Living with Fibromyalgia

I have Fibromyalgia.

Sometimes that particular phrase is really hard to say for me. In a lot of ways it stigmatizes me. In other ways it opens the flood gates to commentary. These have ranged from people who believe that I am desperate for attention to those who believe they have the solution for my ‘problem’, even if the Doctor doesn't. What that phrase also does is open the doorway for people who may be in the same situation as myself, and wondering if they are alone.I've tried lots of cures, diet changes, miracles, and it took me a while to realize that this syndrome is a part of me, but it's not me. So I decided to live my life.

Fibro has gotten a lot of press in the last couple years, which I am grateful for since it means that I don’t have to go through a “is it catching” moment, but since what most people know about it appears in a Cymbalta commercial I’ll give you a quick definition from the National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association. Since Symptoms vary from person to person this is just a generalization.

Fibromyalgia (pronounced fy-bro-my-AL-ja) is a common and complex chronic pain disorder that affects people physically, mentally and socially. Fibromyalgia is a central nervous system illness[…] Fibromyalgia, which has also been referred to as fibromyalgia syndrome, fibromyositis and fibrositis, is characterized by chronic widespread pain, multiple tender points, abnormal pain processing, sleep disturbances, fatigue and often psychological distress. For those with severe symptoms, fibromyalgia can be extremely debilitating and interfere with basic daily activities. Chronic widespread body pain is the primary symptom of fibromyalgia. Most people with fibromyalgia also experience moderate to extreme fatigue, sleep disturbances, sensitivity to touch, light, and sound, and cognitive difficulties. Many individuals also experience a number of other symptoms and overlapping conditions[…]

Please believe me…that is the short definition. So what is fibro like for me? Well, I experience on a daily basis mild to severe chronic pain, fatigue, fibro fog (memory issues), headaches, TMJ and a variety of other little gifts the fibro fairy left me. I used to be really bad. My first flare sent me to bed for several weeks and for a while I couldn’t do more than go to work. Now I’m managing my pain without medication, which means I have my bad days but also means that I can live a pretty normal life.  I would love to run every day like I used to or take a spin class, but the pain afterwards has always been too extreme. I take walks and I like to bike ride every once in a while which is totally fun. Exercise is kind of that hurdle I’d like to jump, but gently…maybe I’ll just step over it. Lol. I had a hard time because I gained weight because it was hard to move, let alone take the steps towards trying to exercise. Recently I realized that it doesn’t matter. I’m happy and I’m working at my own pace. Eventually I hope to get better at this whole trying to be healthy thing but for right now I’m okay with who I am.

I, personally, consider myself lucky. (Strange but true.) I have the ability to get out of bed every day, work a full time job, I have an amazingly understanding husband and family, and an amazing set of friends. I don’t get to do everything I want, but I get to do sooo much. My fibro is not as severe as it has been and while I have had drastic life style changes, I think I can live with them.

So, I have fibro. I also garden, work full time, go to school part time, I’m married and I have dreams of owning our own farm someday and being a stay-at-home mom. I know how much work it will be and far from being scared and hesitant I’m really excited! Mine is not a story of how I overcame an illness or how I’m a success. This is about me living my life. I wanted to share with you a little bit of my story because we all have our own hurdles, and no matter what they are we have the ability to try and get over them. Yes we may get stuck, we may falter and, hell, we may fail but that’s okay too. We’re trying. Hopefully, I’ll remember that.

Be Prepared

At 5:00am, disheveled and annoyed at myself for not paying attention to my need for sleep, I rolled out of bed and wandered into the living room. The decision to leave the playpens set up was brilliant and all I have to do is open the rabbit cages and let them out. I can’t believe I used to get up at 3:00am to work in a Bakery…I classify that job as one of the really stupid ideas I’ve had since I graduated college and went back to culinary school. The rabbit’s water changed and their food refreshed, my hands adequately nibbled from cleaning their “bedrooms” and receiving my morning growl (Astor HATES having his cage cleaned or being picked up or my hands in the cage or…) I’m free to head back to bed and lightly nap while waiting for the alarm to go off.

At least that’s what I thought. The hiccoughing in the bedroom can only mean the cat is being sick on the rug. Blerg…I really hate that. I think the cat hates it too if we’re being honest. Since MAE is really furry she tends to cough up hairballs, even if we have her on petromalt.

Once that is taken care of I hear a crash in the living room…Eisley has discovered a ‘way out’ by knocking over the playpen I thought I have secured but didn’t. This results in a 20 minute game of chase the bunny that ends with me clutching my stubbed toe with one hand and the bunny in the other.

Sometimes I wonder if somewhere there is someone else in the world who does what I do every morning. I stare at the bunnies now secure, and the cats watching them intently and mutter “I’m going to trade you guys in for a dog. At least I’d get out more.”

Some people would take advantage of being up early, make a really nice breakfast and enjoy it on the balcony. Me and extremely disheveled 80’s hair head back to bed without a second thought. Did I tell you that I wasn’t a morning person? I am most defiantly not! Asking me if I plan on waking up before 9:00 am is like asking if I’d like to have my brain stirred with a spork…the answer would be a big fat no! The problem I think is that I do amazing well at night. I have always said if I could set my own hours I would head into work at 4:00pm and end at midnight. For some reason that’s when my mind wants to do complicated things like calculate the tax of a $154.99 purchase in the state of California. (It’s $12.01 just in case you were wondering.)

Unfortunately, life doesn’t allow me to set my own hours and in the case of bunny rabbits, cat fur balls, and my mother calling at 7:00am on a Saturday I just have to wake up and be prepared for anything. Now that is something I know a lot of people do!

Raising Rabbits

Two very spoiled buns sitting with me while I watch MonsterQuest.

I think we were on the giant hogs episode but I can't remember.

When you find the sweet spot on a rabbit you know. They go all melty.

This is my monday update, because I'll be honest ...this is what I did this weekend.

I just love these little guys!

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Hodge Podge Friday - Garden Update + Recipe

This Hodge Podge Friday a garden update and a recipe. Sun Tea Arnold Palmer anyone?

Swiss Chard that  somehow ended up in between our boxes. It seems to be going really well so we left it.  It's turned into Godzilla now and is dwarfing everything around it. It's really yummy too!

Lettuse box with what I believe are Sun Berries? which are supposed to look like a tomato plant but ripen red and taste really sweet. Nothing has ripened yet but we seem to have a bunch of little berry things on it. I'll be glad if they end up being cherry tomatoes too, but I'm hoping!

The squash has gone INSANE! I thought they were going to die and now look at the damn thing. It's taken over everything in the box. We just planted some melons so I hope they aren't choked out.

The  corn patch has finally reached 8 feet. Unfortunately I have no idea when it comes to corn so we're playing by ear. HAHAHAH okay that was a bad joke, but honestly I can't figure out when I'm supposed to pick it and the snails/slugs are all over these guys. We can only hope they will ripen before eaten.

Mason Jar Arnold Palmer

You'll need:

a mason jar with a good lid - one per drink

tea bags - 1 per jar

1 cup lemon juice and lemons for garnish

LOTS of water

1 cup sugar

Let's Get Started!

In the morning fill the mason jar a little over halfway with water and add the tea bags. Put on your lid and make sure it's tight. Let this sit on your porch or a windowsill in the sun until you get home from work or doing chores.

Before leaving for the day make some homebrewed lemonade. You'll need plenty of lemon juice and sugar. 1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup),1 cup lemon juice,3 to 4 cups cold water, Mix well and place in the fridge to get cold.

When you get back after a couple hours the tea should be nice and steeped. Pull out the tea bags and add lemonade leaving room for ice if you'd like. Pull up a chair on the porch and enjoy!  It's great for hot afternoons and is wonderful for individual servings. If you'd like to make more than one you'll need more jars and tea bags. I usually make a couple of jars of 1/2 sun tea and pull out the bags at the end of the day and then place the jars in the fridge. This means that I have pre-ready tea in a cold cup ready for the week!

ENJOY!!

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Rain, Rain please stay and play....

This morning I woke up and got dressed unaware that something amazing was happening outside. While for many people rain right now is not something to amaze, in Southern California in July rain is a sincere blessing. Especially when the temp is low and my seedlings are getting respite from the 80*+  weather we have had.

There are a lot of people who don't believe in climate change but compared to my childhood, this weather is extremely odd. Yesterday the desert had 100* temps and today it gets a cloud burst. My mother keeps talking about moving some of her more delicate plants to the shade and then the shade comes to her. In any case this weird weather lasted only a couple hours. By noon the sun was poking through the clouds and now it's a beautiful day with nary a cloud in the sky.

At lunch we headed over to garden and saw that the tomato plant which had been showing signs of blight, was starting to turn. So we made a scramble for the last of the green tomatoes and put them aside, and then pulled the plant. It was such a shame, a beautiful plant gone. We picked about 10 pounds of green tomatoes that I will be turning into fried green tomatoes and maybe try my hand at pickled tomatoes. I'm looking foward to the fried green tomatoes and to be honest they are my second favorite fried food next to fried zuchinni. Give me southern food any day!

We got some really good squash plants going with the tiny squash shaped like flying saucers, I think they are called patty pan. They are sooo cute growing on the vine and make a wonderful addition to dinner.There's also some lettuce we pulled today that was about to bolt. So what's for dinner tonight? Well we're looking at a salad, squash, fried green tomatoes and maybe a little mac and cheese if I'm feeling up to making it! Yumm! I'm starting to get hungry. I better get started!

Bee-a-thon!

Kitty Bunny Love