Greetings From Snowy Colorado!

[Guest guest]

Hi Gang!

I've been getting your flurry of emails for the past couple days, but have

been soooo terribly busy at work, that all I have been able to do is file

them in a mail folder and print them out at the end of the day to read at

home.

I'm new to this group, not to mention the world of online support groups

which I feel I will be getting very active with in the ensuing months.

My name is Michele Newman, I'm 44 years old and just moved into a new double

wide mobile home in Lafayette, CO -- The Oatmeal Capital of the World.

If you watch any TV, you may have seen the Quaker Oatmeal commercials where

actual citizens from Lafayette tell how their cholesterol levels dropped

after eating Oatmeal every day for a year. We recently celebrated our first

annual Oatmeal Festival a couple weeks ago. If you try to locate Lafayette

on the map, you'll find it in the Greater Denver metro area. It is slightly

NW of Denver and about 10 miles due east of Boulder.

I have been living with RLS as long as I can remember, but never really knew

it was a disabling condition until this past year. It has gotten so out of

control in the past year that I wake up every morning twisting, turning and

wriggling my feet and they don't stop bouncing from the moment I get out of

bed in the morning until I retire at night. People just accused me in the

past of being nervous or fidgety. They couldn't understand why I couldn't

control it. It's bad enough that my feet and legs are constantly dancing,

but lately it has moved to my arms and hands. When I'm not driving or

pounding on the computer keyboard, my fingers are playing an invisible piano

or running circles around my clasped hands.

When I was younger, the symptoms would come and go based on moods I was in,

personalities who were running around or other mysterious health conditions.

I have lead a very complicated life in regards to my mental health, but am

now almost drowning in a new series of unknown physically disabling

conditions.

Besides living with RLS all my life, I have also had the enjoyment of coping

with manic-depressive mood swings. Then, on top of that, I learned in 1984

that I was suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder since early

childhood. I won't bore you with those struggles. If you are interested in

learning that story, I had an autobiography published last year that details

my life from childhood through countless hospitalizations, self-destructive

behavior, then recovery from MPD and removing myself from the disability

rolls. I would be happy to send anyone a copy of my book for a payment of

$20 which covers my author's cost and shipping expenses. You can also buy

the book through and Noble or at amazon.com. I believe they have it

priced at $27.95 or so. The title is " Sorority of Survival: Memoirs of a

Multiple " it was authored by one of my personalities, Newman and

was published by Nova Science, Krohka Books in New York.

Since November of 1996 my health has been rapidly deteriorating. I have been

to numerous specialists in the Denver area to try to find an answer to just

what all is wrong with me and what I can expect from the future. It has been

very difficult to get doctors to take my complaints and symptoms seriously

once they learn you have a lifelong history of mental problems and suicide

attempts. That's a whole other book I plan to write.

I won't dump everything on you all at once, but will tell you that all my

health problems since 1996 are derived from 3-1/2 years of exposure to

increasing exposure to airborne toxic chemicals infiltrating my apartment as

a result of an underground storage tank leakage at the Colorado Dept. of

Transportation Materials Lab which was only 2 blocks away from my apartment.

Of course, my apartment was downhill of the leakage which got into the

groundwater. The main contamination involved 13 primary toxic compounds of

Benzenes and chlorinated solvents. Many of them rated as probable

carcinogens. Very little is known how various exposure long term affects

humans. What I have been able to learn is that they have been known to do

nasty things to the respiratory systems, nervous system, heart, lungs,

kidneys and liver in laboratory animal studies. The big catch is that there

has never ever been studies on how long term exposures to all these

compounds can affect a living being.

None of the doctors I have seen even want to pursue the possibilities of

understanding how this may be the major contributor to all my deteriorating

health symptoms. The state health department won't even respond to emails or

show concern. I have contacted all the local media and gotten little

response from them. Again, it's a major issue, but virgin territory. If it

were a private business charged in the case, they'd be all over it, but I'm

sure they don't want to burn any bridges with the state government. I have

connected with a lawyer who finally got approval from the court system in

December to proceed with a Class Action lawsuit against the state of

Colorado and the apartment complex owners where I lived. Who knows what

shape I'll be in by the time the case ever gets to court.

Many doctors who have seen me in the various emergency rooms I've gone to

think I'm crazy and discharge me within a few hours after being brought in

by ambulance for stroke-like (TIA) symptoms as stressed out, depressed and

filled with anxiety and demand I make an appointment with my psychiatrist

before they kick me out the door. My former PCP even remarked during one of

my visits that many of the specialists sending her follow-up reports think a

great deal of my problem is emotionally based. They never dealt with me

10-15 years ago when I was really depressed and on life support after an

overdose. Mentally, I'm better now than I've been my whole life.

Finally after shedding buckets of tears in the doctor's office and crying

myself to sleep at night (I never did this even in my deepest of

depressions), my psychiatrist convinced my PCP something really might be

wrong. It was he that prompted an evaluation in the fall of 1997 by a

rheumatologist for a condition called " Fibromyalgia " . This is a soft tissue

rheumatic syndrome that causes muscle and joint pain throughout the body. To

be diagnosed with the syndrome you have to display extreme tenderness to a

certain amount of physical pressure in 11 out of 18 primary trigger points

on the body. This was confirmed in Oct. 97.

This past year, besides my RLS going ballistic, I was diagnosed with Acute

Obstructive Sleep Apnea in April. I never snored until I moved into that

last apartment. I was constantly falling asleep and engrossed in fatigue. Of

course, it didn't help me by working 3 jobs for 75-80 hours a week over the

course of 10 months. I have had a thoracic MRI and Lumbar Puncture to test

for MS. Last Feb. I had a bad fall onto the pavement which ended up tearing

the lateral meniscus in my left knee and required surgery in June. Also last

April, I learned through an EMG study that I had Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome

(feet) and a very mild case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (hands). I went

through 9 months of weekly physical therapy but quit the end of November to

move and have another surgery.

My ability to breath and sleep at night became so bad that my sleep

specialist and ENT doctor strongly suggested surgery. Just 4 days after

moving into my new home and 3 days before last Christmas I had nose and

throat surgery. It was outpatient surgery, but ended up being off work for 2

full weeks and on 1-2 Percocet every 4 hours around the clock. I got less

sleep after the surgery than before. I could not use my CPAP machine, had to

sleep sitting up or in my recliner for about 10 days, and worst of all,

could not blow my nose for 2 full weeks! Don't ever let anyone tell you that

having day surgery is a simple process. The anesthetic from the surgery

didn't wear off until the day after Christmas. Never in my 44 years on this

earth was I in as much pain as I was for the next 5 days. I've finally been

able to start using my CPAP machine at night for a couple nights, but have

also been doing Percocet or Darvocet before bedtime for the last 8-10 days.

Last night was real bad...a 2 Percocet night.

Besides, RLS and sleep apnea, I've been doing some surfing on the Internet

for answers that Managed Care doctors don't have the time for. What I have

found and based on what my new podiatrist told be a couple weeks ago, I may

be developing a pretty powerful case of Peripheral Neuropathy. The pain has

been pretty unreal.

I am in the process of finding all new doctors in the Boulder area, where I

work, because having to drive 60 miles round trip and take 2-3 hours out of

my work day to see a doctor in Denver who thinks I'm crazy is not worth it.

I had my annual physical and first appointment with my new PCP yesterday.

Not once did she have any stupid remarks like " how can anybody hurt from

head to toe all at once? " She took all my symptoms very seriously and

ordered tests that my other doctors hadn't. She is the first to express a

real concern based on my symptoms about the possibly of having diabetes.

I'm sorry, I've gone on like this. My email text box only fills about a 3x7

space on my desktop and I can't tell how much I've written. I will warn you,

though, this may be a regular from me. My burning desire is to be a

successful writer (until now, I've mainly been a closet or weekend writer).

I have written the book the was published last year and then another one

based on discrimination in a male-based work environment when I worked 3-1/2

years for Computer City (recently bought out by CompUSA). I have also

written 2.85 screenplays. I have signed up to go to LA in August to attend a

Hollywood film and screenplay festival to rub elbows and try to push some of

my work.

I will admit that since 1986, I have developed into a bonafide computer

" geek " . I started with a Macintosh (which is still my personal computer at

home), but have spent the past 5 years working mainly on PCs. I have even

given myself the challenge of building 2 Pentium computers from the case up

by getting some great deals through Internet auctions. My college degree is

in Physical Geography. I used that education and worked as a

cartographer/drafter in the oil business for 15 years. I have owned a

drafting business and then a computer graphic & DTP studio for a total of 10

years. I gave up the hassles of barely making ends meet and trying to locate

financial resources between 1995 and 1992 and went back to work full time

for someone else. Since 1993 until very recently, I have been working 7 days

a week and been nagged about it from doctors and family.

This changed the end of January. I worked weekends at the local CopyMax

store in Boulder as the PT Desktop Publisher since last February. After

going thru 3 managers and numerous immature college student associates who

knew everything, I decided to quit. Most of it was due to my deteriorating

health. Since August I had been doing very little DTP work. Most of my 8

hour days were spent on my feet acting as production supervisor on 3 big

full serve copiers and running back and forth helping customers at the

counter. Often, the only break I got was for a couple quick trips to the

bathroom. I often took my lunch home only to eat it for dinner at 9 p.m.

When I'd get home, my feet and ankles were so stiff and sore, that I often

ended up sleeping the night in my recliner because my feet didn't have the

strength to carry me to bed, let alone stand.

Since last April I have been working for a great company in Boulder. It is

very non-traditional in that they take flex-time to the extreme. You are

expected to work at least 40 hours per week and meet project deadlines.

There is essentially no formal dress code. The company has over 250

employees in offices around the world. I work at the corp. headquarters. The

CEO often comes to work in jeans and a golf shirt unless he meeting with

investors, the Board of Directors, or clients. The company is called

International Language Engineering. We are an international localization

company which helps computer and medical product companies introduce their

wares on a globalwide basis. I work as a documentation specialist in that I

take translated text and format and proof it and make it ready to go to the

printer or to be placed on the Internet. I can only speak a little French,

but in the 9 months I have been here have become quite capable of

understanding the foreign text in the documents I work on. I have 2 Pentiums

at my desk with removable hard drives because when I have projects in Asian

languages, I have to use a hard drive running on that language's version of

Windows 95 (i.e., Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional

Chinese). Japanese is the trickiest of all the languages I have worked with

so far. I have worked on projects which were translated into eastern and

western European languages, Russian, Arabic and Scandinavian languages. This

is a very challenging as well as rewarding job. Most importantly, they care

about their people as people and as customers. You have to be responsible to

you project team and resources, but can come and go during the day as long

as you are around between 9 and 3 pm. I'm thinking down the road, when my

condition may get to the point that I can't come into the office every day

or work in the office on a shortened schedule and then do the rest of my

work from home. We have over 800 translators who contract with us and are

located all over the world. I even had my PC set up to take home and dial-in

to work and correspond with project teams after my surgery in December.

Well, I've done one of two things -- bored you such that you stopped reading

this long before now, and acted as a sedative to aid your sleep deprivation,

or you really do have a problem with relaxing and have endured to the end.

I'll close for now and wait to get the birage of comments, criticism or

questions....or the silence because I did succeed in putting you all to

sleep.

I don't know how much time I will have to answer emails or respond to your

letters, but I will be around. I'm trying to make myself take at least a

half hour for lunch at work, so I can do some personal stuff on the

computer. We have a T-1 connection to the Internet at work, whereas, my

computer at home has a slow 14.4 modem. Besides, by the time I get home at

night, I'm too exhausted or hurting too bad to be able to concentrate on

much of anything.

Look forward to getting to know many of you in coming weeks, months, etc.

Michele, 44, Lafayette, CO

(personal email address = mishnewman@...)

(work/rls group email = mnewman@...)

[Guest guest]

Hi,

This may be a silly question but, do all of your personalities have RLS? The

T.V. movies ( my only form of MPD education) make it seem as if different

personalities take on and handle different parts of your life. I am thinking

that I have had times that I wish I could call on someone else to handle my

sleepless nights. Just curious and I don't mean to offend or make light of

something so serious.

Raine

[Guest guest]

Raine,

If I understand your question? it has to do with some relationship

between multiple personalities and RLS. RLS is a neurological

disorder, not a mental disorder. I have never heard anyone try to

relate the two. I certainly do not have multiple personalities nor do

the members of my family who have RLS. My RLS problem is chronic

(every night and most days to a lessser extinct) 365 days/yr. It is

predictable in terms of when it will happen and I am always just

simply and singly,

Jane janegf@...>

---Raine2Nite@... wrote:

>

> From: Raine2Nite@...

>

> Hi,

>

> This may be a silly question but, do all of your personalities have

RLS? The

> T.V. movies ( my only form of MPD education) make it seem as if

different

> personalities take on and handle different parts of your life. I am

thinking

> that I have had times that I wish I could call on someone else to

handle my

> sleepless nights. Just curious and I don't mean to offend or make

light of

> something so serious.

>

> Raine

>

>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

[Guest guest]

Raine,

If I understand your question? it has to do with some relationship

between multiple personalities and RLS. RLS is a neurological

disorder, not a mental disorder. I have never heard anyone try to

relate the two. I certainly do not have multiple personalities nor do

the members of my family who have RLS. My RLS problem is chronic

(every night and most days to a lessser extinct) 365 days/yr. It is

predictable in terms of when it will happen and I am always just

simply and singly,

Jane janegf@...>

---Raine2Nite@... wrote:

>

> From: Raine2Nite@...

>

> Hi,

>

> This may be a silly question but, do all of your personalities have

RLS? The

> T.V. movies ( my only form of MPD education) make it seem as if

different

> personalities take on and handle different parts of your life. I am

thinking

> that I have had times that I wish I could call on someone else to

handle my

> sleepless nights. Just curious and I don't mean to offend or make

light of

> something so serious.

>

> Raine

>

>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

[Guest guest]

Raine,

If I understand your question? it has to do with some relationship

between multiple personalities and RLS. RLS is a neurological

disorder, not a mental disorder. I have never heard anyone try to

relate the two. I certainly do not have multiple personalities nor do

the members of my family who have RLS. My RLS problem is chronic

(every night and most days to a lessser extinct) 365 days/yr. It is

predictable in terms of when it will happen and I am always just

simply and singly,

Jane janegf@...>

---Raine2Nite@... wrote:

>

> From: Raine2Nite@...

>

> Hi,

>

> This may be a silly question but, do all of your personalities have

RLS? The

> T.V. movies ( my only form of MPD education) make it seem as if

different

> personalities take on and handle different parts of your life. I am

thinking

> that I have had times that I wish I could call on someone else to

handle my

> sleepless nights. Just curious and I don't mean to offend or make

light of

> something so serious.

>

> Raine

>

>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

>