Gripe, Gripe, Grumble, Grumble, Moan, Moan, Moan!

Okay, now that I got that out of my system, I feel better!

Grrrrr....

I hate, hate, hate chronic fatigue syndrome. Absolutely hate it. With a passion. 

That's all I got. 

Not Funny, Sorry...

Just posting. 

Lots of broken bones, generally multiple ones at any given moment. The calves, quite a bit, and those are unusual ones. 

That, and seizures, of course. A normal number of the 'traditional' ones, and several of the newer style, which I can't remember if I've described them or not. It's like one of my arms -- more often the right one, but can be either -- is imitating a fiddlehead fern. It curls up and gets very tight, locked in that position. It generally stays there for 2-3 minutes. Then it releases, but feels like I've been lifting weights for half an hour or so. And it can take that long to stop hurting. I'm not too fond of this type. Interestingly enough, I seem to be good at hiding theses too -- no kids have ever asked. Remember, I work with middle schoolers, no filters...

So, yeah, there's the update. But Kodiak is loving the snow!

And the Sense of Humor is BACK!!!

hehehe... Fibro so funny!

So I just woke up from a dream. It was not the main feature, it was just one of the commercials. It was a commercial for 'Seizure City', hosted by a Cal Worthington type.

"Lookin' fer that special somethin'? Come on down to Seizure City! We got the cute, little seizures. We got the classic mid-range seizures. And fer those o' you in the market fer serious, we got the super-deluxe mega-seizures, plenty on the lot right now. Come on down!"

You can guess which type I woke up with...

        --J;o)

Another One of Those Days...

Yeah, no humor, sorry. 

Sucky day. Seizures of the painful variety most of the work day. It's great that I work in such a supportive environment. I know I could have left any time I really needed to. But I didn't have to leave. I made it through. Hip, hip... yeah...

The Rhythm is Gonna Get You!

Okay, yes, the title does actually apply...

My right leg is seizing. 

My left leg is seizing.

They aren't seizing in time with each other. 

That last part is the unusual part. It's a very strange syncopation. I have some musical knowledge, but I have no idea what the time signatures would be, but the right leg is going in triplets, hitting nine beats in about the same amount of time that the left leg is doing a bossanova rhythm, two sets. 

I think bossanova is usually in 8/8... or two measures of 4/4? No idea  how the triplets would be notated, since I can't tell whether they are quarter triplets or eighth triplets.

Any of my musical friends ready to help?

3am...

So, my beard is made of barbed wire, my right thigh is made of concrete, and my feet are definitely feet, but I don't think they are my feet -- human feet, but somebody else's feet, not mine.

Can you imagine? That combination, and I'm not asleep? Weird...

Yep, yep, yep...

Here he goes again...

Another month goes by without any specific adventures to post. I made it through another musical theatre summer camp without the body totally giving out. One section of choreography was hip-hop infused, and I even managed to demonstrate that enough times! Luckily, I had a really solid group this year. They ended up doing most of the demonstrating after minimal teaching on my part. I could not perform it the way they did, that is for sure.

And now it's back to the classroom -- wheeee!

A Very Distinct Lack of News...

Well, so it goes like this...

The Neurologist could not find anything medical causing my seizure things, so he decided that he wanted me to see a Counselor, figuring that if it wasn't in his medical view, it had to be in my head. So, I went in for a session with a Psychologist. He talked with me about why I was there, my background, my history; he had me take a 45-question test and did the analysis of my answers. He pointed out that I do have some issues, all of which are understandable with my medical condition and history. He asked what I do to deal with those things, and then said I'm responding to them pretty well. And then he told me that there was no way he could connect my seizures with anything psychologically, and he doubted that anyone ever would other than a doctor trying to explain something that he couldn't find a medical reason for... BAM! 

He said he'd be comfortable treating me IF I came up with an issue that I wanted to focus on, but that without that, it would probably just be pleasant conversations that I was paying for. I in turn told him that I'd be very comfortable going to him if I did figure out an issue that I wanted to focus on. He encouraged me to call in and schedule with him if I came up with anything, and we left it at that.

So, I'm pretty much left with seizures that are not epileptic in nature or origin, and the knowledge that I'm taking pretty good care of myself. I guess no news is good news?

Amusing One! I Promise!

Well, at least I promise that I find it amusing...

I went out for pizza with a friend. While we were eating, out of the blue, I broke my left ankle. It happened, I went, yeah, whatever, and kept eating. After eating, we walked over to the store nearby to get in a little shopping. Part way through that, I realized that my right ankle was broken, not my left. That got me giggling. My friend asked what was up, and I told him that the break had jumped from one ankle to the other. But as soon as I said it out loud, the break switched back to where it was 'supposed' to be! 

Silly Fibro!!

Tonight? It's Not Pain!

Nope, not bad pain levels at all! So why am I still up at 3:30?

SEIZURE CITY!!!

I keep thinking, with all this extra exercise, shouldn't I be dropping the pounds?

Ooph again...

Ever had one of those nights where you don't want to go to bed because, the way you feel, you're not so sure you'll wake up the next morning? I hope not, but I have. And now, two nights in a row. So, I stay up until I absolutely can't stay awake, then I remind Kodiak to wake me up at some point, and head to bed. 

It's good to have a trustworthy dog.

Long Time No...

I know... 

I've been waiting for something to write about. I went through an EEG -- horrid experience, horrid, horrid, horrid. Not good. Then I went through an MRI, since the EEG was only 95% conclusive. It's usually 99% in cases like mine. The MRI was not so bad, actually. But still somewhat frustrating, in that I'm still not diagnosed. 

This is all about the seizure things... and for about the last month or so I've had a new kind. My right arm tightens up and tries to curl up into a little ball. The problems are twofold. One is that it hurts, more than the 'old style' seizures, even more than suppressing them. The other problem is that it's a lot more difficult to hide this new type. I really prefer leaving them out of my classroom, as far as the students know anyway. I'm not ashamed of them, or how I deal with them; I just don't want them to become a distraction. So, new challenges ahead.

And yes, I had a great deal of fun working "twofold" into my blog post.

But on a Happier Note...

It looks like Buddy, a husky/rottie mix, has joined our family... 

Thursday Night/Friday Morning...

Not a fun post. Not even sure why I'm including this one, but somehow feel like I'm supposed to. Maybe it's going to mean something to someone.

My seizure/tremor things, I'm used to them. I tend to have them maybe 8-15 times per day. A rough day might have as many as 25, but at most three of those are big. And from warning to recovery is usually no more than 3-4 minutes -- the actual seizing is under 45 seconds most of the time. Major long ones can last 2-3 minutes. Really no biggie any more, it's just a part of my life. Most people have no idea I'm having them.

Well, Thursday night about 10:30, one hit without warning, which is actually pretty unusual. That went on for about ten minutes. About twenty seconds later, another one hit... then another... If I was getting warnings, they were during the previous ones. This kept going until some time after 1:00am. I have never experienced anything like that. I was really sore for the next day, and am still feeling it to some degree. 

I'm happy to say all of my events since then have been of the normal kind. I'll be trying to go see my healthcare practitioner Monday. If there's any news, I'll post it here too...

grr...

yeah, that...

Earthquake or Seizure?

To be continued, once I've checked the Alaska Earthquake Information Center...

1.64 magnitude? I felt that? LOL

Silence is Not Always Golden... Initially

I've been trying to come up with a humorous angle for what's gone on recently, and I needed enough distance from it to see that it actually was already funny...

The Sunday before the last week of school before winter break, I broke my big toe. Not Fibro-broke, actually broke. This is the second time I have broken that one; the last time was in the 80s. Breaking a big toe is a MAJOR hindrance. You never realize how much you depend upon the big toe until you can't. Walking, balance... tucking in your shirt is almost impossible. 

So the really funny part? How it happened. I was in standing line at my favorite coffee place. The big guy in front of me was having an animated conversation on his phone. Something struck him terribly funny at one point, and caused him to laugh and take two or three steps backward, without looking. That last step? Right on my big toe. And he was a very big guy... How does one break a toe in that situation? Seriously!

But don't worry. I still got my latte.