Hello again!

Hello all! It's Lisa here. I haven't posted for so long! But don't think I haven't been thinking about you. I love and miss you all!

A lot has happened since I last posted/talked to any of you. First of all, I'm sick. I have ME/CFS (myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome) and fibromyalgia. I've actually been sick with this for years, but this past school year it was especially severe. I didn't have it while I was at TASP, but it developed about four or five months after I got home. For the first couple years, I would just get sick a lot and have a lot of fatigue. The second half of my senior year, I was sick about eighty percent of the time. It seemed to improve during the summer, and then, two weeks into my freshman year at UCR, it came back. At this time, I was both working and going to school. The illness kept getting more and more severe. The symptoms now were nausea, horrible muscle aches and stiffness, joint pain, headaches, sore throat, extreme fatigue, "brain fog," and fevers. Various other symptoms came and went. I struggled with school and work, and finally, I had to quit my job at the beginning of January. I continued to struggle with school as my symptoms got worse and worse. I missed a lot of school during winter quarter, and tried my best to make it all up. Toward the end, it became clear that I would not be able to finish.

So, I have had to withdraw from UCR. It was devastatingly sad, but it was something I had to do. I adored my classes, had connected with great professors, and was loving the honors program.

It was really a difficult year. That's not to say that there weren't wonderful things as well as sad things. I'm still with Jeremy, and he is an amazing support, friend and partner. Our relationship has grown, and we have grown. We work hard to have a healthy relationship, and it has truly paid off.

Speaking of Jeremy: he's been published! I mean, he's had tons of short stories and stuff published before, but now he has a novel out! It's called Vacation, and Raw Dog Screaming Press is the publisher. It came out in April, and the word definitely seems to be spreading. Jeremy has done so much to get the word out, and in really unconventional ways. And more and more people seem to be responding. Several reviews are due to be coming out, including one on Amazon's blog. He'll also be reading for a popular podcast. It's all very exciting, and more and more people are finishing the book and giving feedback now. If you'd like to check out the stuff, visit his myspace at: www.myspace.com/jeremywriter.

Anyway, back to me. I tried quite a few of the medications that my doctor prescribed me for my illness, but unfortunately, all of them had terrible side effects, and none of them worked. Even if they had worked, they would have only suppressed my symptoms, and not helped heal my body. Recently, I tried a homeopathic medicine called rhus tox that helps my muscular and joint pain, and it works super well, with no side effects. This, combined with the path I was already on, encouraged me to look for natural cures to my disease. The most recommended treatment for ME/CFS was detox. I read what it had done for other people (real people, not advertisements) and decided to try it for myself. It's based on making the body stronger so that it can heal itself, instead of suppressing individual symptoms. That's where I am now. I bought a great book: The Detox Book by Bruce Fife. It's much better than finding detox information on the internet, where everything is pretty disjointed. It approaches detox from a very holistic perspective, which I love. I've started an ultra-healthy diet, and am going to try the rest of the cleansing techniques. I'll let you know how it goes!

Anyway, even though I've been very sick, I've been happier this year than I've ever been. There's lots more to tell, but I'll spare you this time, as this post is already so long. If you guys have any questions about CFS or anything at all, I'll be glad to answer!

I love reading all these posts. It's so great to see what you guys are up to. I miss you guys!

P.S. 60 days until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!! (I hope I'm not the only nerd who's looking forward to it)