Typette.com

Ow.

September 11, 2007

I'm really feeling the joy of all that is Fibromyalgia tonight.

I don't understand, I have yet to figure out a pattern to the pains I get.

I used to keep a log. What day it was, what time, what the weather was like, what part of my body was hurting, how long it hurt etc...

No pattern.

Sometimes I would ache a day before a storm, and some days I wouldn't. Sometimes I wouldn't get any aches until after a storm, and sometimes I wouldn't get any pain at all.
Sometimes when it's a beautiful perfect day, I ache.

I believe it has something to do with a change in barometric pressure, for better or for worse. Whenever theres a big change (i.e. bad weather to good or vice versa).

For years I thought I had RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis)...and so I was told by ppl for so long. But after many blood tests, the RA factor was low. There was no test actually proving to me that I had it. Finally, my wonderful, out of the box thinking doctor referred me to a Rheumatologist. Seems like common sense, but I had no clue what was wrong with me.

I had this tender points test given to me, and I was tender in 15 of the 18 points. It was really strange, b/c when the doc would push on those points it hurt really bad. Like someone digging their finger into a pressure point on your body. After lifting his hand from the tender point I would have a lingering feeling as if he was poking a bruise. I thought this was normal and that everyone felt those pains. I was wrong.

Anyway. I have learned to manage and deal with the pain. It can be debilitating at times, but I take pain meds (such as Tylenol etc...) to help and heat always works really well for me.

When it's really bad, I prefer to sleep through the pain so I don't have to deal with it, so I pop some Tylenol PM or Flexiril and out I go.

My fibromyalgia keeps me up most nights. I never really get a good nights sleep. I am out for at least 8 hrs each time. But according to a sleep test I took, I get less than 30mins of TOTAL cummulative REM sleep. Ah well - I'm alive and still kickin'.

I can deal.

I think the whole point of writing this was to express how happy I am that Tylenol PM was invented. I just popped a few and can't wait to get to sleep.

Off I go.

Labels: fibromyalgia, health, thoughts

posted by Typette @ 11:01 PM 1 comments

The diagnosis'

June 25, 2006

1. I have fibromyalgia. Better than what I thought I had (Rheumatoid Arthritis) since thats what I had as a kid (Juvenile RA). Fibromyalgia is brought on my traumatic events supposedly, emotional, physical etc... Anyway, Was told there is no cure but there is treatment. I've dealt with this my entire life, so no biggie as long as its not life threatening and I have no problem with my joints.

2. I saw a Pulmonologist today. The radiologist said that pulmonologists read CT Scans differently and maybe they might know what it is. The Pulm. told me he's not sure what it is exactly, but it may be Walking Pneumonia (which is less severe than regular Pneumonia which you are usually hospitalized for). The only symptoms I have is trouble breathing. (Which is just my bad asthma which I got 5 years ago due to 2nd hand smoke), but the doc wants to treat me with all these pneumonia meds anyway. He says to treat it as if it's that first, and then take another CT scan in 2 weeks and see if there is any change. B/C he doesn't want to go straight to a biopsy type thing right away. So basically we are trying to narrow it down. ARGH, in the meantime, this THING is continuously growing larger. He says probably 4-6 weeks for a DECENT diagnoses, so I shouldn't get upset now, there is nothing to do but wait. See what these meds will do for me, and if nothing, next step is the Bronchial Scope where they stick a camera down my throat and take a look at it that way. La dee dah.

So, basically...still don't know what it is, and you can't tell if it's a tumor just by looking at a CT Scan. Can't tell if it's benign or malignant either. JOY!

Labels: fibromyalgia, health, lungs

posted by Typette @ 7:45 PM 0 comments

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