October is one of my favorite months (if not my #1 favorite month). It has so many awesome things going on! I LOVE fall, even though I live in Florida, which doesn't exactly get the best "fall" experience. That's actually the one thing I miss from living up north (and by "up north" I mean North Carolina). I miss the crisp air, beautiful foliage, and real pumpkin patches. But Florida has way more going for it, so it wins.
Aside from October being the beginning of my favorite season, it's also the month of my wedding anniversary, and (duh) Halloween -which totally ranks right up (if not over) Christmas!
It is also Dysautonomia Awareness Month. I know, it's awareness month to other things, too... But this is something with awareness so obscure that most medical professionals have NO idea what the heck it is let alone how to treat it. I was diagnosed with dysautonomia pretty recently (May, 2013), but I have actually been battling it for the past 10 years. There are so many aspecks of my life that it affects and I am finding myself advocating more and more out of necessity. I have to try and explain what they heck it is to people and justify why I have all the issues I do. That, by itself, is exhausting. Lucky for me, I have a wonderfully supportive family and have found others with dysautonomia through support groups. Those support groups have proved to be paramount to my quality of life. I never really thought much about support groups before, but I must say, with out them I'd feel very alone in my illness. They have become true friends of mine, even though I have never met most of them on person. Ok, all rambling aside, since it is Dysautonomia Awareness Month I'm at least going to give you my favorite links and resources.
A fantastic place to start is Dysautonomia SOS They have an enormous amount if information and can help connect you with regional support and doctors.
http://www.dysautonomiasos.com
Dinet is another great resource! What is it? From their website:
Our Mission: To raise awareness of autonomic nervous system dysfunction and to promote dysautonomia education, support and networking.
The Dysautonomia Information Network (DINET) is a volunteer run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. http://www.dinet.org
For children/adolescents with dysautonomia check out Dysautonomia Youth Network of America http://www.dynainc.org
A couple of my absolute favorite blogs are run by amazing women with dysautomonia. Definitely check them out!
Living with Bob(dysautonomia) http://bobisdysautonomia.blogspot.com/?m=1
Just Mildly Medicated http://justmildlymedicated.com
Healing Hopefully http://medicalmusingsbymeg.blogspot.com/?m=1
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