Is it just me, or have you also noticed that the better I'm feeling, the wordier I'm getting? And, is "wordier" a word? Dunno! Well, if it wasn't, it is now! Even last week when I was feeling "quiet", I wouldn't shut up, eh? :)

Well, I am getting better! Still in need of that body transplant, but the head seems to be working just fine! Been a few weeks since I've had any "depressive" episodes, other than trying to cope with everyday life, and then there is my extroverted / introverted personality to get around! But what a wonderful thing it is to feel "normal"! One of my goals has been to experience "a normal day"! Well, I made it!

The only prescription I'm taking is Synthroid, Your Artificial Friend. I have lost the need for anti-anxiety drugs. At one time, I was taking 7 different kinds of pills, thanks to an MD who didn't have any idea what she was she was talking about! Lucky for me, I got upset with her and dropped her and her pills like they were poison. Hmm.. Guess they really were!

So, now that I am on the "Road to Recovery", what shall I keep you updated with? Oh! I know! I could start my August updates with tips and tricks on how to make thinning GD hair look full and fluffy! Or how to look really SeXy while losing those 50 extra GD pounds! Or how to "stretch" your "skinny" wardrobe! Or what to do to "fix" those really thick GD toenails. :) Now, mind you. GD stands for Graves' Disease! Never worry. I'll think of something! So, til next time, this is Sue Rose, from Ner Yerk, signin' off for this week! Look to the future! There might be the lucky lottery numbers in it!

I'm feeling kind of 'quiet' this week. And, NO! It isn't because I'm pouting about being a 'geezer'! :) Imagine that! Me, quiet? Well, sometimes even I can feel a bit quiet. :) I'm going through many changes right now. They're good changes, but changes, none-the-less. And change can be hard and a bit stressful. So, I'm just sort of hangin' around and doin' nothin' when I can. Not an exciting plan, but it suits me just fine ~ for now.

If you're a 'regular' here, you'll notice I've been changin' things again. But these are, I hope, very useful changes. Been getting some comments about people 'gettin' lost' here. Ooops! Didn't mean to do that to ya! So, I've organized everything on one page in a Table of Contents. It only took me a gazillion hours to do, so if you find yourself gettin' lost, just link to the 'Contents Page' and you'll be able to 'find your way home'. :) If not, than you'll just be stuck here with me forever! :) Yikes!

Before I close for this week, I do owe a Biggie Thank You to Mary Shomon, from The Mining Company's Thyroid Disease Web Site for selecting "My Personal War" as one of her "Net Finds". In one week's time, she sent more than 200 people this way! From the Guestbook entries and from my mail, many people expressed their gratitude for finding this site. Thank you, Mary, for helping me turn my awful experiences into something useful for so many people. That is what this site is all about! 10-Q! 10-Q very much!

For those of you who have not been to the Graves' Disease Support-Group Chat Sessions on Wednesday evenings, you should do your best to go. I suppose some of you are wondering what goes on there, and if "going through all that trouble" of getting there is worth the effort? In a single word, "YES!"

What do we do at these sessions? Well, we don't just chat :) We listen to each other's problems. We swap stories. We joke. We kid around. We trade files - some helpful, some downright silly :) We offer a shoulder to cry on, but ususally everyone is having such a good time they forget about their problems while they are there. Lots of "LOL's", "hehe's", and "haha's". We cover topics from the sumblime to the ridiculous!

If you had been at last night's chat session, you would have learned what Support Group is all about. A lady who was new to the group started having some medical problems while on-line. You should have seen the help that was given to her! She stated her problem and after the initial silence, Wham! Everyone was there for her! And they stayed right there until she finally felt OK, meanwhile, urging her to get some medical help. As well as offering suggestions on how to get the help her HMO wouldn't allow her to have.

Another person later on stated that her MD told her NOT to see an endocrinologist. That she didn't need one. Nor did she need to see an ophthalmologist. And this person, as we all did at one time, did not understand that her MD was VERY wrong and that she needed the specialists to take care of her properly. Wham! again.

You see, these support group sessions help with both body and soul. They help in understanding what to do, and they help in relieving the tensions we ALL feel. They also help to bond our hearts and minds with others who are also struggling. We form friendships that I'm certain will last beyond cyber-space. You see, it IS worth the time and trouble to get there. You can help yourself, you can help others, and you can get rid of some of the dag-nab "Graveziety", even if only for the time you are there. But you leave with something worth much more. A sense of pride and belonging. Hope to see you there next week :)

So, the good old Fourth of July weekend is upon us! Who has plans to go out and watch some fireworks and do the "Bug Dance" :) Sounds like a lot of effort, but it only happens once a year! Besides, this year I am declaring Independence Day as my own Independence Day! Actually, I think all of us who have Graves' Disease or Thyroid Disease should declare our own personal Independence Day!

When we first heard the words "Graves' Disease" or "Thyroid Disease" and began to understand what that meant for us personally, each and every one of us began to be enveloped in the disease and began the process of losing bits and pieces of our freedom. It wasn't our fault. It wasn't a choice. It was something that we had to do. And it was something that we had to learn to deal with, each in our own way. It was something that we had to learn to live with, at first for many of us, without having the knowledge to understand it. For most of us, we spent the first parts of it alone in what little we did understand. Some of us did not have the compassion we so desperately needed from our close relationships. They seemed to have even less knowledge than we had, and couldn't understand what was happening to us and to their relationships with us.

Whether you have recently been diagnosed or you are one of the warriors, look back and you will see that you have gained at least some ground. We have all gained in our own way through gaining knowledge about our disease. Through understanding what was and is happening and sometimes even why. No matter whether you think you are always taking two steps forward and three steps back, or are having times of falling flat on your face out of discouragement, frustration, or physical incapabilities, you don't stay down! I'd call that gaining ground!. And you will continue to get stronger through personal quest, through helping others, through new friendships of those who are battling the same war, or simply through time - time to heal.

Did I say we had to be free to declare our independence ? No! The war wasn't over on July 4, 1776 either. There were still battles going on here and there. So I say, keep fighting those battles like the brave warriors you are! In the meantime, declare your independence and your freedom! Have your own Independence Day! And Look to the future! There really is hope!