I have a question about weather, and how it impacts my body.

Yesterday was the worst pain day of my life. And I'm 60 and I'm telling you, I wanted to punch my own head yesterday. I don't take any pain meds, because I've been able to go about my daily life (with degenerative joint disease and diabetic neuropathy) and deal with the pain.

I used to use a cane (15 years ago), because I was so overweight, my knees could not support me. But I lost all the weight. I exercised. But I still have the degenerative joint disease. I never goes away. As the doctor once tried to drum it into my brain. "Melody, you have degenerative joint disease", hence the word degenerative. You might slow it down, but your joints will degenerate.

Then I got neuropathy. I do the Methyl B-12 thing and honestly, I don't even notice the PN.

Except for yesterday. Yesterday, (the weather went nuts, and went from the 40's to 26) and it snowed during the night.

I have no idea what the heck happened to my body but even my teeth hurt. EVERYTHING HURT. My shoulder, my left wrist, my right knee, and my teeth. And my feet buzzed.

Imagine, having your right wrist throbbing, your knee throbbing and one or two teeth throbbing (all at the same time). Makes no sense. All in sync with each other.

I took 3 (200) ibuprofen, and all that did was give me an upset tummy. I don't have any other type of meds in the house and I have to be forced to even take the ibuprofen. I don't take pain meds. I deal with it. I only get pain when it's cold or humid.

Let's say it was August, and it was 95 degrees outside with no humidity. I would not have anything throbbing, my teeth would be fine, my wrist would be fine, my knee would be fine. Everything would be fine.

But let the weather go from 40's to 20's in the space of a few hours, and my whole body goes through this metamorphasis, well, I don't know how else to explain it.

I have a friend who is 57 years old. Want to know what she told me last night. "My teeth hurt". She said: "I know if my whole mouth hurts, it's my allergies, it's just not a toothache." She takes a pain pill and when the temperature evens out, she's fine.

What the heck does the weather have to with my knee, wrist and teeth aching at the same time.

Oh, the pain in the front of my mouth went away today. Now it's my right knee and the teeth on the left side of my mouth. Some days, (and this is a good one), when my right knee throbs (this is the bad knee), well the back of my mouth (where I don't have any teeth at all), well it acts like I have a tooth ache. And it's only when the weather is nuts.

I'm perfect fine during the summer months.

This thing with the back teeth started to happen 12 years ago. I went to the dentist screaming "Pull out this tooth". He took an x-ray and said "there's nothing wrong with this tooth, I'm not pulling out any healthy tooth. So that tooth is still there, and god forbid the weather goes nuts, the tooth throbs.

One dentist said 'It's inflammation". So what do I have?? Inflammation of the right knee, the wrist, the back of my teeth, (all at the same time???).

Yesterday, I wanted to punch somebody. But last night I was fine. Went to bed (didn't take anything). Slept just fine.

Early today, it started to snow, I went out to make a wash. The snow changed to rain, (which means it was humid), and all of a sudden, my right wrist and right knee (and a bit with the tooth), well everything throbbed.

Right now, I'm just having a bit of a problem with a wrist. But nothing else is throbbing.

Is this what becoming 60 years old and having degenerative joint disease does to a person's body. The WHOLE body goes nuts????.

I won't take ibuprofen unless I HAVE TO!!! I know what it does to the liver.

So I just put ice on whatever is throbbing and I wait for the weather to normalize. Once it stays a certain temperature, I'm just fine.

I can't wait for the spring to come back.

But these 40 degree changing to 26 degree days are absolutely going to do me in.

I wish I was 30 again.

melody