Taking it 'easy'...

Which means not accomplishing enough, and trying to be okay with that. I need lessons in being comfortable only checking a few things off my to-do list. Is there a 'for Dummies' book for that?

Medically speaking, pretty much the usual. Aches and pains, broken bones, motor skills off... it's just a little easier to ignore them when not trying to accomplish all my tasks.

Sleep...

I did that the other day, and I liked it. Sleep is really cool. I'm going to try it again one of these nights...

Aaarrrrggghhhhhhhh....

I just can't seem to get things to stop breaking tonight. Today was just plain sore all over, but for the last several hours, I keep breaking bones. The only interesting part is that some of the bones I'm breaking are not usually a part of my body. For example, I've snapped the calf on my back right leg twice. And for those who don't know me, I don't have a back right leg, I only have the one right leg -- I'm kind of a normal human being in that respect...

Exciting days...

I spoke too soon in that last blog... Yesterday my elbow kept catching on fire. Now I am not so sure I like the exciting days after all...

Yesterday versus Today...

Wow... well, yesterday, out doing errands with the best friend and the three babies, and I broke my elbow, snap-bang-boom. But it was okay, because of course I knew it was fibroken (my own word), so I even kept pushing the cart with that arm. Within about ten minutes, it was healed, but then snap-crackle-pop, my left leg broke in five or so places. I'm pretty much a pro at ignoring broken arm parts, but legs I am still learning to master, so there I am with a baby strapped to my chest and a full shopping cart trying to maneuver through holiday shoppers with one functional leg, trying to keep up with the baby-daddy who is in a hurry to get out of the store because the little girl is starting to cry because she wants out of the backpack and all I can think is that I'm going to use a very long run-on sentence when I type this one into my blog!

Today, typical blah dull stuff, generic pain all day, no adventures... I think I actually like the exciting days better...

Legs... you can't live with 'em, you can't shoot 'em...

It's been another one of those interesting ones...

Left foot, attached backwards?  check
Both shins broken in multiple places?  check
Right knee rejecting the artificial part that had been surgically implanted?  check
Hips too wide to fit in my chair or car's seat?  check and check
Jeans sliding down my waist for no apparent reason, since I have not lost weight? check

And the last one was real.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yep, lots to be thankful for -- including health!


Enjoy your day!

Icy Roads and Driving...

So, my current assignment with the Anchorage School District is 27+ miles away, and I can usually drive it in 30 minutes since all but 13 blocks is Highway. During the winter, that's usually more like 40-45, no problem. My doctor doesn't like me driving more than 30 minutes at a pop, but the 40 or so is not too bad. Yesterday, with the lovely freezing rain we had all night, 90 minutes. And then about 7 minutes before I could get out of my Jeep, since my left leg was seized up, stuck in position to operate the clutch. The drive home was only 60 minutes, but I was still hurting from the morning drive. It took almost 10 minutes to get out of the Jeep then, what with the same leg problem and not being able to get my left hand off the steering wheel, so I could not remove my seat belt...

Never fear, school was canceled today AND tomorrow, making Thanksgiving a six day weekend!

Wheeeeeeeee!!!

Another Day of Fibro Fun

Today has been kind of amusing... bothersome perhaps, but amusing. I did a bunch of errand running with my best friend and two of his three babies. I had Ian in a front holster-pouch thing whenever we were out of the car. When in the car, my head was attempting to host a migraine. Whenever the little guy was strapped to me, my head was fine -- but my toe was broken. When we got home, I put Ian down for his nap, then went downstairs to take one myself, and woke up with a few broken ribs, but the head and toe have been fine ever since...

Tagalongs...

No, not Girl Scout cookies...

Fibro has several other conditions that like to jump on board. One that I've been seeing a lot of lately is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As the name implies, it has to do with being tired, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. It also has to do with not being able to sleep, frequently at the same time as being so tired. Nice combo, huh? 

And then there is my favorite part -- the fishing net. I will be going along, doing whatever, when all of a sudden a fishing net or wet blanket is thrown over me. Being extremely tired pounces on me at a moment's notice. It used to throw me for a loop. Now I am somewhat used to it. If I am in a situation where I can nap, I do. Often I am not. So I come up with ways to keep myself awake while, say, teaching a class, or running a light board for a play... or driving home from work. The singing at the top of your lungs thing? NOT good. Harder to keep oxygen in, so a little dizzy slips in very quickly. Rolling down the window when it's 28 degrees out can refresh me for a while. Calculating statistics like the percentage of off-ramps I have passed already helps more. Thinking about Barney sitting in the passenger seat can also scare me enough to get in two or three more miles...

Nothing to report... so I'll edumacate some more!

One of the worst things for a person with Fibro is stress. But I worry about those stress-relieving techniques. I mean, really... deep breathing? Would I be taking perfectly good oxygen from someone else? Aren't we short on trees or something? And how about yoga? Have you seen what people wear doing yoga? I'm a winter, I can't wear all those earth tones. And I can't meditate... my mind can't wrap itself around not wrapping itself around everything all at once in order to clear itself of all thoughts... I think.

Good thing I've got such a stress-free job -- teaching middle school...

Much more typical day...

Today, pain was back to mostly ignorable -- achy creaky type stuff. Well, I did break my leg five times, during my drive home. Fortunately it healed up between breaks...

I thought this blogging thing was supposed to help...

You know, venting, release... getting things off my chest...

Well, it didn't help today. It took about twelve minutes today just to put my socks and underwear on. I could not reach my feet. Nope, not an amusing neural disconnect thing where I was doing back walkovers whenever I tried to reach toward my toes. My pain levels were through the roof, and I just could not handle the torment long enough to maneuver my feet through those darned holes. At one point I thought I might have to call my best friend (who lives in the other half of the duplex) to see if he'd be willing to come down and dress me from the waist down. We know each other extremely well, but he doesn't want to know me THAT well! Calling in sick for work because I could not put on undies? I bet that would have been a new one...

It's All a Learning Process...

So, one of the things I've learned to live with...

Learning. Constantly. Well, yes, that is how I live my life anyway, but there is an interesting twist with my Fibro. Part of the neural misconnect thing is that the usual commands from the brain don't always work. Imagine trying to reach for something and instead you raise your eyebrow. Yes, that has happened, in front of the mirror reaching for my electric razor. That is how I knew about the eyebrow part.

About three days a week, give or take three, I have to relearn how to walk. Sometimes this is due to one leg not functioning normally, other times both. In ten years of dealing with this, I have become fairly adept at learning new commands, and employing them all day. You know when it gets most interesting? Imagine teaching ballroom dance on one of those days... dancing as a follow while calling out the footwork for a lead, while also using the day's distinct set of commands in order to move your legs... backwards. No, I don't wear heels, so Ginger Rogers still has me beat.

Okay, I think that's a good next peek into the wacky world of FibroDude!

Welcome to FibroDude's Blog!

Hey there --

This blog is for my strange friends who want to know more about my strange disorder, FibroMyalgia, and the particularly strange ways it affects my day-to-day life. Although it can be a royal pain (oh, no, puns already?), Fibro can also be pretty interesting. And yes, I feel strongly that a sense of humor is the best medicine, particularly in my case. 

Some of the stuff I post may sound a little scary/gross, but know that when I talk about it, it's not as bad as it sounds. Well, my nervous system may think so, but my brain knows better. That's the nature of Fibro -- well, part of it. The disorder affects people differently. In a way, I am lucky. Most people with it are more hindered by it. Many have pain to the degree that they cannot function. I get like that on occasion, but not frequently. With me, it's mostly bizarre neural miscommunications. My brain will, say, get the message that my foot is on backwards. I can look down and see that it is facing forward, but it still feels backward. Or upside down. Or missing. You get the idea. 

So, if you want to come along for the ride, I'll post some of the more interesting ones as they come up. If I don't post for a while, maybe I'm feeling normal -- whatever that is...