Handshakes

I was going to write a post about stress, but that one is just going to have to wait a bit. Let's discuss handshakes instead.
Right now my right hand and wrist are throbbing. Thankfully, I have pain killers in my purse, so I know the pain will end soon. This could have been prevented if someone had taken a hint. They bring new hires around at work and introduce them to everyone. This is someone I will probably never see again and will not remember my name 20 minutes from now. Never the less, they are introduced and 9 times out of 10 these new hires want to shake your hand.
Not many people know I have been diagnosed with Fibro here at work. Mainly because I am trying to get ahead and don't want these people thinking I would not be able to do the job. I would not apply for a position I don't think I could physically handle, but I don't need the label stuck on me. I've been trying to come up with different ways to shake hands without subjecting myself to the 7 levels of hell afterwards and for the most part I've found that shaking with my fingertips works best. I might get a strange look, but the people accept the shake and move on.
Of course though, along comes a person that needs to be hit by a clue-by-four and decides they should still give the hearty squeeze and pump my arm up and down. :::sigh::: I know, I'm young-ish...I shouldn't have a problem shaking your hand Mr. New Hire, but for gods sake let go of me before I gnaw my hand off at the wrist!!
So, now I'm going to have to decided do I endure the pain and pop more pills, do I tell people I don't shake hands and get strange looks, or do I start hiding under my desk when I hear them coming around with the new people?

Bookstore Fail

Hubby and I had a date night last night. Nothing big, we went to Outback and had dinner then went over to Border's to browse around.
Now I've been reading a lot online about Fibro, but these websites only have so much bandwidth so they really can't post a book's worth of info on the web. So I've been looking online at books to buy. Unless it's an author I know though, I usually prefer to look at the books before I buy them.
So, last night I wander over to the health section and start looking for the Fibro books. (this is where the fail comes in) Where do I find them? On the shelf that basically sits on the floor. I had to get down on the floor to actually look at them, and the get back up. That's painful!! Yes, the occasional non-fibro person may buy these books, but for the most part it's going to be people with Fibro that want to buy them.
Now I know that the people at Border's did not set out to cause people with Fibro pain, or make things inconvenient for them. They are following some sort of plan-o-gram I'm sure. It just annoys me though that corporate drone-ism overcomes actual caring about the customers and knowing what they sell and why.
Oh-well, I told the guy at the checkout about the bad placement. He said he would tell the manager. Next time I go in we'll see if it did any good.

(cross posted on my old blog)

I was going to write about...???

One the symptoms of Fibro is memory issues. My short term memory has gone to hell in a handbasket. It's made even worse by the fact that I'm ADD so I was always kind of out in la-la land. I've started making lists. I have lists all over the place. But then I have to try and remember where the heck I put the lists. It's a self perpetuating cycle of doom.
I keep a cute pad a paper in my purse so when I'm out and I remember something I can try and write it down. So far I've only remembered once that I actually have a pad of paper with me.
I have post-its all over my desk with notes to myself. Notes to call so and so, noted to check on something in the system, notes to remember something at home. If the environmental people ever get wind about me they are going to stage a protest in my front yard.
The one that is the best though is when I email myself from work to home to try and remember something. I'll read the email and then go downstair to do whatever the note reminded me...forget...go back upstairs re-read the note...go downstairs...it's great exercise. (don't laugh, I've done that twice now)
There was something else I was going to tell you about my notes, but I forgot.

Decisions

The decisions you have to make when newly diagnosed are so much fun!! OK, maybe not. Being newly diagnosed I am on several medications. They are trying different one's out to see what works best for me. Right now the meds make me a little tired and not the shrpest tool in the shed. I also have one that occasionally gives me vertigo.
Today I have an internal job interview. The question is do I take the meds and possibly seem tired or do I not take the meds and be in pain and possibly distracted by that. Choices choices!!

Diagnosis

From what I understand, my diagnosis was pretty easy. I've heard about people being mis-diagnosed for years...or worse being told it was all in their heads. Which is what I thought it was with me. I figured I was just getting older, the pain wasn't that bad, I'm focusing too much on it...and so on. It took over year of being in pain before I finally made a doctor's appointment. What finally made me do it was the realization that if everyone was in that much pain as they got older we would have a lot less old people running around and assisted suicides would be much more acceptable.
So, off to the doctor I went. I presented it in an off-hand manner as I was sure I was going to be told to suck it up and get on with life. Much to my surprise my doctor started asking different questions and poking at different parts of me. The questions I didn't mind, the poking hurt and made me pretty cranky by the end of the appointment. When he finished he told me I might have Fibromyalgia and asked if I had ever heard of it. Nope, I was clueless. He gave me a basic rundown and told me he was refering me to a rheumatologist. Oh goody, more doctors.
When I went home I looked up Fibromyalgia and this is what I found out. Fibromyalgia syndrome affects the muscles and soft tissue. Fibromyalgia symptoms include chronic pain in the muscles, fatigue, sleep problems, and painful tender points or trigger points at certain parts of the body.
I went to the rheumatologist and he poked at all of the tender points. I had promised myself a margarita later that night if I didn't get cranky with doctor for just doing his job. Out of the 18 tender points, I had 16 so the doctor says I definitly have Fibromyalgia. The rheumatologist also said I have some arthritis, he is trying to determine what type.
So now I have a diagnosis. On one hand it's nice to know I'm not losing what little sanity I have left. On the other there is no real cure for Fibro and that is disheartening. Like many things in life though, this is a fight, and I refuse to lose. So, I started this blog for my own theraputic benefits, but also in hopes that others out there will stop by and tell me their stories, what has or hasn't worked for them, and to add my voice to internet to help bring about awareness.

Current Medications:
Daily vitamins
Chantix 1mg twice a day- Yeah for quitting smoking
Tramadol 50mg tablets 1 to 2 tabs every 4 to 6 hours for pain
Trazodone 50mg tablets 2 before bed
Diclofenac Sodium Tablets 75mg 1 tablet twice a day

Under Construction

This site is under construction and should be up and running sometime in the next week or so.
Thanks for stopping by!