors arriving at an "informational" website, think that what they get should be free and absolutely will not dig into their pockets for one dime to support the resource that you have gone without to keep available to them. It boggles the mind. So, how do you monetize an "informational" site so that providing all of these "FREE RESOURCES" doesn't put you in the poor house?

One answer is to clutter your website with traffic exchange banners. They really don't help that much and make your site look bad but, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Another solution is to make your website private and charge a monthly membership fee to access the information you provide. That's great, but what if you really just want to help people and want your site content available to everyone? This isn't really an option.

Still another solution is to offer affiliate shopping links for your visitors to click on, where you make a small percentage from their purchases. Great, but how many "fibromyalgia" related affiliate programs are out there? And besides, people don't really give a crap about whether your site sinks or swims if it means they have to dig into their pockets...they will just move on to the next "fibromyalgia site" in the search results.

Adding AdSense is another way to monetize your site but do you really want your visitors to click on competitors ads and leave your site, just to make a couple of bucks at the end of the month? Nope.

So, what is the answer? I am still working on it. Please do not get me wrong here. I love maintaining the FM site and hope that it helps alot of people. You can help. Click on the sponsored ads, do just a little shopping, (I even have BIDZ.com on the shopping page now! If you enjoy Bidz and shop there anyway, why not use that as a means to support a great cause? Just log into your Bidz account via this link...it won't change your shopping experience at all but will help me out alot!), visit the new NASCAR site and get that Dale Earnhardt Jr. t-shirt you have always wanted! (You need one with the new sponsor and #88 anyway, right?) When Christmas comes, order an individually written, personalized Letter from Santa for the kids in your family! Most of all, share the website with those you know. There is a widget called "UltraRefer" at the bottom of the Home Page that allows you to share the site with everyone in your address book! Imagine how many people you could help by sharing the site with them! There are so many afflicted with FM/CFS that you are almost guaranteed to know someone who is touched by it.

I want you all to know that I really appreciate the efforts of those who do all of the things above in an effort to support my website. You know who you are and I love you so much for the help and support you have given me. It is because of your support that I have been able to keep the site up so far!

Well, that's it for today. It's medication time or I am going to be a hurtin' puppy really soon. Gotta love that Methadone! LOL! It's the only thing that enables me to keep going on some days, no joke. Imagine trying to maintain three different aspects of a domain, (over 400 pages), all the while dealing with constant pain that never really goes away, depression, anxiety and a "fog" that never clears. Those are the challenges I face everyday just to maintain the website, forum and blog. Please continue to support them, pray for me and help those in need. So many are suffering. Please so not let their cries go unheard.

Tip of the Day:

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If you need help finding information about Fibromyalgia/CFS please visit my site. I offer a free FM newsletter that is sent out each month along with the Forum newsletter, which is packed with great information!

Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Resource Center for more information.

For Fibromyalgia Support Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Forum

Thank you for visiting my Blog! Please share this with anyone you know who has Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!

Do we Really Understand our Options?

I have been doing FM research for years and lately have noticed a major difference in the way websites about FM/CFS are offering treatment protocols. For years it seemed that everyone had the same message for us..."We really don't know how to treat you"! Now, there are infinite sites available offering FM/CFS treatment, most embracing the same basic outline of treatment which involves the basics of Mitochondrial Dysfunction. I have a friend in Ga. who travels a great distance from her home to Marietta just to see an FM specialist, whose treatment protocol revolves around this concept. She is like me, has serious and complicated FM. She has told me that this type of treatment hasn't helped her at all. She is still basically too ill to function, cannot work, is depressed and feels like she has the flu all the time. She still has to take narcotics to aleviate her pain despite the treatment for mitochondria dysfunction. I, on the other hand, am being treated by a Neurologist with western medicine methods and feel the same way...that I am barely getting by and am not getting any better. I am too sick to work, feel like I have the flu all of the time, depressed and am tired of having to jump through hoops to get the narcotics I need just to be able to tolerate the pain. I suggested mitochondrial dysfunction at my last appointment with him and he became hostile and defensive, accusing me of being in denial. So, the question is, what are we to do? Taking into consideration that each case is different and what works for one may not work for another, ya-da-ya-da....How is an FM/CFS sufferer supposed to find help in either medical universe? The fact is that they still don't know what to do with us and we don't really understand what our options are because the two protocols will not work together to find a solution. If the answer is somewhere in the middle and a combination of the two might actually help, then why is it so difficult to convince those who work with these two treatment protocols to work together? The world may never know.

As I mentioned, I am researching mitochondrial dysfunction and have added a breif explaination of it on the site, hoping to soon have enough info put together to add a whole section about it. It's just a matter of writing the content and getting the pages put together, so check back here or at the site for updates. I personally, do believe that the answer is somewhere in between the two major treatment protocols. Convincing my neurologist of that is another thing altogether, considering his reaction when I simply mentioned it. I probably won't have any luck getting his cooporation in melding the two and will have to see another dr. about doing it. Regardless, it will all be added to the site or here so that ya'll will know what happens.

Again, I ask you to support the site, share the url with friends who have FM or CFS and participate in the forum. I hope that everyone is blessed with a pain free day!

Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Resource Center for more information.

For Fibromyalgia Support Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Forum

Thank you for visiting my Blog! Please share this with anyone you know who has Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!

The New Home Page and a VERY Sore Back!

Well, I spent the day rewriting the home page at the website because it had just gotten too cluttered. Now my back is killing me from sitting here so long with only minimal breaks. I tell you this because this will be a very short entry because of that...I have got to get up and get moving before I CAN'T get up at all, LOL!

But anyway, I hope that you all will find the site easier to look at now, at least.

I don't get it...I updated the Squidoo page yesterday, added alot of stuff, etc. and the darn thing drops in ranking! Go figure!

I have been on cloud nine since the disability got approved! I know I still have two months to struggle, but only because it was approved too fast to accumulate any back pay...4 months from application for SSDI to approval. The longest four months of my life, I tell you. After the five month waiting period and running a month behind, I get my first payment in May - (cough), late May. Turd-birds! I have jumped through sooooo many hoops. It's unreal that now I still have to wait.

Anyway, I am peace out to get up and do something constructive that isn't web related. Take a look at the new homepage and I will catch up with everyone later.

Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Resource Center for more information.

For Fibromyalgia Support Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Forum

Thank you for visiting my Blog! Please share this with anyone you know who has Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!

Our Exclusive Fibromyalgia Awareness Bracelet is Here!

I am so pleased to announce the arrival of our exclusive Fibromyalgia Awareness Bracelet from "Sparkle And Support"! Lisa, the designer has been working on it for months and the day is finally here when I get to tell you all about it and finally show you the design! This is very exiting for me and I am proud to have been involved in it's making and presentation. When I first approached Lisa about making an exclusive design for the website, I was purchasing one of her bracelets for fibromyalgia, which I proudly wear everyday. I wanted to incorporate two more symbols into a new design that are very important to FM sufferers and that is the amount of pain we endure and the fact that over 90% of us are women. So, the new design not only has the silver ribbon charm, but a charm with a red crystal to symbolize our pain and a pink one to symbolize the fact that so many women suffer from this disease.

For me, the presentation and sale of this bracelet is not about money...it's about spreading awareness about Fibromyalgia so my website makes no profit from presenting this bracelet. Lisa; however, donates 15% of every sale to The National Fibromyalgia Association. This bracelet is exquisite and will make a wonderful gift to anyone who is touched by Fibromyalgia. Click the link and purchase yours today!

Click on the graphic above or visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Resource Center to Purchase Your Bracelet!

Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Resource Center for more information.

For Fibromyalgia Support Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Forum

Thank you for visiting my Blog! Please share this with anyone you know who has Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!

The Fog Blog Moves to Blogger!

Hello, and welcome to the first post at the new "Fog Blog" newly relocated from Yahoo 360*! This blog has helped me stay sane for several months now and I have struggled to work with it on Yahoo but was so limited as to what I could do it became very frustrating. So, after trying out several "blogging places", I have settled here. I had a little difficulty in finding a template to match and will attempt to upload my own at a later time, but for today, it will serve as it is.

For those of you who have been reading the blog, you know that I have had a very difficult time, being too sick to work and waiting for an answer to my SSA disability application while having no income to support myself. Well, the verdict is in and yes, the disability was APPROVED! Yes, folks believe it or not, I actually received an SSA Disability approval the first attempt, and within 4 months of applying! I, myself, can hardly believe it! The bad news? SSA has a 5 month waiting period so I am not elligible to receive benefits for another month, which means that I will not reveive my first check until late May. (I know, sigh) But at least it was approved and soon I will be getting the money I need.

The FM has calmed down some, mostly due to lessening of stress, since I got the approval notice. For those of you who have FM, please be aware that stress is an aggravating factor. I was taking my methadone up to 4 times a day just prior to getting my decision and for the past three days, have only taken it two to three times daily. Also, I don't feel the need to blow my brains out either, which helps. LOL!

I had the pleasure of taking part in a webinar sponsored by the Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Center yesterday and for those who missed it, you can listen to the archived webinar HERE and view a very well presented slide show of the webinar HERE. Although these things are always an advertisement for the center's program, some very good information about FM was presented and is worth watching and listening to. I hope you will take advantage of this information being available and that it is some help to you.

As a means for supplementing my income, I dabble in affiliate marketing, some of which is on the fibromyalgia website in the form of shopping for items such as Awareness Jewelry and other things. I hope that you will visit the website and if you find that it is helpful to you, please support the site by visiting the shopping page, clicking on sponsor links for traffic, etc. These methods help me to keep the site hosted as it is not a freebie. I am not some web guru trying to scam anyone out of their hard earned cash, just someone who is trying to help others like myself and not go into the poor house in doing so. My site visitors actually support the site through these methods so please be generous as I work very hard to provide the best resources for FM that I can find.

In addition, I have also started a NASCAR Site called, NASCAR at Mission Beach that I hope will be very successful! If you are a NASCAR fan, (and who isn't?) be sure to check it out. I have teamed up with some of the best merchants offering licensed NASCAR merchandise and you will be sure to find something that you just can't live without! Please see this and other shopping links to the right where you can find great items at affordable prices while helping out an affiliate such as myself!

Well, that is it for today. As always, I will keep you posted on all the FM info I can find, as well as marketing and SEO. I hope you enjoy the blog and return again!

Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Resource Center for more information.

For Fibromyalgia Support Visit The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Forum

Thank you for visiting my Blog! Please share this with anyone you know who has Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!