Chronic pain, narcotics and the DEA

January 2010

I've had an awful case of bronchitis and it has finally started breaking up. I've stopped feeling like I was going to cough my toenails up so I think that means I'm better.

During my down time with the bronchitis I got the call I had been waiting on for months. No, Publisher's Clearinghouse didn't call. Something even better to a chronic pain sufferer. Dr. D's office called the morning of the 14th and said they had a cancellation at 4:00 that day. This Southern Lady promptly took it and got there early - and I'm never early. On time but never early. :-) You see, Dr. D is my pain management specialist. I've been on the waiting list to see her since mid October. For someone with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis, a pain management specialist is a very important person. I have reached a point in my illness where only narcotics relieve the pain - they don't make it go away but they do make it bearable to a point where I can function. Those of us in this situation find it hard to get the narcotics that we need to treat our pain because of our wonderful lawmakers in Washington and the DEA. Our internal medicine physicians and even our specialists refuse to write prescriptions for narcotics for the treatment of chronic pain, even tho they feel prescribing these drugs is warranted, because of threats by the DEA to take away their licenses for doing so. Pain management specialist are there to take up the slack and stand up for our right to not be in pain. However there are so many people with chronic pain and so few doctors willing to work in pain management that it takes months, if not years, to get in with one and get your treatment started.

I hope that 2010 will bring a time of change and awareness about the differences between addiction and dependence. I am not nor are my friends with chronic pain disorders addicted to our drugs. We don't take them to get "high", we take them to function. We would rather not take them but we do so that we can have some level of "normal" in our lives. These drugs allow us to take care of our families, to be wives, mothers and grandmothers, to volunteer at our churches and in our communities. We want to be contributing members of society.

Yes, I am dependent on my narcotics but I am no different than a diabetic who is dependent on their insulin. No one would ever say that a diabetic is addicted to their insulin. Why can't chronic pain sufferers get the same compassion and respect?

The Countdown is On! A Change is Coming!

After being gone for so long from this blog, it looks like I'm coming back to it soon.  We've had a roller coaster ride over the last 9 months.  Some was fibro related, other things became fibro related because of the stress that threw me into a flare from dealing with it.  I've got a post started I'll share with you next week about the craziness around the Martin house.

When I started this blog, I was in constant pain that pretty much never got lower that a 7 and when it did, it didn't stay there long.  I found an awesome pain management specialist and have learned a lot about how to pace myself.  Because of this, I am managing my pain pretty well and keeping it in the 4, 5, and 6 levels most of the time.  I still have plenty of days that hit an 8, 9, or 10. I'm just blessed to have some good days in between them now.

I've had lots of time to think about what I wanted to do blog wise. I thought about just abandoning it - for a very short period of time.  I thought about how boring my pain is this days and figured if it was boring to me, it probably would be to you guys as well. I definitely feel that I'm to be an advocate for those of us who suffer with chronic pain. So I'm coming back.

I'm coming back with new ideas that I want to share.  In addition to hearing about how fibromyaliga rules my life, I want to share research information, articles on our illnesses and have some guest bloggers come in.  I've also thought about doing some giveaways.  :-)

I don't know about you but housework, grocery shopping, menu planning and cooking can really be HUGE problems for me when I pain is really bad.  I'll be sharing ways to get these things done with your pain and how to keep these things from increasing your pain.

We need to relax whenever we can but I have a hard time just sitting watching TV or playing on the computer.  I'll be sharing ideas for activities that will be both relaxing and fun.  Right now I'm thinking about book reviews, blog reviews, crafts and sewing/quilting.


Sundays will be a no writing day.  My plan is to share something with you that had an impact on my life that week through pictures and/or a Bible verse.


I'd love to hear what you think about these ideas.  Is this the kinds of things you'd like to see?  Should I stop writing all together? What do you want to see on the pages of My Life with Fibromyalgia pain? Please let me know through a comment.

I'm Back! I Hurt! What's New?

I can't believe that I've not posted since January 14!  So much for part of the life changes I had planned. I did a update on how they are coming along over on Rambling Thoughts of a Southern Lady. 

It's been crazy around here since Thanksgiving. I wrote about some of it  here and here.

Between the holidays, kids coming to visit, sinus infections, a reaction to a new drug, the flu and the stomach flu, not much of what I planned has actually happened.

My pain has gone up and down much like a kid's see saw.  It's been a Level 4 and it's been a Level 9 it even hit Level 10.  Sometimes it's been at both ends of the scale in a 24 hour period. I can't take the flu shot because I had Guillain-Barre Syndrome when I was 14 but I've been blessed to not have had the flu for several years.  This year I got the flu.  For about 4 days my pain stayed between a Level 7 and Level 9.  I probably could have taken more medicine for the pain than I did.  Since I was also taking antihistamines in an effort to try and open up my sinus passage and I was home alone much of the time, I was afraid to take much more that my normal.  I would rather hurt and still be here to see my grandchildren grow up than to take a chance on mixing the wrong medicines or amount of medicines.

About a month after that I got the stomach flu that was going around.  I woke up one morning and felt pretty good and I was loving that.  A couple of hours later I took Mr. Supportive to work so that I could have the car to run errands.  The errands didn't happen.  I suddenly felt nauseous and got my window down just in time to deposit breakfast down the side of the car in the parking lot where he works. Right outside the big double glass doors.  The doors that his co-workers were standing at watching the morning unfold and drinking coffee. Of course the guys came running out to see if they could help.  Sigh... Talk about wrong time, wrong place.

I headed home and made it about 3 blocks when I knew I was going to be sick again.  Since I knew the Goodwill store had a clean bathroom, that's where I went.  I grabbed a washcloth off the rack on the way to the back of the store.  Thankfully I was able to make it into the bathroom and wet the washcloth before I got sick again.  After what seemed like forever, I was able to pay for my wet washcloth (or at least I hope I did), get to the car and make it home before I was sick again.  Once again my pain was up between a Level 7 and a Level 9.  After I had been home for a little while, it hit a Level 10 that I hadn't experienced since 2009. Between the pain and throwing up more than I did in both my pregnancies combined I barely moved for almost a week.  I was in a lot of pain when I had the flu but it was nothing like this.  This was the pain that I had before I was prescribed any kind of pain medication but this time I was having it taking 60 mg of Kadian every 12 hours and 30mg of morphine every 3 or 4 hours.


But as the saying goes, this too shall pass and it did.  It took me a while to build my strength back up but I did and started getting back on track.  For a while...

This is where this part of the story ends and a new chapter begins.

 

Checking in

It's been a while since I've posted.  It's been a combination of feeling like I've been hit with a Mack truck or being busy trying to catch up from being run down by said truck.  I was getting back to feeling like I'd been run over with a Volkswagen until the rain and cooler weather hit yesterday.  Oh my!!  When it hit it was quick and viscous. My pain went from my normal Level 5 to Level 9 in about 15 minutes. I was out running an errand and thought I was going to have to call a friend that lived close to where I was and see if I could veg on her couch until Bill got off work and could come pick me up.  I decided that I wanted my own bed and made it home driving slowly and on the back road.  Went to bed and only slept about 4 hours but it was enough to keep me up all night.  I've been up since about 8:00pm Wednesday night with the exception of about 2 hours this afternoon.  I'm headed to bed now to hopeful sleep more than 2 hours. 

Check out Apple Creek Cove, my blog where I'm going to attempt to write about ways that I've found to be able to maintain a semi normal level of domestic bliss in spite of my Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Myofascial Pain Syndrome, Peripheral Neuropathy, Peripheral Lymphedema, Sjogren's Syndrome, Arthritis, four herniated discs, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, short term memory loss, sleep apnea and depression.  (I need to check my doc's notes because I feel like I'm leaving something out of my collection of diagnoses.)



As I head off to be at 4:13AM, here's my final thought for Thursday:

Why Do Our Pain Meds Not Control Pain from Things Like Carpel Tunnel?

Pain amazes me.  I take some pretty potent pain medication for my fibro.  When I had my kidney stone problems last year, the ER doc and my urologist told me that what they usually prescribe for kidney stone pain didn’t come anywhere near to what I was already taking.  The pain was absolutely horrendous.  My kidney stone pain was a Level 10 while I was taking my extended release and breakthrough pain medication.  It frightens me to think about how painful it would have been without my pain medication.  Before my fibro got so bad, I was a pain whimp.  Mr. Supportive had to take me to the dentist for my root canal because I had to be drugged up on Valium so I "passed out" in the chair before the work started,  

I still have a fear of needles and the pain that comes with them.  When my son and daughter's father and I got married, we were required to take a blood test.  I seriously sat and looked at him and then the needle several times, deciding if he was worth getting stuck.  LOL  My two wonderful children were definitely worth that needle stick!  I was so relieved when I discovered that the blood test was not required when I married Mr. Supportive.  

I filed my first and only Workers Compensation claim for carpel tunnel.  After wearing the wrist brace 24/7 for several months, it wasn't much better so I bit the bullet and got a shot of cortisone.  It cleared up and my claim was closed. (So now it’s my money paying for treatment.)  Fast forward four years and it’s back with a vengeance.  My pain medications are managing my fibro pain and the everyday pain of the carpel tunnel.  At least it manages it until I turn my wrist a certain way and the pain spikes up to a Level 8 or 9.  I actually scream out when I have to turn it that way.  How can the pain override all the pain medication I have in my system?  You’d think that the pain medication would laugh at the carpel tunnel for thinking it could get past them and bother me.  I’m here to tell you that it’s the carpel tunnel laughing.

Since it’s my right hand and I’m right handed, there are many things that I must use it for.  The task that hurts the most is done in a small room behind a closed door.  It hurts so bad that I put off going to that room for as long as I can.  When I finally can’t put it off any longer, Mr. Supportive knows exactly where I am and what I’m doing by the muffled scream.  Why can’t I either be ambidextrous or have the carpel tunnel in my left hand?

I’ve been wearing my brace for several weeks now and it helps – until I have to turn it that special way.  Last night I took off my brace to wash up the last of the dishes right before bed.  I forgot to put it back on and it’s no telling how it was bent during the night.  This morning, I can’t open the jar of peanut butter without screaming.  

I had sworn off going to anymore doctors except for the Social Security Disability doctors and my pain management doctor.  I’m just really tired of going to the doctor and them finding more and more wrong with me.  Or I’m paying them to tell me what I already know. It looks like I’m going to have to add an exception and include my hand doctor.  I’ve been trying to fight this pain too long on my own.  I feel sure that Dr. Cole will be bringing out the big scary needle and sticking it in my wrist.  Hopefully, that shot will take care of it for another four years.

Since this blog is about my fibro pain, I guess I should mention it.  I’ve had a horrible problem with Chronic Fatigue  lately.  It’s nothing for me to sleep 12- 15 hours at a time.  People often ask if that doesn’t give me a back ache.  Up until recently, it never has but that’s not the case anymore.  My back pain is a Level 6 and my fatigue is still pretty high.

Although I have things to do, I’m headed for a nap.  Pain is something that as long as it stays at a Level 5 or below I can function pretty well.  If it was just the pain, I could probably stay up and accomplish what I need to do. I just can’t learn to work through the fatigue.  Do any of you have any suggestions for getting through the fatigue?  I’d love to hear from you.

It's Just the Way Fibro Is

I was shocked when I saw that it had been ten days since I wrote the last post!  I’m not sure why I was shocked because the last ten days have been the usual fibromyalgia ups and downs.  My pain has been higher than normal at a Level 8  instead of my usual Level 4 or 5.  I’ve been trying to pinpoint something that I did that may have started this flare so that I can avoid that in the future.  In true fibro fashion, there is nothing that I can think of that caused it.  It’s just the way fibro is.

I have got so much that I need to be getting done and just don’t have the energy for it.  I’ve said lately that being chronically ill is like having a job.  I just got a certified letter from my Long Term Disability carrier saying that my benefits are only approved till October 28.  While they admit that I cannot go back to my job as a paralegal, they are reviewing my file to see if there is any other job that I can hold.  It apparently doesn’t matter if the job is nothing remotely like what I’ve done before or doesn’t even pay what my benefit it. If that wasn’t enough to make me nervous, my doctors haven’t sent them the requested records.  So Monday morning, I’ll be on the phone begging the docs to send my records in. When the adjustor told me how my former employer had the policy set up, I felt like once again the company was pulling the rug out from under my feet.  One of these days, I’m going to write about my last year at work.  I will always feel that my supervisor had decided that I didn’t “fit” with the rest of the department and used my illness to get rid of me.  Since I have my appointment with the Social Security Disability doctors August 30, I hope I’ll have my SSD approved before they try to pull my LTD benefit check.  Without either my LTD benefit or a SSD check, we will lose our house. My illness has already forced us into the Home Affordability Program.  If you miss a payment when you are in the program, they start foreclosure.  I see no way around that.  Where we will go or what we will do is something that I refuse to think about.  I prefer to pray for God’s direction and His blessings that if my LTD benefit stops, my SSD will start.  All of this emotional and financial strain is just the way fibro is.

Financial problems are nothing new to those of us who are disabled by our Fibromyalgia.  Each day, some of us have to decide if they will have their pain pills refilled or buy groceries.  Some of us who are still working way beyond the time that they should have stopped, has to decide if they can go on for another day, week or month.  Some of us have our bodies make that decision for us when we literally can no longer put one foot in front of the other.  I don't understand how Social Security Disability can justify not having a category for Fibromyalgia.  They have to see how many people are effected by it based on the applications that they receive.  We've worked and paid in to the Social Security system. Why do they make it so difficult for us to get the financial help we are due.  Most of us live a two paycheck life.  When one of us looses that paycheck, it sends our whole world into a tailspin.  Facing the financial unknown causes so much stress that our pain skyrockets.  How do you make responsible decisions that need to be made right now when your pain is off the charts? It’s just the way fibro is.

Mr. Supportive and I have tried to explain fibromyalgia to an older family member many times.  This person believes that I am in pain.  At the same time, they don’t understand that the pain is always there, sometimes better, sometimes worse.  Whenever we talk and I say that I’m more tired than usual or the pain is a little worse, they want to know why.  They ask if I went to bed on time, what I did do make it hurt more.  For several years, I tried explaining it each time.  I no longer have the energy for that.  Now I say “It’s just the way fibro is.”

I'm Alive and Kinda Well

I'm just stopping by to say hello. I'm working on a post regarding how Fibro completely changes our lives. I'm also working on one about how we can have fun with our grandchildren even with Fibro pain. Unfortunately, I've got something wrong with my right hand/wrist/arm. Using it definitely makes it much worse. Don't know if it's a Fibro problem or an Ortho one. Being out of town makes it more of a challenge because It's been so long since I lived here, I no longer have a doc who will not make snide comments about my pain medication. Plus anywhere I go will be out of network any where I go. I have a brace for my carpel tunnel that helped it but it's been misplaced and I refuse to pay $20 for another one. For now it seems that my only solution is to not use it.

Tomorrow the grandchildren and I are going to make a cake. I'll supervise the ingredients being added and mixed together. It's something we can do together with limited movement for me so my pain should stay down. I'll let u know how it goes.

Cynthia the Fibromyalgia Grandma

Fibromyalgia, Lymphedema and Loneliness

My legs are swollen slightly larger than the one on the right.

 I think I've mentioned before that this summer's heat has been really hard on me. I was recently diagnosed with Lymphedema and it has been "introducing" itself to me. My legs and especially my ankles are so swollen that I can barely walk. I'm afraid that they are going to start weeping any time.  The first time they weeped it scared me but I've gotten use to it.  When they would swell so badly in the past, I would often think that it would make them feel so much better if I could just stick a pin in them and relieve the pressure.  I was right, it does take some of the pressure off but too much of a "good thing" can be scary.  Mother's Day I was sewing and felt wet floor under my feet.  It took me a minute to figure out what was going on.  In the mean time a puddle had formed under both feet on my chair mat.  Had a measuring cup been handy, I feel sure I could have captured enough to  measure. 

My doctor has not yet addressed the weeping but I am concerned because everything I've read warns against having any kind of opening in the skin. I looked up Lymphedema on the Mayo Clinic site and this is what it said:

 The reddened skin or rash on both legs (that's me) may signal a deeper, more serious infection of the inner layers of skin. Once below your skin, the bacteria can spread rapidly, entering your lymph nodes and your bloodstream and spreading throughout your body. Recurrent episodes of cellulitis may actually damage the lymphatic drainage system and cause chronic swelling of the affected extremity.  In rare cases, the infection can spread to the deep layer of tissue called the fascial lining. Flesh-eating strep, also called necrotizing fasciitis, is an example of a deep-layer infection. It represents an extreme emergency. 

Isn't that just lovely - NOT!!!! It's hard to rate the pain from the Lymphedema but if I had to assign it a level, I'd pick Level 2.  It doesn't hurt a lot but it is very uncomfortable. If you had asked me 5 years ago if there was a difference between being in pain and being uncomfortable, I'd say there wasn't one.  Where my ankles are so tight from the swelling, I feel like my skin is going to burst open in the creases when I stand up and walk.  My Fibromyalgia pain is a Level 5 right now.  I'm ok but I have to take my breakthrough pain meds.I hate it when I have to do that.

Fibromyalgia causes so much loneliness.  Merriam-Webster defines lonely as being without company (lone), cut off from others (solitary), not frequented by human beings (desolate), sad from being alone (lonesome) and producing a feeling of bleakness or desolation.  Fibromyalgia leaves you feeling all of those things.  Fibromyalgia produces all those feelings.


When you are unable to move around much on your own, you pretty much stay housebound.  It gets the point where you don't want to leave the safety of your home.  I'm home alone five days a week except for the occasional trip to the grocery or drug store.  It's just too hard to get out and go somewhere alone because the pain won't let you have a good time.  

I worry about getting out and becoming too weak due to the pain to make it back home on my own.  My fibro fog makes me be unsure of my ability to make it where I'm going and back home again because I've been out before and not remembered how I got where I was going or how I got back home.  I'm a homebody by nature but this is different.  I can choose to stay home and enjoy it.  I love the amount of sewing, reading and that type thing I get done with it's just me and my sewing machine or me and a book and I enjoy it.  Now, I'm not making that choice and it makes me incredibly lonely.  Its another thing that Fibromyalgia has changed about m y life.

There's another kind of loneliness that comes from your friends (most of whom you discover are more a casual acquaintance  rather than a particularly close friend).  These are the people who prior to your health and your ability to be out and about diminishing, you went to dinner with or "painted the town red".  At first, they still call and invite you like they always have.  As you have to decline their invitations more and more or have to cancel plans at the last minute, their calls become less and less frequent until they stop coming completely.  Your acquaintances don't realize that you do have good days and can get out and have fun.  We may not be able stay out as long as we once did but we would have been out with our friends.  For a short time, we would have been “normal” again. Your real friends, still keep calling, real friends come over and just sit and talk.  Real friends even come over to clean your house and fix dinner for you.

Some don’t understand what Fibromyalgia is and the limits it puts on our bodies. Others do not believe that how bad the pain and fatigue is and call us lazy.  No matter the reason, they don’t know what to say so they treat it like any other uncomfortable situation.  It’s easier for them to avoid the situation than to take the time to learn about our illness.  I prefer to think that most would feel bad if they knew how hurtful their actions were but it’s more likely that they wouldn’t.  This illness weeds out your true friends from acquaintances.

There’s one last group that causes loneliness, emotionally attacks us and treats us as if we are hypochondriacs, lying or are drug seekers.  This group is nothing like the others.  Friends and family can be in this group but most are members of the healthcare profession - the ones that took an oath to do no harm and to work to heal their patients. Often these so called professionals are the most hurtful of all the people we encounter.  There are no tests, scans or x-rays to verify a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia.  Too many healthcare professionals refuse to admit that a condition exists if they can’t find it using technology.  Most are unwilling to accept pressure point testing as verification. I don’t understand why. I believe that a good diagnostician would be able to tell if someone was “faking” it.   Real pain is hard to hide and hard to fake. Many times I’ve told friends and family that I’m fine only to have them tell me I didn’t look fine so tell the truth.  Real pain shows in your eyes and on your face.   Surely doctors are taught how to recognize signs of pain in their patients. 

It’s important to become your own best advocate when dealing with physicians. Not only will it benefit you, it will help other Fibromites (those who suffer from Fibromyalgia) that come after you.  Fibromyalgia is a real disease and the pain is real. Do not settle for a doctor who does not take you and your pain seriously. You deserve to have your pain properly treated.  There are doctors who will believe you so never stop looking until you find a doctor who will work with you and treat your illness correctly and aggressively.  I’ve learned that just because a doctor is a specialist in something that doesn’t seem to be related to Fibromyalgia, he/she can be excellent at managing your Fibromyalgia. My awesome pain management doctor is a psychiatrist who switched to pain management exclusively.  When I was referred to her, I was afraid it was my doctor’s way of telling me he thought I was nuts. The Tramadol he had prescribed was no longer managing my pain even taking double the maximum dosage.  I was so desperate for help with the pain that I went to see her.    If you are able, explore every referral you get.  I know from personal experience that insurance companies have some interesting ideas about how often we should go to the doctor, what tests the doctor should order and what medicines should be prescribed.  I am embarking on an effort to get my insurance to pay for my bandages to treat my Lymphedema.  They pay for the related doctor’s visits, medication and physical therapy.  It makes no sense to not pay for the bandages.  That will be another post soon.  I’ll admit that the odds of them approving the bandages are slim to none but if I don’t push the issue I’ll always wonder if they would have if I asked.

I Have Slept for What Seems to be Forever and I Still Hurt

The post on Saturday was actually about Friday.  I'm not sure how that happened.  Saturday, I did sleep until I woke up. The extra rest was nice but I'm still in an awful lot of pain.  I really wish it would go away for just a little while. I tried to get up several times but I just couldn't do it.  I finally drug myself out of bed about 3:30 so that I could take a shower and get to church by 5:00.  Saturday night is our healing service and I wanted to go and have the Order of St. Luke members and our priest lay hands on me while they prayed.  Fr. Rene anointed me with oil. I always feel so much better afterward. The pain was horrible and I shouldn't have been driving but it was the only way to get there.  Bill was at work down the street from the church and he wouldn't have time to come home and get me. Those closets to me knew how much pain I was in just by looking at my face. My pain yesterday was a Level 8: This is serious pain. You don't want to do anything or be bothered by anyone. You have taken so much pain medication you are unable to fully concentrate on anything. Work is out of the question. When we got home from church I had to lay down for a nap.  That was around 6:30.

I woke up at 9:30 this morning. My pain was down to a Level 6: You simply can not ignore your pain for even a few minutes. Prescription pain medications provide you with limited functioning abilities. It's stayed there pretty much all day, a welcome reprieve from yesterdays pain.  I've not been able to get much accomplished but I have gotten a good bit of email out of my box.  I'm really hopefully that my pain will go down a little bit over night. It would be nice to be able to celebrate the holiday a little bit tomorrow.
 

My Body Hates Mornings!

This morning I got up at 8:15, made my husband's lunch, kissed him goodbye and said a prayer for his safe travel. It's my morning ritual when I'm physically able to do it.  For some reason, I broke part of my ritual by not going back to bed after he left and now I'm exhausted.  Last night I only had about 8.5 hours sleep.  To function at an acceptable level I need 10 - 12 hours. I call it my morning nap although I'm sure that's not the correct term.  Usually I've only been up about 30 minutes before going back to bed.  Now that I seem to have the correct medication regime, my mornings have gotten better and I'm so grateful. My morning pain now is a Level 3 or 4, so much better than the Level 7 or 8 and a huge difference form the Level 9 or 10 that I experienced in March, April and May of 2009.

When I was trying so hard to continue working, I would get up early enough to get ready with time left to take a short nap in order to have the necessary energy just to get to work.  Most mornings that plan didn't work too well because I still had the pain from the day before.  The pain never went away. The severity of the pain (Level 7 or 8 that eventually became Levels 9 and 10) was such that I would lean on the kitchen counter, trying to find a position that would ease the pain enough that I didn't throw up just to get to the car to leave home.

Bill's hours are 9am - 6pm.  I hate that he gets off so late. it takes away from our together time and causes us to stay up too late squeezing in a few more minutes.  If his start time, was earlier I wouldn't be able to get up with him.  As long as I'm not in a flare, I'm able to get up around 8 or 8:15 to have some time with him.  He's usually already had breakfast but I enjoy making his lunch and pretending that I'm able to be a good wife.  God blessed me with a wonderful, loving, caring, God fearing husband.  Without him, I'm not sure where I would be today.  What I do know is that my quality of life would be much less.  He never complains about having to take me to the doctor because I can't understand or remember what the doctor says. He doesn't complain when I'm not able to do something we had planned or when he picks up my nine (9) prescriptions at the pharmacy.

By around 11:30 this morning I had only been up for three hours.  My pain was awful and didn't seem to have any interest in going away despite the meds.   Today's pain started at a Level 6. (You simply cannot ignore your pain for even a few minutes. Prescription pain medications provide you with limited functioning abilities).  Now it's down to a Level 5, (You can't ignore this pain for more than an hour, even with OTC Medications. You cut back of all activities except the most important ones. Work is possible, but just barely.)

I had much more to do than I was able to accomplish.  It was all simple things - make a spreadsheet my meds, fill out a form for my LTD insurance company, make a list of things I'd like to blog about on my Apple Creek Cove blog (I'll talk more about it later) make an appointment for physical therapy and a Physical Abilities and Limitations Evaluation.  I wanted to sew.  Sewing calms my nerves and gives me a few minutes of feeling like I can still accomplish something.  Did you noticed four of the six things on my to-do list were illness related.   I'm beginning to believe that being sick with a chronic illness is a job in itself.  :-)

Cynthia

P.S. I just noticed that this posted with the time I started this morning.  It took me until 6:15 to finish with taking breaks from sitting, eating lunch, and taking a short nap.  :-)