It's raining, it's pouring....

.... maybe I'd feel better if I was snoring?!?! The rain started overnight. I should have guessed it was coming as I was starting to feel poorly last night. However, we had a really busy weekend with soccer, piano recitals, etc. The King is out of town so that means I have to push it to the limit to get the crew to where they need to be without backup. I tried to take it easy yesterday orchestrating chores, helping the Princess organize her card making materials, supervising piano teacher cards, Father's Day cards and Father's Day crafts. I was still beat by the end of the day. Just as I thought I might finally be able to sleep (I have a hard time falling asleep when the King is absent) the Littlest Prince awoke complaining of a tummy ache. I got him situated in my bed with the royal barf bowl handy. He was restless and it took forever for both of us to get to sleep. He was tired this morning but his tummy was feeling better. I was hurting and knew that the lack of sunshine streaming into the room and the smell of rain, which I love, wafting in the window were to blame. I've had horrible pain across my shoulders the past week or so. Today I can lift my arms but it still hurts like crazy. I had hoped to finally get my routine bloodwork done so I could make a follow up appointment with my doctor and get that B12 shot. However, with the possibility of 2 soccer games tonight (oh how I hope they are rained out) and already feeling beat I just knew that I couldn't do it. It's frustrating to me. When I felt well enough to get the bloodwork done I had a sick child home for a week and then life ran away from me again. The King is away a good portion of June and with 3 boys in soccer 5 days a week, piano, school winding down, etc.... life is just crazy.

I managed to get an appointment on Wednesday for another infra-red body wrap. I'm praying I experience the same kind of results I did the first time. I'm nearing the end of my first of three months of 200mg of Co Enzyme Q10 and 200 mg gingko biloba (recommended in Dr. Alison Bested's book). I don't know for sure if I've experience any benefits of it yet but I'm committed to trying it for the 3 months.

Thanks for the encouraging comments. I'm trying to get better about blogging about my fibro but like everything...doing the best I can. I really appreciate that anyone reads my ramblings.

It's been awhile..

I've have been avoiding this place. I was doing pretty good for much of the fall and started working 2 days a week with the Chiropractor that comes to town from the big city. I managed to hold it together thru to Christmas. I wasn't always feeling great but managed to push through and live life somewhat normally. However, since New Years I've been really suffering. I'm not sleeping, even with the help of sleep aids, I hurt so much when I lay flat and no amount of pillows, propping, heat packs, lotions, etc seem to help. I've been having trouble on and off with my hands, particularly my right one. The other day I was trying to scoop roasted butternut squash out of the shell and could not manage the fine motor skills required to do that simple task. At times I can't open my water bottle or take the foil seal off my yogurt drinks. It's crazy and frustrating. I did get some relief from massage before Christmas when it was really bad. The chiropractor tried to do some treatments with the activator on my arm and hand as I couldn't bear a traditional adjustment. The King ran all the way into the city tonight to get me a new topical cream we saw on a commercial in hopes that it might offer some relief as my heated mittens and Dream Cream were not cutting it. I think the Voltaren helped some as I'm typing this. I guess we will see. The side effects and warnings for a OTC topical cream kind of freak me out so it's not something I want to have to use often. I've been taking Methocarbamol for pain. It's also OTC and while it loops me it isn't as bad as any of the script stuff I've tried. It takes the edge off a bit but doesn't take it all away. I wish there was a magic solution. I'm getting worn out. Day 11 of feeling like crap... no energy and always pain is not fun. I really needed to vent about it so I guess that is why I came here. The weather has changed drastically from the -25 Celsius to the +6 Celsius range which also wrecks havoc with my body. We had a ten degree difference in one day and then it proceeded to go up and down. This week is supposed to be a warm one and then we may head back to the deep freeze. Oh joy... that means my body will adjust to the new temps and then get hit with another whammy. Even the King is feeling the weather change this time and has his own set of hurts.

Looking for strength

I'm into week 3 of every day pain. I'm not very fun to be around. Weeks of gritting my teeth with no relief have me either weeping or lashing out in anger. I'm at the edge of it all. The King wants me to go back to the doctor... again I told him there is not a magic pill to fix this. My experience with meds is not a good one and I really don't need to have more problems. I'm tired. Tired physically, emotionally and spiritually. My brain races but my thoughts are a jumbled mess. I repeat myself with the important things I need to remember for everyone. I have a lot on my plate this month and I don't know how I'm going to get through it. It's not stuff I can slough off for others to do.

Today I'd hope to sleep the day away but I can't fall asleep. So I'm trying to rest... someone's dog won't stop barking but if I close the window I will boil to death.

I miss who I used to be. It seems pointless to even make plans because who knows where I will be at when it comes time to do them.

I had a diet pop without thinking the other day and I know that the rat poison in it is definitely a trigger. I've advised the King to remind me that it's poison to my body if I reach for one again.

Sheesh... was knocked out til almost 11:20 am today. Did not hear the kids and the King this morning. First noise that roused me was the secondary school out for lunch. The weather is nice so there are throngs of noisy kids walking down our street to get to the stores on main. Hip pain is gone but I feel groggy still. Need to get my act together soon as it is early dismissal today. The Princess has piano. Better hit the shower.

It feels like my right hip has been torn from it's socket. The pain shoots out from the pelvis down to rest in the knee, shoots down again and rests in the ankle. It is keeping me from sleep tonight so I came down and took a amitriptyline. It seems to help with both pain and sleep. They knock me out pretty good so I don't take them very often. I hope that it won't take long to kick in. Meantime, I'll watch Sarah's Cottage on PVR. I love Sarah Richardson's shows. I also love PVR, it makes my insomnia nights so much better. No more watching crazy reality shows, shopping channel or late night reruns.

Sleep...at last.

Took an amitriptyline at about 12:30 last night, fell asleep about 30 minutes later and slept til noon today. I've not been in a very good frame of mind of late. I'm lonely and I have been feeling so poorly physically. Trying to cope with my pain has made me edgy and miserable, add AF into the mix and you've got a less than pleasant Queen. We've had some family stresses to deal with as well in regards to the Jester's education. A comment made during one of our meetings really sent me down the "you have failed as his mom" path. It is my interpretation of what was said and I need to work through that.

The rest of the royal family is away right now, including the dog. I was supposed to join the King while the kids were at the grandparents. However, his one meeting turned into 2 days of meetings and it seemed pointless for me to sit in a hotel room feeling like crap when I could just stay home. We felt bad canceling the kennel on such short notice as she went above and beyond to find space for us. We'd like to go away in the summer and we totally trust this dog ranch to take care of our sweet escape artist. To maintain our relationship there we decided to send her anyway.

It's far too quiet. I have no plans and will likely take another amitripyline earlier tonight so I can just sleep again. I know I'm sleep deprived and that causes more pain and irritability. It seems like a waste of 2 days but spring cleaning will send me into a worse state physically and I don't have anyone to hang out with. It's spring break and people are away or frankly it's too much drama or pressure for me to try to be well and make plans. No one wants to hear about my woes anyway.

Weekly update

Tomorrow it will be a week since I started back on my herbs and added the new one, Sierra Sil. I have to say that my mood has improved and I'm feeling more like myself mentally. For my mood to be improving this week is no small feat because I should be in the throes of PMS. I think my energy levels are getting better as well. I need to work on managing my stress and pacing myself. Why is this such an impossible thing for me?

Today I purchased some Gardener's Dream Cream - Hallelujah. I noticed on the website that several Sangsters stores carried it so decided to check out the one I got my Sierra Sil from. They have revamped their packaging so I thought that I might have missed in on the shelf when I was there last week. They did not have it in stock and did not carry it. When I told her that the website said other Sangsters did she phoned one in the next city and then had her husband pick it up from there as he was in that city. It was well worth the extra trip back to the city tonight to pick it up as I can feel it working in my knees already. She said that she will now make sure to carry the product. I am very thankful for the special effort she and her husband took to get me this product. They will definitely be my first stop for my herbs and supps. She also encouraged me to try a sample of Natural Calm so we shall see how that goes.

The King talked to some representatives from Yame Tea who were in the store with samples of their line of tea. We ended up purchasing some of that as well. I was pleasantly surprised that it lacked that bitter quality you often find with green tea. I need to cut back, if not eliminate my coffee addiction and this tea supposedly has great benefits. I was most interested in it's relaxing qualities for sleep as well as potential relief of joint pain. I'll keep you posted on it's effectiveness. If it does nothing else but help me to get to sleep better than it is worth it.

My head is killing me

I thought I was starting an upswing but that was short lived. I'm really foggy today so I hope this makes sense. Last night I tried one of the sleeping pills my doctor had given me quite some time ago. I've never tried it before but I really needed to just sleep and I was in so much pain last night. It took awhile to take effect but it then knocked me out til almost 11:30 am :(... obviously not something I can take on a regular basis.

Yesterday I totally crashed all day. I'm so sore and weak. I'm extremely frustrated as well. I'm at a loss as to what to do with my treatment. I just wish there was a clear course of action to take that would give me the results I so desperately want.

Couldn't do it...

I just couldn't bring myself to go to Dr. X this morning. I was getting anxious again, the weather is pure crap and I just couldn't do it. I called and canceled. My next scheduled appointment is 2 weeks from now. I'm just so conflicted. I want to be well but my anxiety is through the roof this morning. I don't have anxiety attacks. I've done depression but not this panic thing. It's not comfortable territory for me at all. I'm not sleeping without aid of something this past week. I'm tired today.

Help me Tom Cruise!!!

I'm starting to have some anxiety about my appointment with Dr. X on Monday. I really feel like I need to commit to this line of treatment. I'm trusting and hoping that I will see the results I had in December in the very near future. However, I'm terrified of the Barbie fire pit and the smoking cigar. HRH said he would come with me to my appointment so that makes me feel a little bit better. He said he wanted to be there if I had another Ricky Bobby meltdown heh... he's joking.... at least I think he is... he will laugh me through the process and the fact that he's a firefighter should ensure that I won't be set on fire. I just hope I don't have some teenage wasteland flashback reaction again. It's too darn cold for me to be running around in my underwear.....



I'm having some sleep issues again but AF has left the building so I'm feeling a bit stronger physically. We've been in blizzard mode here so that always reeks havoc with my body but I'd say today was a better day than most have been lately.

Trying to fight off the plague

I've been doing all that I can to fight off the plague that the King has had. I'm starting to worry that it is setting in as it hurts to breathe. I don't have a sore throat, cough or runny nose but last night I had horrible pain whenever I took a deep breath. I also had weird pain down my sides starting around the boob area and running down a few inches. My energy is zero and I've been having trouble sleeping again. This morning was a complete write off for me as it hurt whenever I took a good breath. I had to get my act together to get supper on early as we had PTA tonight. I had to get some support to unload this fundraiser that has been a bust with the parents. Unfortunately PTA lasted forever because we had our illustrious school trustee aka our mayor and rambling moron grace us with his presence for too long. I came home to AF, thank goodness the my liner held out as I wasn't expecting her arrival. (I only took my laptop bag and not my purse tonight. Could have had a jr. high flashback!! :S) So now I'm not sure what to think about my struggles- fighting off the King's disease or just my pms hell or maybe a mix of both.

I wish I wasn't having trouble sleeping again. I should have maybe booked a massage this week but it's a short week with school (early dismissal and friday off) so I didn't bother. I don't even want to go see Dr. X on Monday. I need to sort out how I feel about that all still. I'm thinking that my 2 x a day herbs are preventing me from sleep even though he has told me before they shouldn't keep me up. I try to take my first dose when I first wake up, which has been pretty consistently 930 am (shocking) but I don't always remember because I'm braindead these days. Then I try to take my 2nd round before the kids get home from school but again that doesn't always happen until I see my reminder on the fridge when I'm cooking supper.

I really should try to go to sleep. It seems that when I'm laying flat that my breathing pain is worse but when I prop up on a bunch of pillows I can't sleep. *sigh* I know I'm a whining baby. I'm getting really tired of feeling like total crap and my silver lining ability is pretty much non-existent.

Starting to feel a bit more human

Today I baked cookies (from scratch and not the bucket o' dough as I have been doing lately), had everything prepped to throw stew in the oven and was showered by 11:00 am. No, I didn't wet the bed. I slept on the hide-a- bed in the living room because the King has some chainsaw throat, hacking plague and I think I just might die if I catch it so I'm doing all I can to avoid the germs. The kids were super quiet this morning but I did wake up to them moving around which is nothing short of a miracle considering I took pain meds last night and didn't get to sleep til after 2. It is bitter cold tonight and I can feel it everywhere. I hope I can fall asleep soon. I'm back on the hide-a-bed as the King has been working while trying to beat this thing so it's hanging on for dear life. He needs to rest and has finally turned off his crackberry, apparently some of his emails late last night were less than coherent and his co-workers told him to go to bed and just say no to crackberry plus cold meds. I hope he can sleep in some tomorrow. He tried yesterday but had 150 messages by early afternoon so then tried to get caught up again. Please pray that I can fend off his plague.

Today was a not bad day in terms of pain, fog and energy. I'm tired and achy tonight but the cold (-33 C with the wind and dampness) really wrecks havoc with my body so that is to be expected. I wish we could move back to the desert but it's even cold there this winter.

Some days I just want to cry

I got rid of my self-acupuncture pads late last night. My ear was aching and I'd had enough of the headache from Monday already. I felt so out of sorts still and was hoping that I'd alleviate at least one of my symptoms by taking those retched bandaids of pain off. My headache is gone as well as my earache. Thank the Lord! I had to take something for the pain last night which made me sleep like a log once it kicked in.

Since I woke without a headache and feeling a bit better for the first time in over a week I got right to things and hopped in the shower right away (I normally have to muster up the strength to do this and I dawdle around in my jammies for a few hours first). The laundry basket was overflowing so I hauled it downstairs (normally I'd call on the King but he is not feeling well today). I nearly slipped on my way down the basement stairs which should of been my first indication that I should not venture down there. I could not believe the mess. The Prince and the Princess had been assigned the task of keeping up with the laundry by the King. They'd been read the royal riot act earlier this past week when he ventured down to the dungeon for something and saw the disaster (laundry and their rooms). So they'd had a week to get their act together and were even grounded from TV a few nights so they could do so. Unfortunately the King did not follow up and check their work. I just couldn't bear the stress of a disaster this past week. I knew that any stress would send me off the deep end physically so I avoided the dungeon. I asked them several times if they washed this load or that load, if there were more things to wash, etc. The Prince even chose to stay home while we ran errands on Saturday so he could catch up on all the laundry and his other chores (fools we are... he obviously played Wii and watched TV only doing the chores that would be most noticeable to us).

I'm so disappointed on so many levels. *sigh* I had been fooled into thinking that the Prince was actually learning how hard this is on me and had decided to take a more responsible approach to his chores and a more respectful way in treating me. He had spent 4 days with the royal grandparents and came back with some humility and a better attitude (fool I am to think that would last but thankful that my Mom had some empathy for me and that my Dad took the time to spend some time with his oldest grandson one on one). The Princess is starting to slack in the helping department but I think that is largely due to the Prince treating her like Cinderella at times and expecting her to do it all. I try to stay on top of that but she carries the burden rather than sharing it because she sees I'm suffering. I hate that she feels the need to try to protect me and I need to talk to her again about letting me be the parent despite my situation. It has been so hard for me to not be all my family needs me to be. Some days it takes everything I have to ensure that their is dinner on the table, lunches made, homework done and everyone is where they need to be that night. Many days that is all I am able to accomplish. I feel like I fail them often. I've learned to let some of the small things go and I do not have the house I used to have in the way of cleanliness, organization, over the top meals and homemade things for lunches.

So here I sit wishing for a laundry fairy and mourning, once again, what I once was.

Wiped

I'm so very tired today. I did go to be late last night (waiting for the King to return from a meeting) but I slept well. Still have the new pain and have that general 'blah I feel sick feeling' going on.

It's a gorgeous blue sky day today so that keeps my spirits ups. I'm pining for spring and am scheming ways to freshen up our decor in the living room. I've already schemed a new bathroom look and how I want to rearrange our bedroom (now I need to have the energy to shop and do the work). So today I will give myself a break and rest.

To my dear friends that have me on reader, thanks for putting up with my whining. I know this has been more of a whine blog than anything since I started but I'm hoping for better days. This kind of talk therapy helps me some and I appreciate you listening. When my head is clearer I will finish my posts about the kinds of treatment I've tried and the success or lack thereof in them.

I wish I could find it

My energy has disappeared and I so wish I could find it. I'm exhausted after doing the simplest things like grooming. gah Upside is I'm not sleeping til 10:00 am because I was up til 4. My clock seems to have reset itself for 9 am and I'm ok with that right now. I'm so thankful for my awesome husband who takes care of the morning routine with the kids. What a blessing that he works from home and is able to do that for me, for us, for them. I know many men who would grumble even if they were working from home because that is not their "job" but my man is such a hands on parent. So often during my hell I think he is the better parent. I try not to beat myself up for that and be grateful for it.....but it's hard when your bodys fails and you feel like you fail everyone you care about in the process. AF has left the building and my pain has subsided greatly. Dr. X. really did a number on me yesterday with my pressure points. My hips are still rather tender from the acupressure and subsequent acupuncture. My generalized all over body achiness is better though so I'll take the pain where I have it over the it-hurts-to-wear-clothes pain.

I will do my best to take it easy today and try to find my energy. I have to prepare food for Valentines parties on Friday for the Jester and the Little Prince, deal with a monthly PTA fundraiser on Thursday and get a birthday present for our Princess sometime this week. The King has taken care of the birthday events. He will be taking the Princess to Apple school on Saturday, they are taking a Jam class. Then on Sunday we've made arrangements to take her 2 BFFs to the matinee and the Marble Slab for birthday ice cream. No pressure on me to feel good and entertain a houseful of girls. YEAH!

I'm so glad we decided to do our Valentine's cards early. This year it was individual popcorn packets (we have no allergies in either class this year) for the Jester and the Little Prince's classes. We made wrap around labels from construction paper that they decorated and wrote the names on. I know I could have had something done that looked fancy but I really think that the Valentine's should be done by them not me. Princess found a scrappin kit to make cards for her girls and then recycled some left over store bought ones for the boys in her class, she put together little treat bags with erasers, candy and popcorn. The Princess even had two things of XO soap squirrelled away, from a stash of Valentine's day goodies that Auntie C sent her from CA a few years ago, to give to her teachers.

I'd better run and take my herbs before I forget about them.