Oops!

I woke up yesterday in serious pain.  I had fallen asleep Friday night watching TV and my hubby decided to let me sleep instead of waking me up to go to bed.  He thought he was doing me a favor, but I ended up not taking my meds before bedtime.  When I woke up yesterday, I immediately went to take my morning meds and realized I didn't take my Friday morning pills. Explains the pain!

I guess I was so excited that Friday was our last day of school before Winter Break, taking my meds completely slipped my mind.  I just wanted to get to work and get the day over with as quickly as possible.  Boy am I paying for that now!  I spent all day yesterday hoping the meds would start working, but no such luck.  Today is a little better than yesterday.  I'm hoping by tomorrow the pain will be back into the manageable range.

On the brighter side of things, I have all my Christmas shopping finished.  I did it all online this year. I usually end up waiting until the last minute which causes severe stress and major flares.  This year I finally got smart and realized I could get everything I needed online.  Now I'm just waiting for the last of the packages to arrive.  They are all supposed to be delivered by Tuesday, so I'm not going to stress until Wednesday if they haven't been delivered yet.

Think I'll take a nap now and see if I can get rid of my headache!

Gentle Hugs to All!
Bonnie

15 Days of Rest!

I am finally off for our winter break.  I don't have to go back to work until January 6th! Going to spend the next 2 weeks enjoying time with my boys and my hubby. I will not stress over the holidays like I did for Thanksgiving and end up in a major flare.

My hubby and my youngest went out and bought a monster tree for Christmas (13ft. Noble Fir).  It's finally up and the tree and house are decorated.  My hubby decorated the house yesterday during his day off so I wouldn't have to do it.  We all decorated the tree Thursday night.

I've decided that we will go to Christmas Eve service and then to my cousin's house for her annual Christmas Eve party.  Christmas Day will be spent at home with my guys.  I've invited my parents to come over and join us for breakfast and the opening of the gifts.  My mom is upset with me because I don't want to have a bigger family gathering and has said she will not be coming over.  She tried to give me guilt by saying "it's time to start your own family traditions."

I refused to be guilted into doing something I don't feel up to doing and told her the invitation was still on the table for her and my dad.  I also told my dad.  Whether they show up or not is entirely up to them.

 I'm going to enjoy my Christmas Break and rest up for the second half of the school year.  The second half is always the craziest because of statewide testing.

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

What Do You Mean You're Taking A Few Days Off?

I called my rheumy today to confirm my appointment for this Saturday.  I've been looking forward to this appointment for about a month now since I've been in flare up mode.  Well apparently my doctor has decided to take a very long weekend (Friday-Monday) and now my appointment has been moved to the 22nd.  TWO MORE WEEKS!

I understand my doctor probably needs a vacation since he is the only fibro specialist in the city, but not when I'm in flare up! I know I'm being selfish, but I'm tired of walking around like I'm an 80 year old (no offense to the very active 80 year olds who can out walk me right now) instead of like the 46 year old I am now!

Hopefully the nurse heard the desperation in my voice and will be able to squeeze me in sooner, but the odds are slim.  So for now I will push myself to make it through the school day, and relax with my heating pad and tens unit when I get home.  Two more weeks! I can make it!

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

Trying Not To Stress, but...

it's hard not to do when you know you're hubby might not get paid for awhile.  My Babe unfortunately is a federal employee who has to go to work each day while knowing he is not going to get a paycheck until government decides to get their act together and come to some kind of understanding.  This whole thing is a mess.  Right now the republicans are on my last nerve (which are shooting me some serious pain).  I think Jon Stewart sums up my feelings best:

It's bad enough that the shutdown is affecting my personal life, but it has also crept into my teaching life.  I have been teaching Point of View and was going to show my kids the classic story of the 3 little pigs from the Library of Congress.  I press the bookmark I had saved and this was the message I received:

A Note to loc.gov Users
Due to the temporary shutdown of the federal government, the Library websites, except the legislative information sites THOMAS.gov and beta.congress.gov, are currently unavailable!

WTF! I was so mad! Luckily I found a different website that had a version of the story (though not the one I wanted) to teach my lesson. I guess the Library of Congress finally realized how silly they were being and have restored the website (The Library has restored access to all sites in addition to our legislative information sites. Other legislative branch agencies, and many executive branch agencies with information functions similar to the Library, are granting public access as well.)  Too bad my lesson is over!

So my flare up is continuing into it's 4th week now.  I really need some kind of relief soon.  Have my rheumy appointment next week.  Hope he can help with this flare.  For now I will try not to stress over how we are going to pay our bills and feed our family.  Luckily our mortgage company is working with us for now.

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

My Get Up and Go has Got Up and Went!

This is definitely me!

My body has been in flare up mode ever since the rainy week we had.  It's been almost 3 weeks and the pain seems to be getting worse not better.  I feel bad because I'm conserving what energy I have to make it to work everyday.  Anyone who teaches can tell you that it is not a sit around and relax kind of job.  I get home so exhausted and in so much pain that I just change into my jammies and climb into bed.

Luckily for me I have the best hubby in the world.  He knows I'm hurting and he takes care of me and the boys.  I know it hard for him sometimes having to be the one that takes care of everything, and I feel guilty that I have to rely on him so much. 

The problem is, that I don't have the energy to do anything with him or the boys on weekends.  My feet, back, shoulders, and head hurt so much that I just want to sleep my weekends away.  My parents don't understand what I'm feeling.  My mother is constantly at me to just get up and deal with the pain.  My dad thinks the solution is to just get on the treadmill and everything will be alright! I know my boys wish I could do more with them, but they know how much I hurt.

I have an appointment to see my rheumatologist in 2 weeks, and I'm going to ask him to refer me to a local physical therapy place that deals with fibro.  They have aqua therapy, massage therapy, plus exercises and yoga.  I'm hoping that they will help with some of my pain issues.  It might also be time to adjust or change my medications.  I have hydrocodone for when the pain gets to the unbearable stage, but I try not to use it that often.  I have an addictive personality, and the last thing I need is to become addicted to pain killers.

So for now I will rest and recover and ignore my parents (I know they love me and mean well).  I will continue to lean on my best friend and hope that I don't end up pushing him to his breaking point.

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

Feeling Somewhat Better!

I have spent a very lazy and relaxing weekend trying to get rid of the pain from this latest flare up.  I'm hoping to be fine by tomorrow (or at least functional) since I have to go back to work.  I'm not ready to start taking days off yet since we just started back.

I can't reiterate enough how fortunate I am to have such a fabulous support system in the men in my family. Brian is making sure the laundry is done and anything else that needs to be done, Spencer is helping pick up the slack by doing other chores, and Shaney keeps offering to give me a massage.  I am truly blessed with my guys!

I'm going to spend the day relaxing in bed while I do some lesson plans, watch TV, surf the internet, and take naps! Tomorrow it's back to running around!

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

Hurting!

I thought I was doing okay yesterday after setting up my classroom, and was going to get away with just a headache.  As the night progressed though, other parts of my body started hurting.  By bedtime I could hardly walk because my feet were very tender.  It feels like I'm walking on shards of hot glass!  My arms and legs are sensitive to touch, actually I will throw something at you if you even come close to my arms and legs! My pain scale number has definitely gone up from the 5 I was at yesterday.  I would say today I'm at about a 9.  Needless to say I didn't get much sleep last night and look like something from "The Walking Dead!"

I can handle the pain in my arms and legs (remember don't come to close to my throwing arm), but the feet are another thing!  Just the thought of getting up to go to the restroom gives me nightmares! So today is going to be a lazy, stay in bed kind of day. Thank goodness my hubby is off today and taking good care of me. 

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

Headache Time!

Went to work today to get my classroom ready for the upcoming school year.  We go back on the 20th and get kids on the 26th.  This was my first time back to my classroom since getting sick in March, so I really wasn't sure what to expect.  My wonderful substitute packed up my room for me so I wouldn't have to worry about a thing.  He did an awesome job, so unpacking the room wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, plus I had 4 helpers with me.  My oldest son Spencer convinced his best friends Sarah and Marsha to come and help, and then my dad dropped Shane off after he got out of school.

Best friends since 3rd Grade!

I took my oxygen tank with me just in case I needed it, but I only needed to use my inhaler to keep me going.  I did end up with a monster headache, and several parts of my body seem to  be mad at me and are throbbing.  On the pain scale I would say I'm only about a 5. I'm taking it easy the rest of the night so that I can go back tomorrow and finish up.  My helpers did all the heavy lifting and cleaning today, so I only have to put some things away.  Shouldn't take too long I hope!

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

Fibro Update!

On Monday, my rolling chair rolled out right from under me! I was going to sit down, and I guess I must of sat on the edge instead of the middle.  All I know is that one minute I was standing, the next minute I was on my A$$!  I instantly got a headache, and by the end of the day I felt as though someone had beaten me with a baseball bat and then threw me in front of a moving truck!
Needless to say, I spent most of the week in pain! To make matters worse, I had a meeting everyday after the students left, and a training this morning.  No time to rest and recuperate.  I finally got rid of the headache on Thursday, and I am only a little sore today.

On the brighter side of things, my little man earned his green belt today in Karate! So very proud of him.  They had to test by running for 30 minutes straight (at least we were inside an air conditioned gym), do a whole bunch of exercises, and do their karate forms!  He did all that, and still came home and started running around. Oh to be an energetic 8 year old again! Very proud of my little man!

Shane after running for 30 minutes!

Shane after getting his green belt!

Gentle Hugs!
Bonnie

Nine!!!!

Today is definitely a bad flare up day! On my pain scale I am easily a 9, maybe even a 10.  It was a long week that left me feeling like I have been hit by a semi truck.

I had to have a brain MRI on Tuesday to see if my neurologist can figure out why I'm still getting massive headaches and little sleep even though I now have my CPAP machine.  I had to lay absolutely still for almost an hour in the tube.  My arms, neck, and back really started to hurt during the test.  After the test I had a massive headache that I haven't been able to get rid of yet.

On Wednesday we walked our 5th graders to the middle school where most of them will be going next week.  The middle school is only about 1/2 a mile away from our campus, so the walk was no big deal. We took a tour of the entire campus, and then walked back to school. All in all, I was on my feet walking for about 2 hours.  Now my knees were starting to get into the act.

I probably would be feeling okay by now if we hadn't taken our students to the local University for career opportunity days on Thursday. Yep, more walking! We were there all day, and had to walk up and down numerous stairs. My hips decided to join the party!

Going to work yesterday was a feat all by itself.  I woke up this morning and every inch of my body seems to hurt.  I had to get up early to make breakfast for my oldest because he is taking his SAT's today. Can't have him going to test with only pop tarts in his belly.

So I am going to spend the day trying to rest as much as possible. I have to do laundry, but I should be able to relax between loads. Hope everyone has a great day!

Gentle Hugs!

My Talented Son!

I'm so proud of my oldest son Spencer. He has become quite the wonderful singer.  Last week his show choir group performed at a local festival promoting the arts.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend because I was right in the middle of a horrible flare up (stupid fibro), but my hubby was nice enough to record the performance for me.  So here is my son singing the late Amy Winehouse's song "Valerie."

Bad Day!

Woke up this morning in really bad pain.  I have a massive headache, my neck, shoulders, back, and hips are killing me.  Thank goodness I have a very capable student teacher to take over my class when the pain gets to be too much.  I have no idea what is causing this flare up, but I hope it goes away soon.  My medication doesn't seem to be doing any good today! I found this funny pain scale and thought it expressed my feelings of pain exactly! I am hanging between an 8 and a 9!