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.

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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

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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

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Dec 16, 2015

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

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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

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Chronic Living – Buzzfeed

Dec 8, 2015

Living With A Health Problem | Buzzfeed

Here’s a collection of good quotes about living as a young adult with chronic health issues.

My Neck Has Checked Out

Dec 2, 2015

Last night, as I was laying in bed doing my normal things that relax me (playing my silly games on my phone, Instagram, Pinterest, etc), I shifted and realized that all of my necks muscles were extremely sore. It was really odd. So I stretched gently, and ow!!! Yup, something is wrong.

I take a muscle relaxant every night to help me sleep. I figured that sleeping and the muscle relaxant would get them to relax. Finding a comfortable sleeping position was a little difficult, but it wasn’t too bad.

Had I slept like this, I’d at least know why my neck hurts!

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It’s Giving Tuesday

Dec 1, 2015

I hadn’t even heard of Giving Tuesday until today… apparently, I’ve been living under a rock? I think I just have difficulty keeping track of which “named” days get added onto this specific part of the season…

Anyway, Giving Tuesday makes me feel much better about the world than the others. One invisible illness blogger I read regularly, Let’s Feel Better by Ilana, also works for the Global Genes Project. She wrote about the work they do and some of the non-profits they work with!

Check out Ilana’s Giving Tuesday post!

Featured in Ilana’s post: Dysautonomia International, Jeffery Modell Foundation, EB Research Partner (EB is the “butterfly” condition)