It's a pain in the neck

 

Lately I have been trying to keep off the computer. I have had a horrid fibromyalgia flare and I suspect along with neck and shoulder pain, I have also got TMJ and polymyalgia rheumatica back as well.

We  recently sold our GMC Sierra ute and with no more vehicles needing a driveway to park on, we have turned our attention to finding another rented home. It has proven to be a nightmare.

There are not many affordable homes to rent and we find we are vying with up to 20 different people at a viewing, all hoping to get the same property. It is terribly stressful.

I think the stress has exacerbated my fibromyalgia. I have been clenching my jaw and this has seen my TMJ return. Without a blood test to check ESR creatines and so on, I can't say that my PMR has returned, but judging from the pain and inability to raise my arms, I would not be surprised.

I have done 5 loads of washing and dryed it in the dryer as it's too painful to hang it outside. I have run the dishwasher and been to the chemist to pick up my Januvia for my diabetes. Just that small bit of work has exhausted me. My spoons have left the building.

Lately I have been thinking it isn't worth moving, but the possums in the roof wake me up with their thumpings and scratchings and the cold weather has meant that central heating is calling my name and beckoning me to a newer more modern abode.

Just typing to you has stirred up all my sore muscles, and it's traveled down my arm. So I will be taking some paracetamol Osteo soon and maybe I'll be having a nana nap.

Fibromyalgia, PMR or plain arthritis makes for a bad day by any name. Whatever ails me, it boils down to the fact that today, it's a pain in the neck. 

 

And the icing on the cake is...

Friday we went to the chemist and were treated to a cup of tea behind the counter. In between customers, we chatted and caught up. 

We were amongst the first of their customers and we have gone solely to them and rejoiced with them as their business grew. 

We don't go out much, and he and his wife know this. They are lovely people and we will miss them if we find a new rental- so much so, that we have decided we will still go to them for our prescriptions. 

Thanking them for their hospitality, they asked us to call in every Friday for coffee. Well, it looks like Fridays will be script days!   

In saying that, it will depend on whether my fibromyalgia allows me to travel. There are days when I just want to stay home as my spoons are few. But  just knowing that whenever we do see them, we will be welcome and missed is precious.

It does get lonely sometimes here. It's nice to have friends. The icing on the cake is that they are Christians! 

We have gone mad!

It may seem strange to some, but even in the worst pain, you will find me playing Candy Crush in an effort to distract my mind from the pain.

The rheumatologist suggested to my daughter who suffers from fibromyalgia and pain post chemo, to use it as a distraction from the pain. She was one of these mind over matters kind of doctors. We were not very optimistic to be honest.

As a sufferer of not only fibromyalgia but ankylosing spondylitis, spinal canal stenosis coupled with bad arthitis and angina, I thought it may help me. It helps a little. But Tramadol would be better!

My doctor won't let me have them. Even though he knows I only take them as required for high pain days like today.   He gave it to me when my second knee tore and it helped my fibro pain so much. Then he closed shop!  

I  know there have  been many who abused pain-killers but when  basic pain relief is available only with a chemist's approval such as Panadol with codeine, it makes life more difficult for the person like myself,  to get any relief at all. 

With fibro flaring and another episode of polymyalgia rheumatica, I have been tempted to take some of my Prednisolone, but I am worried about the side effects. I tell you truly, I am feeling desperate.

So even though you may see me playing Candy Crush or online a lot, I can honestly say that it's for  medicinal purposes. I will be a Candy Crush addict any day if it will relieve the pain.

Just don't tell the do-gooders. If they think we are liable to become addicts, they'll make FB take it off their site! You fellow pain sufferers know they will. We have gone mad in our correctness!

You can say that again

So today we have shopped online but most of the food we ordered was unavailable. So we took a trip to Aldi  and managed to get  meat,  chicken and cat food.  Most products are being limited now.  There are distribution shortages of staff due to Covid. 

There's a four hour queue to get tested or one can do a Rapid Antigen Test at home, but there's a shortage of tests and it's very difficult to get one. People who can't get tested are isolating and missing out on work just in case they are positive.

Our Prime Minister suggested that as most Australians will test positive soon so he told us to make sure we have paracetamol aka Panadol on hand so that we can manage symptoms at home. (Lotsa luck with that one!) So people went out and stripped all pharmacies and supermarkets of all brands of paracetamol. 

To top it all off for me is that once again, my antidepressants haven't made it off the wharves. They don't know when they will be available again. So it's lucky that I have extra Panadol on hand for my fibromyalgia and an extra box of antidepressants. I am so grateful to the Proverbs 31 wife in scripture who was always prepared and laughs at the time to come. 

A past Prime Minister of ours once famously quoted that life wasn't meant to be easy. You can say that again. 

So glad I made that phone call

  

So last night I slept soundly. I had good news that alleviated a few of my worries.

After a couple of months of  my antidepressant being unavailable, I decided to do some investigations of my own.

Firstly, I did a Google search on shortages of Dothep 25mg and was lead to the website of AlphaPharm, the company that make and distribute the pills. There was a number to Customer Service so I rang it and the consultant told me that they would be in Australia and at Chemists by 15th December this year.

Naturally I was overjoyed as I had been thinking that I would have to start weaning myself off them or go on another tablet. I didn't want to do that because it was hard finding one that worked and it has worked well for the last 30 years.

Anyone who suffers from depression will know that once you tinker around with your meds, it can come crashing down very fast and the climb back up is very very long. And unpleasant. I didn't want to go there.

Of course it would have been worse for me because of the constant flares of fibromyalgia. It's difficult enough to cope with them when I am on my tablets. I didn't want to find out how bad it would be without them.

Happily, I won't have to now. I rang our chemist with the good news and he and I are so glad I made that phone call. 

Searching for some spoons

                                          

So Chris wasn't feeling well, so we didn't get out yesterday. I ordered $30 worth of groceries through Woolworths online. We have to pick them up at 1pm. It's so handy to shop like that. After that I need to get some prescriptions made up and go to the Post Office.

I managed to do all those dishes yesterday, with just last night's pots and pans to wash today. Tonight I will shower. If I do it this morning, I will run out of spoons and won't make it for the errands later.

It's hard searching for spoons and finding none, knowing that you have to do certain errands like shopping and getting medicines. And the tricky thing is when you find some, they disappear before you can put them to good use, and you find you need to take a nana nap just to accomplish it.

I know with talking to other Fibromites that I am not alone, as having no spoons seems to be a typical symptom of fibromyalgia. So for the next few hours before I pick up the groceries, you know where I'll be: searching for some spoons.

Today was a washout.

 

We had an interesting day. On our way to the doctor and chemist, we found a roadblock because of the heavy flooding we've experienced these last few days. So we tried 3 other ways, only to find a police block on the third. The road has been washed away.

Our small township is cut off from travel at the moment, so we had to cancel. The receptionist got the doctor to ring us but it didn't do me much good as I was needing my blood pressure taken. More rain is forecast for the next 10 days. 

My orthopaedic surgeon for my damaged knee was cancelled as well. We are quite happy to stay home with 1400 new Covid cases today in Victoria including 22 from our area. I may not reschedule as I am determined not to have surgery as hospitals are best to be avoided at the moment. 

I have been shopping for extras in case of emergency, so it paid off today when we couldn't get out. I have plenty of medications in the house too. I am so glad I did some planning.

My only grumble was that we had to shower, dress and leave the house for nothing. My fibromyalgia pain is at a disabling level. I think the weather has caused a major flare. 

After dinner I will be getting back in my PJ's and taking a Tramadol and curling up with my electric blanket. At least the night won't be a washout. Today certainly was.

This is what met us trying to get out of our township.

Of birds and sunshine

 

It's Wednesday morning here. I have gotten up early because I have to repack a smart TV that was delivered and it wasn't what we ordered. Chris will then take it to the Post Office and send it back. Then we will get a refund.

After that we have to go to the chemist and get some scripts made up. It's pretty ordinary stuff, but it's a half hour drive and with lockdown still enforced here, it's an outing. We are going stir crazy! Getting supplies and medication is legal, so we don't have to worry about being fined $5000 AUD. The fines have been increased because there are many people going about and ignoring lockdown. I guess they are over it too, but it is what it is.

I have last night's dinner dishes to do before we go anywhere. Due to having no spoons, (energy) I will take my shower before bed. The weather's supposed to be nice today and I am looking forward not only to the drive, but sitting in my walker on the back porch and watching the birds. The sun might help me with my fibromyalgia pain in the neck and shoulders. Along with the pain killers I will pick up from the chemist today.

There's nothing like sunshine and bird watching to chase the blues away.

More than enough to do

We are on a snap lockdown.  I need to get some prescriptions filled.  Also I have some mail to pick up at the post office.

Apart from essential services such as post and chemist, everything else is closed or people are working from home. 

This is our fourth lockdown  this  year and  is mainly because  people  are not following protocols when they have been interstate. Oh well, as the young ones say, it is what it is. 

I  have dishes to do,  a  load of washing  to fold  from the dryer  and cook dinner.  After the chemist and post office. 

The way I feel today with my fibromylgia flaring and back pain,  it will be more than enough to do...

We need an ark!

THURSDAY NIGHT: We are having unseasonable weather with flooding and high winds. Currently having our tenth power outage in 24 hours with large trees blown over lots of roads and in the parkland opposite our house we are out of our diabetic medicines and we can’t get to the chemist.

We have been advised to stay home for safety. I am so glad we are on a steep slope.

FRIDAY: We managed to get through to our closest chemist so we have our diabetic medicine again! We had dinner at Chris's son's as they had gas to cook with. They live near us! 

We have no heating whatsoever and it's winter and the weather is freezing. My fibromyalgia has come out to play! 

SATURDAY:  So pleased that the power came back on last night. 

SUNDAY AFTERNOON: We have just got the modem back on but the phones are still on SOS only. 

The waters came up very high so that the cows couldn't get any food from their pasture behind our back garden. A farmer asked us if he could go through our back garden to leave some hay bales for them. Of course we said yes and he managed to place some in the small island of land in the middle of the flood waters. 

I don't need food or medicine so it doesn't matter that we can't get out for the moment. 

The farmer who came through to feed his cows was very nice and he said he's lived here all his life and has never seen the weather and floods as bad as this one. The weather bureau said the waters should recede soon.

This is the view today from our back porch. The hay was delivered to the island strip of land because through habit that's where the cows were plodding looking for feed. The farmer's house is in the background.

My focus for today is to wash all the dishes and do some washing... I will be cooking lamb stew for tonight. 

More rain is forecast for the next few days with more flooding. If it gets any worse, we are going to need an ark! 

The only blessing about getting old

 

It's Tuesday morning here. I have our cleaning lady coming at ten. Before she gets here, I want to tidy the house and get a load of washing done. 

She usually vacuums and mops the floors and cleans the bathroom for me. As an aged pensioner, the government has certain home care packages for the aged and I have been approved for one. I do pay a fee for her services, but it is subsidised through the government Aged Care Plan. 

I consider myself blessed beyond measure. Those jobs are ones I can no longer do and as Chris is quite unwell himself, I don't even ask him to attempt to do them. 

Having home help is not a matter of being lazy- with fibromyalgia, heart and spinal issues and arthritis, there are a lot of tasks I just cannot do anymore. 

As I have written before, I am grateful for all my labour saving devices and the Home Package Care Plan I qualified for.

I think it's the only blessing about getting old...

I haven't bothered to do it.

 

These last few days since my last post have been difficult to say the least. With Spring here in Australia, the weather has been at its' most changeable. 

In Melbourne where we live, it is possible to experience all seasons in one day and the joke of the day is to wear a bikini under your raincoat. It plays havoc with Fibromites.

We Fibromites know that inclement or changing weather patterns causes a fibromyalgia flare and for me it has run true to form.

I have been unable to think clearly let alone blog, and the depression that has enveloped me in its' dreariness has made it impossible to rise above the constant background of muscle pain.

By the time I have made our bed and tidied our home in preparation for the nurse from Hospital in the Home to come to change Chris's post op dressing, I am in so much pain that I just want to crawl back into that newly made bed. Sometimes I do.

Still on lockdown with Covid 19, we only go to the chemist or face to face doctors appointments when a phone consultation isn't suitable. And the way I have been feeling, it is more than enough.

It is not uncommon for us to prepare ourselves for a few hours out of the home as if we were planning a vacation. When I say "prepare ourselves" I mean emotionally.

We have to give ourselves a pep talk and conjure up motivation and spoons to leave home. Physically, there's not much to do.

We may or may not shower, depending on how recently we have had one. We get dressed and we rest. Avid clock watchers, we usually leave our departure until the absolute last minute, so loathe are we to venture outside these days. By the time we are no longer in lockdown, I think I will be preferring to stay home.

Close to the hour to depart, I will usually check my hair has been combed and on a really, really good day, I will pull all stops out and put on some lipstick. With mandatory masks, no one is even going to see that these days, so lately I haven't bothered to do it.

We only live once

 The Victorian Government has lifted some of the travelling bans here and so we decided to go for a long drive today. We were so glad to be able to go visit our daughter who also lives in Gippsland. 

We were overjoyed to see a double rainbow on our way home. It was so vivid and we felt like we were actually driving through it. 

Yesterday was a day of severe fibromyalgia pain, but I decided to try to focus on positives and I didn't have to look far. The same daughter we visited today has had leukaemia and she had a phone consult yesterday from her haemotologist, who informed her that she was still in remission.  

Laying in bed last night, I tried to ignore the aching muscles, stiff neck and back and I decided to dwell on the many ways I have been blessed daily. Certainly the blood results were praiseworthy. I fell asleep praising and thanking God for the miracle of her life. 

I woke up still in pain, as the weather was inclement, but I needed to go to the chemist, so I forced myself to get dressed and go. We then proceeded to see our daughter, glad to be able to at last visit someone and drive in the car! 

I know I will most likely wake up in pain tomorrow, but I weighed it up and decided that seeing my girl and going for a drive would be worth it. So I will plan the next few days accordingly.

I will be preparing an easy stew in the slow cooker tomorrow.  I will be doing just the essentials in the house- for me that is putting clean washing away and doing tonight's dishes. With my arms tingling and feeling like my muscles and tendons are tearing, I won't be doing them tonight. They will be there in the morning...

Life with fibromyalgia is a juggling act and a life of constantly meting out spoons and rest breaks. Every day one has to decide if a certain activity is worth the pain to follow it. Sometimes it is.

We have to weigh up the satisfaction and pleasure of today against the certain knowledge of a painful tomorrow. We often have to choose to live and we suffer physically for it.

Fibromites have to plan to live or we will die inside through boredom, loneliness and regret. We must know that we could cocoon ourselves today only to find we suffer tomorrow anyway.

Along with the pain of overprotecting ourselves, comes the feeling of regret. Choose carefully and try to find joy every day. We only live once.

Help is on the way!

So last week I got a phone call from the Aged care people to inform me that they can send a woman to clean for me. She will be wearing a mask and social distancing they tell me...

She is coming today early in the morning, so I have gotten up, dressed and breakfasted and stripped off our bed for changing. My fibromyalgia is flaring, but I have had to ignore my sore muscles and look to the next few hours when the cleaning lady is here.

You can't imagine the relief I feel as we can't manage heavy cleaning anymore. Vaccuuming, mopping and bath/shower cleaning knock us both out. As I have said to the Aged care people, I can do things at waist level like cooking and washing dishes. 

I no longer use the clothesline to dry my washing which is a shame because there's nothing quite like fresh laundry that's been dried by the sun. However, since my polymyalgia rheumatica bouts, I have trouble raising my arms: it even hurts to brush my hair. Which is why I now wear it short. It's manageable.

Today is the day I refill our medicine containers and that means that later on I will have to get to the chemist to get prescriptions refilled. I also need to buy electrodes for the glucose monitoring machines.

Our sugars are still too high, even though Chris is now on 20 units of insulin twice a day plus his oral medications. I have been put on Januvia 50mg a morning with 2 diamicron tablets. We are not winning this battle against diabetes 2.

So I am looking up dishes to make that are low GI and trying to learn about reducing blood sugar. And although it seems like I am taking steps backward, at least I am winning in the cleaning stakes because mercifully, thanks to Centrelink, help is on the way!

Rona has found us!

We live in a little town in country Victoria Australia. We are in the perfect spot to shelter from Covid 19 or Rona as we call it.

We have under 500 people in total, a pub, a small police station, a small post office and a country shop. And a couple of quaint old churches.

Our town is so tiny that we don't have the postman call on us: we have PO boxes. So very little chance of Rona coming up here.

So you can imagine our shock and horror when we have found out that Rona is rearing her ugly head in our little shire! It's the one downfall of this pretty little town.

She is so pretty that people come here for a Sunday drive, and yes- even those who have tested positive for Rona! And they bring it from the large towns to us.

So bad is the new infection rate in Melbourne that it has been put under stage 4 lockdown. We are following with stage 3 on Wednesday, and mandatory wearing of masks starting midnight tonight for us regional Victorians. 

We are more than over this but it is what it is. Chris and I are going to stay home, except for chemist and doctor if face to face contact is necessary. Although we have no children, we will be living along these lines. 

It's sad that it's come to this for Victoria, but it's necessary. We are the lucky ones living up here, but even so, Rona has found us! 

Watch, pray and wash your hands.

So this Corona Virus is getting serious here Down Under. In our home state, Victoria, people have been dropping like flies after a whiff from the can of Mortein. 

Melbourne and metropolitan towns have been told to stay at home and even  we in the rural areas have been asked to limit our business outside the home.

Masks are becoming mandatory after midnight Wednesday for those in lockdown and we here have been requested to comply. 

We had  a telephone consult about our three monthly blood tests and although Chris's sugars at 9.2 have come down, there's room for improvement. He has to double his Januvia tablets.

My sugars were 8 which our doctor has said was good but could be better. I do have a high GTT on my liver report. Just another thing to worry about, I suppose. Kidney function is good. Cholesterol is fine too.

I don't get much sun as I am inside mainly so not surprisingly, my vitamin  D is low. I am to take 2 Vit D tablets from now on to give it a boost.

Due to comorbidities, Chris and I have been told to wear a mask when shopping etc. I accordingly bought some on ebay today because it is cheaper than the chemist.

I am experiencing some itchy hands from the constant hand sanitisers when we leave the house. I know they are important, and I do use them, but I use soap and water at home.

It's just another cross to bear with fibromyalgia vying for top place in the itching field. My hands usually only itch after I clap my hands. 

But all in all, we have to stay vigilant to stay safe, so I will do as I am told. We have faith in God, but have to have a teachable heart with matters like Corona.

So we keep social distancing, and we watch and pray, and wash our hands. 

Sometimes old school is better

So when we lived in the fifth wheeler, we needed to find a vacuum that actually picked up cat fur, wasn't heavy and didn't take up a lot of room in storage.  We bought a Dyson V6 Animal with disappointing results. 

It became clogged with Xena's fur mainly and it was difficult to unlatch it to empty. At $700AUD, it wasn't cheap.

While it was kind to my sore back, it was not at all kind to my arthritic fingers. In fact, as soon as there was the slightest relaxation of pressure on the red button to run the motor, the thing died.

Last night Chris was able to resolve a problem of it stopping and starting erratically. He dismantled it and cleaned the filter and removed dirt from around the collection area. It improved and pulsed properly, but it still is a big disappointment. It simply blocks up too easily and quickly. 

For those Sacrificial Home Keepers with arthritic hands and fingers, or fibro hands, I would not recommend a Dyson. Something old school that runs with a power cord would work better.

Fortunately, we have a Volta Red Devil that has a long cord and we find this better in the long run. Unkind on my back, it doesn't hurt my hands or fingers. Sometimes old school is better.

Today we had our blood tests for diabetes: HBA1C. We went to the chemist to pick up some prescriptions and headed home. Chris needed his insulin injection and breakfast.

I am under the weather with fibromyalgia- same old story: weather changes = pain. So I followed the Wednesday List on Sylvia's Lists and had a much needed nana nap.

We are having a late dinner tonight as we have to wait 8 hours between Chris's injections as we were late with it due to the fasting this morning. Not feeling overly hungry, we are going to just have a frozen dinner.  We eat really well most nights, so a frozen meal occasionally won't harm us.

I am a firm believer in eating nutritious foods and we live on three veg and meat dinners cooked from scratch.  I know take away and fast foods are convenient, but once again, old school is better...

Enjoying my home

Even though we haven't enjoyed the fact that we have been on lockdown, we have still enjoyed our home.

We have done things around the house, I have tried new recipes to cook and we spend a lot of time just watching the birds and our cat.

There is a lovely feeling of peace, no anxiety and just a sense of calm. I am enjoying Chris's company and the days are going fast.

We have gone to bed late and slept in. Which is just as well because the changeable weather has my fibromyalgia flaring nastily.  It is so nice to be able to just take a nana nap without feeling guilty. 

I have done my grocery shopping online and ordered our medications on an app. That way I only have to run in and pick them up instead of waiting forever for them to be made up.

Yesterday's doctor's visit was done by phone with him faxing our prescriptions through to our chemist.

We are enjoying the peace of scripture and worship music playing in the background and my Quiet Time is now any time I feel like doing it. 

I honestly thought that being in lockdown would drive me nuts, but quite the opposite. Apart from knowing that I can't go out like before, I am still enjoying my home

Horace wants more!

So earlier today we heard our almost tame magpie, Horace pecking at our back garden door. He is getting very cheeky and comes right up onto the porch.

When he has finished whatever we give him, he often calls us to give him more. We find him irresistable.

My fibromyalgia was a little better today and I actually had some spoons, so I was able to get a few things done. Not a lot by normal standards, but a fibromite, it is quite the feat. 

On my to do list today were:

1. Change our sheets
2. Make the scones that Chris loves
3. Cook sausages, eggs, baked beans and mashed potatoes for dinner

The scones turned out nice and I served them with butter and strawberry jam. I also ordered repeat prescriptions from the chemist and will pick them up tomorrow. 

It is such a joy to be living where we are: we are grateful to God for not only the house, but for a little magpie who always wants more! 

All things work for good...

So we are staying at home with the Corona Virus spreading fast. But today we had to go to see our Doctor P to get some repeat scripts. He said that from now on we can just ring the clinic and he will fax our scripts to our chemist. We are glad for one less reason not to have to go out.

Our BP was pretty good: 138/74 for me... and Chris's, strangely was exactly the same. The doctor laughed and asked if we even synchronised our BP! I said to Chris isn't that romantic, and Dr P laughed again and agreed that it was!  We are always together and we never tire of each other!

Apart from today, we have been home and it hasn't been all that bad. I have been getting some things done around the house like decluttering and Chris has been putting some pictures up for me in our room and the guest room.

I am making sure we are eating proper meals but I do have some snack foods in the back of the pantry for comfort eating. Chris loves to munch on almonds whilst watching TV and I love eating muesli bars.

My fibromyalgia is dictating my life a bit, ensuring that I have a nana nap in the afternoons. With no social commitments, it's pretty easy to go to bed when I feel the need. And I don't feel guilty.

Staying at home because one has to with the Corona Virus like a spectre haunting our peace, is not ideal, but if we do what we are told, I am sure it will burn itself out soon.

We are refusing to give in to anxious thoughts and are trying to keep ourselves busy. Well, as busy as I can be with limited spoons.

My to do list today is to follow Thursday's List which is basically a rest day as I had the doctor's appointment today.  I am feeling tired now. 

I will be spending time watching You Tube and Netflix with Chris and trying to keep myself busy in the home. We can use this time at home for good if we think it through. All things work for good...

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28