Exactly Where'd This Come From Anyway?

I can't help but notice all of the recent chit chat that revolves around the question of how?  How did I...how did we...end up with these 2 little letters on our med charts? 

Funny as it may seem, I never really gave it too much thought.  Certain family members of mine, on the other hand, continue to question it some 8yrs post dx and 12yrs post initial flare.  When I say things such as, "I'll bet it was those red chewable tablets they gave us in elementary school that showed the plaque on our teeth!" or "maybe it was because we lived in a 10mi radius of a nuclear power plant, a landfill, and a chemical facility!" or "well, I did drink from the garden hose when I was a kid, remember?" - they are not amused.  Seriously?  Those tablets lied.  I'm just sayin'.

We've heard an awful lot about the Epstein-Barr correlation, right?  The vitamin D deficiency is also a hot topic, as is smoking.  Sure, I have EBV in my bloodstream...but so does 95% of the population.  Granted, 95% of the population didn't come down with a most wicked case of mono when they were 17yrs old, such that they had to miss an entire half of their softball season due to the fact that their spleen was the size of a watermelon - with seeds - but who's counting?  Vitamin D is and always has been quite abundant within me, 'cause a girl's gotta get her tan on!  I did smoke for a few months, but (follow this logic) quit when I found a cigarette I truly enjoyed the taste of.  I didn't want to become addicted, so I stopped.  Hey, I never said I could be accused of making any sense back then, but I'm nothing if not honest;-)

I've come across a new topic in the self-titled "World of How's", which has been reported by our fearless leader, Ms. Lisa Emrich.  (I so love Lisa, and I so love her writings:-)

http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/19065/145685/nights/2

This writing discusses sleep deprivation and working teens, as well as the Circadian Rhythm.  Let's take a look at that, shall we? 

 

Um?  Let me tell you, my Circadian Rhythm would look a whole lot different if someone were to graph it out.  There would be built in coffee intervals, numerous partial bladder emptyings, a few mid-afternoon stumblings, and if I'm not mistaken...my "fastest reaction time" occurs in the middle of the night, as I'm rushing to the bathroom, highstepping the family cats and putting spin moves on the door knobs that separate me from my promised land (aka toilet with padded seat) with the athleticism of a Heisman Trophy nominee.  That 2am "deepest sleep" they list is comical.  That's right about when I wake up for my first installment of "partial bladder emptying".  IF...and that's a capital "IF"...I'm even asleep by then.  I'd be fibbing if I were to say that I'm not envious of this chart.  I'd be further fibbing if I were to say I wasn't going to read more about it to see if I could somehow wrangle mine into something that more resembles this.  Finally, an interesting topic with which to occupy my insomniac hours! 

All of it is very interesting food for thought.  EBV, several shots of Rhogam with my pregnancies, rhythms my body doesn't have?  I don't know, I'm still leaning toward the chewable tablet/garden hose drinking theory...