Chemically Sensitive, Anyone?

Ever since I've had dysautonomia I have been sensitive to smelly things. It seems like every time I leave my own house I am bombarded with the scents of chemicals. There are gardeners outside spraying weed killer, car exhaust fumes from traffic, people smoking cigarettes, or using noxious chemical cleansers on their cars. And that is just outdoors in the "fresh" air. When I venture inside a business or a restaurant, the tables have been sprayed with bleach or windex, or there are people wearing strong cologne. And inside the effects of these chemical odors are usually much stronger because there isn't always proper ventilation of fresh air to counteract the fumes. Although I would love to have a relaxing pedicure once in awhile I cannot go to a standard nail salon because of the noxious fumes. Instead, I polish my own nails outside in the fresh air. That is the only way I can handle the strong smell.

The question is, why does society rely so heavily on harmful chemicals? In America we have developed a collective dependence on chemicals to do the work that people used to do. Take weeding for instance. Instead of people weeding their yards the old-fashioned way, it has become standard practice for many people to rely on weedkillers to do the job for them. How does one live in a world where people are obsessed with perfection and finding a fast and easy way to achieve it? With little or no regard to those people who may be harmed in the process? I still struggle with these questions when I walk down the street to the apple orchard near my house, a city park, that is covered with chemical sprays all seasons of the year. Children play in that park everyday. People harvest and consume the apples. And most people who use the park are just fine. For now at least. Nobody really knows the long term effects of these potent chemicals. Even doctors and researchers can merely speculate about the long term effects. The short term effects for chemically sensitive individuals like me, can range from mildly annoying to downright debilitating.

MultipleChemicalSensitivity.org has compiled a comprehensive list of symptoms:

• Burning/stinging eyes
• Wheezing, breathlessness, nausea
• Extreme fatigue, lethargy
• Headache/migraine/vertigo/dizziness
• Poor memory & concentration
• Runny nose (rhinitis)
• Sore throat, cough
• Sinus problems
• Skin rashes/itchy skin
• Sensitivity to light & noise
• Sleeping problems
• Digestive upset
• Muscle & joint pain

Sleep Sheep

At some point in our lives, we will all resort to the "counting sheep" method as a potential cure for insomnia. I know I have. Although I have been a night owl since the day I was born, I never used to have trouble sleeping through the night, or even sleeping straight through the morning. Since coming down with POTS, however, I have stayed up for 72-hour stretches without a wink of sleep. On good nights I average about four hours of sleep per night on my own, which is definitely an inadequate amount.

I love sleep. Good quality, sleep-through-the-night, restorative sleep. It is something I daydream about quite often. I know that a good night's sleep is usually followed by a happier, more productive day. I have also found that when I sleep better at night I am less symptomatic the next day.

The question is, how do people with chronic illnesses achieve a good night's sleep without interruption from pain, heart palpitations or other nightly nuisances? There are several options, and at this point I have tried just about all of them. I saw a sleep specialist who diagnosed me with Initiation Insomnia and Maintenance Insomnia; basically that means I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep for unknown reasons. I elected not to do the sleep study at the time because I literally wasn't sleeping at all, so they wouldn't have gotten an accurate reading. She prescribed several different sleep medicines to try, and only one of them actually made me fall asleep. I got a good 4-5 hours of sleep out of Zolpidem Tartrate, the generic form of old-fashioned Ambien. The extended release products like Ambien-CR and Lunesta did not make me sleep at all. Although I only actually slept 4-5 hours on the sleeping pill, I was still incredibly groggy and completely useless until about noon the next day, regardless of what time I had taken the sleeping pill the night before. My body was finally getting the sleep it so desperately needed, but I knew this could not be relied on as a long-term solution to my sleep ailments. So with the clearance of my sleep specialist and my pharmacist, I began cutting the tablets in half, and eventually into quarters until that was all I needed to sleep. Now I am not taking sleep aids at all and I feel much less groggy the next morning. I still have many nights where getting to sleep is difficult, if not impossible. But overall, I am doing better. I have established a relaxing routine before bedtime and I am diligent about sticking to it. If I get off course, sleeping becomes that much harder for me again.

Part of my nightly routine includes watching light, humorous shows a couple hours before bed to wind my mind down. I try not to watch anything too serious or violent that would potentially inhibit my ability to quiet my mind down. I then take a hot shower or bath to relax my muscles, eat a carbohydrate-laden snack like toast with peanut butter, and get into bed whenever I feel my eyes starting to get heavy. If I get into bed too soon, I lay there wide awake thinking about things or feeling bored. I try not to worry so much about the exact time I fall asleep anymore, but rather listen to my body's signals when it is telling me I am sleepy. It is better to condition yourself to sleep once you hit the pillow. If you spend too much time in bed laying awake trying to sleep, you subconsciously begin to associate your bed with feelings of frustration and sleeplessness. So if I am not quite tired enough to sleep, I lay on the floor or sit in a chair and read, surf the net, or watch television quietly until I am ready to retire to the bed. I avoid talking on the phone, listening to music, or exercising before bed because those are activities that hinder my ability to fall asleep.

The newest part of my sleep hygiene routine is the Sleep Sheep, a product designed to help babies fall asleep. For some reason my grandma was compelled to purchase one for me, and I'm glad she did. I probably would have never bought one for myself, but I humored her and gave it a try. To my surprise, the Sleep Sheep lulled me to a decent night's sleep. I don't know that I really fall asleep any faster, but I do have better quality sleep now because I wake up much less frequently throughout the night. There are four different soothing sound settings on the Sleep Sheep, including ocean waves, whales, rain, and a heartbeat (which is the only setting I did not find soothing at all). It has an adjustable volume setting, and will shut off automatically at a 23 or 45 minute interval. The Sleep Sheep is made by Cloud B, a company that makes a whole family of soothing stuffed animals designed to facilitate sleep. The Sleep Sheep is available at Pottery Barn and multiple online retailers.

Check out the complete line of Cloud B products at http://www.sleepsheepandfriends.com/.

'Oral Systemic Balance' Technology May Support Autonomic Function

Like I mentioned before, I suffer from a severe case of TMJ. I have worn three different nightguards by three different practitioners since I was diagnosed. The first was a huge, bulky hard plastic splint that barely fit into my mouth. The next was a small hunk of plastic that fit (a little too) snugly over my two front teeth. And the most recent is called an 'Oral Systemic Balance' appliance that I wear over my bottom teeth. It is made of a thin, pliable plastic and there is a hole cut out in the center for my bottom front teeth to fit through, making more room for my large tongue in my small mouth.

The first thing the doctor said to me upon examination surprisingly had nothing to do with my jaw itself, or even my teeth, but rather my tongue. "You have a ten-gallon tongue in a five-gallon mouth." I had never even pondered the ratio of my tongue size to my mouth size before. And I certainly never thought something as seemingly insignificant as a large tongue could potentially be affecting my health. According to Dr. Robson, people with large tongues naturally have more restricted airways. Throw in a narrow palate and large teeth and it's a recipe for TMJ. Not only TMJ though. Dr. Robson is the only TMJ doctor I know who performs EKGs and takes an orthostatic blood pressure reading during appointments. In fact, he did not seem all that concerned about my actual TMJ pain or limited mobility, but he was very concerned with my autonomic dysfunction. I did not tell him I had POTS, but he diagnosed me with autonomic dysfunction on his own. According to Dr. Robson and his staff, large tongues in small mouths play a factor in many debilitating illnesses such as Parkinson's Disease, Fibromyalgia, and, most commonly, Autonomic Dysfunction. Because the airway is chronically obstructed by the tongue, much like in patients with sleep apnea, the bodily tissues are not properly oxygenated, and often even starved for oxygen. The continual shortage of oxygen does not allow the body to heal itself or thrive.

I have been wearing my Oral Systemic Balance appliance religiously every night for the past year and in that time have witnessed some significant improvement in my overall health. My resting heart rate is lower, I breathe easier at night, and my TMJ headaches occur much less frequently than before. Let's just say if I happen to miss a night of wearing my appliance, I suffer from the effects for days. After my personal struggle with both TMJ and POTS, I have to wonder if Dr. Robson may be on to something promising here, especially for dysautonomia patients. If you have any jaw problems, breathing problems or sleep apnea issues, I would recommend consulting an Oral Systemic Balance practitioner in your area. Remember, it is not a standard nightguard. It is fitted to your individual mouth and problem, and intended to improve health issues beyond TMJ.

For more information, visit http://www.ihealthysmiles.com/osb.

Harnessing the Power of Epsom Salts

I'll admit I was a skeptic at first, but Epsom salts are by far one of the best natural pain remedies I've encountered--thanks to my persistent chiropractor. I've tried multiple over-the-counter remedies including extra strength Tylenol, Motrin, heat wraps, and ice packs. I've also tried some scary prescription muscle relaxants and pain relievers which don't knock out the pain any better than the over-the-counter ones. Atlas neck adjustments from my chiropractor and massage therapy treatments both provide more long term pain relief and work better than meds for me. But chiropractic care and massage therapy alone were still not enough to extinguish my intense and recurrent headaches. My chiropractor used to suffer from migraines himself, and he insisted that I humor him and try taking an Epsom salt bath one night. Although it made little sense to me at the time, I complied and was pleasantly surprised by the results.

In addition to dysautonomia, I also suffer from a pretty severe case of TMJ. I often wonder if the two conditions are somehow related, but because I had a cyst removed from my jawbone and sustained a serious car accident right before developing POTS, I am assuming the TMJ is the coincidental aftermath of serious jaw trauma due to the surgery and the accident. My jaw makes interesting and embarrassing popping and clicking noises throughout the day, has limited mobility, and occasionally locks up completely. I cannot begin tell you how frustrating that is. I am not a fan of the pureed food diet. And I am not a fan of 'resting' my jaw either, which inevitably involves abstaining from some of my favorite pastimes: talking, eating and singing. I sleep with a custom-fitted mouthguard appliance religiously every night. If I don't, like clockwork I wake up in the morning with a bad headache. Contrary to what most people know about TMJ, not all sufferers grind their teeth at night. In fact, I don't grind mine at all. Somehow my jaw can dislocate simply from sleeping on it wrong, or sometimes for no apparent reason at all. My mouthguard acts as a therapeutic splint to rest and stabilize my jaw.

When a bad TMJ headache sets in, my neck, face, jaw, ears, and back of my head all throb relentlessly in pain. I take two Motrin, break out my ice pack, soak my feet in warm water with Epsom salts, and apply a warm washcloth with Epsom salts directly onto my jaws like a compress. For extra relief I use a wearable ice pack on top of the Epsom salt cloths so that they become wearable too and the ice helps to temporarily numb the pain. If I am lucky enough to fall asleep, when I wake up in the morning, my headache is miraculously gone.

So to those of you out there suffering with TMJ, EDS, or other chronic and debilitating pain conditions, give Epsom salts a try. They are inexpensive, drug-free, all natural, full of magnesium, and soothing for nerves and muscles. I never thought this old-fashioned remedy would be such an effective pain reliever, but thank goodness it is. Epsom salts are truly my light at the end of the bad headache tunnel.