1/19/11 Latest finding re: Fibromyalgia from Johns Hopkins &: Forgetfullness
9:45 Mood-- depressed. Everything feels very difficult. I feel tired and weak. I hate to complain. I sound like a complainer and it annoys me. I'm sharing it anyway.
I have been very forgetful these past few days. Unfocused and completely unable to concentrate. Yesterday my boss requested I buy natural candy from Whole Foods and Essene...she wanted to sample what was available before Valentine's Day. I was supposed to buy all the candy I can find and ship it overnight. Natural Valentine's Day candy isn't out yet, so bought about $60 worth of everyday natural candy for her to sample, packed it up in a box with a nice little note explaining which were milk free and which where wheat free, and then dropped it in a Fedex box...without a shipping label. Without a shipping label. I can't believe I did that. Needless to say the box is lost and my boss has no candy to show for her $60. I lost my car for 10 minutes yesterday and today I turned the wrong way down a one way street that I drive every single day. This has to be what Fibro Fog is. I guess the answer is to just be extremely mindful in every task I do. Concentrate really hard on everyday things like driving and parking and shipping a package. Ugh. Disgusted. Sorry to anyone reading...not feeling super positive today.
On another note, Nick's parents sent me an electronic copy of the newest information from John's Hopkins regarding Fibromyalgia. Nick's mom pointed out a really interesting section in the article that compared 2 groups of FM patients and how their workouts helped with their pain levels. One group of FM patients used cardio workouts and the other group used stretching as their workout method. The doctor in this article noted that the patients using cardio "experienced significant improvements in levels of pain," as opposed to the stretchers. I am not going to give up yoga in place of something cardio oriented because I feel the difference in my body when I don't do yoga, and in addition I believe it is helping to regulate all of the other systems in my body. (Read "Yoga Yoga Yoga...Wanna Know Why" if you would like to know what I'm referencing.) And other doctors in the publication said stretching was important...but I definitely want to see how a cardiac workout will affect me. So I'll be adding one more thing to my list of treatment plan to-dos. They also said to limit the work out to something very easy, like walking for 10 minutes and trying to build up over time because overdoing it will create more pain. But they stressed the importance of movement...to exercise at the very least 3 times a week. In ALL case studies the FM patients that did not exercise in some form had much higher levels of pain and mental confusion. I know this to be true. I stopped doing yoga for a week around Christmas and I was so stiff I could barely move.
Something else I read in the publication that was really helpful was to limit the amount of work you do on your "good days" as well as the "bad." Many people with FM will overdo it on the days they feel good and then be bedridden for days afterward as a consequence. They said to try working for 30 minutes and then resting for 30 minutes and to stick to this method on the pain "free" days. I definitely see the benefit of this. Christmas day I was very busy...we had the family over for dinner and while it didn't seem like a ton of work, I was hurting for days afterward. In fact, every time I have a large workload at home or at work it takes me days to recover. They also recommended to switch up the type of work because repetitive movements cause more pain. This is definitely I have felt as well.
Can't concentrate so I hope this 'passage' made sense.
I'm going to change the format of this blog again. I am finding that some people like to read just the main points of each post and some like to follow the more detailed points from the day. I'm going to put the more detailed, personal information at the end of the blog in the "Notes from the day" section. Hope it works for everyone. Thank you so much again for reading!
9:30 pm. Notes from the day: Woke at 7:50. Did 45 minutes of Shiva's Fire practice, meditation and abhyanga. No pranayama. Feel like there is not enough time in the day to do everything. Feeling overwhelmed. CANNOT FOCUS. Stomach is always messed up anymore so I don't even know what to do about my diet. Stiff but no radiating pain. That's what I'm calling it now. There are two types, the stiffness and the radiating/gnawing pain that is just unbearable. That pain has lessened since this whole ordeal started. Thank god. Mood-depressed but thankful for my family. Bedtime: 10:45pm. Late again.
Luke was sick so he came to work with me. When he came to me (in tears) and requested to stay off school I was torn...should I let him or not?? His cough seemed to really hurt him, but maybe he was overly dramatizing his symptoms? I agreed to let him come to work with me on the condition that he read, draw or do homework the entire time...no tv, no ipod, no video games. He agreed. Regardless, he seemed to get better throughout the day. We came home after work and I worked at home the entire night...snaked the bath tub, planted the succulent clippings my mom gave me that were about to die, took down the Christmas tree and all the decorations, set up the MAC comp my mom gave me to get ready for the cable guy tomorrow, and laundry. It was too much work...I can feel it. But Luke insisted on helping the entire time. He wouldn't take no for an answer. He was obviously feeling pretty fine at the end of the night. He did the dishes, helped fold laundry, took the decorations off the tree and vacuumed up all the needles on the entire first floor. It was incredible. He was just so thoughtful and sweet to me. He really is such a good kid. I can't believe it sometimes.
Food:
Lunch:11:00 Rice & Shine with coconut oil, raw milk and maple syrup.
Snack: 3:00 Nitrate free ham sandwich on gluten free bread with veganiase
Snack 4:00 Hot tea with 3 tiny gluten free ginger cookies
Dinner: Super late 8:30 Dal with spinach, carrots and zucchini (took me 5 minutes to remember that zucchini was the other vegetable I used in the Dal last night.)
Dessert: right after dinner 3 gluten free oreo type cookies with hot cinnamon cherry tea
I have been very forgetful these past few days. Unfocused and completely unable to concentrate. Yesterday my boss requested I buy natural candy from Whole Foods and Essene...she wanted to sample what was available before Valentine's Day. I was supposed to buy all the candy I can find and ship it overnight. Natural Valentine's Day candy isn't out yet, so bought about $60 worth of everyday natural candy for her to sample, packed it up in a box with a nice little note explaining which were milk free and which where wheat free, and then dropped it in a Fedex box...without a shipping label. Without a shipping label. I can't believe I did that. Needless to say the box is lost and my boss has no candy to show for her $60. I lost my car for 10 minutes yesterday and today I turned the wrong way down a one way street that I drive every single day. This has to be what Fibro Fog is. I guess the answer is to just be extremely mindful in every task I do. Concentrate really hard on everyday things like driving and parking and shipping a package. Ugh. Disgusted. Sorry to anyone reading...not feeling super positive today.
On another note, Nick's parents sent me an electronic copy of the newest information from John's Hopkins regarding Fibromyalgia. Nick's mom pointed out a really interesting section in the article that compared 2 groups of FM patients and how their workouts helped with their pain levels. One group of FM patients used cardio workouts and the other group used stretching as their workout method. The doctor in this article noted that the patients using cardio "experienced significant improvements in levels of pain," as opposed to the stretchers. I am not going to give up yoga in place of something cardio oriented because I feel the difference in my body when I don't do yoga, and in addition I believe it is helping to regulate all of the other systems in my body. (Read "Yoga Yoga Yoga...Wanna Know Why" if you would like to know what I'm referencing.) And other doctors in the publication said stretching was important...but I definitely want to see how a cardiac workout will affect me. So I'll be adding one more thing to my list of treatment plan to-dos. They also said to limit the work out to something very easy, like walking for 10 minutes and trying to build up over time because overdoing it will create more pain. But they stressed the importance of movement...to exercise at the very least 3 times a week. In ALL case studies the FM patients that did not exercise in some form had much higher levels of pain and mental confusion. I know this to be true. I stopped doing yoga for a week around Christmas and I was so stiff I could barely move.
Something else I read in the publication that was really helpful was to limit the amount of work you do on your "good days" as well as the "bad." Many people with FM will overdo it on the days they feel good and then be bedridden for days afterward as a consequence. They said to try working for 30 minutes and then resting for 30 minutes and to stick to this method on the pain "free" days. I definitely see the benefit of this. Christmas day I was very busy...we had the family over for dinner and while it didn't seem like a ton of work, I was hurting for days afterward. In fact, every time I have a large workload at home or at work it takes me days to recover. They also recommended to switch up the type of work because repetitive movements cause more pain. This is definitely I have felt as well.
Can't concentrate so I hope this 'passage' made sense.
I'm going to change the format of this blog again. I am finding that some people like to read just the main points of each post and some like to follow the more detailed points from the day. I'm going to put the more detailed, personal information at the end of the blog in the "Notes from the day" section. Hope it works for everyone. Thank you so much again for reading!
9:30 pm. Notes from the day: Woke at 7:50. Did 45 minutes of Shiva's Fire practice, meditation and abhyanga. No pranayama. Feel like there is not enough time in the day to do everything. Feeling overwhelmed. CANNOT FOCUS. Stomach is always messed up anymore so I don't even know what to do about my diet. Stiff but no radiating pain. That's what I'm calling it now. There are two types, the stiffness and the radiating/gnawing pain that is just unbearable. That pain has lessened since this whole ordeal started. Thank god. Mood-depressed but thankful for my family. Bedtime: 10:45pm. Late again.
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| Succulent Clippings-just stick em in the dirt and they grow! |
Food:
Lunch:11:00 Rice & Shine with coconut oil, raw milk and maple syrup.
Snack: 3:00 Nitrate free ham sandwich on gluten free bread with veganiase
Snack 4:00 Hot tea with 3 tiny gluten free ginger cookies
Dinner: Super late 8:30 Dal with spinach, carrots and zucchini (took me 5 minutes to remember that zucchini was the other vegetable I used in the Dal last night.)
Dessert: right after dinner 3 gluten free oreo type cookies with hot cinnamon cherry tea
I really sympathize about the fog--I once dropped a fedex package into the UPS drop box right beside the fedex box. Felt the same way.
ReplyDeleteI'm Joy's mom, and we've recognized three generations of this stuff. (sorry if you went over that before.) My mom and I both got over it after a few years, but without the benefit of Ayurvedic guidance--or any other guidance. Changing my diet seemed to do it for me, but the timing could have been coincidental with healing that was going on anyway. The difficulty is that Joy's diet is already sound. Is her condition different than mine was?
One thing I'm sure of--this won't last. But I wish we could learn how to make it all go away!
Chris
Joy- I just want to let you know how much I look forward to reading your blog. It makes me feel closer to you, and that's a gift to me. I'm fascinated to see your thinking processes. You are so eloquent and clear with your descriptions of your condition, your efforts to control/heal it, and your family and relationships. You're in my thoughts/prayers, sweet pea. Namaste.
ReplyDeleteSuzan, your kind words and support mean so much to me. Thank you so much for reading, and sharing. Much love
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, mom! I really should have put that information into the blog!! Anyone reading should also know that my mom, gramma and I all shared these same afflictions after receiving high doses of antibiotics. Anyone see a pattern?
ReplyDelete