Forever!!!!

     It has been a long time since I have been here, seems like forever.  It has been a crazy ride.  My son started football.  Practice at 7 am.  REALLY!!!  For those of us that have insomnia and don't get any sleep, 7 am is a horrible time.  So for 3 weeks in a row, he had to be at football camp/practice and 7 am.  then scrimmages on the weekend.  Bring that along with little sleep, a whole lot more moving around, being stuck in the car, school shopping, open house at school and just in general trying to get the last bit of summer in, Pain levels were and still are through the roof.  I have done very little on the computer for in those weeks.  It simply just hurt to much to even type.
     The one good thing that did happen in that time is my insurance company finally decided that they would approve my Cymbalta and I am back on it.  Now, we are slowly working at getting it back to the right levels so  it works the best the best for me.  Of course it is a slow process, but I can tell you, if I was not on the Cymbalta, I would not be moving at all.  I am still a bit worried about the cost since we have such a high deductible, but being able to get out of bed sometimes is worth it.
     I am also still waiting to hear something, anything from disability.  I have had to fill out two additional papers since my original form and they were obtaining my medical records.  I am hoping to hear from them soon, at least with some tidbit of info.  It truly is a shame that it takes so long for them to take care of all of this, especially since most of the time people truly need financial and medical assistance it will afford them.  I have my fingers crossed and keep praying.  I just keep doing what I can.
     With the weather change and the humidity dropping, things have also been a bit easier on me.  Outside is not quite as exhausting as it was.  I can actually sit outside in the sun for a bit and not feel like I am drained because the humidity took all my energy.  It has quieted down around my house as well.  Living in a beach resort town, things are quite crazy from mid may to Labor Day.  Weekends may be a bit crazy yet, especially this weekend since it is Delmarva Bike Weekend.  This is the weekend where the area is invaded by every kind of motorcycle you can imagine.  It is always a whole lot of fun to see all of the bikes, see them all cleaned up, decked out, and hear them roar down the road.  It also means a bunch of my friends from up home in PA will be heading down to join the festivities.  I hope I get to meet up with a couple of them to at least just say hi.  Of course, I don't have a motorcycle, I don't have enough balance, or strength, but I do totally like the tricycle ones.  Maybe someday, lol.
     Well, that is all that has happened since the last time I posted.  A whole lot of rest, and very little of anything else.  Hoping to keep up the best I can.  How have you been?   I hope all is well for you.

Ten on Tuesday!!!! 7-5-2011

Ok, I am running just a few minutes late on getting this on the page, but I am still going to do it.  I am still having a bit of a crazy time with all the medicine changes and the headaches/migraines have been out of control since the doctor has decided to now take away the new medicine and not replace it.  So let me tell you it has been quite a crazy couple of weeks.  Throw in there, the July 4th holiday and visitors at my house from out of town for the last 13 days straight, I am totally wiped out and in need of a massive break.  Don't get me wrong, I loved having friends here, and can't wait til more get here, but we all know, with the exhaustion and pain, you wear out easy and extra people, simply means extra exhaustion.  So today, I have decided to try and make it simple.  I am going to simply show you 10 pictures of my favorite people, that have visited me so far this year!!!

1. My GRANDSON , oh yeah and my son

2. My nieces and nephew

3. My Cousin and her family

this is an older picture, not while they were at my house, but they were not all down at the same time, so I wanted a group picture of them, lol.

4.  My son Donovan's friends Jesse and Christian, both are just like another one of my kids!

5. Will and Mandy, Shaun and Helena  

   my adopted kids.....

6. Ronnie and Damien Finch 

friends of my boys from way back!

7.  Denise Zimmerman and Friends ( Denise is coming down with her kids in less than a week, I can't wait)

8. My Parents!  Ok now this is scary, but this picture is of my parents at my wedding almost 16 years ago.  It is the only one I have.  They hate having their picture taken, lol.

9.  My brother-in-law, his girlfriend and my niece and nephew.  

10. Dan and his family.  I have known Dan since 4th grade.  Pretty funny huh!

Well, that is the top 10, or first 10 visitors to my new house here at the Beach.  I am excited about having more visitors.    The summer is getting booked.  It is nice to be able to have people come down and for the most part, they are awesome about my ability or inability to do things.  I simply tell them use what ever you want and clean up after yourself, lol.  It is cheaper for them, and I get to see people I miss very much!

  

Just a side note, friends still to come!!!

Holly and family.....I started working with Holly at the 911 center about 10 years ago.  I was talking about my husband's sick uncle one day and she overheard.  His nickname was Uncle Fuzz.  She found it quite strange because her half brothers and sisters had a sick uncle as well, they called him Uncle Fuzz.  Turns out, her half siblings were my husbands cousins,  very small world!!!!  Now we are the best friends, and well in a strange sort of way, family!!!

Linda and family,  Linda was my best friend in kindergarten and all through elementary school and on through school.  She lived right around the corner from me, up until she got married.  So let me see, friends for 35 years  in September.  Pretty Darn amazing.

Well, I am sure there will be more, but for now, this is the list.  Christian will be coming back, as well as my son and grandson.  Will, Mandy, Shaun and Helena also want to come again, hopefully Helena will know then if the baby she is carrying will be a boy or a girl, then I can go shopping!  I know my cousin will be back and hope my mom and dad get down.  Well, such is life at a beach house I guess.  It sure could be a whole lot worse.  I try and remember that when my pain levels are high and I hurt a whole lot.  I just try and remember, it is good that I am in pain, I know I am alive!!!  Gentle hugs to all.  

Insomnia, your bed partner.

According to WebMD the definition for Insomnia:

is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep. People with insomnia have one or more of the following symptoms:

• Difficulty falling asleep
• Waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep
• Waking up too early in the morning
• Feeling tired upon waking

Does any of that sound familiar?  HHHMMM.   I vote that all of them are part of my life on a regular basis.  Many people say they have trouble sleeping, but seriously, do they have our trouble sleeping, I highly doubt it.  
Were you aware that there are two types of Insomnia as well, well might as well throw that at you too, here it is right from WebMD:

• Primary insomnia: Primary insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems that are not directly associated with any other health condition or problem.
• Secondary insomnia: Secondary insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems because of something else, such as a health condition (like asthma,depression, arthritis, cancer, or heartburn); pain; medication they are taking; or a substance they are using (like alcohol).

Ok, so lets see now, we have decided that we definitely have insomnia, no doubt, It is 4 am and I am blogging, lol.  Which one do I have, primary or secondary.  I think I am going to vote for Secondary because I believe it is somehow associated with this wonderful thing we call Fibromyalgia, but of course, it could simply be the pain, or the depression, maybe the IBS, oh who knows, all I know is I can't sleep.  So what the heck can fix it.  Well wait, surprisingly there is more options of what type of Insomnia that you might have, see nothing can ever be easy, but then again, if it was, the doctors would not be making the big bucks from us!  


Now, Do you have acute or chronic Insomnia?  Well lets refer back to good old WebMD and see if we can figure it out:

Causes of acute insomnia can include:

• Significant life stress (job loss or change, death of a loved one, divorce, moving).
• Illness.
• Emotional or physical discomfort.
• Environmental factors like noise, light, or extreme temperatures (hot or cold) that interfere with sleep.
• Some medications (for example those used to treat colds, allergies, depression,high blood pressure, and asthma) may interfere with sleep.
• Interferences in normal sleep schedule (jet lag or switching from a day to night shift, for example).

Causes of chronic insomnia include:

• Depression and/or anxiety.
• Chronic stress.
• Pain or discomfort at night.

DING DING DING!!!!!  I think this one was easy and we definitely have a winner, Chronic Chronic and Chronic.  Even though you would never believe any of us have any stress at all, Why would we be stressed according to everyone, we do nothing and just sorta lay around all day right?  Depression that is simply a given and pain, well Heck ya we got the pain covered, enough for a lifetime in a couple of days.    
So what can we do to help us get some sleep, Well I can guarantee one of the major answers will be to limit your stress, but I think I am going to go back to the trained professionals to see what they say.


Ok, here is the answers that WebMD. believes will help:

Good sleep habits, also called sleep hygiene, can help you get a good night's sleep and beat insomnia. Here are some tips:

• Try to go to sleep at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. Try not to take naps during the day because naps may make you less sleepy at night.
• Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol late in the day. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and can keep you from falling asleep. Alcohol can cause waking in the night and interferes with sleep quality.
• Get regular exercise. Try not to exercise close to bedtime because it may stimulate you and make it hard to fall asleep. Experts suggest not exercising for at least three to four hours before the time you go to sleep.
• Don't eat a heavy meal late in the day. A light snack before bedtime, however, may help you sleep.
• Make your bedroom comfortable. Be sure that it is dark, quiet, and not too warm or too cold. If light is a problem, try a sleeping mask. If noise is a problem, try earplugs, a fan, or a "white noise" machine to cover up the sounds.
• Follow a routine to help you relax before sleep. Read a book, listen to music, or take a bath.
• Avoid using your bed for anything other than sleep or sex.
• If you can't fall asleep and don't feel drowsy, get up and read or do something that is not overly stimulating until you feel sleepy.
• If you find yourself lying awake worrying about things, try making a to-do list before you go to bed. This may help you to not focus on those worries overnight.

Ok,  I do believe this for the average person having issues will be a great resource.  I have a few issues as a Fibro-Chick that makes me hesitant.  First of all, the whole avoiding your bed for anything but sleep and sex, again this is coming from someone that does not have chronic pain issues.  We simply need to be in our comfy zone and for many of us, that is our bed.  If you are not tired, you need to get up and read or something else not stimulating.  Well, I take a massive amount of meds at bedtime, getting up and walking the 25 steps to the bathroom can be dangerous, let alone anything else until I get sleepy.  Regular exercise, well I am sure we all try that but again that totally depends on the day, pain level and mobility level.  I don't usually nap during the day so I think I will be ok with that one.  I do highly recommend the routine, I do try and follow a routine, even though it does not always work for me, I have found that for some it really does.  A to do list, that goes back to my previous post.  I always, always, always have a paper and pencil near me and I write a lot of stuff down.  It helps me remember stuff and vent when I am frustrated.  Also use places like blogs, twitter and facebook to locate people that are similar to you and you can always catch up with them and vent or chat, have a laugh, it really does help.  I also found a web forum called Chronic Babes (there is a link on the right  side of my page) where you can join in with people with similar interests and backgrounds as well as many different chronic disease, not just Fibro.  They also have open on line chats encompassing many different subjects.  It is a great place to socialize and find support. Maybe some of this will help you find sleep.  Remember if you consistently find yourself not getting sleep or being awake when you should not be, Talk to the doctor.  Be very careful with yourself.  Don't let it wear you down or put you in a flare.  Medicines can keep you awake, things you eat and drink can keep you awake, even what you watch on TV or do before bed can make it hard to sleep.  Be kind to yourself.  If you need help, ask for it.  You are the only person that knows how you feel and you are your own biggest advocate.  I am not a doctor, but I am living it everyday.  I refuse to give in and I want you to fight with me.  Stand tall, even if it is only for a few minutes.  It is those few minutes that will make the difference.  I truly believe that in this fight against all that makes fibro so hard to live with, if we can just help each other and get info out there, we can make a difference.  My motto is Gentle Hugs and a Strong Voice......lets keep it going.