Invisible Illness Week from September 8-14, 2008 raised awareness of the illnesses that people can't see. As a fibromyalgia sufferer, how many times have you heard the phrase, 'you don't look sick?' From the doctors that we trust and from family that we love, those words are etched into our minds on a regular basis. But, this week, we had the opportunity to see that we are not alone.

Rest Ministries organized a conference for Invisible Illness Week, and they did so through Blog Talk Radio. Some of the topics discussed were the following:

After the Diagnosis - The Journey Beyond

Invisible Illness Week - How to Get Paid to Blog

Support Groups: The Changes and Challenges They Will Bring to Your Life

What You Need to Know About Applying for Disability

Overcoming Self-Defeating Behaviors When You are Chronically Ill

The Civil Rights of Patients with Invisible Chronic Illnesses

I was able to listen in on the subject, Secrets of Paying for Medical/Health Care by Jacqueline L. Lewis. I will share with you 2 tips that I appreciated.

Tip 1) If a person does not have insurance, he can ask the state's insurance commissioner if they have a State Sponsored Plan.

Tip 2) Don't settle for second rate care; it will cost you more in the long run.

Another seminar that I tuned into was Access Yourself: Find the Job you Deserve and Can Do Despite Your Limitations by Rosalind Joffe. She really stressed the need to make changes regarding our work. She took the callers through various steps to determine what skills that we may currently have or developed over the years, and, also to list our symptoms and how they may impact our job performance and determine which skill we can use that will not worsen our condition.

Overall, the seminar was great, and you still have time to catch the rest of the seminar and to listen to some from earlier in the week.