When the Realization Hits

I was just reading one of the blogs I follow, called Chronic Connection and I wanted so very much to comment and for whatever reason, I cannot seem to get Blogger to understand that I am the owner of this blog and one other as it will not let me through. So if you read this, please know that I may not be able to comment on some of your blogs.



Anyway, back to what I started this post about. I was reading about how scary it is to realize that this chronic pain and all the extras that go with it (fatigue, depression, insomnia, etc.) has "become" my life. It is what I will be looking at every single day for the rest of my life. Getting up and knowing within an hour whether this is going to be a good day or a bad day.



I have had a diagnosed case of fibromyalgia for 2 1/2 years now and I guess you could say I am forever hopeful that one day I will wake up and this nightmare will be gone.



I started getting this debilitating pain when I was caring for my terminally ill mother back in 2007, but I realize now that anything out of the ordinary daily routine for me will cause this pain to worsen. It might be too much use of my legs or arms or skipping a few weeks of my exercises and then going back to them, or it could be things out of my control that affect my emotions.

Right now it is a sprained foot that has pulled me down and wreaking havoc on my fibromyalgia pain. Sitting all day and doing very little walking is making the pain so much worse for me. So I guess you could say that consistent exercise really does make you feel better.

I woke up yesterday and felt like I was a new person. I had 8 full hours of sleep and was nearly pain free except for my foot, which doesn't count. I have no idea why all of a sudden I seem better, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Today I am alert, energetic and ready for the day and even plan to go to my grandson's class and deliver 24 Easter cupcakes that I made last night.

Having this chronic illness is like living the life of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You never know which one you are going to be until each new day arrives. But I will tell you this; I am taking full advantage of the "good" days as I have no idea how many I may have left.

Until next time :)

Fibromyalgia Charms

I would not have thought I would use this blog as a place to promote shops, but in this case I wanted to take a moment and introduce Debbee for backroomcreations, her shop on Etsy.

Debbee suffers from fibromyalgia and sells these cute charms in support of a cure. I wanted to share a few of them with you, then I plan to keep one on my blog as a permanent reminder that we will always be hopeful that someone finds a cure.

Thanks Debbee.

Until next time :)

Is Fibromyalgia a Degenerative Disease?

I am still alive and kicking, well, not kicking as I am still dealing with this sprained foot. I have never sprained anything before and had no idea it takes so darn long to heal. I so miss my walking every night and it has taken a toll on my fibromyalgia.

Walking has been my only real form of exercise as using the pool has a tendency to make me very sore because it's hard to determine if you are over doing it. Now that I can't make my jaunt around the neighborhood I can feel the weight gaining up on me and I am much more creaky and cranky.

It has been difficult to sit here at my desk and work on the computer because I can't prop up the foot and it just throbs with all the blood going down to it, so I haven't been posting much or promoting my mosaic shop.

I did read an article the other day and so wish I had saved it as it lumped fibromyalgia in with other degenerative diseases such as lupus, diabetes, CFS and others that don't come to mind at the moment. But I was left thinking how odd that was as I never thought of fibro as being a degenerative illness. It supposedly never gets worse as time goes by like the other diseases, so why would it have been added to this list.

If fibromyalgia is the pain sensors malfunctioning telling us we are hurting and the muscles aren't really sore or stretched or whatever, how can it be degenerative? It isn't really happening physically, is it?? OK, time to do more research.

I know that if I do excessive vacuuming or pruning my trees or anything that uses parts of my body that I don't normally use on a daily basis my brain tells me I just ran a marathon, but my muscles aren't really overused, just that my brain thinks they are. Now, I do know that if the brain is telling you something that it does affect your body, but this is a bit confusing to me.

I will check this out and get back to you.

Until next time :)

Benefits of White Tea

I love to read this magazine called "Natural Awakenings" whenever I go to my chiropractor's office. It is loaded with healthy tips, news, recipes and much more, but this week I was reading about the benefits of white tea.

OK, I am probably a bit out of the loop, as I'm still finishing my bags of green tea, but after reading some of the benefits of this one I thought I would pass it on.

Professor Declan Naughton of Kingston University, in London, one of UK's leading specialists on inflammation states that white tea may help reduce the risk of inflammation that is characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis and some cancers, as well as wrinkles. I am thinking that it could also be a good thing for fibromyalgia sufferers too.

According to this article, the properties of white tea go beyond high levels of antioxidants to also block the activities of enzymes that break down elastin and collagen. The doctor explains that elastin is what supports the body's natural elasticity, which helps the lungs, arteries, ligaments and skin to function. It also is said to help body tissues repair wounds and stops skin from sagging (I wish I found this years ago). Collagen is a protein found in connective tissues, which is also key to skin strength and resiliency.

I figure I may as well give it a try, as it doesn't appear that there is anything to lose and much to gain. I don't like to run out and get everything that comes down the pike, but I do like a cup of tea now and then so I will be giving this one a whirl.

Tough Week

This has been a really tough week for me. I think my body is screaming because I sprained my foot and have been hobbling around for several days now. It throws the balance off and creates other malfunctions, for lack of a better word, throughout my right side.

The painful throb of my foot compiled with the fibromyalgia kicking up into high gear has been really difficult for me to be creative this past week. My mosaics have suffered and 2 pieces are still waiting to be finished so that I can list them.

I used to go in for a massage at least 2 times or more a month, but that can get very expensive and with money being on the tight side right now I don't feel I want to spend it on that.
I do get my husband to work out some of the kinks at night so that has been very helpful.

For me, when my body is this far out of whack the only thing I can do is go to the chiropractor and have him adjust me. Usually one time is enough these days, but I haven't had this long of a period of pain in some time.

I think of all of you who have this kind of pain on a daily basis with no way to ease it and it does make me grateful that mine can be remedied with time.

Just wanted to share with all of you what was going on as it's been a little quiet on this end.

I am working on a new post about some new information on fibromyalgia. Whether or not it is true remains to be seen.

Until next time. :)

Is Fibromyalgia Cause by Emotional Stress?

A while back I posted about my thoughts on the causes of Fibromyalgia. To date, there still isn't a bonafide reason or cause for this chronic illness and after thinking about this for some time I have decided to try and accumulate some information and I could use your help.

This is not something that will be published or renowned as "the cause", but I am just very curious to dig a little deeper.

To repeat my thoughts on this, I still believe that fibromyalgia is the breaking down of the body due to an overtaxed brain that can no longer keep it's signals in order. We all know that fibromyalgia is due to a mixed signal in the brain that is telling our minds and bodies that we are experiencing exaggerated pain in our muscles. It is a very real pain and has affected some people so severely that it has completely changed their lifestyle.

OK, so if a person who is a nurturer by nature, is a possible people pleasing personality, is a dweller on certain situations trying to remedy them, is highly stressed emotionally, has learned to stuff many of their emotions rather than face confrontation or reaction, etc, then they are a prime target for a chronic illness such as fibromyalgia even if they have changed their behavior.

It takes years of emotional stress to start coming out in a physical way because the body isn't designed to hold it all in. It may come out in other ways such a low immune system, rashes, hair loss, allergies, sensitivities and so on, but it will come out eventually. I am wondering if fibromyalgia is the direct result of living a life such as I mention above as everyone I know who has this chronic problem also exhibits this type of personality.


For the most part, fibromyalgia primarily affects women and we have always been considered the emotional hub of the family. We are geared differently than most men and strive to keep the peace and harmony in our relationships and family and adding a career to the mix only compounds the problem.

Here are my questions to you:

1. Can you relate to any of these characteristics I mentioned? (it could be a behavior you have overcome, but had most of your life)

2. When did your fibromyalgia symptoms start? And did you experience other physical problems before?

3 Do you find that your fibro flares up when an emotionally taxing situation occurs?

4. Do you feel guilt about having this illness? (partially because no one really knows why we have it and many believe it doesn't really exist; partially because we can't function like we used to and it affects what we can and can't do.)

I would love to know if you or someone you know who has fibromyalgia has any of these traits. I would also love to hear from a man who has this illness and see what his take on it is.

If you are uncomfortable answering any of this on my blog, please feel free to email me your answers. This is not about specific names, but more of a compilation of information for me to better understand the origins of fibromyalgia.

I hope that you will take the time to comment as I would like to get back to you with my results.

Until next time :)

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Just pucker up and deal with it.

I know, not a very nice thing to say, but this week has not been one of my better ones. My fibromyalgia seems to be in high gear so the sleeping is so, so, but I was doing some promoting on my computer and evidentally sat for too long as my foot fell asleep and when I got up I took one giant step and fell right onto the tiled floor. My foot went sideways under me and I banged my knee up pretty good so now I have a sprained foot.

I always sit with my feet tucked up underneath myself so that is why my foot went to sleep, but I have never had my entire leg give out from under me like that. Whew, scary.

It will get better so I will be back to posting on a regular basis again soon.
I miss my nightly walks around the neighborhood and am hopeful I will be able to get back to that soon. In the meantime I am still doing my exercises for the muscles as I just know that is what keeps me from getting really bad. Whenever I start to feel like my body is holding together with safety pins I know it's time to get back to regular exercising.

I don't know if you experience this or not, but to me, it feels like my tendons are loose and my body creaks in weird places and if I move too suddenly it's all going to be over. My best description for this is "being held together with safety pins".

Hope all of you are having a better week than me.

Until next time :)