Slow Days

Wednesday and Thursday (today) have been slow days. Legs, arms, hands and head are giving me fits. I think my body is getting ready for a cycle. My pain intensifies about a week before the cycle begins. We will see if it arrives next week. I might have blogged on this a few days back.

My hands ache without use. When I use them the pain increases and I'm afraid I will drop something.

My arms and leg muscles cramp mostly when I'm at rest in my recliner but a few times they cramped while I was walking.

My head always hurts, but the last few days it has increased. I've had headaches when my cycle was about to start.

Going to bed. Just wanted to point my frustration with increased Fibromyalgia pain.

Slow Down Therapy

This was printed in a newsletter I receive from The Northcoast Lupus & Fibromyalgia Support Group which meets on the north Oregon coast. I don't know the author. It was submitted by a lady named Heidi, who I suspect is the author. I read this advise regularly. It is a great reminder of how how we should lead our lives, having Fibromyalgia or not.

"Slow Down Therapy

1. Slow down; you are not responsible for doing it all yourself, right now.
2. Remember a happy, peaceful time in your past. Rest there. Each moment has richness that takes a lifetime to savor.
3. Set your own pace. When someone is pushing you, its OK to tell them they're pushing and it's not good for you.
4. Take nothing for granted; watch water flow, the corn grow, the leaves blow, your neighbor mow.
5. Taste your food. It is to delight as well as to nourish.
6. Notice the sun, the moon, and the stars as they rise and set. They are remarkable for their steady pattern of movement, not their speed. Watch and listen to the night sky.
7. Quit planning how you're going to use what you know, learn, or possess. Gifts just are; be grateful and their purpose will be clear.
8. When you talk with someone, don't think about what you'll say next. Thoughts will spring up naturally if you let them. If you are only thinking of your next word you will miss a blessing from that someone.
9. Create a place in your home...at your work...in your mind...in your heart...where you can go for quiet and time to be lazy and unproductive. Rest isn't luxury; it's a necessity; it improves us."

So...

Can you slow down?

Can you find a happy, relaxful place?

Can you go at your own pace?

Do you marvel at the simple things in life?

Do you eat well?

Can you stop and listen to the space around you?

Can you enjoy your life?

Can you accept the blessing

that are your

family, friends and acquaintances?

Can you sit quietly, relax in an recollection?

Do you get enough rest?

Information to get you thinkin' about what you do for yourself.

Cold Snaps

Do You Have Cold Snaps?

This is a term Dwain coined when my skin shivers and I get goose bumps. I am usually not cold when I experience these sensations. It happens often during the winter months. The locations are my legs and arms. The only way I can eliminate the snap is to wrap a warm blanket around me or across my lap, depending on the location. A friend gave me a warming lap blanket and I may wear it out. :-D

Dr. Mark J. Pellegrino, MD, in his book, Fibromyalgia Up Close and Personal, says of goose bumps:

"This frequent finding is another result of a dysfunctional autonomic nervous system. These are usually noticed in the legs during the palpation of painful tender points but can be seen in the arms also. These goose bumps are medically known as piloerections.."

Cold snaps are opposite of the usual burning sensation, which I also have. My experience with burning sensations have been decreased by medication. I still feel the burning, but it is not as intense.

Relaxing Day

What a nice day I've had. I accomplished daily chores, watched football, talked to grandsons via the telephone and had a good visit and dinner with my in-laws. Nothing rushed or complicated. I can't always make that statement. I'm tired, having no nap.

My Fibromyalgia pain has been in check today. I attribute that to the nice-paced day.

Busy Week

It's been four days since my last post. Let's see if I can remember what has transpired during that time.

Wednesday was another difficult sciatica day. Rested most of the morning then headed to Tillamook for lunch with Jacquie at the Blue Heron. We had a wonderful visit and lunch was good too. Jacquie then dropped me at Fred Meyers for grocery shopping. Getting through my list took longer than it should due to my back and my increased Fibromyalgia pain...I was shot. Dwain picked me up and we took the loop home. It was nice to see different scenery. Watched baseball in the evening.

Thursday we headed for Astoria to have lunch with a few other retirees from Oregon Department of Forestry. We were there for lunch but stayed until 4 pm. Great visit! We
stopped by Costco and Fred's before visiting with friends in Seaside. Another late night and to top it off the Angels beat the Yankees. :-(

Friday was a productive day. Wasn't expecting it to be productive after the busy, long days. I was able to take a nap in the late afternoon. We went to my Aunt and Uncles for an evening with family. Had great visits and another late night.

We stayed home today. I accomplished laundry, dishes, made banana bread, vacuumed and cleaned bathroom. Watched the U of O and OSU games. Disappointed the baseball game was rain delayed. I feel like my body is getting ready for a period. My hips and legs are aching hard along with other tender areas. The increased pain in my hips and legs are symptoms since my Fibro has been active. It's been two months since my last period.

Sciatica

I have sciatica! It hurts! It's not bad enough to have FM and CF, I am blessed with sciatica. Blessed? I should make an appointment with my Chiropractor, but will wait another day, continuing my back exercises. I have spent more time in my recliner in the morning the last couple of days. Nervous that the sciatica will increase my Fibromyalgia pain. It has a little, but not significantly. I think the quieter mornings have helped.

I do feel accomplished in completing household chores, some of which are not daily chores ... working towards a winter house cleaning.

Enjoying the chase for the ALCS title. Feel sorry for the Angels, but the Yankees rule.

Dwain is working on shelves for cupboards in the RV. Looking forward to getting them installed.

Having lunch with my friend Jacquie on Wednesday. Looking forward to the time together.

I'm missing Patrick and Joshua. It's been three weeks since we left Wallowa.

I Love My Son!

OK day..a few chores, lots of football, ending it with a wonderful phone visit with my oldest son who lives in Chicago.

It's hard having Seth live so far from us. I know he has a good life and is happy. But I miss seeing his smile, hugging him and him hugging me. You know, when God gives us our children, they are in our home for much to short of a time. I know they are ready to leave us after 18 years, but are we ready for them to live a long distance from us? Seth has been on his own for over 16 years. He has gone through his education, jobs and relationships. He has touched many, many lives positively and excelled in his efforts. What more could a Mother want? Simply..to be nearer to this amazing man. If I had more $$, I would fly back to see him several times a year. I wish he could be more involved in the lives of his nephews and niece. I'm thankful they have phone and email contact and they know one another. They also have time during the Christmas holiday to spend together. Very fun to watch their interaction together. They so love each other.

Must move off this emotional writing. When I get emotional, my body rebells. My muscles tighten, my headache increases and my throat restricts, just to mention a few pain in the ass issues. The bottoms of my feet have been extra sore today. Wasn't on them alot yesterday. Just must be their day. :>)

Best of Friends

Had a good day. Didn't do much this morning. Did the dishes, couple loads of laundry, straightened a little, fixed lunch. THEN off to visit my good friend Carol. Carol, Dwain and I went to high school together. We have kept in touch for 40 years. Since we all retired, we have spent more time together. Carol and her husband Bill and Dwain and I have taken "adventure" trips. We went to the Port Townsend area with them and they came to Wallowa County with us. We have also spent time together in the LaPine area.

Carol and I have GREAT visits. We understand each other. We can talk for hours about our kids and grandkids. Because we went through high school together, we have mutual friends, know each others family and the area where we grew up, we can talk about anything and everything. We confide to each other and know the other will keep the confidence.

I am blessed to have her in my life and I often thank the Good Lord for seeing to it that we are connected. It's a double blessing that Dwain and Bill enjoy each others company too.

I worried about visiting Carol this afternoon only because the afternoons are harder fibro-wise for me. I almost changed the day to visit during a morning. I'm glad I didn't. We sat on Carol's comfortable couch with a hot cup of tea and visited. No up and down, nothing to figure out, just a laid-back visit.

Tonight I used the massager on my neck. Didn't seem to help. Shouldn't be surprised. It's human nature to try to fix it. Also an A personality trait..fix it.

Sore neck

Today my neck hurts. I've been stretching, applying heat. Next I'm going to use the massager we received last Christmas. I even ate chocolate hoping the caffeine would help. My eyes are beginning to ache more than usual. Maybe a good nap would help.

Tried the "good nap" with heat on my neck and base of skull. Slept for one and a half hours. Helped for a couple of hours, then BAM! So off to bed

Tired

Feeling the effects of Wednesday. Had a great lunch and visit with David and Donna. We then went to Les Schwab to have the tires rotated and picked up groceries at Fred Meyer. Altho it doesn't seem like much it all took place between 11:30 am and 5 pm. When I got up this morning I was doing ok, but by 10 am, my legs got weak and hurt more. Within 10 minutes my arms were reacting and fatigue over took me. I rested for a little while. I've felt like I was dragging weights all day. Going to bed early tonight.

Stupid Moment

I had a "stupid" moment AGAIN!

It was time to get out of the back seat of the car. The door would not open. Adam, from the driver's seat, tried to verbally tell me what to do. He tried different ways of telling me how to unlock the car door. My dots finally connected and I was able to exit from the car.

Even though I know I am not stupid, it makes me feel like I am or I have Alzheimer's. Similar situations have occurred with my other children and Dwain. I know this makes them frustrated and worried. How do you explain Fibrofog?

Dr. Mark Pellegrino gives several analogies:

"The Cluttered Hallway

Picture your brain as the upstairs of a house. In this house, the upstairs bedrooms are neat, organized and behind closed doors. The common hallway leading to each bedroom is cluttered with laundry baskets, piles of clothing, boxes, shoes, toys, and furniture. One has to navigate the clutter in order to access a bedroom, causing some delay in reaching the door.

The person trying to get into the bedroom is like the nerve signal trying to access a memory trace. The person (nerve signal) climbs the steps (spinal cord) up to the second floor (brain) and is standing in the common hallway (attention center). The egress to the bedroom door (memory) is slowed by all the clutter (neurochemical changes from fibromyalgia). Sometimes it seems to take forever to get to a door, and at other times the person can't remove all the clutter to open the door in a timely manner. This leads to either delayed processing, or inability to read the intended thought or memory.

Once one gets to the bedroom door and opens it, the room (memory) is in good order and can be accessed freely. In fibromyalgia, the bedrooms are neat. In dementia, the bedrooms would be in a disarray. ... .

Cable Access vs. Dial-Up

To those of you who are computer literate, a simple fibrofog analogy is like having dial-up internet service on your computer instead of cable access."

I have a hard time "letting go" as to how others see me when the fibrofog is clouding my thinking. I have a depressive moment before moving on. When this happens with my husband or children, I feel like they think I've lost it. I need to accept that fibrofog is a part of my Fibromyalgia illness. It is something I continue to work on.

Thinking Out of the Box

It's Saturday already! Thursday Dwain and I ran errands. Friday Adam, Lyla and I shopped for the perfect rocking chair for Lyla's 1st birthday (she likes shopping). We found a fun, stuffed chair. I had to think "out of my box" to buy a stuffed chair. All I've known is wooden rockers for kids. The more we looked, the more I realized that stuffed was the new wooden chair. We were out for 7 hours and my feet are burning and aching more than usual today. Also my hands hurt from pushing the stroller. Adam took over often, but Grandma was having fun. And you know what happens when you have too much fun. :(

So...how often do we allow ourselves to think out of the box? I've been aware that I think out of my box more since my diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue. I'm more aware because I've slowed down. I'm able to hear my thinking. Sometimes my thinking is clouded with fibro fog which slows me and I'm less creative out side the box. But I'm listening more. :D

I've also noticed that my "opinionated self" is softer. I believe this goes along with "out of the box." Since I'm not so "strong willed," I'm open to other ideas, thoughts.

Hey...having FM and CF has opened my world!

I'm sure we have all had these eye opening experiences since being diagnosed. Having to slow our game plan, has many benefits. We don't always think of FM or CF providing gifts. Don't you see, hear, feel more? Yes, we hurt more, but stop and think about your positive experiences.

Fun with Lyla

Had a nice day with Lyla. She has a great belly laugh. A half hour before her parents picked her up, we were playing "Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." Then I gave her horsey rides. Boy are my legs shot and my hands are aching. Sure wish I could have fun and not pay for it later. I don't want to say that I regret the activity as I would do it again. However, the fact is, by having fun, I pay for it.

Plan to back off my extra Neurotin tomorrow. Little nervous about it.

We will run errands tomorrow. Carrie will be home with Lyla.

Coming out of a Flare :D

It's been about a week since my last entry. I called my doctor for her guidance on helping me out of a flare. She increased my Neurotin by one tablet, giving me leeway to increase it by two. The extra tablet did the trick. In two days I will decrease back to the normal dose and see what happens.

We arrived at Adam, Carrie and Lyla's on Sunday afternoon. Have thoroughly enjoyed Miss Lyla. She is a strong willed child. She will be one year old on Sunday, October 11th. We are parked in their yard and plan to be here 'til the end of October.

Monday morning Carrie and Lyla came for a visit. I was so excited to have them here, I forgot to take my morning meds. Didn't realize I missed them 'til about 2:30. Took me awhile to figure out why I was feeling terrible. I took the meds and immediately got sick to my stomach. Felt rotten for the rest of the day.

Tuesday we had Lyla with us from 8 am 'til 8 pm. She was a delight. We will have her again on Wednesday.

I need to get laundry done and a major wash-down of the inside of the RV. Hoping Dwain will take care of the outside. He usually does.