The Difficulty of Chronics vs Being Sick

Dec 27, 2015

Since I got diagnosed with all my Chronics (see the sidebar for the list), it is very difficult to determine when I’m sick. Why? Well, let’s break that down, shall we?

First, the symptoms of the common cold (source: Mayo Clinic):

Runny or stuffy nose
Itchy or sore throat
Cough
Congestion
Slight body aches or a mild headache
Sneezing
Watery eyes
Low-grade fever
Mild fatigue

And the symptoms of the flu (source: Mayo Clinic):

Fever over 100 F (38 C)
Aching muscles, especially in your back, arms and legs
Chills and sweats
Headache
Dry, persistent cough
Fatigue and weakness
Nasal congestion
Sore throat

Those seem pretty straight forward, don’t they? Well, unfortunately, my Chronics make it anything but.

Continue reading →

It’s Christmas Eve!

Dec 24, 2015

Tons of cooking to do today 🙂 we’re hosting my in-laws for dinner today! I love making holiday dinners.

Unfortunately, my back is doing the same thing it did a few days ago. Breathing hurts, being upright hurts. I had Dan put on a lidocaine patch for me, which I’m desperately hoping works. I can’t take both metaxalone and Tramadol today, or else I can’t hang out with everyone! 😦 I really hope this will get better.

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

Happy Holidays!

Sometimes, There are Bad Days

Dec 21, 2015

Today is a Tramadol and Metaxalone kind of day. Tramadol is a strong pain medication (synthetic), and Metaxalone is a muscle relaxant. I can take them together, but ugh, the side effects.

Prescription Bottle

Continue reading →

Tips for Winter Pain Flares

Dec 20, 2015

The links in this article are not affiliated links, they’re just so you can find things quickly if you are interested. I literally get nothing from them being in my post (sadly, hehe).

I’m sure many people with fibromyalgia (and probably other chronic pain conditions) experience discomfort when the weather changes. For me, cold weather causes a lot of discomfort: extremely overstimulated nerves, painful joints, muscle stiffness, muscle aches, extreme fatigue, etc. I think part of the overstimulated nerves comes from the dry skin I get in the winter.

Even though I only got officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia in January 2013, I have been having symptoms for most of my life. Thankfully, having symptoms most of your life helps you come up with some tricks. I’m still working on an effective routine, but I have a few things that will help when I need some relief.

Chronic Pain Relief in Winter – at Home

Continue reading →

Dec 16, 2015

So I took a ton of photos at Zion National Park. Here are a few of my favorites:

(more…)

Zion National Park Photos

Suddenly, the Weekend Attacked

Dec 14, 2015

This weekend was insane, and I’m definitely feeling it pretty badly. It really sucks when you don’t do anything social for an extremely long time, and then everyone wants to do stuff the same weekend! But while it physically sucks, it was still a ton of fun.

Life is Hectic

Continue reading →

Finals Begin Today

Dec 10, 2015

My first final is in an hour… And my intestines are spasming badly. I took my antispasmodic before I left the house, but I didn’t bring it with me…

gastroenterology

I really hope they calm down before my exam. I’m not all that nervous, I’m pretty good at exams. I did well on my midterm, and I’ve done well on everything else. I’m at school with tons of time, and I am mentally reviewing info for the essay questions.

Not So Good

Dec 9, 2015

Physically, I’m doing fairly poorly. My neck keeps spasming, so I’m very glad to be going to see Joleen today. My stomach is killing me, to the point I think I might have something other than IBS. My sinuses are making me want to vacuum my nose. And everything together just makes me want to sleep.

Hopefully, I can do a better update for y’all soon. I’ve really got to study for my final tomorrow, so that “soon” probably won’t be today. I just wanted you to know that I haven’t died, just kind of feel like my body is trying to kill me.

What, Why? Not Now Please

Dec 9, 2015

I’m pretty sure I still have my sinus infection, but I’ve been getting distracted by other things recently. First off, all the muscles in my neck and back feel like I’ve been hit by a truck: miserable, sore, knotted. Second: today, after class, I noticed a horrible pain in my neck, and realized that I have a very swollen lymph node. Third, the temporal side of my temporomandibular joint is insanely painful to the touch on my left. I’m concerned about it, because I don’t think I bruised it in any way, so I’m worried about possible infections or something. Fourth, my ear might be infected again. My ear smelled terrible yesterday, but it was crazy clogged up with wax. Hopefully, it’ll dry out (now that I’ve cleaned it out well) and be fine.

Oh, and did I mention I have one final Thursday and one next Tuesday?