Recently I had been dealing with a fibro flare. I was doing all the usual things to get a handle on it: resting, stretching, not over-doing things, staying hydrated, etc., but the flare just would not give way. I was even waking up In the middle of the night in horrible pain, stressed, chest hurting, etc. Finally I realized that each night I awoke, I had an upcoming event on my mind. I had been dreading the event for weeks. In some ways, my dread was the same as most people would have, however, I had some unique and legitimate reasons for dreading it as well. Now, I have been at this a long time, so saying, “No!” is something I have learned how to do. This, as you will find out later in this series, was not the usual “just say no” type situation. It is actually something I will reschedule in the future. Regardless, it was stressing me out just the same, so I made the decision then and there that I was just not going to do it. I immediately felt better. The flare is not completely over, but I have no doubt that just making my decision will go a long way toward getting past it. Today, no doubt because I am feeling better, it hit me that there is a good blog topic here: Some Not-so-Obvious Causes of Fibro Flares! Because I do not want the blog post to be too long, I am going to break it up into a series of blogs. It will cover a broad range of topics including physical issues, emotional issues, social issues, interpersonal relationship issues, and spiritual issues. I will try not to get into too much “story telling” but I will briefly identify how I determined that each was indeed contributing to a flare, what I found that helped get me past it, and what I have done to try to avoid repeating the same thing in the future. Some may be thinking this will be a waste of time but I assure you fibro flares are not as straight forward as many think. We can probably all agree that family, friends, employers, children, spouses, parents, and even health care providers are often very unaware of things that can bring on a flare. However, I have found that often I have been as oblivious to the obvious as those around me were. Sometimes, even more so. It is my hope that you will get some insight into your own flares during this series. Also, I hope some of you will comment or contact me to share your own discoveries of and solutions for Some Not-so-Obvious Causes of Fibro Flares! Meshea Crysup, fibroLIFE©
11 Comments
When the Optimistic Motivator Feels Pessimistic and Unmotivated As much as I love going on vacation with my husband, I am always anxious to return to my own little world. My Hubby and Cally to care for. My home to keep organized, clean, and comfy. My books and articles to read. My blog to write. My ideas to make tangible. On top of all that--after all those things are not that big--I am going to finally get thin and stay thin. I am going to create the photo books I have collected pics for. I am going to get the clothing I have to give away organized neatly and placed in my car. I am going to file the seven months of bills that are in the very deep desk drawer. I may start sewing again--if my sewing machine miraculously started working again without being taken to the shop, which I meant to do. I may actually work out a song or two on my guitar from the list of songs I have been compiling from every road trip Hubby and I have taken in the last five years or so. Why, I might even sing them in front of people, somewhere, sometime… Well, I am back from vacation. We got back three days ago in fact. Today, I am finally finishing up the laundry from our trip. I need to go to the store, but I am very tired. It can wait; after all, it is just me and Cally the next few days and we can get by. I really should start the re-write of my symptom tracker and coordinate it with my fibroBASICS©, volume one. My head hurts so badly though. I really do need to read all the articles I have saved first anyway. My head is pounding though. I cannot hear the words as I say them silently in my mind. Maybe if I read aloud? No, even my face hurts; my jaws, the muscles of my face, and even behind my eyes. My arms hurt, my fingers hurt, my neck hurts, and my legs have decided to join the party. I am tired. I am always tired. I wake up tired. I sleep and sleep, but I am always tired. Other than the last load of laundry, I have also run the dishwasher and made the bed. Now the tears. I am not going to accomplish anything of value today—again. Wrong! I will rest, get my shower, and make it to my book club. I have a little more than five hours to make that happen. Laundry, bed made, dishwasher ran, and a shower plus book club! It is more than it sounds like, really! I never let people see me without my make up on and my hair done. Really, my accomplishments today will be more than they sound like… Damn tears. Damn pain, fog, fatigue… Damn constant battle with depression. Laundry, bed, dishes, shower, hair, make up, book club—a very busy, successful, rewarding day. Normal, but I am saving the big, “WOW” stuff for tomorrow, or maybe even the next day…or the next… Depends on the pain, fog, and fatigue. They are beyond my control. I refuse to succumb to the depression that comes with them. My value as a person is not contingent on what I can or cannot do. I am a human “being” not a human “doing”. Whew, that is good news because today, again, I think I am done “doing”. Tomorrow will be better! Heck, I might even feel better and break into being a whirlwind this evening after book club! The day is not over yet! The day is not over yet! That is more like it... The day is not over yet... Please click above for article complete with Pictures of Christine's "Dolls and Critters" and for her bio! fibroLIFE Works© is Proud to Feature: Christine Tipp Christine unfortunately LIVES a fibroLIFE© but her fibroLIFE Works©! To keep myself busy, I crochet. I have been crocheting since 1984 and really enjoy it. Now I make custom items for people, which is awesome - I get to do something I love, make a little money doing it, and make other people happy, so it's really a win-win-win! My husband and I also have an eBay store with a wide variety of items in stock. All of this gives me a reason to get up in the morning and try my best every day. My dolls and critters are featured on www.facebook.com/chriscrochetedcreations eBay store address: www.stores.ebay.com/kirkt45 |
Archives
January 2020
|