Everything I learned about fibro stress triggers.....
..I learned in the last month. The month of May has been, hands down, the most difficult month that I think that I've ever experienced. Being away from home and hearth, health problems on both sides of the family and that great equalizer, death being a huge part of the month...yeah, I'm over it.
The month of May was pretty much the wind down for me and my travelling the world. I was able to stay with my Mom while she had her back surgery and then some of the recovery time, which was a good thing. Dad was able to keep working so he didn't lose any time at all really. I was able to help Mom out with the things that she normally would be able to do for herself, and helped her to keep track of the medication that made her a bit loopy and a tad forgetful. This was a good thing, but a little bit stressful, so bring on a flare up. Nothing to write home about and pretty much controllable with Advil, but flareup nonetheless.
The end of April and the beginning of May also brought car troubles. Chris' Mustang decided that it wanted to overheat and the mechanic was pretty much guessing as to what was the problem. When I ended up getting involved long distance, since I am the pseudo-mechanic in the family, my bp rose and of course, so did the fibro. Again, the Advil did its job well, but I had to add in the vicodin come arguing with the mechanic long distance time. There is nothing more exciting than telling a mechanic that he doesn't know an oil filter from a spark plug if he thinks the computer is what is making the antifreeze leak all over the floor. There's a leak, for crying out loud! Find the source and fix it! Sheesh!
Once that was resolved, the very next day we found out that my Father-in-Law had had a stroke. He already had been battling dementia for the last year and a half, this was not the best of news. After looking at the flights home it was determined that I was stuck in Arizona for another weekend and unable to get home before that. At this point, my neck, back, and both shoulders had decided that knotting the muscles was good exercise. I disagreed, but my opinion really didn't matter. Vicodin again. This was not good. Praise God for my Dad! His mechanic friend had just acquired a 1973 Ford F100 that was mostly good to go. The price was good and getting it road ready for the most part would only take a day. However, when I saw it, my stress level went through the roof! A faded mint green farm truck rolls up in his driveway. I guess that I had forgotten what the model year looked like because I could feel my eyebrows dancing in my hairline. Oh, boy.....massive prayers went up asking God if He was sure this is how He wanted me to get home....Somehow, I could see in my mind's eye God smiling and nodding knowing that this was something I could definitely handle and maybe have fun fixing it up as well. Me, well, I wasn't so sure, but I took the peace, calmness and assurance to be my indication that this was the way to go. Once it was road ready, we were on our way. Stress level, surprisingly was at zero and the ride to El Paso was a very good one, albeit tiring.
Getting into El Paso brought the stress up again. Not so much about the fact that PopPop was in a nursing facility, but the fact that my stupid rear view mirror refused to stick to the windshield. I got to the point that I decided that I was going to use super glue, which worked until I got home and it promptly fell off again. The visit with PopPop was good even though it was a difficult one. Again, a small flare up, but totally controllable without the vicodin.
When the day came a week ago that we found out that PopPop went to be with his Lord and Chris went down to El Paso to be with his Mom, I found that the flareup was going to be a doozy. My back and neck felt like they were in a vise and I felt like I was catching the flu, without any of the symptoms except for the body aches. Lots of Epsom soaks and Advil got me through that. Then my ear decided to back up and my hearing was diminished which really tried to set off the fibro, until I decided that it was a pretty decent thing because I could only hear half of what Andrea was babbling about. As long as there was a "uh huh", "yeah", "no" and "I don't think so" in there on occasion I think it went fairly well. When we got to Memorial Day, it was a really tough day at Church, since PopPop served his Country not only in the Army, but with the Customs Service and the Forest Service. I was never so proud to stand up in representation not only for my Son-in-Law, but also for PopPop.... and the fibro came to call as well.
Monday found Andrea and me out looking for a puppy to bring my zoo to a semi-equal level. I mean, I have cats, which Chris is OK with, but he likes dogs better. I thought we found the perfect fit when we found Kona and so we brought her home. She was a joy to have around, she got along well with the cats and was just generally a sweet puppy. Wednesday came along and she developed a fever and diarrhea. My mind shouted out that there was a problem, which I addressed, but I dismissed the notion that we had a really big problem. When we were able to get her to see the vet, it was too late, she was almost gone so they took her to the back after Andrea and I said our goodbyes. Parvo had taken its toll on another innocent puppy. Since then, the fibro has been nonstop. This flareup has been going since technically Saturday when we found out about PopPop passing and got worse with Kona's passing. I have been busy systematically bleaching everything that I can and when I finish with that, I will take another chemical to remove the remainder of the virus from my home and vehicle. I feel like I've been run over by a semi numerous times. I can't sleep well because the RLS is kicking in and sometimes the sheets feel like they have needles in it. Laying down hurts. Standing hurts. Sitting hurts. My hair hurts. The fibro fog has rolled in like crazy and me without a light house and foghorn to get through it. Showers are an adventure because it feels sometimes like my skin is being ripped off and drying my hair for the most part is left to Andrea. She enjoys the task and really enjoys leaving my bangs in my face, but at least I don't have to try to reach above my head. My hands and feet are swollen and my head feels like its a sixteen pound or better bowling ball balancing on my spinal cord. I'm tired and ready for this to be over. Grieving over our losses is not helping to alleviate the stress.
So, I think I am going to try to destress in the only ways that I know how...reading, sewing, crocheting when I can and enjoying each and every day....and maybe purchasing double-sided tape to try to get the cats to stop scratching things and then watching them try to get it off of their paws. That's always good for a guffaw or two, and I will try to remember, that these flare-ups too, will pass.
Have a blessed week, everyone.
The month of May was pretty much the wind down for me and my travelling the world. I was able to stay with my Mom while she had her back surgery and then some of the recovery time, which was a good thing. Dad was able to keep working so he didn't lose any time at all really. I was able to help Mom out with the things that she normally would be able to do for herself, and helped her to keep track of the medication that made her a bit loopy and a tad forgetful. This was a good thing, but a little bit stressful, so bring on a flare up. Nothing to write home about and pretty much controllable with Advil, but flareup nonetheless.
The end of April and the beginning of May also brought car troubles. Chris' Mustang decided that it wanted to overheat and the mechanic was pretty much guessing as to what was the problem. When I ended up getting involved long distance, since I am the pseudo-mechanic in the family, my bp rose and of course, so did the fibro. Again, the Advil did its job well, but I had to add in the vicodin come arguing with the mechanic long distance time. There is nothing more exciting than telling a mechanic that he doesn't know an oil filter from a spark plug if he thinks the computer is what is making the antifreeze leak all over the floor. There's a leak, for crying out loud! Find the source and fix it! Sheesh!
Once that was resolved, the very next day we found out that my Father-in-Law had had a stroke. He already had been battling dementia for the last year and a half, this was not the best of news. After looking at the flights home it was determined that I was stuck in Arizona for another weekend and unable to get home before that. At this point, my neck, back, and both shoulders had decided that knotting the muscles was good exercise. I disagreed, but my opinion really didn't matter. Vicodin again. This was not good. Praise God for my Dad! His mechanic friend had just acquired a 1973 Ford F100 that was mostly good to go. The price was good and getting it road ready for the most part would only take a day. However, when I saw it, my stress level went through the roof! A faded mint green farm truck rolls up in his driveway. I guess that I had forgotten what the model year looked like because I could feel my eyebrows dancing in my hairline. Oh, boy.....massive prayers went up asking God if He was sure this is how He wanted me to get home....Somehow, I could see in my mind's eye God smiling and nodding knowing that this was something I could definitely handle and maybe have fun fixing it up as well. Me, well, I wasn't so sure, but I took the peace, calmness and assurance to be my indication that this was the way to go. Once it was road ready, we were on our way. Stress level, surprisingly was at zero and the ride to El Paso was a very good one, albeit tiring.
Getting into El Paso brought the stress up again. Not so much about the fact that PopPop was in a nursing facility, but the fact that my stupid rear view mirror refused to stick to the windshield. I got to the point that I decided that I was going to use super glue, which worked until I got home and it promptly fell off again. The visit with PopPop was good even though it was a difficult one. Again, a small flare up, but totally controllable without the vicodin.
When the day came a week ago that we found out that PopPop went to be with his Lord and Chris went down to El Paso to be with his Mom, I found that the flareup was going to be a doozy. My back and neck felt like they were in a vise and I felt like I was catching the flu, without any of the symptoms except for the body aches. Lots of Epsom soaks and Advil got me through that. Then my ear decided to back up and my hearing was diminished which really tried to set off the fibro, until I decided that it was a pretty decent thing because I could only hear half of what Andrea was babbling about. As long as there was a "uh huh", "yeah", "no" and "I don't think so" in there on occasion I think it went fairly well. When we got to Memorial Day, it was a really tough day at Church, since PopPop served his Country not only in the Army, but with the Customs Service and the Forest Service. I was never so proud to stand up in representation not only for my Son-in-Law, but also for PopPop.... and the fibro came to call as well.
Monday found Andrea and me out looking for a puppy to bring my zoo to a semi-equal level. I mean, I have cats, which Chris is OK with, but he likes dogs better. I thought we found the perfect fit when we found Kona and so we brought her home. She was a joy to have around, she got along well with the cats and was just generally a sweet puppy. Wednesday came along and she developed a fever and diarrhea. My mind shouted out that there was a problem, which I addressed, but I dismissed the notion that we had a really big problem. When we were able to get her to see the vet, it was too late, she was almost gone so they took her to the back after Andrea and I said our goodbyes. Parvo had taken its toll on another innocent puppy. Since then, the fibro has been nonstop. This flareup has been going since technically Saturday when we found out about PopPop passing and got worse with Kona's passing. I have been busy systematically bleaching everything that I can and when I finish with that, I will take another chemical to remove the remainder of the virus from my home and vehicle. I feel like I've been run over by a semi numerous times. I can't sleep well because the RLS is kicking in and sometimes the sheets feel like they have needles in it. Laying down hurts. Standing hurts. Sitting hurts. My hair hurts. The fibro fog has rolled in like crazy and me without a light house and foghorn to get through it. Showers are an adventure because it feels sometimes like my skin is being ripped off and drying my hair for the most part is left to Andrea. She enjoys the task and really enjoys leaving my bangs in my face, but at least I don't have to try to reach above my head. My hands and feet are swollen and my head feels like its a sixteen pound or better bowling ball balancing on my spinal cord. I'm tired and ready for this to be over. Grieving over our losses is not helping to alleviate the stress.
So, I think I am going to try to destress in the only ways that I know how...reading, sewing, crocheting when I can and enjoying each and every day....and maybe purchasing double-sided tape to try to get the cats to stop scratching things and then watching them try to get it off of their paws. That's always good for a guffaw or two, and I will try to remember, that these flare-ups too, will pass.
Have a blessed week, everyone.
Comments
Post a Comment