Good afternoon.
It's a rainy, coooooooool, achy day here in Mass. I have to go to a wedding today, but would rather sit with the cats, a cup of tea and a good book.
How and where is everyone at today???

I'm doin pretty good. Spent most of the weekend with Grand Doody. He's sick so daddy is staying home from work tomorrow and taking him to the doctor.

I'm surprised I don't ache tons from playing with granddoody all weekend. I think my flare is getting better. If I can just settle down this flare that's been happening with my ulcerative colitis I'll be happier. I'd better take more Asacol than I've been taking.

Which reminds me, I better get all my meds in order before taking a 2 week vacation in 2 weeks! Don't wanna be caught without the migraine med. Better remember the antidepressant etc! Yikes that'd be awful not to have meds packed! Egads. Think I'll take them on the plane with me in case luggage takes a different trip. KNOCK ON WOOD!

Seems like my fibro is getting worse day-by-day. Of course we've been having rain off and on for a number of days so that doesn't help.

Hope everyone is having a relatively pain-free day/night.

I'm here and I'm in a flare

Spent all day Sunday at a family function thing.... It took over an hour to get there, then we were there almost all day, then it was over an hours drive home... and all the driving was in heavy rain, with me in the backseat for most of it since we were driving my Gram.

With my anxiety I am a bad passenger in any car at any time - but the backseat makes it worse (harder to see), having my elderly gram in the car makes it worse (someone else to worry about, feel less comforable telling hubby how to drive with gram in the car), and driving on the highway in the rain made it way worse (because the other drivers drive like idiots).

So, every minute in the car was an anxiety nightmare for me, which caused tensed muscles and now I'm in a fibro flare from being tense so much yesterday.

But we did have a good time with my family

I can relate to that Wittesea!

Finally, though, I have figured out I have 2 major flares a year, with what I consider more minor ones in between. My 2 are in fall and spring, like clockwork. I've been in a major one so have been doing all I can to help myself. Lord I love heat on aching legs!

And the car thing. Oi vey. I can't even get in the back seat of a 2 door car! 4 door cars, I'm okay, but the car wouldn't have to even be moving for me to panic in the back of a 2-door car, lol.

This fibro is something. Being diagnosed with it is tough enough, catches ya off guard. But it seems like just when you have it nailed down, something else comes up and after awhile ya go...."Ohhhhhh yeah. That makes sense now...it's..the fibro."

Doody,

I am the same way about the backseat of a 2-door car. I hate it, I feel trapped, I feel panicked, it's sooo hard to get in and out.... and guess what, our car is a 2 door

The only time I ever have to sit in back is when we have my gram - everyone else I make them climb into the back, but no way can I let my 84 year old gram get in the back. If I'm am feeling physically well enough to drive, then I make hubby get in the back, but this past weekend was a nightmare for me so there was no way that I could have driven.

You also mentioned the spring and fall flares - I can relate to that too. Mine are usually in early spring (end of snow, start of rain) and late fall (end of rain, start of snow). But I think this year my fall flare is coming early

My fall flare came early too!!!! Now that's interesting!

I really should keep a calendar of fibro events.

I did start keeping track of when I get those sore throat/flu-like feelings. I get them a lot, but they are gone in a day or 2. But when it happens, I honestly feel like I am going to go down for the count.

I used to keep a pain/symptoms journal that I jotted brief notes in daily to try to track trends and triggers. I used a day planner because it had plenty of space every day to write in.

But I stopped writing in it a few months ago because things were basically the same every day.... but I should start again since things are changing again.

I kept track of...

- pain levels using the 0-10 scale (am, afternoon, evening, bedtime)
- describing words for pain (sharp, dull, ache, etc...)
- body area that hurts
- non-pain symptoms
- my 'as needed" medications (time, dose, how well it worked)
- activities
- weather
- mental well being


It seems like a lot, but it took about 5 minutes a day and I usually took 5 minutes before bedtime to write about the whole day (rather than writing in it through-out the whole day).