Roller Coasters....Fun or Not So Much??

Dijon and I have two daughters, who are totally opposite in personality....always have been, since they were tiny little things.  One was a very prim and proper little princess, who enjoyed playing quietly with her dolls.  The other, the younger, was a tomboy who loved all things wild and exciting!  So while my oldest gravitated toward calmer rides during our outings to theme parks, my baby girl always longed for lots of rides on the wildest of the roller coasters.   She would have LOVED the one in the picture above, and luckily for me, Dijon would have been happy to accompany her on the ride!

I'm reminded of these theme part adventures lately.....I feel like I'm on two roller coasters in my life right now.  As I've mentioned, our pup has IMHA, and it is an autoimmune illness with lots of ups and downs.  In fact, it is much like AI illnesses humans suffer from, according to my rheumatologist.  As a result of his illness and the side effects of his medications, he is often up during the night, and our sleep is spotty at best.  We visit the vet often, and I must keep an ever-watchful eye on him.

So the stress from that roller coaster adds to the "excitement" of the roller coaster that I already live on.....my fibro has been "off the charts" lately.  Imagine the fibro roller coaster as having HUGE climbs, ENORMOUS falls, and TWISTING curves.   Far from keeping symptoms under control, I am suffering a horrific flare right now.   The fatigue is back to bone-crushing levels, literally.  And the pain grows each day as well.   Keegan rides with me, breathing fire.

The main thing I do in times like this is try to give myself all the extra rest and sleep I can.  I nap as often as possible.  Some people argue against that, saying it will disrupt your night sleep.  When I am in a flare, I don't find that to be true for me.  I find that I can nap, and sleep all night as well. (But remember, everyone has to find what works for them.)

In time,  I know things will improve.  The roller coasters will smooth out...Keegan will go back to sleep, eventually... life will settle a bit.  I just need to wait this out.  And rest.

Soooo, are you a roller coaster fan??  I confess, the real ones scare me a bit!!!

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~

A Flare Begins....

Well, as I sort of expected, Keegan has awakened, and wants to play.  I use the word "play" loosely....it is more of a "breathe fire, stomp around, rant and rave" kind of thing.  These are the times we fibromites call "flares"....Get the fire thing?  LOL

So officially, a flare is a time when symptoms become very intense.  It is a time when our bodies are overly sensitive....for me, to pain, noise, light, pressure, and other things.  Where Keegan is somewhat quiet and manageable many days, he is a raging monster during a flare.

Almost anything can bring on a flare.  Living with a fibro dragon requires quite the balancing act, and life often upsets that balance.  Illness, accidents, weather changes, travel, allergy attacks, insomnia, holidays, time change....anything that disrupts my carefully scripted days can send me into a flare.  This time, it was the stress to my body from the two quick trips out of town, and the fact that I didn't rest as much while visiting with the kiddos.  

Some of us have signals as to how our day will be.....I have one that is no-fail.  If I wake up and have no numbness, it'll probably be a normal day, at least normal for me.  If I wake up and only my left leg is numb, then I'll probably be good to go until about 3 p.m.  Then I'll be done for the day, and need to rest.  BUT if my arms and legs are numb when I wake up, I'm in a flare. 

That's what I mean about symptoms becoming more intense.  The numbness, fatigue, queasiness, and pain are all worse.   Flare days are the ones where I don't get too much done, and that's ok.  I'm giving my body time to recover, and get back to its "normal"....It takes a bit of time to get Keegan back under control!

I'll talk a bit more about managing Keegan next time....He can be very feisty, but I do have some pretty good weapons!

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~