Fibromyalgia Support Group
You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.
GOod morning! It's Monday morning here and... Yeah, I got nothing. It's almost September, and usually I love that month, but this year? Oy. Appointments every couple days, every week, all month. *headdesk* Dreading them is always worse than doing them, but that doesn't stop me. Oh, and I am *still* trying to find a PT person, they never answer their phone at the place that was recommended as "kind and gentle". Um... Kind and gentle and invisible? *headscratch* Y'know. Typical daily brain-buzzing. The Hive in my head is busy.
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On the plus side... Next Monday is Labor Day in the US, so we get a three-day weekend.:-)
Netflix will have new stuff in their September line-up for Netflix streaming, so yay!
September usually means the weather finally changes into a season my fibro and I can abide! (The actual fronts ache, but oh, the lack of sauna-like conditions, ahhhh....)
I figured out that if I can ever cross-country trail-hike 12 km in a day again, I can get to a local natural preserve and back on foot, via paths in the woods, and not use a single road. That said, I get about 4 km, and the last of that better be me walking in my front door or the bum hip turns into a numb leg and I'm doing the gator crawl. A bit daunting on a good day, let alone with Mr. Angry Elbow Tendons.
Now that school is in session, I get free entertainment, b/c we can hear the announcer for all the different games when the wind is right. Like radio, basically, only who does radio anymore? And, of course, Ican follow the football team without risking the crazy bleachers.
September means more cats! No, really, it does. Like, in addition to mine, LilMiss, Shadow, Fraidy, Meanie... More cats! And we'll see the fox more regularly (hunt season, hounds, nuff said, it ain't Disney), and we'll find out if the apple crops here fared better than the peach, cherry and others (whose blossoms were caught in a late freeze, died, bye-bye).
By the end of September, Mom will be done with radiation therapy.
After September, Hubby will be starting at a new employer, with heatlh benefits. Which really makes up for that "cut" in pay, given we're self-paying currently. Ouch.
Did tha tmake it to ten things? No? Drat. Oh well... SO much for the "List ten good thigns about September" therapy task!
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Today in 1828, the US issued a patent to Robert Turner for hbis improved version fo the self-regulating wagon brake. Essentially, a self-regulating brake on buggies, carriages, and other wheeled horse-drawn contraptions meant that the bed of the wagon/etc. would rest on rollers, so that going downhills shifted the bed (or box, as it was also called) forward a little, and it would automatically then "ride" on the wheels, slowing the wagon. The device was never manufactured, as the hand brake was (and remains) the popular choice. One reason being, wood doesn't withstand that sort of pressure very well, but it was a good idea. (And I had to dig like heck to find out that much about the darn thing. Why even mention this stuff on the Nerd Sites if you don't mention it was a dud?)
England passed the Factory Act in 1833, and its purpose was to "solve" the problem of "child labor". Inasmuch as restricting labor to those above the age of 9, not allowing them to work more than 9-12 hours per day, and requiring that each child have two hours of schooling (presumably in their sleep)... is a "solution". Child labor continued to be exploited, Charles Dickens continued to pen angry novels about poor children, and the INdustrial Revolution rolled on. One begins to see the appeal fo Peter Pan and never growing up.... Hit 18 and you got the 16-hour work day. Oh, hurray.
In 1991, the republics of Russia and Ukraine agreed to stay in the Soviet Union, possibly the last time the two really agreed...
Not that it'll ever come up in daily use, but if you see a V with a bar over it? That's the Roman numeral for 5,000. Rather than write MMMMM. Yeah,t he Arabic numerals definitely make life simpler...
Unsurprisingly, a group of penguins can be called a "waddle".
And Eugene Shoemaker, geologist and planetary scientist, has part of his ashes in a pretty cool place... The moon. The best story about Shoemaker I know is that he was searching high and low in Germany for a source of a certain type of mineral/rock to prove a theory he had... And suddenly stopped, looked around, and basically did a facepalm, because he was standing in front of a lot of buildings made of *stone*. Locally quarried. Duh! Genius has its moments.
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OK, big hugs to all, I am going to hide in my den a bit. I really don't like that Mom's medical carers don't find her headache upsetting, but hopefully they're correct and I'm a big old worry wart.
Purrs and puma power to all,Leo
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88FIn 1969 we decided to get married without a big wedding. Most of our friends and family liked large over the top for the time kind of weddings and I did not. First, I didn't see why spending so much money for one day when we have the rest of our lives to live. I have never regretted not having a big formal wedding. Another issue is not liking all the attention. Also, we have gone to big...
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We're all troubled.WSo, to remind ourselves we're not at rock bottom (this is a reverse optimism thing I learned as a kid):We are not living on the island of Krakatoa when the volcano goes boom!Yeah, okay, that sucks.***Toay in 1942, Pierre Laval announced that the way to free France was for Germany to win WW2. Pierre did not win a lot of friends. When the war ended, quite quickly he was tried...
I love Sept too. It's always nice to feel the cooler air and watch the leaves change color. Also, like you mentioned, picking some apples and harvesting some fresh veggies is always fun! Not to mention, so I will, football starting up....the Vikes finding a whole new way to disappoint! :-) Have a Purrrfect day!
As usual, I overdid it this weekend and am paying a price for it. At least it's not as bad as I thought it would be...so I got that going for me. :-) Always look on the bright side of life, right?
Hoping everyone has a good Monday,
Kel
I don't understand the care givers not being concerned about your mom's headaches. What is she able to take for them? It's great, Leo, that you can walk that far. I walked the grandkids (pushing a stroller for the little guy), quite a ways every day while I was babysitting. It hurt, but was worth it to wear them out for naps. Interesting trivia once again. Child labor is still going on in many countries. It is a sad thing.
Kel, it looks like out 2 teams are tied at 3-0 for the preseason so far. I think the Vikings will be a tough team for the Packers to play against in our division. The Bears stink this year. And the Lions...well, they no longer have Megatron. Anyway, have a good day.
I had to set my alarm for 4am today to get hubby up to leave for work. He doesn't always hear the alarm as he is very deaf. Then I was up. I took a shower by 5:30, then went to get some groceries. I had nothing for breakfast. I was back by 7:00.
I am in so much pain, I need a full body heating pad. Falling asleep as I type. Later.....
Did you know that most penguins mate for life? That's one of the reasons I love them the most. About a month ago, I went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and actually did a behind the scenes tour and got to hold a penguin, it was amazing! Anyhow, enough penguin talk.
I recently quit my job to take some time off of work and focus on my health and getting back to being happy. I'm on week four and I honestly feel better. I've been told I look healthier, which seems odd because I never get more than 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night, but maybe its just because I'm not stressed out beyond the max. But I am eating more, stretching, doing yoga and walking more. Which means I am trying. The thing is now, what the heck am I supposed to do for work? I kind of feel stuck because I don't want to go back to my high-stress job/career I had before. I am thinking I want to find something that's 20-30 hours a week to start.
Okay, that's enough rambling. I hope everybody has a great Monday. Kel - I'm sorry you overdid it this weekend, I hope you are able to take it slowly today. And Leo - good luck finding the PT person.
Have a great Monday everybody!
Jess
Ida, my team is facing Carolina, I believe. Yep, that'll give me their true colors... Black and *blue*. Oh well.
Jess, great idea to get yourself thinking toward *gradual* re-entry. With fibro, gradual is better. ANd yes, I knew penguins typically mate for life. It's interesting how many animals do.
Found a PT person, see them tomorrow, but they don't accept my insurance. *Now* they tell us!
Leo, I wish they would take your mom's headache seriously. They are lazy! I'm sorry about the PT doc and insurance. That can add up fast.
Kel, I'm right there with you. The weekends make me hurt so much, and then the weeks aren't much better. I can't seem to get any relief these days. I hope work is treating you well today.
Ida, I hope you get a good nap. I'm glad you can relax this week and decide what you want to do.
Jess, I don't blame you for not wanting to return to work. I work fulltime and it's killing me. I actually really enjoy the career path I have and the work I do daily, but trying to juggle all of this and be a mom is way to much. I really hope you get the option of going back part-time. Some jobs offer full insurance at 30hrs too. I hope it all works out for you.
I'm in so much pain and I just want to cry. My life feels so overwhelming to me, and my husband doesn't see it. He thinks I just want to control him or point out his faults when I ask for more help and try to tell him how I'm feeling. I feel so miserable and lost on what to do. I'm going to try and find a new therapist this week.
Have a great day everyone!
Sorry about your PT dilemma, Leo.
Twinmom, I feel so bad for you. You are going through way too much. Please do look for a new therapist. Your hubby just makes me mad. My hubby says the total wrong things to me about twice a year. You hear this stuff every week. I don't know how I would bear that. You need help for sure. I pray you find the right therapist to make a change for you. Take care, friend.
My ribs are literally throbbing. I feel like my legs are made of cement. I just can't move. Last week was so hard on me. Tomorrow morning I see my psychiatrist. Mentally, I don't feel very well today. I think it's because I'm emotionally shot. It will take time to come back from my busy week. I told me son that is was extremely hard for me to babysit for 5 days. He understood, and we are setting things up for 3 days a month. This will help them out some with the babysitting costs.
Did I say I wanted a puppy? Ugh, it goes through my mind all the time. I keep praying.
Leo, yay fresh fruit and veggies! Whoohoo more cats! =^.^=
I can't believe your mom has that much radiation to do. Hm, so what are they doing about the headache? I'm so glad you found a PT person!
Welp, I found sunburn on my shoulders and upper back yesterday. It's very faint color wise due to my olive skin, but sure feel it. I almost never burn, it's an anomaly that only happens like every 10 yrs and something bazar usually causes it. Like last year I think it was an antibiotic with sulfuric properties. I was only in the sun for about 10 mins and got a mild burn that time. I started back on plaquenil about a week ago, does that have sun sensitivity side effects?
Like Kel, I overdid it this weekend and am sore. Not to mention the rock that banged my ankle at the beach plus the burn. I've been juggling between ice packs and heating pads. lol. I have appts this week again Mon-Thu. But they are beginning to thin out and aren't stacked up multiples per day anymore. Whew! What a relief.
Today I have acupuncture and then I drop off Hershey to her dental cleaning appt in the evening. Her appts is actually 1st thing in the morning, but since I don't do "1st thing in the morning"-s, they've agreed to let me drop her off the night before and they'll call when she's done. This is her very 1st professional dental cleaning and she turns 7 on the 30th of this month. I figured it was a good birthday present for her. I'm sure she'll hate me for a it for a few days, though. lol.
Speaking of pets.... My youngest brother has been facing some major challenges: a bitter divorce (and a 2 yr old son caught in the middle plus a baby on the way), drowning in debt, etc. And then to top it off, his dog got into an accident and he had to put her to sleep because he didn't have the funds for the surgery to try and save her. The poor guy. And his soon to be ex was at the pet hospital yelling at him while this was going on. Oh, man. Sigh.
Back in a little....
Busy weekend. I decided to clean out the spice cupboard and do some other spring cleaning that did not get done when I was waylaid by hospitalization and recovery. Now, my knee has gone crazy from the standing and running around. I can't win. I did binge watch Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren over the weekend. That was very enjoyable. I haven't seen it in years. Love British mysteries.
I started today with investigating car insurance quotes. Michigan has some of the highest car insurance in the country. The rates just went up again, so I went shopping. Costco has a very good car/homeowners insurance program for members. I've been insured with them for years because I can't beat their rates with another carrier. After some phone calls and number crunching, I got laughable results from other carriers. I'll be staying with Costco. It is so maddening to try and hold costs down these days. I get one thing back in line and something else happens. I feel like banging my head on my desk.
Leo - Thanks for the interesting trivia today! I hope that you can make it through September in one piece. I have a lot of appointments coming up too. I hate that but if I move anything, I'll be waiting for a couple of months. No can do. I hope everything is OK with your Mom.
Kel - I knew you were going to go crazy over the weekend as usual lol. I hope that you can get through the rest of day OK. Have some quiet time with Sparty when you get home!
Ida - I hope that you are resting! Last week was way too busy. I can tell that you are worked up about football as usual lol. I have no interest in sports and thankfully neither does my partner. I hope that the rest of your day is peaceful.
Hi Frankie - Why not try an online aptitude test to see what it says about possible work choices. It may come up with something that you have never considered. I am planning to go to the zoo this fall. I haven't been in years. I can't do the walking due to severe OA so we'll take my wheelchair. I might get a bit of walking in depending on the day but best to be prepared. The Detroit Zoo just opened a new penguin exhibit which is supposed to be spectacular. Enjoy the rest of your day!
TwinMom - I am sorry that it is a miserable Monday for you. Your Hubby has some big issues of his own that need work. Have you considered joint counseling? Asking for more help is entirely reasonable when your partner doesn't feel good etc. I could just smack him. He seems to lack empathy in a big way. I hope that you can find someone to help you if your current therapist isn't doing it. You need the extra support and help to make some decisions about your life. Sending you a big hug and a butt load of chocolate chips!
My car had another overhaul over the weekend. My partner replaced all of the front suspension, changed the transmission and differential fluid, and changed the top hose on the radiator with new fluid. He was in the garage on Saturday for a good portion of the day. I am getting new tires next month so he wanted the suspension work done. The rest of it was him just being real diligent about making sure my car is in good repair at all times. Once I get the tires, it should drive like an almost brand new car.
Before I forget - did you know if you are disabled that you are eligible for a lifetime free pass to the National Parks? The processing fee is $10.00 for the application. The application is very simple. I just got mine; it took about 2 weeks. If I ever bust out of here, I can now get into any National Park that strikes my fancy for free! Link: http://store.usgs.gov/pass/access_pass_application.pdf
Back to reality. Shout out to Blue who is probably very busy getting ready for the hurricane headed her way. Hang in there people! Monday is winding down...
I've read posts but I don't have time to respond individually. Just know that I'm thinking of you and adding you to my prayers.
I'm tired. Didn't sleep well last night. And still coughing. Though it seems slightly less today. No answer on what it is but being treated for chronic bronchitis. My husband laughs that me, the one person who truly hates cigarette smoke and would never consider smoking, is being treated as if I'm a smoker. All these meds! But I'd like to breathe normally again some day. And, Idajoy, my ribs are killing me! Yeah, I know that throbbing. Hurts and can bring me to tears. I just want to stop coughing!
Off to finish school paper work and start lesson planning for my other classes.
"Fun" fact about industrial revolution child labour: when a child would inevitably get a limb caught in the horrible, maiming machinery, the time that the machine was shut down to save them would be taken out of the child's wages, since it lowered productivity to cease production. Ah, Victorian era child care~ <3 *sarcasm*
Mnfibro: Well, there I go whistling Monty Python songs again, haha. Sorry the weekend treated you so roughly. I hope you'll be able to have some more restful days now. I struggle appreciating the fall here because it gets incredibly rainy, and the entire country seems to only consist of spiders. They. Are. Everywhere. And when I see one, I'd rather run away, so I forget to enjoy the autumn.
Idajoy: I really hope you were able to get some more sleep after your message. 4 in the morning is way too early. Fortunate that some shops are open so late where you live. I've gotten up around times like that and sat around wishing I could do something like buy cat food that we're out of. I hope your pain eased and that you'll have a lovely day.
Jess: That's a really neat wedding gift - sponsoring one's favourite animal! Very cute. I got to pet a penguin once, it was very interesting. And since I'm a very crass person, I'll share that the handler advised us to only stand by the head side as she held it, since this breed of penguin was prone to projectile defecation, and you can get veeeery dirty. It's wise but difficult to find a good work balance with fibro, I find. Especially since our bills would demand a lot more from me than my FM can allow. Good luck with the job hunt!
Twinmom: I'm sorry to hear you're having such a bad day. Would counselling be something that might help your husband and you? I might be overstepping, but have you ever asked why your husband responds like that when you try to talk about how your feeling. Some people, when their partner says "I'm not doing well," what they hear is "You have to fix this." It can cause tensions when someone's responses are then born from their own emotions, rather than the other's words. But I don't know your husband, of course, and I'm just throwing random things out there in case it puts you on a train of thought that could help. Sorry if I'm being nosy or pushy. I hope you have the best day possible and that you find some extra chocolate in your drawer at work!
I could look it up online, but I want to ask anyway: what does Labour Day celebrate/commemorate in America? We have "Dag van de Arbeid," (Day of the Labour), which is May 1st, but it's not a national holiday, and I honestly am not even sure what that commemorates.
Completely unexpectedly, I get to cross something off my bucket list today. While unpaid, I'm getting an article that I wrote featured on a website. Wrote it last week on a whim, submitted it yesterday and got the news today that they'll be featuring it, though they didn't specify when. I wrote two more articles after the first one, which need more work, but if I might be able to hammer out something good enough. Fingers crossed!
I'll stop writing a post longer than the average novel now... Wave to all!
Edit: I got distracted so often while writing this post that a lot of people posted. Sorry I missed you!
Twin, I'll add my support to joint therapy. Three times have helped me and Hubby a lot (three bouts, we've pro bably been in it 2 years total of our 24 years of marriage.)
Everyone ese, the da*n page glitched, and now I can't see everything. *headdesk*
Oh, and Blue, hunker down, okay? Lots of chocolate and marshmallows and stuff ot make s'mores over your camp stove! (the reason I have a camp stove, in fact....)
You know, my mom is from PA and her favorite season is fall for the same reason: all the pretty colors. She has painted hundreds of watercolor paintings and many of them fall scenery.
Ida, poor thing you. Yeah, last week was a bit much for you. Maybe give yourself a nice soak today? Does your husband massage? Healing prayers for you....
Frankie, I remember when I fell out of work Sep 2006. Never went back. Like you, I was always so busy managing myself (the pain and fatigue). That was my full time job, lol. Best of luck to you and I'm so glad you are starting to feel better. Yeah, it is funny how people say you look healthier. Really it's the smiles they've been seeing on your face and much less tension in the muscles. Probably because you have more energy and your pain isn't so horrible anymore.
Twin, I really feel for you and what you have to face on a daily basis. Is temporary disability an option? You say your husband makes you keep full employment because of medical bills. Have you looked into what other option are out there for you? Like how to keep making an income without "killing" yourself? Working part time only or finding employment where you can work from home? I really worry about you. Btw, my husband gets defensive like that too when I ask for help. He says I'm pointing out how much / what he lacks. I told him, what am I supposed to do? Use telepathy?
ida, thank you for the support. I'm sorry about your ribs. I hope it eases up. I want that puppy for you!
Fantod, Thank you for the hugs and chocolate, and everything else. I have asked him many times to do joint therapy and have told him it could help us communicate better. He refuses. He takes me for granted. I'm glad your car was tended too on Saturday. I love knowing my car is in the best condition possible. I fear getting stuck somewhere or on the side of the highway.
Bobbii, I really wish you didn't have the coughing problems on top of the fibro and everything else. It sounds just miserable. I hope your ribs and coughing ease up.
Sonya, you are never overstepping, I need all the advice and support I can get. I really appreciate all of it. He has told me that he feels like I'm blaming him for causing me more depression and sadness. He feels like he never says or does the right thing, so why try. I heard that again yesterday. I know he had a screwed up childhood and blames his emotions or lack thereof, on his mother, but how can you sit there and not comfort someone when they are crying. Or simply walk out of the room on them. I don't get it. I have asked him to do counseling with me, but he refuses. I'm hoping to find a new therapist and then try again with him. I don't know. The child labor fact is horrible. I can't imagine. Congrats on the article! I can't wait to read it. :-)