Strange Signs of Fibrofuckingmyalgia

My intent with this blog was to share the life I'm living with fibrofuckingmyalgia- hence the name of this blog- because I wanted people who are experiencing this to know they're not alone. Even though it does little to actually help, it does lift the spirits a bit to know that there are others who are going through the weirdness that you are. I'm not out to share tons of links or suggest treatments or anything else- I just want you to know that you're not alone. You're not alone and there are other people living with the same crap you are.

I received an email today from "Everyday Health". And it included a very interesting and helpful link. Six Strange Signs of Fibrofuckingmyalgia (I may have altered the title slightly)

Since I'm fond of talking about myself- as this blog so clearly proves- I'm going to break this down by the signs...

1. Allodynia. This is where it is painful to be touched by another. Some fibro sufferers are cool with it and even get massage. Lucky them. I don't get much physical affection around the house, so I don't rightly recall when this started for me. But you know, if your significant other is working at the computer or something and you walk up behind them and rub their shoulders? Yeah, don't do that to me. Especially not today. I'm only upright and dressed because I have shit to do and that shit don't get done if I'm curled up naked under my fuzzy fleece blanket. Sorry for that mental image. Hey, you knew what you were getting into by reading my blog.

2. Sensitivity to fragrance. I don't really have this one. I also have allergies that I take 10 mgs of Loratadine every day for, so fragrances have to be really intense for it to bother me. I do have the sensitivity to the light thing and I wear sunglasses when I go outside, even if it's cloudy. And here I always thought it was because I was partially vampire. I don't know how one becomes partially vampiric, but I assume the type of vampire that I am partly is a chocolate vampire.

3. Fibro fog. Oh, if you have fibrofuckingmyalgia, you're familiar with this one. Mine usually takes the form of suddenly forgetting how to spell a word. You see, I'm one of "those people" who dislikes misspellings. I feel the urge to take a red marker to the people on the Internet and after correcting their mistakes, writing a big red "F" at the top of their Facebook pages. Also part of this- I forget small things, usually multi-detailed things. I hate that.

4. Paresthesia. I actually didn't know that this had a name. My fingers and hands constantly get all tingly/numb. And my right foot. The top of my right foot, near the big toe and the weird second toe all the way up to the ankle. It is a very off-putting sensation. Not exactly painful, but it damn sure isn't comfortable. As I type this, my middle, ring, and pinky fingers on my right hand are mostly numb. The index finger and the thumb are at that tingly-painful stage.

5. Lipomas. I have no idea if I have this problem. My entire body is a huge fatty tissue, so finding that needle in a pile of needles is kind of hard to do.

6. Excessive sweating. Psh. I'm also in the throes of peri-menopause, who can tell "excessive sweating" from a freakin' hot flash?

Today is a nine on the pain scale. My skin hurts, it itches, and my weird pinched nerve is pinched like it is stuck in a vise grip. You see, 21 years ago, the disabled guy was not disabled and he was deployed for the Persian Gulf War (that's the First Gulf War for all you kids who dozed off in history class and missed the twenty second discussion of the "three-day war" in 1991) and I pulled a muscle, resulting in a pinched nerve in my upper back. I did this by picking up my then-17 month old baby. She's twenty-two years old now. I don't pick her up anymore, unless she needs a ride somewhere and I'm driving. But back then, with this pinched nerve, I had to wear a sling for six weeks. Six weeks with one hand and a baby to take care of. Of course, the disabled guy lives with only the use of one arm and has for the last seventeen years. But this isn't about him, there is a blog for that. A lot like this one, but with way less swearing.

But now, I've got shit to do... but like any good chocolate vampire, I'll take a break as needed and self-medicate with Cadbury. Not that American crap, the real deal- Australian Cadbury.