World of Chronic Pain: Princess and the Pea

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Princess and the Pea

Have you ever read the fairy tale about "The Princess and the Pea"? I haven't read it for many years, but am reminded of it from time to time when something as simple as an ingrown hair, a wrinkle in my sheets, or a pillow that's not quite right keep me from sleeping and make the following day miserable.

This happend on Friday, 1/18 when I ended up staying awake from 10 am Friday morning until 5 am Saturday morning. Stupid things can drive you crazy when you have Fibromyalgia and what seems simple to some can put me under and out for a week at a time. A crinkle or wrinkle in a sheet that's so small can make sleeping miserable and keep me awake for hours, tossing, turning and just generally being miserable.

Well, other than that, the weather is weird, up to 45 today, supposed to be down to 20 tonight. Had to wash a dog that decided to swim in pond scum. Had to wash another dog on Wednesday when hubby left the front door open and she went "for a walk" ha ha...a walk for this 12 year old pup consists of running as fast as she can through fences, mud, weeds and whatever other scuz makes her completely happy. A pain to clean up, but the look on her face after the excursion is worth it.

Tequila days..morphine nights....
TG

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To the Source of the Flow-Dean R. Koontz

All of us are travelers lost,
our tickets arranged at a cost
unknown but beyond our means.
This odd itinerary of scenes
--enigmatic, strange, unreal--
leaves us unsure how to feel.
No postmortem journey is rife
with more mystery than life.

Tremulous skeins of destiny
flutter so ethereally
around me--but then I feel
its embrace is that of steel.

On the road that I have taken,
one day, walking, I awaken,
amazed to see where I have come,
where I'm going, where I'm from.

This is not the path I thought.
This is not the place I sought.
This is not the dream I bought,
just a fever of fate I've caught.

I'll change highways in a while,
at the crossroads, one more mile.
My path is lit by my own fire.
I'm going only where I desire.

On the road that I have taken,
one day, walking, I awaken.
One day, walking, I awaken,
on the road that I have taken.

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LETTER TO NORMALS - from a Fibromite

These are things that I would like you to understand about me before you judge me - You may look at me and think that nothing is wrong to begin with -

Please understand that being sick doesn't mean I'm not still a human being. I sometimes have to spend most of my day flat on my back in bed and I might not seem like great company, but I'm still me stuck inside this body. I constantly worry about what work I can't do, my family, friends and I love to hear you talk about what's going on with you!

Please understand the difference between "happy" and "healthy". When you've got the flu you probably feel miserable, but I've been sick for years. I can't be miserable all the time, I try to work hard at not being miserable - but if you're talking to me and I sound happy, it means I'm happy. That's all. I may be tired. I may be in pain. I may be sicker than ever. If you say, "Oh, you're sounding better!" I'm sounding better, I'm sounding happy because I can at that particular moment.

Please understand that being able to stand up and walk around for five minutes doesn't necessarily mean that I can stand up for ten minutes, or an hour. It's likely that doing it has exhausted me and I'll need to recover - imagine an athlete after a race. You couldn't repeat that right away either. With a lot of diseases you're either paralyzed or you can move. With this one it gets more confusing.

Please think of the above paragraph substituting "sitting up", "walking", "thinking", "being sociable" and so on ... it applies to everything. That's what a fatigue-based illness does to you.

Please understand that chronic illnesses are variable. It's common for me that one day I am able to walk to the mailbox and back (about a mile), but the next day I'll have trouble getting to the kitchen. Please don't attack me when I can't do it again by saying, "But you did it before!". If you want me to do something, ask if I can and I'll tell you. I may cancel an invitation at the last minute, if this happens please don't take it personally.

Please understand that my favorite phrase of the moment might be "I'll do it tomorrow" and that's because I can't do it at this moment, and I REALLY do want to do it.

Please understand that "getting out and doing things" does not make me feel better, and can often make me worse. Fibromyalgia may cause secondary depression (wouldn't you get depressed if you were stuck in bed for years on end!?) but it is not caused by depression. Telling me that I need some fresh air and exercise is appreciated and I would love to do it - if I could.

Please understand that if I say I have to sit down/lie down/take these pills now, that's because I have to do it right now - it can't be put off or forgotten just because I'm/you're doing something. Fibromyalgia does not forgive.

Please understand that I can't spend all of my energy trying to get well. With a short-term illness like the flu, you can put life on hold for a week or two while you get well. But part of having a chronic illness is coming to the realization that you have to spend some energy on having a life now. This doesn't mean I'm not trying to get better. It doesn't mean I've given up. It's just how life is when you're dealing with a chronic illness.

If you want to suggest a cure to me, please don't. It's not because I don't appreciate the thought, and it's not because I don't want to get well or have given up, it's because I have had almost every single one of my doctors/friends/family suggest something at one point or another. At first I tried them all, but then I realized that I was using up so much energy trying things that I was making myself sicker, not better. If there was something that cured, or even helped, all people with Fibro would know about it. This is not a drug-company conspiracy, there is worldwide networking (both on and off the Internet) between people with Fibro, if something worked we would KNOW NOW.

If after reading this, you still want to suggest a cure, then do it, preferably in writing, but don't expect me to rush out and try it. If I haven't had it suggested before, I'll take what you said and discuss it with my doctor and do what research I can. It may look like I'm doing nothing different from what I did six months ago, and if that's the case, it's because what I'm doing is currently something that is helping more than anything else I've tried and I don't want to get on another "roller coaster" ride at the moment.

Please understand that getting better from an illness like this does not happen, you learn to live with and deal with it the best you can. People with Fibro have so many systems in their bodies out of whack, that it may take a long time to sort everything out.

I depend on you - people who are not sick - for many things.

But most importantly, I need you to understand me -

THANK YOU!

World of Chronic Pain

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Princess and the Pea

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To the Source of the Flow-Dean R. Koontz

LETTER TO NORMALS - from a Fibromite