Last week, the top of my shoulder was tender to the touch. Nothing else, particularly, that I could recall, but apparently I was having a fibro flare-up. It doesn’t do it often, in fact, so seldom that I rarely connect the dots. But, as occasionally happens, I read an article on fibromyalgia just yesterday.
And I did connect the dots. Again.
I was diagnosed, oh, eight years ago, I think. Obviously, I don’t take meds for it—my German ancestry says, “Suck it up, cupcake!” And I do, or at least I ignore the pain, most of the time. Until, that is, it knocks me out for a few days.
Another part of the problem—see title—is that, ever since I was a child, I’ve had this bad habit of holding my breath when I’m concentrating on something, physical work, writing, whatever. That makes for quicker exhaustion.
Heat doesn’t help, either. Back in the day, I rarely perspired; not from heat exhaustion or anything, just not much sweating in spite of temperatures or workload. Now, sheesh. I drip constantly!
Anyway, the pain part stinks. At night, I wake up a lot. From a tiny noise to a wrinkle in the sheets, or sweating, to pain in my hips from lying in one spot too long. And it really hurts. And when I do physical work, I tend to not only hold my breath but also work full speed ahead for 30 minutes or so before taking a break. Doesn’t help that I hate to leave a chore unfinished…
This week, down on the Farm, my husband is moving walls and electric stuff; I’m little help with this, although I’m learning. A little. Oh, I can hand him tools or search for screws, but that’s about it.
So I do other things—clean up, cook, wash dishes, pick up stuff, bag trash (always a lot that we’re still finding), run the weedeater, and work in the garden. I did all those things, from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00, and then I was done. Not sleepy, just exhausted. Heat index was 86, so there’s that.
You tell me—am I just being a big wuss and making excuses? Sometimes I feel like it…
Robin Writes 
You’re not a wuss but you’re also not a teenager any more either. Let yourself rest occasionally. It’s OK!
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Ditto Sharon. Take a break, girl.
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Today, I am. Sitting here, dealing with stupid ATT.
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Hm..a couple of observations, Robin. Weed-whacking is hard on both shoulder rotor cuffs AND hips. Make sure you are using a weed- whacker powerful enough to justify a shoulder harness which will result in less fighting with the big weeds.
The small ones just don’t cut it, (no pun intended) and using a small one holding it by hand only is a LOT more work.
The humidity and heat combination saps strength quickly from anyone, healthy or not. I work outside EARLY in the morning or later in the evening, when it’s cooler, and inside in the hotter part of the day if the humidity is high.
Holding the breath habitually can result in an enlarged heart, other issues can really complicate that further, ie. allergies, dust, excessive physical work, humidity, temp, repetitive actions –can all be exhausting and worse with Fibro….we won’t comment on the fact that we’re all getting older…haha….. It really might not hurt to get a check up, at least check the blood pressure.
As for sleep, I hear that Mullein tea is helpful to excellent, Valerian is also helpful, as is St. John’s Wort.
For pain and inflammation, here’s a natural recipe that actually WORKS, but is not medicine. …. Use this stuff like you would use Nutella or peanut butter on toast.
Mix up:
1 tablespoon turmeric (powdered)
1 tablespoon cinnamon (powdered)
1/2 tablespoon black pepper (fresh ground if possible)
into:
Approx. 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (or you COULD use olive oil, but coconut oil tastes better)
and stir in 1 tablespoon of honey ( to taste)
Now, it might sound weird,,,,,, but this unique mix is a natural anti-inflammatory and actually tastes quite good to boot…. I spread it on toast.
Laugh, then try it. “:)
Have a great day, and do get some rest, one thing about a farm, there’s always MORE work to do, and most of the time it can wait another day if necessary. “:) ~R
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Thanks, Ray, I’ll give it a shot!
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