Hi all,

  When I was in my late 20's, early 30's I was seen by a physiatrist. Prior to
that I had always dealt with orthopaedic surgeons. The chap I saw, when I asked
him what I had to look forward to when I hit 40, responded with ... "not much".
I was stunned at his lack of awareness/information about cerebral palsy.
Needless to say, he was summarily dismissed. He prescribed a meconium load of
pills and a wheelchair full time. I didn't get the chair until 1990, and only
use it for mall hopping. It's a great asset during the Christmas rush.

  The chap I now see is totally tuned in and always open to learn more. I'm his
best teacher, and he knows it. It was yet another doctor of physial medicine
with major focus on cp who diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. As Kyle's doctor
said, we with cp, due to overworked joints/muscles essentially "wear out" more
rapidly than our NDA peers of the same age.

  I stopped taking "doctor drugs" over 12 years ago, and only use them during
bouts of pneumo, and the like. On a daily basis, I'm into a lot of vitamins and
herbs - to boost the immune system, deal with fatigue issues and to reduce
spasticity. Works great for me. How many of you have a diagnosed heart condition
- something that perhaps was diagnosed in adulthood. I was diagnosed with aortic
insufficiency 2 years ago - leaky valves on a scale of 1-3 are a grade 2. I find
I get acute arrthymia during a fibro flare. The flare tends to mimic dry
pleurisy, with no prior bout of pneumonia. Do most of you have immature lung
systems that make you prone to resp infections? I know I do. A real pain in the
butt.

 So, there's my 7 1/2 cents.

Cheers!

Carla