Before, Aaron went to Boston he bought me a scrapbooking desk to put in our bedroom.  I have been able to get back my destresser, which is great.  What a great gift!

I am hoping to be able to scrapbook more soon, as soon as my arms and hands stop being such a pill.  I think in my stretching I have over done it and I am paying for it.  I am trying to take it a little easier.  As Aaron says, he wants me to make a budget of my energy and only pay out to the most important “bills”.  We will see how the next couple of weeks go.

I plan on taking the rest of the day very slowly and hopefully tomorrow will be better.

This book was a waste of the money and time I put into it.  I hate dead ends.

I learned that there is no one cause for Fibro but the solution I found while reading that fits my condition is it was most likely caused by my Epstein Barr Syndrome (EBV).  EBV is the virus that causes mono; I caught mono when I was about 7, again when I was about11, then when I was 12, and so on and so on.  Instead of my body building an immunity to the virus it adapted itself to it.  EBV causes many problems for its “victims” but I think this is a big one.

I know that my thought train derails a lot and it never did that when I was younger.  My dad used to ask me what was on TV for the night, and I would rattle off the TV listings to him or my mom would ask me someone’s address and phone number and I would recite it like it was my own.  Now days I can barely remember how to finish a thought.  It is very frustrating and it makes me feel very inadequate; come to find out I am not the only one who suffers from this.  “Fibro Fog” is the most common complaint with Fibro patients.

From reading this one book I do have a few things that I am going to ask Dr. Soloman about.  I am wondering if some of my pains and complaints would be caused by interstitial cystitis (IC) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).  I know those are a few things you probably didn’t want to know but I am being honest in these posts.

As I got to the section on the medications and management, I learned that most things related with this section had the side of effect of “may cause weight gain”.  Thanks!  Here I am trying to control my cholesterol and weight and this darn syndrome is doing everything in its power to stop me.  Can’t a girl get a break.  I did also learn that as for the meds I am on, they are the latest and greatest.  That is a good thing.

The writer’s of the book suggested that along with the medications that patients try other therapies.  This includes water aerobics (uh…no), message therapist (people touching me, I think not!), and a psychologist.  The psychologist is for teaching you how to deal with life and teach you pain techniques.  The book did suggest using a tennis ball for about 20 to 60 minutes as a way to massage a muscle that has a flare up, I think I can handle it.

They also state that stress is a big factor in causing flare ups.  The book suggests that you find some soothing and calm activities to do daily.  Scrap-booking is one of my major stress relievers, and I am hoping to find a way to be able to do it again.  The book also suggest that you start journaling how your days are going, what was your pain like and if you had any stress.  So, along with what I am learning in my book I will be occasionally posting what my days are like.

Today:

I started off with about a medium day of pain, but like yesterday my lower back and legs have began to hurt.  I have also had a low roaring headache today.  Rachel helped with distracting me by taking me to see All About Steve.

I recently read a book by Jenny McGarthy, Louder Than Words, and I was inspired by her story of how she became her son’s advocate in understanding and pulling him out of Autism.

Last year they finally put a name to the pain that I have been going through daily for the last couple of years, Fibromyalgia.  I have a name for it, but now what do I do with it.  My doctor gave me some meds that I take daily for pain control and a few stretches to do.  And told me that hopefully that if I don’t have any relapses I could be pain free in 5 years.

After reading Jenny’s book I decide that what the doctor told me wasn’t good enough.  So I am going to become a Fibro “expert”.  I have order six books that have an array of Fibro information that I am going to be able drink up and become my own advocate.

Things I have learned so far:

1)Between 2% and 7% of the world’s population suffers from Fibromyalgia

2)Fibro effects women more than men by 10 to 1

3)I have to be my own voice, you can not see my illness.  So the people around me might see someone who look perfectly healthy but I am in a lot of pain that at the moment I have no control over.

X said that he enjoyed his first day, he got to be the weather man and he had PE.  What more could you ask for?  His teacher, Miss Bates, is really nice.  But he isn’t quite sure about this whole 5 days week thing.

The last night of VBS they invited the parents to join them for a BBQ and then follow the kids for the rest of the VBS and at the end it was time for the kids to sing the songs they had learned durning the week.  Xavier was so excited each night to go and spend time playing games, doing crafts, and learning new things about the Bible.

We did arrive in SF on time which was nice because we took advantage of the whole afternoon. We found a place that offered a 4 hour tour of The City. In the tour we got to see all the major sites you would normally get to see and then our guide also took us to see some of the great houses of the area. That was a highlight for me, Aaron on the other hand thought that it was all the same. I love the Victorian nature of all the houses and that the more you restore the house the more you really see how beautiful it was in its youth. We also went through all the normal neighborhoods like China Town, Little Italy, and the 60’s Era (that was interesting).

While on the tour bus I noticed a bus poster for Spam-A-Lot the play. (The Broadway Musical that I have been wanting to see for years.) Aaron used his nifty knowledge of the Internet and his wifi phone and got us VERY nice seats for that night. YEAH! So after our tour and dinner at L’Ottavo (Thanks, Beth!). We went to see Spam-A-Lot! The play was awesome. It however was not for the morally faint. As with Monty Python nothing is off limits, they’re British.

While Aaron was at his first day of his geek fest, I spent my time shopping. I was enjoying my time in the 5 story Macy’s, the 3 story Old Navy, and a slue of other great shops. I did over do it though because I had to spend Sunday in the hotel because my legs we too sore to move.

Saturday night there was a WordPress 6Year Anniversary Party. That was Fun. Talk about a range of people. There was a 16 year old kid there was unable to really function that looked like he would get stuck in a locker a lot, a he/she in a goth outfit with a cape and dog collar, a guy named Neil that was about 45 that probably still lived in his mom’s basement that would just not get the hint and don’t forget the guy who brought his dog in his man bag. Don’t get me wrong there were a lot of “normal” geeks there but they just don’t stand out when there is a whole room full of them.

Sunday night we went to Ghirardelli Square. We took a cab from our hotel, little did we know that we were riding with the stereo typical cabbie. He was either always on the accelerator or the brake. Once we arrived there unharmed, we found out the square was closed. The restaurant and the gift shop was the only thing left open. And if that wasn’t enough I had also left my camera in the hotel room. At least the food and the view was amazing.

Well, to sum up my thoughts on The City…..I was enjoyed it but I was disenchanted with the thought of it. I had always wanted to go and see what it had to offer but when I got there it seemed as though I had seen most of this before. The shops were the same, the night life ended early and the ocean was better in SD. In the end, so far, I like Boston in the fall.