Throwback Thursday: Correcting Sleep Dysfunction in ME/CFS

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Copyright: ruigsantos / 123RF Stock Photo

In the Facebook group I started for parents of kids with ME/CFS and related illnesses, there have been a lot of discussions recently about helping our kids get better quality sleep. The good news is that researchers have found out quite a bit about the sleep dysfunction in ME/CFS, and - even better! - there are ways to actually correct it at its root cause (not sedatives but ways to correct the hormonal problems that lead directly to sleep dysfunction). Correcting sleep dysfunction is extremely important because if your body isn't getting deep Stage 3 & 4 sleep (as is true for us without treatment), then everything else is going to be worse, especially immune dysfunction, endocrine dysfunction, and autonomic nervous system dysfunction - it is all connected together.

This blog post I wrote back in 2009, Treating ME/CFS Sleep Dysfunction, is still the best and most accurate information I have about sleep dysfunction. It explains WHY our sleep is messed up, exactly what is wrong with it (hint: sleep studies and sleep specialists rarely help), and how to correct it. These approaches have worked wonderfully for my son and I for about 12 years now - we both get normal, refreshing sleep (including deep sleep) every night for 9-11 hours and wake up feeling good and ready for a new day. Note that, like all treatments for ME/CFS, finding exactly the right treatment for sleep dysfunction for each person usually takes some trial and error because we are all different. The kind of meds (again, not sedatives) that work well for my son and I (low-dose TCAs) don't work for a small minority of people due to a genetic defect that prevents them from metabolizing TCAs - if you have your genetic data, you can check for that or you can try them and see. The best approach is to use the two articles I link to in that post (the chart is especially helpful) and to work with your doctor to try different things until you find what works best for you - always start with super-low doses.

That is the primary way to correct sleep dysfunction, but treating other aspects of ME/CFS will usually have a positive effect on improving sleep (though for us, we still need the meds to correct sleep dysfunction.

In particular, treating Orthostatic Intolerance can help prevent random bouts of tachycardia (racing heart beat) during the night that disrupt sleep, so that will help somewhat but won't completely correct your sleep dysfunction. Specifically, though all OI treatments have the potential to help sleep a bit, taking low-dose 24-hour (extended release) beta blockers at bedtime can reduce or eliminate those bouts of tachycardia during the night...and, bonus! you wake up in the morning feeling good and ready to be active.

Treating Immune System Dysfunction can also improve sleep somewhat, since immune dysfunction is at the heart of this disease and is behind the endocrine dysfunction that causes the sleep dysfunction (yeah, we have a LOT of dysfunctions). It's a vicious cycle, so improving one aspect of this illness almost always improves others.

Finally, when you have ME/CFS, you should ignore some of the classic sleep advice that you will get from doctors and even so-called sleep specialists - they usually don't understand our specific type of sleep dysfunction. In particular, I cringe when I hear that a doctor told an ME/CFS patient NOT to take daytime naps and to force him or herself to stay awake during the day. This is terrible advice for someone with ME/CFS because the more exhausted we get, the more dysfunctional our sleep will be. When we get over-tired like that, we end up "wired and tired" and even less able to get a good night's sleep. So, instead of listening to the so-called experts, you need to Listen to Your Body and focus on what helps you to feel best. As most of us have learned the hard way, pushing past our limits only makes us sicker. Also, proactive rest is usually very helpful - where you rest before you feel wiped out in order to to try prevent that complete crash. For me, this means a an afternoon nap every single day, as I explain in this post, How My Daily Nap Saves Me.

Hope all that helps you to improve your sleep and correct your sleep dysfunction - it makes every other aspect of the disease better!

Sweet Dreams!

TV Tuesday: The Alienist

My husband and I (and my dad, too) enjoyed reading The Alienist by Caleb Carr, shortly after it was published in 1994, amid a flurry of rave reviews. Now TNT has turned this best-selling story of an 1896 serial killer into a TV series.

If you cross the TV show Bones with an FBI psychological profiler and set it in the 1890's, you begin to get an idea of the feel of this dark thriller. In 1896 New York City, Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, played by Danial Bruhl, is an alienist. According to the show's intro:

"In the 19th century the mentally ill were thought to be alienated from their own nature. Experts who studied them were known as Alienists."

Kreizler is something of a renegade in showing both interest and compassion toward the mentally ill since the standard practice of that time was to lock them up or try to "cure" them through all kinds of barbaric methods.  When Kreizler hears that a young boy dressed as a girl has been found brutally murdered on top of the just-being-built Brooklyn bridge, he sends his friend, John Moore (played by Luke Evans), to the scene, since Moore sometimes works as a crime reporter, putting his drawing skills to work. Moore brings a drawing of the horrific scene back to Kreizler.

The police - who are mostly corrupt and operate on a bribe system - show little interest in solving the case, even after Kreizler points out that other child prostitutes have been found in similar condition recently. This is a class of people the police would prefer to just brush under the rug. Sara Howard, played by Dakota Fanning, grew up with Moore and now works as an assistant to Police Commissioner Roosevelt, the only woman in the police department. She is also interested in the case, and the three begin to investigate it on their own, along with the help of two Jewish brothers who are budding forensic specialists. Despite the apathy of the rest of the police force, Roosevelt wants to do the right thing and so allows this undercover investigation.

As with the original novel the show is based on, my husband and I are both enjoying The Alienist. If you enjoy modern detective and forensic shows, then it is pretty fascinating to see this turn-of-the-century approach, where fingerprint analysis was a brand-new concept and crime scene investigation cursory at best. The three main characters - and the supporting actors as well - are excellent in their roles, and the growing mystery is captivating. As you might expect from a show of this nature, it is pretty gruesome at times and very, very dark, both in topic and tone. I prefer not to watch this one right before bed! It's engrossing though, and we can't wait to see what happens next - I only wish my dad were still here - he would love this show!

We are three episodes into the new show, and all three episodes are still available On Demand (where we watch it) or on the TNT website. You can also watch The Alienist on Amazon, where the first episode is free and additional episodes start at $1.99 (or $15.99 for the entire season).

Throwback Thursday: Lyme Disease & Other Tick Infections

Diagnosis
Dozens of times each week, I get asked about Lyme disease and whether people with ME/CFS should get tested for it, so it seemed like a good topic for Throwback Thursday.

Just the title of this post I wrote in 2014 answers that question:

Why Everyone with ME/CFS or FM Should Be Evaluated for Tick Infections.

The reasons why everyone with our diseases should also be evaluated for tick infections (including Lyme disease) are explained in detail in that post, but the bottom line is that these infections are often behind the scenes in ME/CFS or fibromyalgia, and it can be almost impossible for a patient or an inexperienced doctor to tell them apart. What makes getting evaluated for tick infections urgent is that when they are left untreated, they can cause permanent neurological damage. This essay by best-selling author Amy Tan tells about her horrible experiences with Lyme disease that have left her with lingering epilepsy, even after years of treatments. If you have joint pain, headaches, light sensitivity, nausea, or any neurological symptoms at all, it is even more urgent that you get evaluated immediately.

That post also explains why there are no reliable blood tests for Lyme, due to the nature of the Lyme bacteria (it doesn’t stay in the bloodstream) & the fact that many people – especially those with immune disorders like ME/CFS – don’t make the antibodies. The best blood tests only catch about 65% of cases. So, if you get a positive blood test result, you definitely have Lyme, but a negative blood test result doesn’t tell you anything. In addition, Lyme is only one of a dozen common tick infections, and most doctors only test for Lyme. The only way to know for sure if you have tick infections (including Lyme) is to see a Lyme specialist or LLMD who will run the best tests available but will also look at symptoms, history, and physical exam to determine if tick infections are present and which ones – any single positive test result for ANY of the tick infections means you were definitely bit by an infected tick (most people don't remember a bite), then the doctor can figure out which ones based on his or her experience (that’s why you need to see an LLMD). Use the tips and resources at this link to find an LLMD near you.

Treatment

One you find out that you DO have Lyme or other tick infections, you again need a Lyme specialist or LLMD to get proper treatment. Do not rely on a non-LLMD because it can do more harm than good. We found that out the hard way. Our pediatrician diagnosed our son's Lyme disease (he was one of the lucky 65% to have a positive blood test) and treated him with one month of antibiotics. The problem was that he also had two other tick infections that she didn't know to look for. In fact, no one even mentioned the possibility of other tick infections to us, until more than 3 years later when I learned about them from other patients. By then, our son was almost bed-ridden. We took him to an LLMD and found out that he also had bartonella and babesia, two other tick infections, and still had Lyme because you can't get rid of it without also treating the co-infections.

Treating tick infections, especially in the presence of an immune disorder like ME/CFS, is very complicated, so you need an expert to guide you. The various tick infections all require different kinds of treatment - some are not even bacteria!

During treatment, you will likely get worse. This is actually a good thing, a sign that the treatment is working and killing off the culprits. Those dead bugs then flood into your bloodstream, causing a worsening of all symptoms that is known as a Herx reaction. Too many people stop treatment when they get worse, but then those infections are still in your system, doing damage. Instead, there are many, many ways to manage a Herx reaction - the key is to find a balance where you can tolerate the treatment and still function, but you are continuing to make progress against the infections. This blog post explains more about Herx reactions (they also occur when treating viruses with antivirals) and lots of ways to manage them.

Very often, treatment of tick infections includes antibiotics which can then cause yeast overgrowth, a problem that those with ME/CFS are even more susceptible to because of our immune problems. Yeast overgrowth by itself can cause severe symptoms, including sore throat, exhaustion, flu-like aches, and severe cognitive dysfunction/brain fog. This post explains how to treat yeast overgrowth.

Don't let the possibility of yeast overgrowth scare you off from treating tick infections. Antibiotics are not the only treatments used against Lyme, bartonella, and other bacterial tick infections. There are several all-herbal protocols available (your LLMD can tell you more about them). My son switched to the Byron White herbal protocol four years ago, and it has been surprisingly potent and very effective.

Finally, most of the treatments that can help those with ME/CFS will also help those fighting tick infections - things like improving methylation (crucial for those with infections), improving immune function, treating Orthostatic Intolerance, and correcting sleep dysfunction. All of these topics and more are covered in this post on Effective Treatments for ME/CFS.

Don't let the complexities of diagnosing and treating tick infections scare you off. If you have these infections behind the scenes in your body, you will continue to worsen over time, possibly ending up with permanent neurological damage. With treatment, you will see significant improvements over time. My son was almost bed-ridden in high school. Now, 7 years into treatment for his 3 tick infections, he is living on his own, finishing college this semester, working part-time, in the sailing club, and even plays sports. He still has ME/CFS, but treating those infections has provided significant improvement, little by little. He is living an almost-normal life now and hopes to work full-time after graduation. It's been a long and difficult process, but seeing him so much improved makes it all worthwhile.

Movie Monday: Hello, My Name is Doris

After writing my year-end movie wrap-up, Favorite Movies Watched in 2017, recently, I had one of those middle-of-the-night realizations (am I the only one who does that?) - I hadn't reviewed Hello, My Name is Doris last year! Somehow, the review fell through the cracks, which is a shame because it probably would have taken the prize for my favorite comedy last year. I watched this warm and funny movie with my two closest friends, and we all loved it.

Sally Fields stars as the 60-something Doris and steals the show in this fun, quirky role. As the movie opens, Doris has just lost her mother, whom she lived with and cared for her whole life. She is on her own for the first time and has lots of neuroses, including never throwing anything away and living in the midst of clutter. She works in an office, and someone new comes into her reclusive, habit-driven life when a new art director is hired. John, played by Max Greenfield (Schmidt on The New Girl), is hunky and kind to Doris. After a lifetime of reading romance novels, Doris is primed for true love (or lust) and falls for John, despite his being decades younger than her. Her best friend Roz, played by Tyne Daly, thinks she has lost her mind, but Doris' world is opening up for the first time. She is scared but also excited and enlists Roz's granddaughter's help in stalking John online. They discover that John loves a certain band that is playing locally the following week, so Doris goes to the bar where they are playing, sees John there, which leads to even more new experiences.

My friends and I just loved this warm, hilarious movie. Sally Field is perfect as Doris, with her wigs, brightly-colored clothes, and her infectious and growing enthusiasm for life. It's so much fun to see Doris' world opening up, as she explores her freedom for the first time in her 60+ years. It's an earnest, heart-warming, and very funny movie that is filled with joy. This is a great movie to watch when you need a lift!

Hello, My Name is Doris is available for free on Amazon Prime streaming or on DVD. It is available through Netflix only on DVD, not streaming.

You MUST watch this trailer, which highlights some of the warmth and humor of the movie:



    

Weekly Inspiration: Celebrate the Small Stuff to Banish the Winter Blues

This is a tough time of year for many people, especially those with chronic illness. You may still be crashed from the frenzy of the big holidays, days are short and often gloomy, and you are probably stuck inside the house even more due to bad weather. This stretch between Christmas and Easter (signaling spring!) can be a long and difficult one for many.

For my family, though, this is a time of year filled with joy and fun because we celebrate all the little (sometimes tiny!) holidays in small ways that brighten up the gloomy winter days. Don't worry - you just made it through the major holiday season, and I'm not suggesting another push beyond your limits for even more holidays. Rather, we celebrate in small ways suited to our limits, and you can, too. If you have kids at home, even better - they can pitch in to help decorate (maybe even cook if they are older), and all kids love to celebrate! Even if you are bed-ridden, you can still brighten up these gloomy winter days with small sparks of joy, celebrating days like Mardi Gras, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day...even Groundhog's Day! If you're in a part of the world that doesn't celebrate this stuff, even better! Add some new simple and joyful traditions to your life.

This article I wrote for ProHealth, The Joy of Celebrations, explains how to add small celebrations into your life, with tips that will work even from your bed - wear festive pajamas, ask your partner to bring home holiday-themed foods, have your kids create some decorations to hang in your bedroom,  watch something appropriate for the holiday on TV or your laptop, and more. The article includes lots of practical tips and ideas for bringing some joy into your winter days that will boost you up, not wear you out.

This blog post, The Joy of Celebrations, is one I wrote here on the blog about 7 years ago. You'll see that I used some of the same information and ideas for my ProHealth article, but the blog post includes some of our own family photos of our own small celebrations - even one for Groundhog's Day!

One of our biggest celebrations all year at our house is for Mardi Gras, because my husband and I used to live in New Orleans! My sons and I have now improved enough that we were able to resume our old tradition of hosting a party (though it's a small, quiet one now), but even in our sickest years, we still celebrated in our own small ways alone at home. Here are some ideas and links for celebrating Mardi Gras from your bed, no matter where you live! There's even a link there to live webcams of the parades in New Orleans. Unfortunately, the links to my recipes on that post are no longer working (the magazine I published them in was sold, so they are no longer on the site), but you can see those recipes here, in a copy of the article. Mardi Gras Day this year falls on Tuesday, February 13, so next weekend is a great time to celebrate.

Here at our house, we will be celebrating Superbowl tonight (no, I don't care about football, but I enjoy the foods and the ads!), and next week is Mardi Gras! We don't do as much for Valentine's Day, with our sons out of the house now (and this year, it is the day after Mardi Gras Day), but my husband and I will get some yummy take-out and share some chocolate.

My psychologist who specialized in chronic illness used to always ask me, "What are you looking forward to?" We have lots of spots of joy coming up in the next two months to look forward to! Add these no-fuss, no-work mini-celebrations into your life, and you'll be past those winter doldrums before you know it...maybe you'll even look forward to this time of year! (though you can keep celebrating small holidays any time of year)

How do you celebrate the small stuff?

Happy Mardi Gras!

TV Tuesday: Favorite TV Shows Reviewed in 2017

A couple of weeks ago, I summed up my Favorite Movies Watched in 2017, so today it's time for TV to get its due. It was another GREAT year for TV shows! There is just SO much available now, between streaming services, cable channels, and networks, that it's impossible to keep up with all the amazing shows - but we gave it our best! In fact, our movie viewing has fallen off in recent years because we are watching so much more TV.

The full list of TV reviews I wrote this year (30 in all) is included below, and these have all been added to my TV Reviews tab (along with the ones previously reviewed). They are sorted by genre. Just to be clear, I only write reviews of shows that I enjoy, so everything on this list is worth trying!

As usual, we watched a mix of genres. This list of 2017 reviews makes it look as if we mostly watch shows on streaming services, but that is misleading. We still watch most of our shows On Demand through our cable service, but many of them are continued from previous seasons, so check out more TV reviews in my Favorite TV Shows Watched in 2016 post and the TV Reviews tab).

Here are a few superlatives from my 2017 reviews to whet your appetite (click the links to see the reviews) - yes, I cheated a bit where it was a close tie!:

Best Comedy

Chewing Gum (N) - UK Channel 4 

Best Drama

Good Girls Revolt (A) - Amazon Prime (my pick)

The Last Tycoon (A) - Amazon Prime (my husband and my pick together)

Best Dramedy

  One Mississippi (A) - Amazon Prime (my pick)

Sneaky Pete (A) - Amazon Prime (my husband and my pick together)

 

Best Crime/Mystery/Thriller 

 Ozark (N) - Netflix

 Best Sci Fi
Travelers (N) - Netflix

Sense8 (N) - Netflix (more supernatural than sci fi)

A Tie! My husband, son, and I LOVE both!

  

Best New Network Show 

(since most of my Bests are on streaming services)
Wisdom of the Crowd (A, C, I) - CBS

In addition to the reviews listed below, also check out my post, When Good Shows Get Cancelled, a round-up of One-Season Wonders still worth watching!

KEY: Available on:

A = Amazon

C = Cable and/or Cable On Demand
H = Hulu

I = On network’s own website

N = Netflix

Note that Amazon Prime original shows are available only to Amazon Prime members (just like Netflix or Hulu), but some shows are available on Amazon (A) to anyone for a fee.

Comedy
Chewing Gum (N) - UK Channel 4
Norsemen (N) - Norwegian show
Will & Grace 2017 (A, C, I) - NBC

Drama
American Crime - season 3 (A, C, I) - ABC 
Anne with an E (N) - Netflix
The Bold Type (A, C, I) - Freeform (formerly ABC Family)
Good Girls Revolt (A) - Amazon Prime
Gypsy (N) - Netflix
The Last Tycoon (A) - Amazon Prime
The Man in the High Castle (A) - Amazon Prime
Mercy Street (A, C, I) - PBS


Dramedy (both Comedy & Drama)
Fleabag (A) - British show 
Friends From College (N) - Netflix
Lilyhammer (A, N) - Norwegian show
Master of None (N) - Netflix
No Tomorrow (romcom) (A, C, I, N) - The CW
One Mississippi (A) - Amazon Prime
Sneaky Pete (A) - Amazon Prime


Crime/Mystery/Thriller
The Fall (A, N) - Irish show 
The Killing (N) - Netflix
Occupied (A, N) - Norwegian show 
Ozark (N) - Netflix
The Sinner (A, C, I) - USA Network
Ten Days in the Valley (A, C, I) - ABC
Time After Time (A, C, I) - ABC (also sci fi)
Wisdom of the Crowd (A, C, I) - CBS


Sci Fi
Salvation (A, C, I) - ABC
Sense8 (N) - Netflix (more supernatural than sci fi)
Travelers (N) - Netflix


Reality Shows
Food Network Star (A, C, I) - The Food Network

Movie Monday: Blade Runner

The week after Christmas, while my oldest son was home sick, he and my husband and I watched the original Blade Runner movie, which only my husband had seen before when it first came out, so that we can watch last year's sequel, Blade Runner 2049. We all enjoyed this sci fi movie from 1982, which is set in the far future world of 2019!

As with many futuristic sci fi movies, Earth - and particularly Los Angeles - has become a dark, bleak place. Human-like androids known as replicants live among humans. A young Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckard, an ex-cop who used to work as a "Blade Runner," someone assigned to assassinate replicants found among humans. When a bloody mutiny occurs off-world by a team of replicants, Rick is brought out of retirement to track down the androids responsible. During his investigation, though, he meets a female replicant, whom he gets to know and is attracted to. This makes Rick reconsider his role and think about what it means to be human.

We all enjoyed this gritty sci fi thriller, based on the 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. It's a dark movie, both literally and in tone, and Harrison Ford is, as always, fun to watch. There is plenty here to make you think, about being human, relationships, and the future. We were all amused by the film's depiction of the future, since it is set in 2019, and we are almost there! I always find it fascinating how sci fi writers in the past foresaw the distant future, where we are now. They generally get some things right, predict some things that are still far too advanced for us, and completely miss the boat on other technological advances. So, in this movie, there are androids that are almost impossible to tell apart from humans, yet Rick still has to find a pay phone (granted, it's a video pay phone) to make a call! All in all, we enjoyed this suspenseful and captivating film. Now we need to find time to see its recent sequel!

Blade Runner  is available for streaming on Amazon, starting at $2.99 or on DVD. It doesn't look like it is available on Netflix. And no spoilers here - ever - but from what I read, there are big differences between the theatrical version and the director's cut (we watched the theatrical version) and between director Ridley Scott's interpretation of the movie and Harrison Ford's! AFTER you have watched Blade Runner, you can check out this YouTube video, The Ending of Blade Runner Explained, to get in on the controversies (be ready to have your mind blown).



    

Weekly Inspiration: We Have Some Control Over Our Emotions

First, I apologize for so few blog posts lately. January was a month filled with family obligations, illnesses, and family crises, so I haven't had much time for much else. I'm behind on everything - not just my blogs! - and one of my goals for today is to finally clear out the unread e-mails in my Inbox, which have been ranging from 200-500 all month! In addition, I am devoting some of my limited writing time to working on a book, Effective Treatments for ME/CFS: Our Experiences. I am pulling together all of my blog posts on ME/CFS treatments, plus adding in some new material, into one place. So, I haven't had much time for new blog posts here this month (though while working on the book, I have been updating some of the older, most popular posts on treatment). For a preview of  some of what I will be covering in the book, you can check out my blog post on Effective Treatments for ME/CFS, which includes many links to more information.

So, onto today's Weekly (monthly?) Inspiration!

The title of a TED Talk caught my eye this week - You Aren't at the Mercy of Your Emotions - Your Brain Creates Them - in part because this is something I have been working on. Another thing crammed into this month has been searching for and starting with a new therapist. I sought help from a wonderful psychologist who specialized in chronic illness (her own grown son had ME/CFS) in the early years of my illness, and she helped me immensely. She has since retired, so I went in search of a new counselor. I think I am pretty well-adjusted after 16 years of living with chronic illness - I even try to help other people through this blog & several support groups I run! - but I wanted to finally address an issue that's been eating away at me. I want to learn how to get rid of and move past some resentment and bitterness I still feel over how some members of my extended family have reacted to my illness. I understand they will never change, and I am working hard to accept that, so I want to learn how to control my own emotions and dump some of this old, negative stuff that still lingers. So, this particular TED Talk seemed very relevant.

Here is the 18-minute talk from Lisa Feldman Barrett, a professor of psychology and acting psychiatrist, all about how we have more control over our emotions than we may think. The first part of her talk focuses on the biology and physiology behind emotions, but at about minute 11, she zeroes in on applying that information to our own emotions:

I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

Are there emotions related to your chronic illness that you struggle with? What has worked for you to help change your emotional reaction to certain things or people? Let me know in the comments below.

Movie Monday: Taking Lives

While our 23-year old son was home sick the week after Christmas, he and my husband and I watched a few movies together. The first was a creepy thriller from 2004 called Taking Lives, starring Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke.

The movie opens in the 80's, with a runaway teen named Martin Asher on a bus to Canada. He meets another guy about his age and along the way, he kills him and takes his guitar and wallet before heading off. Flash-forward to the present, where Angelina Jolie plays Illeana, an FBI profiler who has been called to Quebec to help police there with a serial killer case. The killer appears to be Martin Asher, who takes on the identity of each victim; Martin's mother thinks she saw Martin recently in the city. In the most recent case, there is no physical evidence but they have a break-through: an eye witness who was at the site of the murder and saw the killer. Ethan Hawke plays the witness, an artist named James Costa. There is some chemistry between him and Illeana, but he's a key part of the case. The rest of the movie deals with Illeana and the local police tracking down the killer and wondering how reliable the eye witness account is.

This is a super suspenseful and creepy thriller - the kind that keeps surprising you and makes you want to leave the lights on! Both Jolie and Hawke inhabit their roles beautifully, pulling the viewer into the story. The rest of the cast is just as good, with Keifer Sutherland, Olivier Martinez, and Jean-Hughues Anglade playing other law enforcement officials.  This taut and twisty thriller kept us all rapt, right up to the very last moments.

Taking Lives is available on Netflix streaming or available for rent through Amazon, starting at $2.99.  A Director's Cut is also available on DVD.




    

Movie Monday: Favorite Movies Watched in 2017

Time for a recap of the movies I saw this past year, highlighting my favorites. You can find a full list of ALL of my movie reviews (these recent ones plus past years) under the Movie Reviews tab.

We watched a total of 25 movies in 2017, a few more than we saw in 2016, in a nice mix of different genres, though no family movies (kids are grown now) or documentaries last year. You can see the full 2017 list below, with links to my reviews - no spoilers here!

First, some superlatives:

Best Suspense/Thriller

The Accountant

  

Though I'm not as big a fan of action/suspense movies as my sons and husband, we all enjoyed this one, and I especially liked how clever its plot was. Ben Affleck was excellent in this film as an autistic accountant to crime families.

Best Drama

Captain Fantastic

An easy choice, though we watched a lot of good dramas in 2017. This one has everything - warmth, humor, and thought-provoking ideas plus a magnificent cast. Even better, it is totally unique.

Best Comedy

If I Were You

  

We only watched two comedies this year, and both were lots of fun, but this one that I watched on my own stood out, mostly because Marcia Gay Harden was just fabulous in it.

Best Sci Fi/Fantasy

Arrival

  

We love sci fi movies, but this one really stood out, with excellent acting, a unique plot, amazing visuals, and mind-bending twists that leave you thinking long after it's over. I want to watch it again!

Best Musical

 La La Land

Granted, it was the only musical I saw in 2017, but it would be deserving of the "best" title anyway - lots of fun, warmth, and great music & dancing.

Here are all the movies we watched in 2017, listed by genre, with our favorites marked with an * - though, note that we enjoyed every one of these movies - there were no bad films for us last year!

Suspense/Thriller
* The Accountant - clever, action-packed thriller
* The Circle - taut suspenseful story of social media gone mad
Extortion - taut thriller of family vacation gone wrong
Spectre - the latest James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig

Drama
* Before I Fall - based on a YA novel, like Groundhog Day for teens
* Captain Fantastic - warm, funny story of quirky family facing challenges 
Carol - beautiful novel adaptation about forbidden love in 1952
* Cloud Atlas - clever, complex, visually stunning film based on the novel
The Dressmaker - quirky drama filled with dark humor, based on a novel
Everything, Everything - teen romance based on popular YA novel
* The Fundamentals of Caring - warm, funny story of friendship and hope
Gold - suspenseful drama about real-life 80's gold prospector
* Hidden Figures - inspirational true story of black women behind the scenes at NASA 
Me Before You - warm, sweet romance based on the novel by Jojo Moyes
*  Mr. Holmes - moving portrayal of an aging Holmes with dementia recalling his last case

Comedy
Going in Style - fun, heartwarming comedy about old guys robbing a bank - all-star cast
*  If I Were You - fun, warm farce about infidelity

 Sci Fi/Fantasy
* Arrival - mind-bending, powerful movie about aliens, communication & being human
Mockingjay, Part 2 - action-packed conclusion to The Hunger Games series
* Passengers - long-term space journey goes awry - suspense, humor & romance
* Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - prequel to the original Star Wars movie
* Star Wars: The Last Jedi - excellent addition to the series
War for the Planet of the Apes - action-packed suspense with poignancy & humor
* Wonder Woman - suspenseful & entertaining superhero movie

Musical
* La La Land - a joyful musical romance set in Hollywood

 
Family/Animated
none

Documentary 
 none (I know, I still need to see Unrest!)

What were your favorite movies watched in 2017? 

Throwback Thursday: Treating Virally-Induced Crashes in ME/CFS

Virus in the house!

Just a quick post today because I am very, very sick - the sickest I have been in years, in fact. My son with ME/CFS was home sick last week with a cold, but he was back on his feet and moving back to his apartment after just one week, which is pretty amazing for someone with ME/CFS! Unfortunately, I've got it worse (if it is even the same virus). My doctor said there is a really nasty coughing infection going around, which seems to be what I have. Given my susceptibility to bacterial infections and especially bronchitis, I have that, too. I started antibiotics immediately (knowing my history and tendencies), but it's been 6 days now, and I am actually worse today. The chest congestion and cough are still horrible but now it's in my sinuses, too. For the first time this week, I spent the day in bed.

So, this blog post, Treating Virally-Induced Crashes in ME/CFS explains:

• Why viruses make us (people with ME/CFS) crash
• Why we are more prone to bacterial infections and how to prevent them
• The kind of immune dysfunction that is central to ME/CFS
• How to prevent virally-triggered crashes by improving/normalizing your immune system
• How to treat viruses and virally-triggered crashes when they do occur so they won't last long or be as severe.

That post was just written in April, so it is fairly up-to-date and complete, but I would add a few things to it:

• In addition to the immune system treatments mentioned in that post, I would add Increasing Glutathione to the list. I used to get bronchitis 3-5 times a year, causing a severe crash each time (the why is explained in that above post). Since starting glutathione injections in Fall 2016, this is the first time I've had bronchitis! That is a truly stunning improvement - in all, I went more than 18 months without getting bronchitis once.
• That Virally-Induced Crashes post explains how to self-treat viruses when you have been exposed to one or catch one; however, there is one type of virus that should get you to your doctor immediately: the flu. The flu can knock a normal, healthy person down for 10 days to two weeks, so it can affect people with ME/CFS severely. My husband and son both caught it two Thanksgivings ago...my husband was sick for two weeks, but my son (with ME/CFS) was badly crashed and non-functional for more than two months, until early February. The best approach when someone with ME/CFS gets the flu is to start Tamiflu (an antiviral specific to the flu) immediately - the trick is to start it in the first couple of days for it to be effective. How do you know if it's the flu? It helps to know your own body, but the flu usually comes on very hard and suddenly - with high fever, sore throat, aches, and congestion right from Day 1 and cough soon after. For my son and I, as I explained in that virus post, we rarely get fevers, so now if one of us suddenly spikes a fever in the 100's (F) with the accompanying symptoms, we go see the doctor and ask for Tamiflu immediately.

Ok, that's more than I meant to write, but I hope this will help others who are struggling this time of year with all sorts of infections. 'Tis the season!

Movie Monday: Star Wars - The Last Jedi

We saw quite a few movies during the holidays because our son was home sick this past week. But before that, we kicked off our holiday season and celebrated our sons finishing final exams and their semester with a visit to our recliner theater to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi. To prepare, my husband, older son, and I rented Star Wars: The Force Awakens (my review at the link - no spoilers) on Amazon the night before, since our son had missed it two years ago - that refresher was perfect, and I think I enjoyed the new movie more with its prequel fresh in my mind.

So, The Last Jedi picks up right where The Force Awakens ended (don't worry - no spoilers here). On the Dark side, the Empire - now regaining its strength as the First Order - is under the direction of Kylo Ren, played with great complexity by Adam Driver. And on the side of the Light, Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, is now a part of the Resistance, under General Leia, the last role for Carrie Fisher. Finn, played by John Boyega, and Poe, played by Oscar Isaac, are both working for the Resistance as well. Rey is on a mission to find Luke Skywalker, who has isolated himself in a remote corner of the universe. She wants him to train her as a Jedi. As with all the Star Wars movies, this one is about good versus evil on a grand scale, but on a more personal level, this film zeroes in on the youngest, most powerful members of each side: Rey and Kylo Ren. The two of them, though on opposite sides, seem to have a potent connection to each other which is at the center of this story.

All four of us thoroughly enjoyed this latest Star Wars installment, and I was especially glad we re-watched the previous movie the night before. The Last Jedi has everything you expect from a Star Wars movie - big battles and light sabres, yes, but also humor, romance, and intimate moments. The acting here is excellent, both in the Star Wars old-timers and the newer additions. This movie adds Rose, played by Kelly Marie Tran, as a fearless mechanic who plays a key role. The droids are always an amusing element to these movies, and here we get our new fave, BB8, plus our old friends, C-3PO and R2-D2. Chewbacca is back, along with several other strange creatures, including fox-like animals made of crystal and the adorable Porgs that populate Luke's island. Action, adventure, an intricate plot, drama, romance, and humor - what more could you want from a movie?

Star Wars: The Last Jedi was just released in theaters on December 15 - this is definitely one to see on the big screen, if you can manage it! It is scheduled for release on streaming in March 2018 and on DVD in April.




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