I was watching an old movie on Netflix Online "Watch Now" while reading some economy blogs. This got me thinking about where I've been and where I'm going with my health. Seeing how I won't sleep unless I get these thoughts out of my head, I'd thought I would do a quick post on the subject.
I know I've mentioned that I haven't been feeling great of late. Let's set the record straight on that front. I've been functioning at about 80% since the busy Christmas holiday. The sudden "cold snap" we had around here last week didn't help much either. No, I'm not getting "soft" from living in the south...well, maybe a little. Rather, it's these unusual and extreme shifts in temperature. One day it's in the 70's then wham it's in the 20's, only to return to the 50's yesterday & today. Cold literally hurts to begin with, but these massive shifts just make me uncomfortable.
So, I'm uncomfortable and I'm sluggish. More than anything, I'm nervous about the start of February.
February marks the beginning of the worst cycle of the year for me. Things that historically trigger my fibromyalgia are at their peak for the next 2-3 months. My doctor has medical records to prove it!
Anyway, I started going through my old journal notes and posts in this blog for a little prospective. Thankfully, I found a very reassuring post.
Back in March of last year I wrote a post called Understanding My Symptoms. In it I took all my major symptoms and rated them on a scale of 1-10. Comparing them to how I feel today gave me a lot of hope that I'm doing better and I will get through the winter! Let me show you what I mean by comparing my worst symptoms during March of 2007 to my worst symptoms this month.
Symptoms - March 07 VS Now
0 = No symptoms; 10 = Debilitating symptoms
Fatigue
March: 10 ---> Now: 5
Fog
March: 10 ---> Now: 4
Headaches
March: 10 ---> Now: 4
Muscle Pain
March: 6 ---> Now: 2
Body Aches
March: 8 ---> Now: 4
Insomnia
March: 8 ---> Now: 2
Irritable bowel
March: 6 ---> Now: 0
Multiple Reoccurring Sinus Infections
March: 8 ---> Now: 0
Everything is down compared to March last year. Sure, I don't have data for January, but my journal suggests that it was just as bad. Admittedly, several of those numbers -- headaches, pain & aches -- are from yesterday & today. And admittedly, anything in the 4+ range is very uncomfortable. I don't like that! On the other hand, nothing over 5 is awesome. And zero sinus infections (in 7 months) is downright cause for celebration since the sinus infections have been my #1 cause of bad flair-ups & headaches.
It's a welcome reminder that I've got to keep on keeping on. Or to put it another way, "Stay on target!"
Night all!
1 comment:
Try this for one more piece of perspective... yes, your symptoms are down. This is not something that happend to you... this is the result of positive changes you've made in the last year. Everyone (at least all sane rational people) can agree that February is awful even without the complications of your situation. But don't psych yourself out. February may still be the most difficult month of the year for you... but you've raised the bar on what "normal" looks like. Don't get so hung up about what the calendar says that you set yourself up for it being worse than it has to be.
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