FINALLY a Recovery Cocktail

How do you recover from a month of crazy emotional stress, travel stress, chronic illness, and allergy testing?

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Zofran, Tramadol, two Benadryl, two Excedrin Extra Strength

I just got home from my allergy testing, and this is the first thing I did. Well, technically the second. This has just been the most ridiculous month, and definitely not in a good way. Grama passed on the 3rd, and now suddenly it’s the 19th. I do not know what exactly happened to the month of April, but I do know it has been a giant ball of stress of all kinds.

Here is why I’ve been a ball of stress:

Burn Out

My house is burning out: both Dan and I are burning out, actually. We’re both pushed pretty far towards our limits and both our burn outs are feeding into each other. It’s not a good situation really, but luckily we have each other and the little strength we each have left is stronger together. Dan is really busy with school, and work, and the stuff around the house that I can’t do, and the home improvement stuff that I can’t do, and taking care of me. I’m busy with school, and the stuff around the house that I can do, and trying to get the stuff done for making money that I want to do, and trying to figure out how not to be in so much pain, and all my doc appointments, and dealing with side effects, and getting over a head cold, and trying to figure out what I can actually do around the house, and trying to make sure I have the spoons I need for the commitments in the coming days.

The burn out is really why I haven’t been on here. I’ve just been trying to survive right now. It’s been harder than it sounds. Hopefully, things will start to equal out soon.

I Feel Like the Sky Looks

It’s very cloudy outside. Normally, I love cloudy and overcast weather… but the sudden cold that has accompanied it isn’t making me too happy.

Yesterday, I slept until after noon. The “Reformer for Recovery” class that I normally do on Wednesdays starts at 12:30. Obviously, I didn’t go to that. At about 4:30, however, I decided that the cold was messing with my hips too badly to skip Pilates entirely for a whole week (Joleen was booked solid for this coming Monday). I decided to do the beginning level “Core Training” class, which is a hybrid between mat and reformer.

I did alright during class. My arms, neck, and shoulders are definitely messed up though. Today, I’m paying for it. The class did help from the waist down, but it feels like my upper body has been run over by a large truck. My depression isn’t helping, and the pain isn’t helping my depression. Hopefully, I can have a good day for my birthday (Saturday the 19th). Please, Universe?

“Official Uniform of the Dysautonomia Warrior” – another shirt and two questions

 

I found a pretty and comfortable looking tee shirt! (It says it’s made out of very soft materials.) I’m thinking it’ll probably be great for lounging around the house in the summer.

What kinds of merchandise do you think will work well with this design? I have a basic sweatshirt and now this tee.

What other illnesses/conditions do you think I should make this design for? (Example: “Official Uniform of the Fibromyalgia Warrior”)

We All Have Limits

Over the years, I have surprised myself by being able to continue on past what I thought was my limit. It really is amazing. I don’t really know what the alternative is… I guess crawling into bed and never coming out again? Trust me, there are definitely days where that is all I want to do, but I have two lovely little kitties that require feeding and loving.

Pain LevelThis neck/shoulder/back stuff, however, seems to be pushing it. I think I finally found a limit. A hard and fast limit.

I’ve been debating posting this because… well, because. This is going to be a very frank discussion on hitting limits and depression. I don’t like to discuss my depression, at least not the part of it that’s active. Depression tends to gain a lot of pity, and I hate pity. Depression is a part of who I am, it’s something I live with daily, it’s something that is always going to be a part of me. However, depression does not define me, and usually I have a pretty good grip on it. Usually.

Continue reading

What is With This Pain?!

Seriously.

Yesterday, especially last night, I was in a lot of pain. I was in so much pain that I couldn’t get to sleep until after 4am. Obviously, that meant there was no way I was going to try to wake up at 6am to get to my classes.

I slept until after 11am, and I am not really feeling better. My neck really hurts, which kind of makes sense after the MRI results, and my entire back hurts. The nerve pain in my right arm refuses to go away, and it will no longer pop (which would give it temporary relief at times). There is now nerve pain in my left arm that won’t go away either. My head is killing me (for two days). And, on top of everything else, my hips hurt.

I don’t really know why this is happening… but I suspect it might actually have to do with my neck. My neck and back pain and stiffness have been getting steadily worse for weeks. I’d always written the neck pain off as being from weak muscles and bad posture, so I never thought anything of it. Apparently, I should have mentioned it at some point. I’m wondering if my recent uptick in pain could be due to something in my neck getting worse? I guess I’ll find out on Tuesday (I had the wrong day, but the right date, in my head). Hopefully, the results won’t be anything bad…

MRI Results – Preliminary

I know many of you have been waiting for the results with me (which means more to me than I think you realize). I heard from a nurse at my doctor’s office today.

Straight to the point: my brain is NORMAL! This is definitely good news 🙂

relief

My spine, however, is not. Continue reading