DITL During a Mild Fibro and CFS Flare

   

   I thought I would share how a day in my life when I am having both a mild Fibro and CFS flare is like.  Now mind you, this is a minor flare where I am able to get a few things done, even though I am tired and hurting all over. When I have a major flare, I am completely useless and even getting out of bed or off the couch is a major undertaking that wears me out and really hurts like the dickens.  *I just had to retype that last sentence because of brain fog and my dyslexia kicking in.  The words were all there, but they were a bit jumbled.  Maybe I should have just left it the way it was so you can get a glimpse into how my brain works...it's scary in there. 😋  **I just wanted to add that I am in pain every day, flare days are just days where the pain is worse.

   One of the main problems that both CFS and Fibro share is trouble sleeping.  With CFS, you are exhausted but you frequently can't get to sleep, stay asleep or get back to sleep if you wake up in the middle of the night.  With Fibromyalgia, the pain, restless legs and shooting pains in your feet (and sometimes hands too) along with a stiff neck and not being able to find a comfortable position to sleep in keeps you awake.  Both were happening last night to me and I finally dozed off around 4 a.m.   I knew I was in trouble before I finally fell asleep. Even the cat curled up next to me hurt and the heat coming off his body were throwing me into hot flashes.  My husband got home around 6 a.m. from work and that woke me up.  I dozed off and on for another 1 1/2 hours and then got up since I had a friend coming over.

   As I slowly got up out of bed, my body ached all over but especially my back, arms, neck and my rib cage.  I have a very comfortable bed, so it is not the problem, my Fibro flare is.  I got the coffee going and took my probiotics, let the fur babies out on the back porch (the dog did not want to go out in the yard at that point) and planned out my day.  I sipped on coffee, laid down on the couch for a bit and then got busy working on my points programs.  That is where my friend found me when she came over.  She could tell I was in pain, so we had a short but nice visit and I told her that I was going to try to get some Banana Bread made later to bring to her son who had a major medical procedure done yesterday.

   About an hour later, I got up off the couch and got 2 loaves of Oatmeal Bread dough going in the Kitchenaid.  Halfway through adding the ingredients, my mind went blank and I had to retrace my steps and pray that I could recognize exactly what I had and had not added to the mixing bowl already.  I finally got that done and rising and then started on the 3 loaves of Banana Bread.  I did not have the strength to lift the flour bucket and bring it into the kitchen, so I made multiple trips back and forth and lost count of how many cups of flour I had already added.  I was also doubling the recipe and forgot how to do simple math apparently but finally got it all figured out (I regularly double the recipe but today I could not do the math in my head).  I got that done and popped it into the oven while the Oatmeal bread dough rose on the pellet stove.  By this time I was really sore so I did some stretches hoping that would help.  It only made the pain worse and I got nauseous  and I had to sit down again for awhile.

   I thought the hot tub would help with the pain so I went out to adjust the chemicals and get it heating up.  Lifting the lid to do that was a major undertaking (it is an easy one to lift but when I am flaring, everything is hard to do).  I finally got all that done just in time to get the Banana Bread out of the oven and pop the Oatmeal Bread in.  I grabbed some leftovers for lunch and heated those up and got the meat all cut up in the kitchen since I knew there was no way I could do it with my fork since I was now at the point of losing what little strength I had left in my hands.  My son Josh called while I vegged out on the couch and we had a nice visit.  This is where Jeff found me at 1:00 p.m. when he got up.  Every muscle in my body was stiffening up by this time.

   Right before I was going to go and check to see if the hot tub was ready, I got a phone call from a former guest of the resort that my father managed for years in Hawaii.  The resort was heavily damaged and shut down after the tsunami that hit it about 6 years ago now.  It finally has new owners that want to repair and revitalize it and bring it back to the way it once was. This particular guest is working with the new owners gathering information on what it is that made it such a special and unique place that was unequalled anywhere else in the world.  It was nice to talk to him and he remembers me from both our childhood years...how cool is that?  He told me he was now a writer and after we hung up, I Googled him.  Turns out he is has had 2 best sellers.  I'm very happy that he has found that kind of success in life.  And no, I won't share his name...I still protect the privacy of the guests as I was raised to do and was one of the things that made the resort unique. 😉

   Jeff and I hot tubbed and it did help with my aching muscles for awhile.  Chris then called, and we had a nice visit.  Jeff and I got out the calendar and planned his vacation time and got that called into the office of the company he works for.  Jeff then headed out for his bowling league and our neighbor came over to get his banana bread that I made for him.  I worked on my points programs and read some blogs, commented on some and updated my own.

   The last few hours before I headed to bed was to watch some videos on Youtube.  I love the diversity of the videos that I can watch there.  Praying that I get some sleep tonight and that the cat will calm down.  Right now the house is his personal racetrack.  Spring Fever is real!