Itchy

I am very itchy tonight.  It's driving me nuts!  I take Zyrtec every night at about this time.  I guess its the 24 hour pill wearing off.  But, tonight it is on the palm of my hands and soles of my feet too.  It usually doesn't get that bad unless I skip a Zyrtec, then the itchiness becomes unbearable. 

I had a histamine urine test done by my hematologist last year.  I suffered through many days without taking Zyrtec and when the test came back, it showed no histamine in my system.  So strange!  Why then does my body itch all the time and calm down when I take an anti-histamine?

I have been itchy for many, many years.  I have very fair, Irish skin.  I burn easily, breakout easily, and have super sensitive skin.  So, being itchy is sort of my normal.  It's been this way for so long, I hardly ever remember not being itchy.  But, it doesn't make it any more bearable. 

I am trying to think of any new foods I might have had today, anything that could trigger the itchiness.  Nothing new.  My Dr. said that I might be allergic to an additive or something that is impossible to trace.  Another "we don't know what is causing it or how to fix it" answer. 

Medication

I have completed my 1st week of chiropractic treatment.  I am going to go 3 times per week - for 4 weeks.  Week 1 is complete.  I can honestly say, it is helping.  I haven't been hobbling around in the morning with the pain in my legs.  But, I also haven't been doing any exercise lately.  Maybe that is the true test.

Whatever the reason, I am just going to accept it and be happy about it.  I am going to live in the moment and enjoy some pain free days.  I am not going to wait for the pain to start or read into it too much.  I am pretty darn happy about it!

As I continue with chiropractic treatment, I wonder if I can acheive my ultimate goal:  cut out medication.  I hate taking pills everyday and if I can get off some of it, that would be wonderful.  I know many people with fibro take a lot more than I do, so I can't complain much.  But, it's an expense and a pain in the butt remembering to take it everyday.

My routine for medication is:

• GNC Women's Ultra Mega Vitamin with breakfast.  This vitamin rocks!
• YAZ birth control pill & Effexor with lunch.  I really don't need birth control, my husband had a vasectomy after Austin was born.  But, I take it because the pain with my periods was so bad (since Austin's birth) and it was irregular, plus endometriosis..  I also had dramatic mood swings during this time, so it helps with that as well.  Effexor is what the dr. prescribed for the fibro pain.
• Zyrtec before bed.  This stops the wierd itching I get if I don't take it.  It's expensive over the counter, would love to drop this one!

Sometimes muscle relaxors or tyelenol pm before bed.

I have had no difficulty getting out of bed the past 2 mornings either.  I haven't exactly jumped right up, but I haven't been as sleepy and foggy in the morning.

Feeling Motivated

So, as the cycle goes, I had 2 days of pain and today I feel much better.  Not 100% pain free, but so much better.  As the fog clears and I feel as though I can manage this, I start to look for ways to make myself feel better.  I am always trying to figure out what I did differently yesterday to make me feel so much better today.  As if I can figure out the rhyme and reason of fibromyalgia.

So, last night I stretched out across the entire bed when falling asleep (my hubby and the dog weren't in bed yet).  So, I thought maybe this helped and came up with a theory:  once Simba (my small Shih Tzu) comes to bed, she likes to sleep on my feet or around my feet.  This leaves me kind of cramped while I am sleeping.  Maybe I need to just push her out of the way and take up more space.  As I told this to my husband this morning, he laughed and said I already stretch out and take up most of the space.  So- that theory is out the window!  :)

Another thing I did well last night was take my Zyrtec.  I take Zyrtec every night before bed, it keeps my skin calm.  If I don't take it, I tend to get itchy all over.  My hands and feet burn in a strange way that is more like itchy...but burning.  I have had a hard time explaining this odd itching thing to my doctors.  If I go 2-3 days without Zyrtec, it gets really bad and can sometimes lead to hives and blotching.  But, Zyrtec does the trick.

Of course with all of the itching, I have had extensive allergy testing.  No food allergies that they can find and no elevated levels of histamine.  So, what is causing it then?  Doctors do not know (again).  They said it could be a preservative in a food or something like that, but its nearly impossible to figure out.  So, if Zyrtec does the trick- then we will continue that expensive treatment.  Since it went over the counter- its pretty expensive.

But, anyway, I do think when I take Zyrtec at night - I wake up clearer.  I guess its one less thing my body needs to fight. 

Other things that I think can help is music and stretching.  If I put music on my computer while I work, it lifts my spirits and I am distracted from the pain.  It's still there, but I am not thinking about it.  And, stretching.  I am going to try stretching 3 times a day to see if this helps at all.  I have no evidence that it will, but I am going to give it a try.

I go to the Chiropractor tonight and I am a little worried that they are going to try to get me to come in every day.  I can't afford that.  I think I will have a $20 co-pay and I can't afford to pay that daily.  We'll see how it goes.

Is this a real thing?

So, it's been a week since I was diagnosed with fibro and I started to tell some family and friends. Not many, just a few that I feel close enough with. And, I have done a great deal of research and I am amazed at how it seems like the description of fibro was written about me.

The muscle aches are a strange thing. I really thought that it was normal to feel pain when touched gently. The thing is, I didn't realize that people were touching me gently...I thought they were be rough. My idea of a normal shoulder rub is not the same as it should be. Looking back at a couple of massages I have received in the past, I can remember thinking "this is supposed to feel like this. It hurts at times, but it's just because I am tense. It will feel better later". Ummm...I guess most people don't tense up while getting the massage!

Another thing that makes sense now is pedicures and manicures. I love getting a pedicure so I can soak my feet in the hot water and get my nails painted. But, I dread when they start exfoliating my feet and filing my toe nails. It hurts so bad that I cringe and sometime the person says "Does THAT hurt" in a surprised way.

Other things that make sense now- TMJ. For the past year, my jaw pain has gotten pretty bad. It started about 2.5 years ago. At first, I thought it was my ears. I kept feeling this tingling and burning in my ears. I even went to the ENT and he had no idea what "sensation" I was describing. He did a hearing test and then sent me on my way. Then, I went to the Dentist for routine dental work. The days that followed, my jaw hurt badly. But, it NEVER went away. At my next visit I told the dentist about it, hoping he could shorten my time there so it wouldn't get bad. He looked at my jaw, had me open/close, etc....told me I had TMJ. He gave me some therapies to try on my own and told me to let him know if it got really bad. In the meantime, my husband claims that my jaw makes a noise when I eat and that it has been making this noise since the day we met (10 years ago). Well, over time, this seems to have gotten worse and it is now to the point where it aches constantly. If I am just sitting watching TV- it aches. It is a part of daily pain for me now. Not bad pain, but a lingering ache.

Other symptoms- burning hands and feet. I keep that at bay by taking Zyrtec. If I take the Zyrtec, it stays away. This started about 7 years ago. I underwent a bunch of allergy testing and they couldn't find anything wrong. Story of my life.

Oh there is so much more. It feels good to write this and get it out...even if no one is listening.