Sunday, November 25, 2012

Thanksgiving

First of all, on a non-health related topic, to me Thanksgiving is a religious holiday, a time not just for family and food, but also a time of gratitude towards God.  I have a lot to be thankful for over the last couple years.  My mother is now out of pain and resting with Jesus.  My new stepmother and her family are a pretty cool bunch of people.  I am very close to getting my dream farm (planning to close in January.)  My health has improved greatly.  Thank-you God.

My friends are less religious, but I still enjoy cooking for them, so I hold a "Turkey is on Sale" dinner near Thanksgiving for them most years.  (It's not Thanksgiving to me, but it is to some of them.)  Between all the prep for Thursday (just a few dishes and a lot of cleaning) and Saturday (the whole dinner), I was on my feet for large parts of four days.  I went to bed with sore feet each night.  The first couple mornings I woke up refreshed and ready to do it again.  Saturday morning the daily abuse had caught up to me and I was sore to begin with.  I'd work a half hour and rest a half hour until the guests arrived and the pace of food prep sped up.  It went well, but I was pretty much just in the mood to direct my guests rather than be a good hostess by the time dinner was served.  I wasn't so sore as to be grumpy though.  I went to bed an hour early, and got a good night's sleep.  Today one foot seems recovered, but the other is still sore.  Note, I didn't take any of my fibromyalgia medication, my improved sleep quality seems to be enough to help fix me up at night.

One thing that was a bit disappointing about Thanksgiving is that pigging out is not nearly as fun as it used to be.  My stomach has shrunk, and I tend more towards the filling fatty and fibrous foods instead of the fluffy carbs, so I was full before I finished my first plate at both dinners.  Took my time chatting and picking until I cleaned my plate (like my Mommy taught me.)  Seconds had no appeal for me, although I did manage a bit of pie with real cream a few hours later...  I guess it will be easier to not gain weight over the holidays if I can't undo a month of dieting in one day any more...  I suppose that's another thing to be thankful for!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Sleeping?

I often characterize Fibromyalgia as a sleeping disorder.  The doctor that diagnosed me explained that Fibromyalgia patients don't get enough fourth stage sleep, which in turn does not allow their muscles the proper amount of rebuilding time at night.  The medication I (now only occasionally) take helps me sleep deeper and longer, and allows my muscles more time to heal during my sleep.

The last few days a strange thing has been happening.  I have woken up and been alert after 8 hours of sleep, about a half hour before my alarm clock, an hour before I normally get out of bed.  Was my hip adjustment that helpful?  Or is this just an odd phase brought on by the changing of the clocks and a couple early morning appointments?  If this continues, will I still have Fibromyalgia flare-ups when I overdo or get emotional, or will my body have a better mechanism for keeping up with other stresses?

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Still Adapting - Hips

Last month I had a rather drastic and quick adaptation to my knees.  Yesterday, I was clambering around in the back of the tuck herding loose groceries towards the tailgate.  As I got myself down, I was feeling grateful for my improved flexibility and balance.  Then about on the second load of bringing groceries in from the car, my "good" hip started complaining in a whole new way.  Felt like a pinched nerve or something.  I let hubby take my last armful so I could hobble into the house without extra encumbrance.  In about 15 minutes later, it passed, and then later in the evening my "bad" side took up the cause.  It also eased in a little while, and I got a good massage in before bed in the evening.

Today the "bad" hip started up again, although not as strange a pain this time, more like it was just under some odd stress.  I tried rocking away to take the weight off it, and it screamed, so I leaned more weight over on it and it felt almost normal.  I always used to lean to the right, now with this adjustment to my hip I'm standing straight up (so says the pendulum) although I feel like I'm leaning to the left.  It will take time to get used to this...