Where Did I Go?

The silence on this blog is deafening. Don't think I haven't noticed. I'm here, just not posting.

Over the last several years, my medical problems have developed a certain ebb & flow. My Doctor & I are well aware of the seasonal element of things. February & March have been especially bad times for me. Why? Well, that's a story for another day.

The story today is one I've told you many times.

One mistake we made early in my treatment was to vigorously fight my symptoms as things that could be "cured" through aggressive medicating. We also fought many of the symptoms at once. This was partly because I had not been fully diagnosed. Why would anyone assume that a slightly overweight man in his early 30's have Fybromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue? Treat the sinus headaches, migraine symptoms, the severe muscle pain, chills, depression and gastrointestinal problems all as separate conditions. Ignore the possibility that the mix of high-octane medications could be compound these issues. Why would medicine make things worse?

It took my current Doctor to put it all together. That's mostly why he's the "current" one. It took us a while to come up with a strategy to manage/reduce my symptoms through a mix of diet, exercise & medication. Yeah, I take several "controlled substances."

The story isn't over yet though.

In January, we upped the dose of Lyrica. It's having a net-positive effect on me. However, I also tend to take longer than others to adjust to side-effects. My energy level - which is never good to begin with - has been very low.

This isn't a bad thing. This time of year my energy is always low. If the medications improve all my other symptoms - which they have been - then I'll eventually get used to the side-effects & my energy will improve. Fingers crossed.

I've had other problems of late, all related to my fybro & sinus conditions. What to do with those? The current plan is to not repeat mistakes of the past. We're not introducing new medication into the mix unless I get very sick. I need to manage them with existing strategies until I've been taking the max dose of Lyrica for a month or two.

So, the silence on this blog has been a point of frustration for me, but we've got to just accept it. I'm "fine." This could be my best Winter in years. That doesn't mean it's going to be a productive time. I'm surviving with a lot of low-impact leisure activities mixed with small, targeted periods of productivity. This is my usual strategy, but right now it's magnified.

I'm focused, as always, in managing my health & become a more active person. I'm hopeful about the advances in Fybromyalgia treatments. The Lyrica has definitely been a good step.

Anyway, that's where I'm at right now. My short-term goal in this blog is to keep it up to date with fun stuff I find & mini-updates from me. Don't expect a lot of deep & reflective posts for a few weeks.