Health Update Nov/Dec 2018

I really had to go back and check when I last shared a health update because it does not feel like it’s been a month already! These weeks have gone by so fast, and because of that, I have not kept very good track of how I’ve been doing. Eesh.

Overall Health:  Fatigue and Fibro have both eased, even before my nutrient IV last week! In between the awful bouts of pain, I’ve had times of almost excess energy. Strange. And wonderful. I’ve been steadily adding my supplements/vitamins back in. Although I did realize that Resveratrol (2/day) causes upset stomach for me! Less than 24 hrs on it and I was having the same problems that I had a few months ago. I cut back to 1/day and am fine again. So. Shrug.

Nov 28- decent day, took 2 naps, 3hrs total. Fibro still flaring and fatigue pretty strong
Nov 29- started 21day workout challenge. 

Dec 11- IV today
Dec 14- a noticably better day overall. No clonidine till @ 10pm. Only slight fibro until later evening. Very tired all day and a little spacy but best day I’ve had in weeks probably
Dec 16- tired all day, oddly energetic late evening. Two clonidine for migraine. Minimal fibropain until evening, left calf cramped. Mood good.
Dec 17- energetic, a bit tired in am but worked out, cleaned bathrooms and juiced. Left calf still tight. Migraine kicked up in evening, very tired in evening

Migraine: These are still daily – and pretty intense every day, but I feel like they are responding to treatment better lately.

Sleep:  I’m still getting just about 7 hours exactly with 2 or 3 wakings in the night. Most nights I am completely exhausted but have to wait til I can get the pain down to a decent level to go to bed. Sometimes my naps ruin going to bed at a halfway decent hour and other nights I’m still falling asleep on the couch at 9pm.

Memory/Brain Fog: After a full month on Turmeric instead of Neuroflam, I think it’s working – at the very least I haven’t noticed a big decrease in my memory. The only thing is that I have had a shorter attention span lately. I’m not sure if that has to do with this or just fatigue?

Vision: There hasn’t been any vision loss this month – huzzah! But I have had semi-frequent blurring.

TMJ: This has stayed the same – I’m attributing it to the fact that I haven’t been to my bodywork doctor in about four months. It pops painfully most every day and aches so that my teeth hurt daily.

Fatigue: Thanks to getting regular IV’s again, while this is still strong, it isn’t quite so…overwhelming. Naps are a necessity almost every day, and often they are unexpected (read: I sit down to work on my book/blog/crochet project and suddenly I’m waking up two hours later)

Fibromyalgia: I’m happy to report that this has eased slightly. I think it’s because of the extra thing we added to my nutrient IV last time. (of course, I cannot remember what it was called, but it was specifically to see if it helped with inflammation in the joints/the awful aching) My left calf is still tense/self flexing throughout the day and I’ve been getting cramps in my feet/calves again. I’m glad that they haven’t started again in my hands/elbows though. Ice is still the current magic treatment – be it on my calves or neck. If I’m resting, I’ve got one on me.

Weight Loss: sort of?

Mood: Even though I’m only taking 2 Xiao Chai Hu Tang a day (instead of my previous 4), this has stayed good.

Digestion: This has also been good (well, for me). BUT. As I said at the beginning of this post – I did realize that Resveratrol (2/day) causes upset stomach for me! Less than 24 hrs on it and I was having the same problems that I had a few months ago. I cut back to 1/day and am fine again. So. I’m glad that I realized it quickly.

And that’s it for this month! I’m remaining hopeful that this coming year will be full of further improvements. So much so that even I can’t miss them. Heh. Happy Holidays and I’ll see you again next week with this month’s Book Reviews!

~Laura

P.S. Did you see this post – How Much More Will Chronic Illness Steal From Me? that I wrote on the emotional side of living with chronic illness? This one, Chronic Illness Silence, I wrote this time last year about how hard it is to share about what chronic illness sufferers go through. This one , The Dark Before the Dawn, is a late night conversation on pain.

P.P.S. For a more upbeat tone, go check out Hesitant Fate, just a short story I wrote from a writing prompt.

P.P.P.S. Watch next month for my Top Reads and Top Posts of 2018!

Tags: chronic fatigue, chronic migraines, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, late stage lyme, lyme disease, natural treatment for lyme, symptoms of lyme disease, tmj