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Pay equality

Posted by Lizzie on Sep-5-2008

There’s a lot of talk about women’s issues this election cycle. Thanks to Hillary Clinton, and now Sarah Palin, we’re back in the spotlight. In that vein, Congress is pressing for a revote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which failed to pass previously. McCain has come out again it:

“I am all in favor of pay equity for women, but this kind of legislation, as is typical of what’s being proposed by my friends on the other side of the aisle, opens us up to lawsuits for all kinds of problems,” the expected GOP presidential nominee told reporters. “This is government playing a much, much greater role in the business of a private enterprise system.”

I’ve recently engaged in a half-hearted IT job search - in anticipation of my eventual graduation from the Tech program. There seems to be a little available, but I’ve heard that women are not treated favorably in the IT industry. It would please me, and thousands of other women, tremendously if this actually became law. Would I know that my male counterparts were making more than me? Probably not. But this act would give me recourse should I find out about a pay discrepancy after the fact. As a woman hoping to work in a male-dominated field, I would feel just a little better knowing I had a safety net.

There was some talk that this law isn’t necessary. I beg to differ. I worked with a company (unrelated to the tech field) that cut me a mystery check. When I inquired to what the purpose of the check was, I was told that it was to make up for a pay difference between me and my male counterparts. I had no idea that the men were making that much more per hour than I was, but there was a lawsuit and the settlement agreement was that this company would pay the hourly difference to each female for whatever period of time they agreed to (I think it was 3 months, even though I’d been there for over a year at that point). I left that company not long afterward, but my eyes had been opened. The reasoning for the lower pay was that women are mothers and so are prone to miss work because of their sick children. Men, on the other hand, are more reliable and should be rewarded. Really?

At a time when a major political party has nominated a self-proclaimed “hockey mom” to be vice president, there should be no more “she should get less because she’s a mom”. This woman is seeking a job while parenting 5 children (and potentially helping parent a grandchild) so the reason listed above would apply to her and her pay should be cut significantly. Right? No. Wrong. Her husband will be able to tend to the children while she runs for office and he can tend to the children while she continues to govern Alaska (except that he’s got a full-time job plus an extra job on the side in the summer, but that’s not this issue). It’s only fair that the rest of American women enjoy the same equality in pay as the women who govern them.

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24

Researching the Cause of My Chronic Pain

Posted by Lizzie in Living with Pain, health&wellness 

After publishing “A Personal Experience with Chronic Pain” I received many helpful tips in the comment area on how to deal with my pain. So, I decided to start a log and do some personal experiments to see if any kinds of foods triggered my episodes, or flares. I took my lead from the comments area of my article and went from there. I’m hoping to establish causation for my episodes and eventually take that back to my doctor, who seems to have given up on me or just doesn’t care. With what I’m learning about myself and my condition I hope to get a diagnosis and some treatment.

I started with tomatoes. Someone suggested that too many tomatoes in my diet can contribute to my episodes and I thought that to be plausible. I love tomatoes, tomato sauce, pizza sauce, and salsa. I have been heard to say tomatoes are fruits of the gods. So, I went out into my garden and picked the biggest, reddest one I could find. Thankfully it didn’t seem to effect my pain or energy levels. That was definitely good news.

So then I tried processed (white) sugar. I ate some jam on wheat bread and experienced a small episode. I realized that one of the foods on my list was bleached flour and thought maybe there was some of that in my bread. So, I tried a chocolate bar. Nothing. Whew. Then, to be certain, I drank a regular Pepsi, which used to be my favorite soda. I immediately felt fatigued and my skin started burning. That’s how an episode starts for me. Before long I was lying down, trying to recuperate. It wasn’t a horrible episode, but it was enough. No more processed sugar for me.

My final test, for now, was with bleached (white) flour. From my experience with the sugar, I decided to go straight to the source. I didn’t have any white bread in the house and flour is bleh. So, I opened a box of Ritz crackers, my absolute favorite, and took out a sleeve. I ate the entire thing. It was wonderful, until my body started to digest all that flour. I was immediately thrown into one of the worst episodes I’d ever experienced. My body bypassed all of the usual warning signs. I was engulfed in pain, from head to toe, and my body was too tired to even sit up. I had to lie down. It was horrible. I felt like I was fighting for my life. My three year-old was upset because I couldn’t even bear for her to touch me. I went in and out of sleep. I don’t remember how long that episode lasted, but it was a while. Thinking back, I wish someone else had been here with me so that they could take me to the emergency room. I’m sure they would have found out what’s wrong with me then. They would have seen how horrible my condition can be. Alas, I suffered alone. And I’m not brave enough to repeat that phase of my experiment even with someone here to help me.

So, some of the things that throw me into episodes are:

  • The sun
  • White Flour
  • Stress
  • Lack of sleep

Hopefully when I find a new doctor and take this to him or her I’ll finally get some answers.

I hope that by conducting these completely non-scientific experiments on myself, I’ve helped someone else find their own diagnosis. Living with chronic illness is hard, but not knowing what the illness is is excruciating.

 

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    1. Gisela (1 comments.) Said on September 29, 2007 @ 2:21 pm:

      Have you researched fibromyalgia? I’ve lived all my life with exactly what you describe, pain, rashes, fog and a few months ago came upon some sites on fibro and felt like I could’ve written every word myself.
      Here’s a good one: http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org
      Good luck,
      Sela

    2. Lizzie Said on September 29, 2007 @ 4:12 pm:

      Hi, Sela! Thanks for stopping by.

      My doctor said if he couldn’t find anything else wrong with me he would diagnose me with Fibro, so I was way discouraged. Like it’s a throw away dx or something. So, I’m looking for a new doc. Anyway, I had a positive ANA screen and then a negative, but no other screens after that. And my aunt who has MS suggested my symptoms sound like hers.

      So, I’m reading up on them all. I think, though, that you might be right about the Fibro. I really appreciate that.

      Thanks for stopping by and for the great info.

    3. Dr. Mike Swierczynski, DC, MS (1 comments.) Said on October 4, 2007 @ 3:00 am:

      Hi,
      Most physicians will dx fibromyalgia after all diagnostic tests for other conditions come back negative. It is often times a dx of exclusion. However, there could be a multitude of reasons why you are in chronic pain. Check out my fibromyalgia blog for some of the content, not just from the perspective that you have fibromyalgia.

      http://www.fibromyalgiafacts.net
      Mike Swierczynski, DC, MS

    4. Lizzie Said on October 4, 2007 @ 7:51 am:

      Hi, Mike,

      Thanks for stopping by!

      I checked out your blog and I really like it. I’m leaning more toward fibromyalgia, but I’d like to see a rheumatologist just to make sure. Right now my doc is a little, um, unconcerned (to put it mildly). So, the search for a new one is on.

      I will definitely check out more of your blog.