Mibrofyalgia

I’ve been doing some reading and internet surfing and discovered a few things I didn’t know about Fibromyalgia, which are very interesting.  It would seem the current thinking is now that Fibro is caused by trauma to the Central Nervous System (CNS) which could be for example a knock on the head, a neck injury, a virus or severe stress.  Now that there are much more precise imaging techniques (qEEG, fMRI, PET scans etc) for looking at the brain they have found abnormalities there in people with Fibro. There is a technique called brain mapping where a qEEG(quantitative Electroencaphalogram) is used to map abnormal activity in the brain, this information is then used to apply the most appropriate treatments.

Here are some links to what I found if you’re interested-

http://www.ei-resource.org/articles/fibromyalgia-articles/fibromyalgia-pain-isnt-all-in-patients-heads-new-brain-study-finds/

http://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900%2808%2900650-0/abstract

http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_brain.html

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0005224

www.fmpartnership.org/documents/Post-Traumatic_FM2.doc

I’ve discovered that I really like hot chocolate and that if I have one in the morning it helps me feel a bit better, I have no idea why apart from the caffeine and enjoyment of a nice hot drink.  I try not to have more than 2 of a morning though because then I get a bit jittery and overexited!

There’s snow here and I went outside to walk to the local shop and it’s icy cold and very slippery.

I managed about an hours worth of painting yesterday, which I was very pleased about.  I just worked on one painting in the end, an oil painting of a waterfall that I’ve been working on for a while.  It was good fun and I got a reasonable amount done.  After about an hour my neck was sore and my concentration gone so I tidied up feeling pleased that I had managed it

Today I’m going to do some painting, I haven’t done any since last Tuesday and even then I didn’t do much!  My neck has been very sore which gets worse if I paint but it’s feeling a little better now and I’m keen to do something arty.  I think I’m going to work on two different paintings I’ve got on the go at the moment, a watercolour of a waterfall and an oil of the Trossachs in central scotland, its a mountain with the sun shining through the clouds and grasses and flowers in the foreground (I took the reference photo last summer).   I work quite slowly and in a reasonable amount of detail (as much as my eyesight and brushes will let me) and I’m not very good at finishing off paintings at the moment which means I’ve got several half finished ones on the go.  This is kind of a good thing because it means I have a choice of what to work on 

I’ve just been doing some reading on the internet about fibromyalgia and came across a doctor who thinks the muscle pain involved is due to inactivity….aaarrggghhhh…that fills me with furious anger!  When I first became ill I had been a very active person, going for an hour and a half hill walk most days and I was very fit, how dare he suggest it’s due to inactivity?  I’m usually quite laid back (well at least I like to think so!} but that attitude and ignorance fills me with rage.  There are so many people with fibro who were previously very active and fit, it’s insulting to be told it’s because you didn’t do enough exercise and if that were the case there would be a sh** load more people with fibro.

Rant over!

Today I’m going to buy my Christmas food.  I hope the shops are kind of not too busy (I can always dream!).  The real thing is what to get?  I don’t want turkey (too big) I would quite like duck or a ham (harder to get hold of).  Then there’s all the trimmings and of course I can’t forget cheap plonk to make mulled wine!  I also need to remember to get food for the days after Christmas because I always forget that the shops are closed.

I’m currently in the midst of a fibromyalgia flare up.  My neck, shoulders and back are seized up and very sore, my hands and ankles are sore and I’m, to be frank, absolutely knackered.  Sleep doesn’t help and it’s frustrating to wake up more tired than I was when I went to sleep.  I even know why I’m in this state, it’s because a few days ago I was high and totally overdid it.  Instead of pacing myself I scampered about town up and down hills, knowing at the back of my mind that “I shouldn’t be doing this” and that I was hurting but I did it anyway.  My rebellious streak was a mile wide that day!  Now I’m suffering the consequences.  Still a part of me thinks “it’s not fair” and that why should I not do “normal” things when I’m feeling good?  Because I feel like S*** for many days afterwards that’s why!  The moral of the story….take it easy!!

I’ve just woken up and been unable to get back to sleep so I got up only to discover it’s 4.30am, aarrgghhhh.  Luckily one of my cats is keeping me company   What a silly time of day to be up!

The Monster Magnet gig at the Garage in Glasgow was fantastic!!  We got seats (bonus!) right at the front and to the side and had a great view.  The two support acts were very good, especially the Lions who were really awesome (and quite drunk).  Monster Magnet were on fire and did a great show.  They did my two favourite songs near the start so the rest was just icing on the cake.

My hip was much improved by the time of the gig.  I slept for most of yesterday and now feel relatively normal again.

Well chuffed

I’m going to a gig tonight (a birthday present) and am starting to get quite excited.  I haven’t been to a gig in a long time.  I’m going to see the band Monster Magnet.  I’ve seen them once before and they were awesome and put on a very polished show.

My one concern is that I’ve somehow hurt my left hip whilst asleep last night, I fell asleep on one of those 7ft beanbags and woke up at 3am and could barely walk.  At that point I went to bed and thought it would be fine in the morning.  It’s better but still sore, hmmm…I’m hoping that there are chairs at the gig…probably not??  Oh well it’ll be an adventure!