Thursday 28 February 2013

Normal

Today was another meh day. Not much to really report on. My back has been stiff, I did take a panadol with codeine before class, and that helped with the evil chairs. I have an osteopath appointment tomorrow to see if that will help again. Had some more chicken and dumplings, mmmm...

Wednesday 27 February 2013

Keep on Moving

Well...not as good of a day. Pain is a bit more up, maybe around a 5. Still alright, but I would prefer it to be lower. I couldn't get comfortable at any point during the three hour lecture, so there was a lot of squirming. Interesting lecture though, i'm really enjoying my classes :).

I have been feeling a bit down today. I'm not sure why. I didn't sleep very well last night so maybe that was it? I've also just upped the amitriptyline.

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Heart of Hearts

So i've had another pretty good day :). Pain wasn't too bad, though still irritating down my R side. I was able to get through the class with the evil chairs with only some discomfort.

Now I may or may not be watching videos about how the heart circulates blood >.>...

Did I mention how thankful I am to be back in class?

Monday 25 February 2013

I Do So Love Class

Today wasn't too bad of a day, despite it being rainy and a little cold. I got to wear my armwarmers that Bran got me for christmas <3, and I went to see my NP, who is always lovely. I hated having to tell him about going back on more pharmaceuticals, but he was understanding and we focused more on digestion. He is a kind person, so i'm always glad to see him.

On the other hand, I was late for class >.> but since I have a disability impact statement exactly for this reason (and I was walking around with my cane) my lecturer wasn't bothered (and took the time during break to catch me up :) ). I'm so thankful to go to a school with such kind lecturers. 

Pain wasn't too bad today, although for the past few days my ankles have been going out. So I used my cane to make sure I wouldn't trip. My R knee went out once and my feet keep falling asleep but otherwise I was alright. I need to make an appointment with the osteopath I was seeing before, but i'm hopeful things will start to even out soon. 

Oh, and no sign of the maggots. Thank The Gods!

Sunday 24 February 2013

Phobias

I. Hate. Maggots. I have this phobia of them. Can't be near them without anxiety attacks ensuing. We had a really bad summer as a kid where they got into EVERYTHING and since then I just can't stand them. When we were still at the many-keys house we had a few incidents and I had to call Bran home from work as I hyperventilated on the bed. Today, thankfully, they were just in a fly trap i've had set up for a few days. But the thought that I may wake up to the evil little things wiggling around on the floor has me in a slight panic. Really just wigs me out. Bah.

In other news, I haven't done much today. I need to get some prescriptions filled tomorrow. Aren't I interesting.

Maggots...and clowns. I hate clowns too.

Saturday 23 February 2013

Apple

Feeling a bit lonely tonight. Nerve pain still acting up. I wish I had a bath tub :/. Now i'm going to go eat an apple.

Friday 22 February 2013

Bad Days...

Today has been a hard day. I woke up with pain, had a side dish of pain, and then it got worse.

I saw my rheumy today. He was quite pleasant, if not a bit useless...There really isn't anything he can do to help this time though. The pain i'm having is nerve pain related to my sciatic nerve and some issues around the L4-L5 disc in my back. So he is happy to write a referral to a pain specialist, but thats about it. Yoga, tai chi, water exercise. Thats once more what he says to do (along with the pain specialist). I'm already on amitriptyline, and my GP and rheumy both don't want to add anything heavier. I don't really wan't anything heavier either. They make me feel off or have anxiety attacks and don't help so much with pain so there isn't much of a point.

I was feeling really mad earlier, but now after having take my panadol with codeine and amitriptyline i'm feeling tired and zoned out.

And I have a bug bite on the bottom of my foot :(

Thursday 21 February 2013

Despondent

Oh dear single reader, it's been a roller coaster of a day. It started off a bit sore, then got better and better, then much worse...

So I had a pretty normal start to the day, sore and stiff. After some movement (and coffee) I was feeling pretty good. I made a nice room spray, did dishes, finished up some work for class, and took Milo for an extra long walk (being around 20 minutes as opposed to 10).

Then I had class, with the evil chairs. I'm not sure if it's the chairs or just that I overdid the walk, but my back and R leg have been off. I'm really concerned that the sciatic nerve is pinched again.

I'm off to see the rheumy tomorrow, so i'll see what he says.

I feel like i'm getting more frustrated with pain and the up and down thing. Maybe part of it is the amitriptyline being screwy, but I just would really like to not b in pain all the time. I feel like my patients is just gone. I don't want to accept that this is it, that i'm going to be in pain and tired all the time.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Biology and Alchemy

I'm getting more mouth sores lately...I may ask my rheumy (whom i'm seeing on friday) for a prescription for a daily dose folic acid instead of the twice weekly one I take...

In other news, third day of classes today! Had human bio 2, which was quite interesting. We are learning about blood, as mentioned, and today we talked about blood types, what makes a blood a specific type, Rh factor, and some diseases that have to do with blood. There was more than that, but it's a three hour lecture so i'm not going to get into all of it :). By the way, my lecturer is apparently an alchemist! How interesting! He had some fascinating ideas on how blood is where the spirit lives, and to make a strong medicine you need the spirit, body, and soul (alcohol, salt, oil) of the plant. It'll be interesting to get his take on things.

I wasn't awesome as far as pain goes. I did take a panadeine forte today as my back pain was not so much fun. I really hope the amitriptyline kicks in soon.

Also, Bran made pizza <3 I do so love my husband!

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Semester Start

I had an alright day today :) it would have been good other than the pain down my right side was not so much fun. It's also been rainy and cold, so my hands are a bit sore. But my second class for this semester, Herbal Botany and Manufacturing, looks really interesting! Between that and Human Biology 2 i'm going to be so smart :P. I'll have to make sure to study plenty this semester, these are memory heavy classes.

Monday 18 February 2013

Good Day :)

I had a good day today :). This is nice for a change! I had my first day of classes today, it's nice to get back into the swing of things. My class today was human biology two, we talked about blood. I'm looking forward to the rest of the semester, and to my class tomorrow which is herbal botany and manufacturing :D.

Pain-wise wasn't too bad either. My wrists and hands are a bit sore from the cool rainy weather, but the nerve pain down my right side has been a bit better today. It seems moving around and not sitting too long helps. Also all my meals were made for me today! Bran made some super yummy chicken and dumplings yesterday, and he cooked up the fish we had in the fridge today. He'll make a good home cook yet!

Sunday 17 February 2013

Shopping, Sick, and Sciatica

It's been a busy few days. Saturday I went grocery shopping, changed the tap handles (i'm so handy!) had a lovely meet-up with some pagan folk, and then was horribly sick around 10 pm. As in, projectile vomit sick. I'm not really sure why...

Feeling better today, though i'm having a lot of pain between my back and knee on the right side. After speaking with my counsellor on friday (who used to me a massage therapist) i'm thinking it may be nerve pain. Which is concerning, as I haven't done anything to cause any disc problems...

I've also had a meeting with most of the other owners in regards to some things that need to be done around our apartments.

First day of classes tomorrow :) i'm looking forward to it.

Friday 15 February 2013

Meh

I've been feeling really down today. I'm not sure the reason exactly, if it's a mix of the methotrexate and the amitriptyline or  if i'm just heading down a dark alley.

On a lighter note, i've discovered pintrest. Look up Emma Winch and I should be around there somewhere.

And for the one person who seems to regularly read this, feel free to say hello! I'm happy to comment back if you have a blog.

Thursday 14 February 2013

My Valentine

Back is feeling a bit better :). Today was valentines day, so I made Bran some yummy cupcakes and meatball subs. Using chicken mince for the meatballs. Yum.

The cupcakes were originally going to be red velvet, using beet juice as dye, but I added a bit too much coco powder so they were basically just chocolate. Still quite yummy and I do so enjoy cream cheese frosting. Here is the original recipe. I did make some changes; I used less sugar, more coco power (and by default less flour), and used half a cup of sour cream (very thick) and half a cup of boiled and squeezed out beet water/juice. I think the color would have probably been fine if I hadn't added the extra coco powder. I used my usual recipe for cream cheese frosting.


I didn't make the flower on top, but i'm getting better at piping :).

My stomach is a bit twisty today...i'm not sure if it's all the sugar or if I caught something...

And Bran got me flowers <3 I do so love my husband!

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Back to Pain.

Really painful back. Hitting a solid 6. Which is too bad, I had a nice walk with Milo today.

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Pancake Day

I'm back to my normal level of pain. So I guess it was my body just being distracted by the new meds. I do find that for the most part i'm sleeping better, so hopefully that's from the TCA. My R knee was giving me grief today, but a bit of voltarin gell helped with that. I need to remember to get more of it...

On a lighter note, it is pancake day! Also known as mardi gras, shrove tuesday, and fat tuesday. Apparently in England (and less in Australia) it is pancake day. We had pancakes for dinner, despite that neither of us are christian or celebrate lent. Eh. Here is some info.

Sunday 10 February 2013

Good Day

Today was a pretty good day :). We got some chores done in the morning then went out for a high tea with my MiL and SiL in the city. It was quite yummy, with dainty little cakes and sandwiches, both Bran and I were so full that we didn't have dinner. Luckily we made sure to walk there and back, so we worked off a bit of that cake!

On that note, I was able to do a good bit of walking today without needing a rest. That is really good news compared to how I have been lately. My back still is sore, and my hands are perpetually sore, but it's much more manageable and I find that walking definitely helps my back to loosen up. I've also just upped the amitriptyline so we'll see how that goes tomorrow. So far I haven't really had any side effects from it but i've only been on 10 mg (20 mg tonight).

I've signed up for classes as well, really looking forward to getting back into it! Now I just need a good part time job and it'll be coming up roses!

Saturday 9 February 2013

Days Go Ever Ever on..

So remember how I was feeling much better? Well..i'm still feeling better, but closer to my normal level of pain. I know the amitriptyline can take a while to start working. It seems like maybe my body is already adjusting to the panadeine.

Thursday 7 February 2013

Feeling Mostly Better

Good news today, i'm actually feeling much better. I'm not sure if it's from the constant panadol or if the amitriptyline is working already or if my body is doing it's weird thing where it doesn't hurt for a week when I start a new med...but i'm thankful for being in less pain. I was able to walk to the nearby shops and back, which I haven't been able to do for quite a while :).

It's funny, i'm still in pain, but I can see just how much pain I was in before...I'm surprised I had waited that long before going to the doctor. I'm surprised I was able to do anything... But then again, it's hard to get out when you're in so much pain...

Wednesday 6 February 2013

Lovely GP

I had a productive meeting with my GP today. As usual she was lovely, and quite concerned with my spike in pain levels. She agreed that trying the tricyclic antidepressants was a good idea, she actually has some other chronic pain patients on them so she knows that they can work well. She has also added 'round the clock panadol osteo (which is just a slow release panadol/acetaminophen) to my list of meds.

I took the amitriptyline a bit ago, and honestly i'm feeling a little bit speedy (not that i've taken speed before...just mind racy and that sort of thing) so....we'll see how I feel in another half hour. I'm hoping it will help...really really hoping.

I've also lost two kilos since my last visit! Yay! BP is also fine so...yeah...other than being diseased and symptom-ed and fat i'm pretty healthy ;)

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

A bit better emotionally today, but pain wise I have not been fairing well. My R hand and arm are quite sore as well as my back and feet.

On a lighter note I made a chicken pot pie (with Bran's help ;).

Seeing my GP tomorrow to talk about new meds to try. I'm not looking forward to the adjustment phase, but i'm hopeful that it'll help the pain and the depression i've run into.

Monday 4 February 2013

Revisiting Old Ideas

I had a bit of a break down today. I was in a lot of pain and was just at the end of my rope. I've made the decision to try a tricyclic antidepressant to see if it'll help with both depression and the fibromyalgia pain. I feel bad for giving up on natural medicine, but i'm sure i'll come back to it at some point as I learn more myself and get to a place where i'm better able to deal with things.

Sunday 3 February 2013

Dreaming of Pie

I'm going to make a pot pie tomorrow.

Today was spent playing on my phone. Still in pain. Still tired. Really considering going back on antidepressants.

Saturday 2 February 2013

Going Down, Down...

Sore today again. My R hand and wrist got especially sore after attempting to chop up some meat for Milo's stew. I ended up getting really fatigued and sore when we were grocery shopping as well. I'm starting to be a bit concerned about this :/

Friday 1 February 2013

Sick and Tired of Being...

Sick and tired. I had some dairy today and my intestines did not like it. R knee still playing up, as well as both feet at some points during the day. Seriously debating meds for fibro.