June 9th, 2006
So, yesterday, while everyone else was getting all hot and bothered about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s death — something I took at first with a bit of cynicism since he’d already been killed about 4 or 5 other times this year — or busy calling their Congressman to learn just how dedicicated he or she is to the sanctity of marriage — I’ve kind of enjoyed reading some of the transcripts from the liberal bloggers with too much time on their hands who want to know if their Senators masterbate (I can’t believe I typed that, Mom) — I was considering what might be causing the pain in my legs and other muscles.I’m not a doctor. I find that most doctors like to treat symptoms. I know that even more doctors shy away from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is the one I kind of zeroed in on though. Actually, I really think a doctor should pay attention to me.
From Webmd:
Widespread, chronic pain—often described as deep or burning—is the most common symptom. This pain is more common in the body, hips, and shoulders, and it is rare in the hands and feet. It usually develops gradually and can interfere with even simple daily activities.
Other symptoms that commonly occur in addition to pain include:2, 3
- Fatigue that interferes with work and daily activities.
- Sleep problems (difficulty falling or staying asleep, waking up feeling tired).
Less commonly, people with fibromyalgia may have:
- Morning stiffness lasting less than an hour.
- Headaches.
- Constipation or diarrhea related to irritable bowel syndrome.
- Memory problems and difficulty concentrating.
- Anxiety or depression.
Fibromyalgia can sometimes feel like the flu. You may experience body aches, tiredness, and intestinal problems. The pain in your joints and muscles may be especially bothersome at night, waking you from sleep, or in the morning, when you may feel very stiff and sore. You may have trouble concentrating because of fatigue. Symptoms can last from days to months or years.
People with fibromyalgia have periods when their symptoms become worse and periods when they have milder or no symptoms. Flare-ups of fatigue and muscle and joint aches are common, especially following physical or emotional stress. Many people with fibromyalgia report that cold or damp weather, poor sleep, fatigue, stress, or overexertion makes their pain worse.
O.K. Hmmmm Widespread pain. Yup. The last three days starting in my legs and emminating up in my arms, wrists and hands. It hurts to hold anything, grip the steering wheel. I keep telling people that my legs feel like they would if I’d been running for miles — you know, that burn in the muscle? And sometimes there’s just a cramp in the thighs and calves like there’s a lack of oxygen from the marathon they think I’ve walked. My fingers feel swollen. My right wrist feels like I’ve been cross-stitching for days. My left arm feels like I’ve been leaning on it for a month. I can’t lift an umbrella without feeling the burn. And to think it started with night time leg twitches a year or so ago.
And I got fatigue. I’m exhausted all of the time. All I want to do is go home and rest but I’ve got to go home and do laundry and take care of the puppy and do chores. I feel like there’s no time to do the things I want to do because I never feel up to doing them.
And we all know I have sleeping issues. Even with the ambien, I’m up three or four times a night. And do I have to point out about the headaches, the chorinc headaches and migraines?
Plus, I’ve talked here and elsewhere about my rotating constipation and diarrhea, which I’d really rather not discuss again…and now I’ve also got acid reflux, which another website points out is a possible symptom.
I’ve often contemplated if I have Adult Attention Deficit Disorder because I seem to have a short-attention span and a wandering mind. I find it difficult to focus in meetings and I find it hard to remember what tv show I was watching between commercials even. I also have trouble tripping over easy words a lot of the time. I’ve been blaming it on the depression and the medication, but now I wonder.
Also note that anxiety and depression are on that list. Which came first I wonder? The chicken or the egg?
Anyway, it’s something to think about.
Tags: fibromyalgia, wellness, al-Zarqawi
August 4th, 2005
Ever feel like saying, “It takes one to know one!” to the “most powerful man in the U.S.”?
“As I have told the American people, people like Zawahri have an ideology that is dark, dim, backwards,” the president said. “They don’t trust, they don’t appreciate women. If you don’t agree to their narrow view of religion, you’re whipped in the public square.”
So…dictating what a woman does with her own body is trusting and appreciating her? Insisting on connecting the government with a narrow-minded fundamentalist view isn’t backwards, dim, or dark?
You can read the CNN.com version here but it’s not as fun as listening to it “live”…Bush actually sounded like he couldn’t remember the name of Bin Laden’s “Number 2″ guy…and he didn’t appear to have actually listened to what the Al-Queda leader had to say…in fact, that seems to be a large part of this problem — no one’s listening to each other.
The really basic idea I got from the whole thing is that Bin Laden and his cronies want the U.S. and it’s allies to get their noses and military out of the Middle East and they claim if we do that, there will be a truce…and Bush’s answer is “Heck, no! We won’t go!”
I feel like we could settle this whole thing like they did in the good ole days — have a car race for the pink slips of the Middle East countries.
Tags: politics, George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden, al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda
