When I got home we took a hike in the trails that are just behind our house.  The views from the top of the hills are great.  The first part of the trail was not a walking trial but a quad trail which made it difficult to walk up, at least for me, the three mountain goats I was with seem do fine with it.  Once we were on the right hiking trails they were great.  I did forget my inhaler, my bad.  But James to the rescue, I could breathe again and continue.

I am so glad the I have been able to get out and enjoy the outdoors with my family again.  I am looking forward the becoming the person I know I want to be and that is somewhere inside of me.

I did realize yesterday that I have miss the way Aaron and I use to be,  afternoon walks and bike rides near the beach.  Those were the days.

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.