So I didn't write my weekly wrap-up on Sunday because I had my follow-up with the doctor on Monday and I wanted to include it (and then I was just lazy on Tuesday!). Last week, I was so incredibly tired and had lots of joint pain. Also, to kind of add on to my mowing adventure, I had a lot of trouble regulating my temperature. My normal is usually in the 96-degrees but there were several times it would spike up to the high 98s. I don't know if everyone with FM has this or not? As long as I can remember (lol, get it?) I've never had a high fever like a "normal" person. It seems like my temperature drops when I'm really ill rather than going up. Anyhow, not only was my temperature spiking, it was happening often, sometimes changing up to 2 degrees either direction in less than an hour. I brought it up at my appointment and my doctor told me that it was something I'd just have to work around since there's nothing that can be done medically to "fix it". We also talked about the insomnia which has incidentally gotten a lot better since I stopped drinking all of that Mt. Dew. I've still had a few sleepless nights though so I wanted to address it. It seems silly that I'm tired ALL the time but can't sleep when I get into bed at night but that's just the way it is. The doctor told me to try 10mg of Melatonin for the nights I can't sleep. Since it can build up an "immunity" in your system and I don't like to sleep TOO hard, I decided to start with 5mg as needed, I'll keep you posted on how that works. He was going to prescribe something for the joint pain but because of my allergies, I'm pretty limited on what I can take. I'm trying 1500mg of Glucosamine for a month to see if it will help. Also, as much as I loved Savella, I had called the pharmacy to find out how much it was going to cost to stay on it and the price for a month was $175 which is really not in my budget at all. Today I'm on my first full day of Effexor. So far it seems to be doing just as well but I'm having trouble focusing.... not my brain, my eyes. Maybe I'm just tired today? If anyone has had this happen to them, please let me know?
I almost felt bad for my doctor during the appointment. Even though my memory IS getting better, I'd written down questions and concerns that I've had so I wouldn't forget to ask. A lot of them, he just couldn't answer. I think he's an amazing doctor and I don't think it's a lack of medical knowledge, I think there are just too many "gray areas" when it comes to FM. He did his best to give me answers based on the single symptoms alone but he said that they could be different within the spectrum of all that's included in FM. One thing we talked about that still concerns me is memory. My short-term has gotten SO much better but I wanted to know if long-term comes back once it's gone or not. I'm not sure I like the answer I got but again, this is what he knows of and isn't necessarily the "gospel" so it could be different from person to person. His answer, as I understood it, was that sometimes we might have memories but they haven't "imprinted" into our brains so once it's lost, it's lost. It makes me wonder what's required for something to be important enough to you to do this "imprinting" or if you even have an option in what saves and what doesn't. I've actually had similar thoughts along these lines even though I don't want to admit that these things are truly "gone". My thought has been.... when is something a "memory" and when is something just remembered because you've repeated or heard it so many times? Pretty deep stuff, eh?
In closing, I asked if Parkview offers a Fibromyalgia support group and they don't. He suggested I start one! I don't know what all that entails but for now I think I'm happy with my little group of friends I have right now. Besides, support groups make me think of people crying and hugging and I'm not down with all of that touching, lol. As always, I appreciate your support and hope that you've gained something from my ramblings. Some of you have me on Facebook, some of you know me in SL, anyone else feel free to drop me an email at LOLA132@yahoo.com but be sure you put the word Fibromyalgia in the subject line so I don't think you're a hot cam girl or something! Thanks for listening! <3
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