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~~~~~

I've Missed My Blog, and Stress

Wow....its been so long since I've been here, and I've missed it.  Please forgive my absence... life in my house has been very hectic.   But I have realized that this blog helps give me a place to voice feelings, to share frustrations, and to regroup in my day to day battle with Keegan.  And it truly is a day to day battle.

So, our pup Mr. B is still very ill.  His lab work shows the meds he is on have not yet suppressed his immune system enough to stop the destruction of his red blood cells.  So the fight continues, and I am his nurse :)   I give the many meds and take him to his vet appointments.  We're hoping and praying he can beat this illness.

All this extra activity and worry means STRESS....and for those of you new to fibromyalgia, stress of any kind, whether physical or emotional, causes fibro symptoms to increase.   I fully expected a flare, and that's exactly what has happened.  So my plan to REALLY work on managing symptoms has had to take a back seat for the last couple of weeks.  Right now, my focus is giving my body the extra rest it needs to overcome the flare.

Moral of this story:  Life happens, and when life becomes very stressful and busy, it isn't always easy to keep the fibro dragon asleep.  Keegan is breathing fire right now....I can't push through and ignore the signals.  And even after all this time, I am still bad about that!

I'm making a list of some ingredients for a new daily smoothie....it'll incorporate several things I've found that seem to help me feel better.  I'm thinking if I can lump then into one drink, it'll be easier to make sure I get them all in each day.  I'm trying it tomorrow morning, and I'll let you know how it goes...hopefully, it'll taste yummy, and I'll post the recipe!

Oh, and Mr. B says hello....please say a prayer for him :)

See ya soon,

~~~~Sally~~~~~

ZZZZZZZZZZ......

Just like many other couples, Dijon and I have differing opinions on many topics.  Like just how many pairs of shoes I really need, whether to rent or buy the latest DVD, should you eat a Moon Pie for breakfast (yes, he does that...I know, he is danger of going into sugar shock!)....you know, stuff like that.

But an important one has been how soft/firm our mattress should be.  He likes a very firm mattress....like sleeping on boards topped with a sheet.  Not this kid....I want to feel like I'm in the middle of a cloud bank, or snuggled into a huge wad of cotton balls.

Here's the important thing...........I have realized that sleeping on a VERY soft mattress, and using amazing cotton sheets of very high thread count helps reduce my morning fibro stiffness and pain.

We recently went on a short trip, and the hotel had just such a bed, with the huge pillowtop, and fabulous sheets, and ginormous, soft pillows.  I just sunk into that bed at night, and for naps, and woke up pain-free and feeling great each time!!!

So I immediately came home and put a feather mattress topper on our bed and added some amazing sheets.  I already had my "special pillow", and now I am sleeping better, and waking much less stiff and sore.   And Dijon happily sacrificed his love of a firm bed so that I can feel better....thank you, hon!

Moral of the Day:  Don't ignore the bed.....we spend lots of our life there.  Get whatever you need to make yourself comfortable when you sleep....extra pillows, better quality sheets, soft covers, feather quilts, etc.  A good night's sleep is CRITICAL for fibromites to feel and function well.  This has made a huge difference to me :)

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~

IMHA.....Scary Letters

This post has nothing to do with fibromyalgia at all....instead, it has to do with IMHA.  I've just learned about IMHA, some very scary letters.  IMHA stands for Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia, and it is a very serious condition that strikes dogs and cats.  Unfortunately, I HAD to learn about it because our dear Mr. Bentley has become a victim of this awful condition.

The short version of IMHA is that Bentley's immune system is attacking his red blood cells and destroying them.  Something triggered this change in his body....the vets don't know what.  It could have been his knee surgery, a medication, a tick bite, anything.  Often, the cause of the onset of IMHA is never known.  Two weeks ago, Mr. B began fainting, or having episodes of syncope.  A trip to the vet and blood work showed his anemia.  He needed a blood transfusion, bone marrow aspiration, and two days in the LSU Veterinary School Hospital.  

Now he is on strong medications to suppress his immune system.  Hopefully his little body will begin to replenish his red blood cell supply, and his "numbers" will start to look better. ( I'm becoming pretty good at reading lab reports.)   So far, he is stable, but not really improved.  If he survives the initial crisis, he may have to be on meds for several months, if not the rest of his life.

Approximately 30-40% of dogs that develop IMHA do not survive.   We are hoping and praying that Mr. B will be one of the lucky ones.  

If you have pets, please watch for the following:  lethargy, being tired, not eating, just not being themselves, sleeping alot, rapid breathing....these are all symptoms of anemia.  If you see any of these, please take your pet to the vet as soon as you can for a simple blood test to check for anemia.  IMHA strikes silently, and can be devastating very quickly.  

Mr. B says hi, and we hope you'll say a prayer for him.  He's a very sweet boy :)  

 See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~

Happy Fourth of July, and a new Wreath!

I hope everyone has had a Wonderful Fourth of July!  I want to take this moment to say "thank you" to all those who serve or have served our nation to ensure this freedom that we all enjoy.....and to the families of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, I hope they know how much our family appreciates the enormity of the price that was paid for us to enjoy living in the United States.

To celebrate the Fourth, I made a simple rag wreath to go over our mantle....these wreaths are all over the craft blogs, and are super easy to do.    Let me apologize early for the awful pics....it was late at night when I did this, and there was no natural light in the room!

So, here's what you will need:

1.  a wreath, obviously :)    You can use a straw wreath, a foam one, a metal one, etc....I did the cheapo version, and had Dijon bend a wire coat hanger into a circle!  FREE....love it!

2.  fabrics of your choice     I used four different coordinating fabrics for this wreath....mixture of reds, whites, and blues......mix of solids and prints.   I used about 2/3 of a yard of each one, and had a bit left over.   The amount needed will depend on how many fabrics you use, and how big the wreath is.

3.  things to cut fabric....I use scissors, fabric cutter, and fabric measuring thingie (you folks that sew know what its called! LOL)

 I LOVE this project cuz its soooo easy.....I took my fabric cutter, and laid the fabric out....For the wreath this size, I cut the strips to approximately 1" by 6".....This is NOT an exact science!  :)   Close is good enough!!  And I think the raggedy edges make the wreath all that much better.  (NOTE:  If you use a thicker wreath, like a straw one, the strips will definitely need to be much longer.)

 Cut and cut until you have piles of fabric strips.  This is kinda tedious, so have something good on TV or Pandora to listen to....just sayin'...

 Then just begin to tie them around the wire wreath, one at a time, alternating the patterns....I just make one loop with each strip and pull it taut....the fabric stays nice and tight.  Continue until the wreath is full....I put lots of fabric on mine, so that its very full.

 (wow, did I get this picture off-center...)

Finally, just tweak the fabric a bit, to fluff the wreath.  You can tie an extra long piece of fabric, or a piece of ribbon on for a hangar.  I actually just hooked mine over the nail that's on my antique window over the fireplace mantle.  

I've made three of these wreaths now, for different times of the year, and just love them!  Hope you enjoy it too.

Have a wonderful holiday!!

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~

This and That

What every LSU Tiger fan would love to be driving.....or at least THIS Tiger fan would!!  Isn't it just adorable????  If it only didn't have that aggravating little sticker with the $$ on it....:)

On a more serious note, our Mr. B is back in the hospital.  He is having fainting spells, and the vets have found he is very anemic.  Now the quest is on to figure out why.  We are hoping against hope that it is a minor fix and nothing too serious.....sweet boy :)

Keegan News:  He has been sooooo quiet!!!!  I have almost felt (dare I say it?) normal that last few days!!!  So much more energy, less pain, less tingling and numbness.  Today, a bit more of the symptoms are back, but no real surprise there, with all the stress from the Mr. B situation.

I mentioned earlier about taking my fibro much more seriously and I have been doing just that.  Next time I'll start explaining what I mean.

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~

An Epiphany, and Happy Father's Day....

It's been two weeks plus since I wrote here....Life has been busy here!!  Mr. Bentley has been recovering nicely from his surgery, we've had Daughter #2 in for a visit, and Dijon and I will be leaving town tomorrow for a few days.  Never a dull moment around this place!!

And I've been doing an awful lot of thinking about my health.  I've come to realize that for many years, I've merely viewed fibromyalgia as an inconvenience of sorts, an aggravation, an irritant, but maybe not much else.  The last two weeks have shown me how wrong I have been in that thinking.....my fibro is much more than that.

For whatever reason (and for the life of me, I don't know what that is), Keegan is on a roll, and my fibro is flaring something awful lately.  It has been absolutely brutal some days, and I have realized that there truly is something terribly wrong with this body of mine.  I don't know exactly why my body is the way it is....neither do the doctors or researchers.  But there are lots of things that I can do to help reduce the impact of fibro, and ease the symptoms.   I have realized that I haven't taken all of this seriously enough.....I've been very hit and miss, and I'm doing myself no favors.  

So, I'm starting from scratch again....more research, keeping a diary, trying different supplements, exercising.  And recommitting to taking care of me.  I've realized I have to treat Keegan with a bit more respect than I have in the past.  And I'm planning of using the blog to help me with this plan!

*************

On a lighter note, Happy Father's Day to my Dad, my father-in-law, and my Dijon, who is the best dad my two girls could have hoped for!  And to all the dads out there, I hope your day was wonderful!

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~