The Fibro Chronicles

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The Fibro Chronicles I was recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia. This space is where I will document how I'm coping.

25/08/2023

I'm discovering not only cranky weather (storms) are a huge trigger, but so is extreme heat. We're under heat advisory, so I am thankful for inventions such as air conditioning and fans. :)

15/08/2023

I am frustrated. The weather today had me completely engulfed in a mental fog thicker than peanut butter. I had set out to work on smoe writing, to work on sticking with a little schedule to hold myself accountable... and then my body decided to just ... not cooperate.

I need this whole thing to iron itself out, man. I've got a great idea for a story, and I'd like to be able to enjoy writing it.

02/06/2023

So, I'm still on 90mg of Cymbalta, and still on horse-pill-sized Ibuprofen for my pain management. So far, it seems to be working pretty well. I still have dizzy spells, brain fog, and I want to sleep all the time. However, I'm (for the most part) doing alright. I've had to rely on my roommate a couple of times with help for things, but I've been trying to do things on my own as much as possible. The heat outside, I'm starting to learn, does not play well with me, making me incredibly tired. When that's the case, I just listen to my body and give it what it's demanding of me: sleep. I try not to worry about setting alarms, though, and just give myself a chance to "reset" on its own as it demands. There's truly something to this listening to the body thing, I only wish I'd have done this years ago and maintained such. Guess better late than never, eh?

04/05/2023

Man alive, this damn headache... I woke up this morning quite dizzy and didn't feel comfortable driving. So, I skipped class this morning. Bleh. I just remembered I have almonds in the pantry, and I know that almonds do help combat headaches. So... let's see how well that works, eh? ;)

02/05/2023

Class tonight... I feel like crap. Might duck out early. 😭 Migraine right behind my eyes... It's raining here today, and I want to just go home and lay down. I need a stunt double or something, man.

01/05/2023

This weather is kicking the hell out of me. I got up long enough earlier to walk my dog, get him fed, and then I guess I went back to sleep, b/c I woke up a bit later and my dog was just standing there looking at me like, "Well? You gonna get up or no?"

For someone who is used to NOT listening to her body, ever, I've been finding more and more lately that it's become easier (albeit not that my fatigue is giving me much say in the matter haha). I've noticed, too, that I've been cutting WAY back on sodas, and drinking more water and tea. Without even really making the conscious decision to do so. It's helping with the body aches, but maybe I'll have lost more weight before I go on vacation? ;)

30/04/2023

Ugh. Y'all, I feel like I've got my own climate! I could be just sitting down and reading and all of a sudden, it's like I'm a rain forest with feet. Sitting here watching a movie, the temperature says it's 52, and I've got my window open, but I'm sweating like mad. I don't know how to regulate my body's temperature... Open to suggestions here.

28/04/2023

Let's discuss headaches, spicy food, and bits else being discovered...

Now, back before I had my hysterectomy in 2011, I used to get the WORST hormone headaches just all the time. While they're not as abundant anymore, I've been noticing that when they do happen, it's seemingly more... Intense? Concentrated? I'm not sure the word I want to use here, but when I don't get enough sleep, that is a trigger. If the weather changes, that is a trigger. If I drink too much caffeine, also a trigger. I've cut WAY back on coffee and sodas. Even more so on the coffee than when I had that weird (and scary!) thing back in 09.

I'm still learning my body's language in terms of how to keep the calm, but it's been so tricky, and so much to contend with... I missed most of my classes this week, not good, given finals are upon me in the next week or so... I still owe three papers each to two of my professors... This is just... Frustrating. Staring at my computer screen hurts after awhile, my eyes get REALLY blurry and I need to take that as a cue to put my laptop away for awhile. I don't mind, because I have other things I can do that don't cause my eyes to complain.

I've discovered that certain spicy food I could once enjoy, it's now leaving me feeling strange, and not in a comfortable way. My neck and up through the back of my head, the skin feels taut, but I can still breathe perfectly fine. I just feel like my skin is pins and needles on a VERY raw sunburn sensitive. So, I guess no more spicy food for me. 🥺

I'm still able to take headache meds you can buy over the counter, which is good. But I have to be VERY careful anymore, because of the other meds I'm now having to do (specifically, I'm finishing up a prescription for Prednisone, and then will be on 800mg/3x/day for pain in tandem with my Cymbalta, which I've been taking for my depression, but that's been bumped up to 90mg now, because while yes, it does help with my achy body issues, there was a teeter-totter thing going on, so my doc and I discussed it and we decided to try 90 instead of 60, and see if that would help. It's SORT of helping... I need to get my appointment rescheduled... Missed last week's because of a funeral for a friend, and forgot about the appointment, but funeral took precedence. Period).

I'm discovering, too, that cashews are okay, as long as they're not plain. I can still eat chocolate, in moderation, which I already do, anyway. I can eat toffee peanuts, but not just before I go to bed, even though I brush my teeth before turning in for the night, or I'll wake up randomly, coughing hard, and wanting to get sick. But I can eat them during the day? 🤷🏻‍♀️ How...?

23/04/2023

Brain fog. Let's talk about it.

So, earlier, I was making lunch and I had gotten the toaster out. Got it all set up. Then... PROMPTLY FORGOT WHY I'D DONE THAT. Surely I'm not the only one who does this?

23/04/2023

Let's talk about weird triggers.

Want to know something super weird?

I learnt that sometimes the foods we eat can cause some weird stuff to happen in the body, that can make the body manifest its protests in some frustrating (and sometimes, painful) ways.

So far, I've learned that I can have SOME caffeine, but not a lot. I'm just saying, though, you will pry coffee out of my cold, dead fingers! ;)

All seriousness, though... I've discovered - to my shock - that tuna seems to be playing nicely with me (so far). Like, I LIKE tuna, I always have, but ... I can't seem to tolerate tuna on non-toasted (untoasted?) bread. I have to toast the bread first. I've discovered, too, that plain wheat bread? While tasty, it seems to make me feel kinda bleh. However, Artisan bread and Potato bread (of course it's GOTTA be those... -facepalm- bleeding expensive, but alrighty...)... those are pretty good to me. Like, they don't make me feel like garbage.

Almonds, I've grown to be more tolerant to them, as well as cashews. I've not tried eating almond butter yet, though I do have some in the pantry to give it a shot.

Kombucha, specifically the ginger ones, and the ones with turmeric in them, so far have helped stave off the raw feeling of the nerves.

I'm tempted to try pepper bellies, but ... I don't know. Last time I had one, I got pretty nauseated, but I don't know if that's from the fibro, or if it was just a weird recipe that I'm not used to in terms of the canned chili I was using?

I've noticed, too, I've been drinking a CONSIDERABLE amount of water, like, MORE than I used to.... But... I still insist that it's GOT to be VERY cold, or I just can't do it. LOL

23/04/2023

Hello, and welcome.

Over the course of the past several months, I noticed I'd slowly been winding down, like a music box. But, it wasn't quietly happening, it was getting louder inside my body, my joints and soft parts of me screaming, as though begging for some kind of release.

By Ash Wednesday this year (2023), I could not stand the pain anymore and decided to go to the doctor and find out what's going on. I'm either in too much pain to function, or I'm too tired, or I'm both, sometimes, sometimes I've got -justenough- energy to get at least the dishes dne and grab a quick shower before collapsing into bed.

At first, I thought maybe it is because of how busy I am throughout the week (I am in college, plus I tutor three times a week). Last fall, I thought that the mental break I had was due to just all the busy-ness in my life, but it turns out it was so much more than that. The morning of Ash Wednesday, I got some answers. And a little bit more of a direction towards more relief. Unbeknownst to me, one of the treatment options for fibromyalgia, I'm already taking ... for depression! Cymbalta! I had noticed before years ago that it was doing wonders for my physical pain when I was prescribed to take it for my depression, but I had to stop because I was taking it in tandem with something else that had tried to unalive me. I decided to see about going back on the Cymbalta late last year, and so far, things have been going well with it this time around. I am now up to 90mg/day. The max safely-prescribable dose is 120.

The mental fog is still over-abundant, the sleep disturbances ... off the friggin' map, dude. Seriously. Lightheadedness... Dizziness... It feels like a constant - and I MEAN CONSTANT - struggle to push through those things, just to do something as simple as refill my water bottle or even wash my hair.

I had been debating for some time about opening up about things, trying to kind of jot down different things that I'm experiencing, and even sharing things that do work for me, in hopes of offering some kind of solidarity to someone out there who may need it. A way of saying, "Hey, you're not alone. You may not find relief in all the things I'M doing, just like I may not find relief in all the things others are doing, but we're not going to fight this in silence. I got you."

Reaching out to a really amazing friend of mine and asking their opinion on doing a page on here, I was met with a very encouraging reply. So, here we are.

Going forward, I am going to do my best to keep updates happening in terms of what I'm doing to handle everything, trying to revamp my day-to-day, and pretty much just keep up with life as I know it.

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