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Sparkle (1)
Those of you who know me personally, know all too well that I am a self professed control freak....a type "A" personality. I like everything a certain way or I have a little meltdown. When things go awry, I morph into "fix it" mode....I run around like a chicken with my head cut off making phone calls, Googling things and scribbling notes in a notebook. I have strong armed county prosecutors, had medical interns fired and nearly pushed my ex son-in-laws car into rush hour traffic after chasing him through a Home Depot parking lot in my mini van.
When I got sick, nothing changed. I researched, read, Googled and spent hours on WebMD trying to pinpoint the reason for my body falling apart. Finally, a diagnosis came.....FMS..or Fibromyalgia Syndrome. SYNDROME. Definitely NOT a word a control freak (like me) wants to hear. You see, a syndrome, unlike a "disease" has no textbook set of symptoms because they vary so widely from patient to patient. GREAT.....not only is my illness making me feel like hell, it's not something I can contol by following a strick medical regimen or reading a colorful phamplet. It's wild. It's unpredictable.
The commercials you see on television about a certain drug to help control the symptoms of FMS is SO FAR OFF THE MARK! "Fibromyalgia is explained as wide spread pain that doesn't go away." Ummm, wow, what an oversimplification! You wanna know what FMS is really like? Step into my twisted world for a moment and allow me to explain.
Wide spread muscle pain: I like to call it, "Guess what hurts and win a cookie!" From day to day, I NEVER know what's going to hurt. It could be my head, my knees, my neck, my back, my arms, shoulders, ankles, jaws, scalp, spine, stomach, ribs, chest plate, hips, hands, fingers or toes. In addition to that, I get these incredibly unpredictable muscle spasms. I don't have to lift anything heavy, twist the wrong way or strain myself in any way. Just out of the blue, my shoulder or back or shoulder AND back will go into painful spasms. Sometimes it feels as if someone is reaching in and ripping my spine out through my skin. Seriously, no exaggerations here.
Other types of pain also happen and can vary depending on what sort of mood my FMS is in. It can be a dull ache, a sharp-shooting pain, a knife-in-the-head type pain, a burning sensation, a burning and itching sensation at the same time, needle pricks, sore and throbbing or stiff and painful with movement.
Other things that plague me and other FMS suffers (in Edie speak) are:
Morning Wood.......I get up in the morning and suddenly, I have no knee joints! My legs feel like the trunks of trees...they're heavy, stuff and achey. I walk around a bit looking like I have a stick up my butt and eventually they work themselves out and I again have knee joints. I also get morning wood in my back, arms, hips and shoulders.
The Potty Dance.....It never fails, I can be on my way out the door to a doctor's appointment, a shopping excursion or a jot to the mailbox and suddenly I have to squeeze my cheeks together and run to the bathroom.My tummy bloats, gets extremely gassy, rubmles, gurgles and decides on an hour by hour basis what it will tolerate. Some days, I get up, have my decaf and a little breakfast and all is well. Still other days, the minute something hits my stomach, my irritable bowel syndrome hits the big red eject button and a mini explosion begins to take place within my bowels. So please, don't get offended if you ask me out for lunch and I politely decline. IBS is nothing you want to take into public....especially if you;re like me and REFUSE to go number two in a public restroom. And if you happen to catch a foul scent shortly after I've had a meal, remember, the dog did it.
Sniffling, Sneezing, Snotting & Stuffy Fun......I've never had allergies. I could dance among the blooming spring flowers, roll in the grass and pet every kitty cat in the neighborhood....but not anymore! Oh no! In the spring, I sneeze over grass and tree pollen, flowers, weeds and anything else that tickles my nose. Summer, fall and winter are no better either. Dust, dust mites, mold....you name it, it makes me react either by sneezing and having my entire head clog up so I feel like my
