I am!

I few weeks ago I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia (FMS). I was prescribed Effexor, which I did not take. I had some bloodwork done and last week I went to the dr to get my results. They all seemed normal except there was one that showed I have some inflammation. So The dr ordered up some more blood work. As he thinks I might have rheumatoid arthritis. I havent gotten the results on that yet.
This dr also prescribed hydrochlorothiazid to get my blood pressure under control. The high blood pressure was one of the reasons I have not taken Effexor for the FMS.
I am still taking b-12 vitamins and Omega 3-6-9 (fish oils), and I do think that it has already helped some. I have had more pain free time than usual, and when I do have pain it is not nearly as bad as it used to be. So maybe I am on to something good here (knock on wood).
I have had a few days with dizziness and nausea, but I think it is due to the blood pressure pills. But I am feeling better now.
Today I am going to the dr, just to have my blood pressure checked. He wants it down to about 120/80. Said that 120/86 would be ok too, cause it shows that the pills are working. So lets see how it goes.
On a happy note… I have lost about 8lbs. So I am almost down to where I would like to be weight wise.

Yesterday, Tuesday, I went to yet another annoying appointment with my dr. This time to get the results on the blood tests from Jan. 30th. Everything showed as normal, or at least close to normal. Except it did show that I have some sort of inflammation. So the dr did another series of blood test to hopefully narrow it down some more. Right now he is thinking rheumatoid arthritis. Will have to wait for those results.
The dr also put me on some new meds to lower my blood pressure. Lets hope that works.

Today we went back to Show Low to the Social Security Administration office. I swear those people have no clue how to think outside the box. For instance, they wanted to see my birth certificate to verify that I was actually born. What the heck is that supposed to mean. Do they think I was hatched? Oh and on the birth certificate it also shows my mothers maiden name as the same as her married name. Whats so strange about that? She just happen to have the same maiden name as my dads last name. The lady at the Social Security Administration just didnt seem to be able to understand that LOL. Oh well we got it all done and I should receive my new SSN in the mail in about 2 weeks. Yeah!

Please take a moment to go visit my tenant. I am sure you will enjoy his site as much as I do. You will not regret it. You can find the link to his site over to the right. Where it says ‘Visit my tenant! OneManBandwidth.’
Make me happy and click the thumbnail to his site

I have started one of those top site lists for blogs. So if you own a blog then please join. It will benefit all of us
You can join the list by clicking on this button

And dont let the short list scare you away. It will grow with time and attract visitors to all our blogs.

OK, I thinks that is all for right now. I am sure I will be back in a few minutes with some more ‘this and that’ that I forgot to tell you about LOL

Today was one hell of a day. I started my new herb and vitamin regimen. That wasn’t too terrible. It was the water that did me in. I dont drink water normally. Simply because I can not drink tap water, and bottled water just taste outright disgusting. But today I made myself drink nearly 70 oz of water (thats a lot of water if you do not normally drink water). All day I have had a killer headache. I always get headaches when I drink water, and usually I just stop with the water. But I really do want to flush my system by drinking lots of water. And I do not want to quit. I sure hope that this is only a transition thing and that in a couple of days the headaches will be gone.

On a good note the headaches almost made my other pains seem bearable. I have had more pains today than I normally do. Hopefully that is a transition thing too.

I have really enjoyed the veggie juice (V8) though. Love the ‘Hot and Spicy’ kind. Yummy! It made me feel like I had been eating. Normally I have some really awful eating habits. I can go a whole day without food and then at night I totally pig out. Not very healthy. The V8 makes me feel like I am actually eating. So when dinner time comes around I dont feel like eating as much as I normally do.

Maybe I will finally loose those 20 lbs that I have been wanting to loose for years. Kill two birds with the same stone.

I have been a little shaky today too. Maybe it is a side effects of all the new herbs, vitamins, water, and V8 that I am not used to. Hopefully it is. Might go away when my body has adjusted to all this.

Another thing I have noticed the last 3 weeks is that my temp. hasnt gone below 98.5 degrees F. Isnt that weird? Will have to ask the dr next time I talk with him.

I do think I have made up my mind about ever going to see that neuro again. I really just do not like her. So either I will have my reg. dr refer me to someone else, or just totally give up on dr’s and deal with this myself. That scares me a little though. But if/when I get my blood test results and they come back normal, and the dr is convinced that it is fibromyalgia, then why bother with a dr. There is no cure. And considering I refuse to take synthetic meds, there really is no need for a dr. When I went to Show Low Friday I met a most wonderful lady at La Vida (healthfood and vitamin store). She helped me so much picking the stuff I needed. She told me about other resources. And generally was of way more help than my dr’s have ever been.

to be continued…

Yesterday I finally got around to go to Show Low to buy all the vitamins and other natural remedies that I have been researching this past week.

I bought:
Vitamin B-12 by Solaray (5000mcg, sublingual lozenges)
Omega 3-6-9 by NOW (1000mg, softgels)
Malic Acid with Magnesium plus 5-HTP by Solaray (capsules)
Valerian by Solaray (470mg, capsules)

I sure hope it all works

I have also started a water cure. 70 oz of water each day.
70 oz is a lot of water. Especially if you never liked to drink water.

And I bought some vegetable juice as well. I love vegetable juice.
I am not going to even attempt to eliminate certain foods from my diet, but I am going to try to minimize the intake of wheat, corn, sugar, dairy and citrus. These items were suggested at one of the many websites I visited and I guess it can not hurt to try.

So I started this new regimen today, but I guess I cant expect results right away. Will give it some time

Today I woke up feeling really crappy. My legs are killing me, and pain in both wrists.

Sure look forward to feeling better

Last night before bed I drank 2 glasses of the Emer’gen-C drink and this morning I woke up and had no serious pain for the first day in a very long time. I didnt even think about the connection when I wrote here earlier today. Then when I was surfing around on the various sites and learned a bit about B12 deficiency I came to think that maybe that is really what is wrong with me. Sure there still might be other issues such as FMS, but I am gonna give B12 a chance before I start on some pain killer/anti-depressant regimen.
After I had learned a bit about B12 it hit me that I had been drinking Emer’gen-C last night so I just had to check how much B12 is actually in it. In each pack (I had 2 last night) there is 25 mcg B12 (416% daily value).
Think there is a link there?

Today I woke up with no pain. Yeah. Thats a whole new feeling. Now I have a little pain in my left shoulder, but I can deal with that.
I have heard from a few people who personally use Valerian, and so far all I have heard is postive. So I think I will try that before I try something else.
B-12 Vitamins are also repeated on several websites, so I will go ahead and buy some of that.

Last Monday I went to the hospital and had some blood drawn. I will probably not get any results from there until next Monday, and as that neuro said they will most likely come back normal. Like how the heck does she know. She hadnt even examined me or read my file before she diagnosed me. If the tests come back normal I am going to go to my regular dr and get a referral to a different neuro. The neuro I see now wants to see me again in one month, but I really dont want to see her. It is such a waste of time and resources to have to drive for 7+ hours so she can see me for 3 minutes. Oh the joys of living in the boonies. If I just thought she knew what she was doing, I am sure I would feel differently. I have seen her twice. First time, she ordered an MRI which prove to be the wrong one she ordered. She was supposed to order one for the head and instead ordered one for the spine. So after wasting my time with the first MRI I had to go have another one. The second time I saw this neuro was the 3 minute visit. The one where she diagnosed me with FMS without even examining me. And then she writes out a prescription for Effexor, and when I go to get the prescription filled the pharmacist wouldnt give it to me cause the neuro had scewed up the prescription. Now do you understand why I dont like this neuro? LOL.
Anyway, I am going to request to see a different neurologist. And hopefully once and for all we can get to the bottom of this. All I want is a diagnosis (the correct one), so I can move on. So I can know how to deal with this.

Ok now my wrist is starting to hurt so I better take a rest from typing. Will be back shortly

Yesterday was horrible. I just hurt so badly that I couldnt function. Mostly my neck, down my arms and my wrists. Today is much better. Just have a little pain in my wrists/hands and in my hips. So today I have to catch up on everything I neglected yesterday. I want to do some more research on natural remedies, so I, hopefully, will not have to start some meds that will get me addicted and go nuts. One thing I want to find out more about is Valerian. As far as I have read it is a sleep aid. Which is pretty much what I find as priority #1 at the moment. I am certain that is I can just get some ‘good’ sleep it will help a lot with the pain.
Anyone out there ever used Valerian? I would like to hear both pro’s and con’s about Valerian.

Questions and Answers about Valerian

Yesterday wasnt so good. I had so much pain in my neck and down my arms. But Rudy was a sweetheart and gave me a nice massage and it helped a little bit. My skin is extremely sensitive at the moment though so I cant handle too much rubbing. But it did help loosen of the muscles.

Today I woke up and didnt really have much pain. A little down my left arm and in my left wrist. And also a little pain in my right hip and leg. But the pain is really not bad at all. Either I am starting on a run of feeling better or I am getting used to the pain.

I still havent started on any medications as I still havent made up my mind. I am pretty sure that I will not start on the anti-depressants (Effexor) that the neuro prescribed. And I am pretty sure that I will try with herbs and vitamins before I start on some nasty anti-depressants, sleep aids, and pain killers. The big question is just exactly what herbs and vitamins to take and what dosage to use. But I am sure with a little guidance and a lot of research I will find something.

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, although I am not yet certain that this is the correct diagnosis. So I thought I would start a blog to track my pain, sleep, and general wellness. Might not be too interesting for others than myself LOL but it is something I feel I need to do to get to the bottom of whats going on with me.
Feel free to comment any time you like.