Vaccination Part Two

Had the dreaded part two on Wednesday.

No biggie.

Go figure.

Vaccination Revelation

 Yep. Welcome to 2021.

So, got my first round. I got the Pfizer one. That day, a little sore. That night, a little sore. Next day, a little sore. Next night?

HOLY MOLEY! 

It felt like a sledgehammer had been used to knock the stuff into me. 

I spent four hours in misery. There was no way I could possibly put anything on the site. I took Advil (don't do that before your vaccinations, but it's okay after!) almost immediately, but it wasn't enough. There was no way I could have anything even touching the area, even clothing. 

Then I got smart about four hours into this. I still had some spray-on IcyHot for when I broke my ribs. I went to town. And it actually brought it down to medium pain! 

Moral of the story? Make sure I'm stocked up on spray-on pain relievers before the second round!

Warning -- this one is pretty gross...

You have been warned! 

My left arm got ripped out of its socket, and all the muscles got torn up in the process. It is gushing blood.  Okay, typical day in the fibrohood. This time there is one difference. Usually when a body part is detached or missing, when I look at it, it returns to place. Then when I look away, it's gone again. So, any time I need a reminder that it's actually still there, I just look at it. Twenty years of this routine, it's ingrained. 

Today's exercise in fibrocity, no such luck. I look at my shoulder, and can clearly see that it's where it's supposed to be, and there is no blood visible. But it still feels like it was violently removed and is not there. I still feel the 'waterworks' of blood. Staring right at it, even operating it, the fibro sensations are still 100%. 

I can't decide whether to be fascinated by it, or to crawl back into bed in hopes that it goes away...

Silly Fibro!

Silly, silly Fibro! My body is pretending to have pneumonia. During a pandemic. Is that more tenacity or just some nerve? Not sure...

Do I know it's pretending? Well, it's happened before, just not during a pandemic. My temperature is a little low. But that can happen in old folks with compromised immune systems. I'm almost old, and Fibro is usually lumped in with immunocompromised disorders. But that's mainly because they can't seem to find a better place to dump it. My immune system itself is pretty strong. And the low temp thing is a concern over 65; I'm about to turn 60. Am I hacking up phlegm? Feels like it -- but no actual phlegm involved. Pain breathing? Yes. But no problem fully inflating my lungs. And no problem holding my breath with them fully inflated. Those things don't happen when there's actually fluid in the lungs. 

Part way through the day, or maybe tomorrow when I wake up, those problems will be gone, and new ones will appear. 

Silly Fibro!

No News Is...

 No news. Yeah, same ol'. Well, a tiny bit. With major seizures, like fish out of water, arms flailing seizing, Linus is also climbing on top of me. And holy cow does that speed up the recovery process! I think it might be because I actually have something to anchor myself to. My doctor said that is possible, or it might have something to do with Linus weighing 85 pounds, because that could be enough pressure to affect my circulation and/or breathing depth. But he had no concrete ideas, and neither do I. I'm just glad for the help!

Fibro in the Times of a Pandemic

Yeah, it's been a WHILE. 

Kind of hard to focus on Fibro when so much of life is so weird. But I will say a few things. Whether it is because of aging, teaching on line, lack of social events, change in diet, misaligned planets -- who knows -- seizures are changing. I had a doozie while standing up the other day. This was not while pushing a shopping cart (the arm stuck in that position for too long) or standing in a line (the body stuck in that position for too long). It was just after I'd walked over to open the back door for the dogs. Not a typical 'trigger' for seizures. 

And speaking of the dogs... Linus is REALLY turning into a service dog! With seizures, he stays close to me until they calm down, then comes up to touch me. With muscle cramps, he climbs on top of me immediately after my screeching starts to dwindle, which is surprisingly therapeutic! I had no idea. I have not trained him to do any of this; he just does it as a natural reaction. There is so much love in this dog! The morning after election night, when I had obviously been in a bit of turmoil, I woke up to Linus hugging me!

So, a bit of Fibro news, but more good than bad. Linus is making a huge difference in how I'm getting through it. I'm a lucky man.

Learning New Things Every Day...

 Yeah, I am back to school -- all online, thank goodness. Yes, I prefer teaching in person, but not when that endangers lives. So I have to redesign most of the assignments, and have to figure out how to gauge engagement via Zoom, big deal, it's still teaching.

 But today is Saturday, so I was not in school. But, oh boy, did I learn things. Things like my eye doctor is really good, and my favorite optical tech guy is really, really good -- and they are a great combo. And I also learned that the test for confirming/ruling out suspicions of glaucoma involves lots of flashing lights. This is a bad piece of news for someone with a seizure disorder and questionable eye ball pressure. The first round (out of three, typically) was administered by a different technician. When I brought up my seizures after the first eye was tested, he was very efficient in his response that we could stop if I needed to; I said I'd keep going. He then sent me to see the doctor without the second or third rounds, explaining that I have a seizure disorder. My doctor was right in there, and he made sure I was okay before he'd even sat down. We talked through the first round results. He explained that my results could have been legit, or could have been because I'd never taken this type of test before. This is why they typically do three rounds. After talking through the results of round one, he asked if I thought I could handle the second round today. Before I could answer, he told me he was not willing to make me do all three today, that round three would be during the follow up visit next month, but billed as a continuation of today's so there would be no additional charge since he was the one refusing to do round three today. He also said I could stop round two at any time.

 So, he takes me to the other tech -- the one I had last month for my regular appointment. This guy is really compassionate. He is so concerned about my well-being. He not only restates the fact that he'll shut it down the moment I'm having any problem with it, but he tells me the 'secret' way that I can shut it down immediately by myself! After we do the right eye, he asks if I'd like a break -- yes, please -- and leaves me after making sure that is fine. When he comes back, I'm at the tail end of a mid-range arm seizure. He looks like he could cry at any moment. I explain that it was a good one, and my arm is much better now. He's a little hesitant to continue until I convince him to do so. We finish, then he has me wait in that room with the fancy machine while he gets the doctor. He doesn't even want me walking down the hall to the regular exam room. The doctor is again all about the seizure, and am I okay. After we discuss that, he goes over the second round results with me, and confirms that I should have a third one -- next month. He calls the good tech in, and tells him to take me up front to check out. Good tech stays with me throughout the process, asking about different things that might make the third round easier for me to take, and jotting them down in a small spiral notebook. He then confirms that he'll be working that day, and he and the doctor will make sure he's the one administering round three.

 I don't know that I've ever felt loved at an eye doctor appointment before...