You know, the older we get, the wiser we realize those older people in our lives are/were. I now think that tendinitis and, even perhaps carpal tunnel, may be prevented by better posture. These injuries (and others) have become so prolific in our society and now in my life … I just have to talk about it.

It all began about 25 years ago when I noticed how sore my fingers were when typing in the morning. After monitoring it for some weeks, I realized they were worse after snacking the night before–my snacking in those days was mainly candy. It took many years to change my eating habits as I used it for company and for solace, always telling myself  ‘I just love food!’ Lesson No. 1 – don’t eat sugar and salty snacks.

This belief has followed me through life’s ups and downs until 9 years ago I was diagnosed with ‘almost’ having fibromyalgia (FM). Having talked to many with FM in their lives as well as trying to understand the pain of a close friend trying to deal with this hidden yet debilitating illness, I immediately told myself I was never going to allow myself to have it, I simply didn’t have time!! I had just published my husband’s first novel and there was no way I could stop for any illness, no matter what it was.

I always remember my mother’s reaction to illness–’forget it and get on with your life,’ was her motto. As a child who had pulled a boiling kettle onto herself, her mother, in desperation I imagine, took her to visit the local children’s hospital. My mother admitted that at the age of about 10, she decided to never complain again … and I don’t think she ever did, certainly not to friends or family and rarely to me even in her aging years. Even at her funeral, many of her friends told me they hadn’t realized she’d had health problems, let alone a triple bypass many years before and diabetes.

She was an amazing role model … but that didn’t quite end the lesson for me. In 1977, I met my future husband Robert and, being a man who has had more lives than a cat (see his bio), I soon found myself in the company of another person who did not complain about their aches and pains!! Even as he fought for his life in 1994-6 from the ravages of a serious staph infection, he rarely allowed himself to feel sorry for himself and always had a smile and a joke for me.

So where does this leave us … the women in my family seem to be able to work through their pain (my sister has had more than her share and now my daughter is showing signs of the same affliction (working through the pain, I mean), yet, as I listen to Oprah, this apparently is not so unusual for women. With families and jobs to deal with, we have no time to do anything else as we multi-task like there is no tomorrow. So it can fester in our subconscious and unless we stop and realize how serious our situation really is, an issue can go untreated for years and make us so miserable it can even ruin family life.

Fortunately, I have at last learned to change my old snacking habits of yesteryear, but now I am dealing with Repetitive Strain Injuries in my hands and arms and I know it’s not caused by my sugar/salt consumption. My daughter is also having this type of problem, similar but somewhat different from mine. My massage therapist successfully used acupuncture on me some years back and was ‘very concerned’ that I needed to look after myself. But costs were prohibitive and not covered by my medical, so I continued to visit my chiropractor for relief, keeping the back and arm/hand pain barely in control. I purchased a Dr. Ho massager, and many Nikken products (TENS, Kenko, magnets, infra-red), using them all and they all helped. I still use some of them. My right forearm was diagnosed as having de Quervaines about 6 years ago and internet research told me Vitamin B6 would help it … and it did and does. Now, however, both of my forearms seem to have muscle issues.

So, what am I doing now? I’m back to the chiropractor and realizing that my posture may be a large part of the problem. I don’t stand upright, I hunch in a chair, or sit in awkward positions, and I lean over my computer.  I should have taken heed with my grandmother’s warning when I was very young … ‘Sit up straight!’ she used to tell me. Did I listen, yes, but it’s taken 50 more years to do it!!  Now I think I am paying the price. Lesson No. 2:  Listen to Grandma, she does know a lot!