Michelle’s Loosing Fibromyalgia and Weight Journal

[lmggallagher]

Yesterday
Food:
B: cornflakes/flax meal/oat milk/
L: McDougall cup of lentil soup
D: corn chowder/tomatoes/kale/over potatoes
S:melon/pineapple

Weight: ?
Sleep: ok but not great cat at 3:30 am but did get back to sleep until he did it again
Symptoms: sharp pain in back continues/still very tired despite sleep/neck pain huge
Exercise: none
Morning Sun: none
MWL: good
Meditation: 40 mins
Friends, family and fun: none

Today
Fibro: pain - 6 fatigue -8
Sleep: better but up w/ cat 3:30 5 am but right back to sleep for a total of 5 hours
Gratitude to start the day: I made it through a 15 minute walk - but barely

Last night's sleep no that good but better than night before - still extremely exhausted but do not have to go to the food Closet today. I explained to my Manager last time what I am going through and she wanted me to go home last week before I even started my shift. She'll have a sub and the dear will even pick up the church food I collect on my way to the FC. I should add Shirley to my gratitude she and her whole extended family are some of the nicest people I have ever met!

The walk I did today was just over half a mile and took me 15 minutes. That's twice as long as my usual pace and doing it was hell. No other way to say it - I am just as fatigued as when I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in my early 30s. I just kept telling myself that even when I had CFS I continued to exercise - not at first - but I got on a rowing machine I sent for and started with just a minute. I got the rowing machine back then because I was so limp and exhausted I was afraid of falling off my exercycle. It took over a year but I eventually did and hour a day of straight rowing and I swear that helped turn me around with the CFS.

I sure wish the rowing machine I ordered from Ebay wasn't a complete wreck when I got it - I love to have it now - but that money is gone on the new bed! And it will take months to get my savings back to where it was and years to where it should be,lol!

I had oatmeal/kale/red/yellow and orange peppers for breakfast and again the fatigue hits really hard about half an hour after I eat. I did this though because the kale for dinner last night seemed to perk me up.

[lmggallagher]

Yesterday
Food:
B: oat meal/flax meal/pepper mix/kale/almond milk
L: kitchen sink salad and quinoa
D: corn chowder/tomatoes/kale/over potatoes
S:pineapple

Weight: going down
Sleep: better cat at 3:30 am but did get back to sleep until he did it again
Symptoms: sharp pain in back continues/still very tired despite sleep
Exercise: 30 minutes walking and Egoscue - yay
Morning Sun: yes during walk
MWL: good
Meditation: 30 mins
Friends, family and fun: none

Today
Fibro: pain - 5 fatigue -8
Sleep: better but up w/ cat 3:30 am but right back to sleep still feel really crappy though
Gratitude to start the day: I made it through a 15 minute walk - twice yesterday.

I walked twice yesterday - the first one was just unbearable I was so tired. I do gain energy through the day ( I think this is nutritional about an hour after lunch and dinner I perk up - brekafast is exactly opposite - no matter what I eat) - so the evening one was not as bad. Still I am really dragging and it's hardly a walk in the park. I does seem to help with the weight loss I think I am down a pound

Still I am fatigued and not feeling the least bit well. Today for reasons unknown my tummy is unhappy. But the pain is not overwhelming and no headaches - which have plagued me recently.

I have two days to get my Social Security Disability appeal in and I am overwhelmed by this. Because of the insomnia I have had no brain to do this and I still don't. There are people you can call to help you with it - mainly lawyers, but I think you really have to start that the day you file your second papers with them - which I didn't. I looked back through logs and my last journal the insomnia came on last July. Frankly I have not been anywhere near myself since then and I ws doing pretty well then including walking on average a couple miles a day.

I hate the idea of flunking the final appeal for Social Security Disability but I think I haven't got anywhere near what it would take for me to muster on this

[sksamboots]

Good stuff here. Hope you feel better!

[lmggallagher]

Hi sksamboots:

thanks for stopping by - appreciate your encouragement - not just here but around the many other journals here. It's so kind of you to do so

[lmggallagher]

Yesterday
Food:
B: cornflakes/flax meal/oat milk/
L: McDougall cup of soup
D: corn chowder/tomatoes/kale/over potatoes
S: pineapple

Weight: ?
Sleep: ok but not great cat at slept in and didn't wake me until 5:30 am lol!
Symptoms: sharp pain in back continues/still very tired despite sleep/neck pain huge
Exercise: none
Morning Sun: none
MWL: good
Meditation: 40 mins
Friends, family and fun: none

Today
Fibro: pain - 6 fatigue -8
Sleep: better
Gratitude to start the day:I got a last minute appointment with a Legal Aid person to help me with SS application

I am thrilled that the SS application will be done today but the obstacles are big I have a last minute meeting with A Legal Aid person - I can't believe the miracle that is to be able to meet next day with a n attorney after my desperate call to them. Meanwhile, it's going to be a struggle the ap has to be done online. Perhaps I can do this at their office, crossed fingers because my computer is dying. I think it's just the battery but I lined up a place to take it today and leave with a loaner, if necessary. Then I would have to rush home and complete the ap online and get it in before today's deadline assuming east coast time.

But then I also have to do a follow up submittal in the next ten days - I have no idea what that will entail and I need help on that too. All is good I have help now - which given the sleep issues and brain issues these days is a freaking miracle - that there is some relief of stress that I have help! Even if this doesn't pan out I at least am making the best effort I can despite the fact that I have no working parts of my own to make this happen - so I guess effort counts for something even if ultimately I can't achieve this goal the way I would hope.

As for the rest I look forward to getting this in better shape so I can do what I need to again for my health - diet and exercise will be my priories I haven't cooked in days and days and will do that Thursday if I can muster.

[sksamboots]

Keep on keepin on!

[blue]

Good morning Michelle
I'm glad you got some help with the application!

Has your auto feeder arrived ? I decided to order one and it arrived yesterday. Setup was easy, it's a little fiddly, and the icepack is smaller than you would expect. But I set it up last night for a practice run this morning and when I got up I saw that it had opened at 6 or whatever time I set it for and the cat had eaten her breakfast already!

[lmggallagher]

Hi Blue:

The feeder arrived and I will set it up today. I have hopes for it - but Mr. Weasel is so spoiled I think it will take me ignoring him all night for him to use it. what I mean here is part of the time he is waking me just to stir up his food - the Devil Cat he is

[lmggallagher]

Yesterday
Food:
B: cornflakes/flax meal/oat milk/
L: egg salad sandwich/chips/cookies
D: turkey tetrazinni/broccoli
S: chocolate cookies - tons of them

Weight: ?
Sleep: new bed but terrible sleep - did everything wrong to test worse case :/
Symptoms: pain/fatigue at highest levels
Exercise: none
Morning Sun: none
MWL:the polar opposite of McD and Fodmaps
Meditation: none
Friends, family and fun: OK

Today
Fibro: pain - 10/ fatigue - 9
Sleep:very cozy but only 3 hours base on the Sleep Number - Sleep IQ program readings
Gratitude to start the day: the bed came was installed by really nice guys and it is comfy - even without the topper.

So the last few days I have done everything wrong and am paying for it - but it's really an experiment to see that I need to do everything right to get the sleep I need.

Food: I ate carnivore and high on the sugar, salt and fat.
No exercise or Egoscue
No meditation
No cat preparation to get them to sleep through the night.
TV right up to bedtime
No benadryl to get me off to sleep
No latex bed topper, which I need as a side sleeper

And the result was even with the comfy new bed - that includes a sleep sensors to analyze the whole story of how I am sleeping - I still only got 3 hours of sleep. Right off the bat the bed told me I was having a rapid pulse due to eating badly (particularly sugar) - I can go from my normal 70s to up to 101 or so. Breathing was also fast at 17 breaths average all night - 12 is likely the norm for most people. After eating sugar in the afternoon - I fell directly into a nap that lasted for 3 hours but the sleep IQ Program shows it was all restless sleep not actual sleep. At night I slept from 1 am to 6:30 but actual sleep was only 3 hours and that was punctuated with getting up numerous times for the cats.

I also did not put the latex topper on the bed - which I ordered separately. The "Sleep Like the Dead" review website rated the bed I bought average for side sleepers and recommended that a topper be added. Given that I am testing that before and after too. I won't put it on the bed until Thursday night and see if that helps with the restlessness.

All that said - I know even with all the bad things I did very little tossing and turning compared to the old bed. I had no idea how bad that bed was until I tried to take the protective cover off it. I started doing that but found that the latex was crumbling so badly I dare not. I had the bed for only 6 years and it's warranty was for 15 - but clearly it was disintegrating terribly and the sagging was really evident when I unpeeled the layers that covered it.

I feel completely wasted today with little sleep and due to all the bad habits combined from the day before. The fibro is over-the-moon and I am so tired. Today I will try to do it all right and see if I get better results and then stick with all of it - hoping to see big improvements in the sleep patterns and depth. Still the symptoms will take their time reversing so i don't expect the sleep to come on line immediately. I sure am hoping to see improvements and especially if I get some exercise back in to the mix.

One thing is missing for sure - no sciatica. I have this I think because I spend a lot of the evening sitting up in bed with the laptop. I know before one hip joint was off kelter on the old bed - today that pain is gone even though I was using the bed the same as I always do nights.

I was also able to sleep on both sides - despite having high knee pain from not doing the Egoscue for a couple of days. I hope after today's Egoscue session I will be able to eliminate the knee pain again and see how that helps my sleep.

Having eaten so poorly several things are very clear beyond how it impacts the quality of sleep - mainly I feel like garbage the next day and have not a drop of energy for anything at all!

[blue]

Hi Michelle! Have missed you the past few days!

I hope the cat feeder and the new bed work out! A friend of mine raves about his sleep number bed. I tried one out at the mall some years ago and loved it.

I am not one to skimp when it comes to buying a good mattress because I know how important it is to sleep well and not be caused any (additional) pain because of a bad mattress. I like extra firm, and used to prefer as little cushioning as possible. So a while back before I started having pain issues I got a really good one that was like sleeping on a board. Loved it. Until the polymyalgia hit, then I hated it. Finally Just last year I bought a topper. Two or three inch, I think? It took a few weeks to get used to but now I love it, I love the combo of very hard mattress with the cushy on top I esp appreciate it when anything is aching and when it's cold.

[lmggallagher]

I have had flu and my computer is now sick. It won't let me type much. It goes in Tuesday - hope to be back soon

[sksamboots]

Feel better soon!

[lmggallagher]

My cat goes to the vet today, my computer goes to Apple AGAIN tomorrow - I have been eating awfully and have gained so much its ridiculous. I need to be here but I need a computer that works to do that. One of the cats and I have been sick for weeks and other calamities are coming left and right - which means for me life as normal.

Typical day was Saturday - just over the flu - I contacted a kid to help me wet vac my once garage now studio out from the recent rains. He could only do it in two shifts because he had another job Saturday morning. As soon as he came back for his second shift I noticed that the laundry room had just flooded, while I was washing cat nest towels. He helped me move stuff out of that room - which is also the workshop for the house and then went back to the studio to finish.

Meanwhile, I was trying to find a rooter service that could come immediately. Once that was done I took a shower to get ready for an afternoon with my aunt and her sister - an hour from home: dinner and a play were planned. As soon as I stepped out of the shower - a neighbor girl called - her car had broken down, she had it towed to a shop but needed a ride home. I rushed to go get her.

I used to give her rides to school when she was growing up and all that time I was her parents stand in if they couldn't come - Valentine's weekend they were off to Carmel:) I soon as I got there she laughed and said - "Gee I could have called a friend - but I am so used to calling you if Mom and Dad can't be here!" Yikes - and no kidding. I got home got dressed and got into major freeway traffic, accidents and back ups and then had a lovely evening of eating and drinking the likes of which I don't do anymore. I gained 5 pounds that night.

Meanwhile things are still bad with cat care and the girl cat is sick now. The computer is off and on and they still have not diagnosed the problem right yet. Nothing at my house is getting done and interruptions of big problems like flooding are the norm not the exception. The flu didn't help either.

I caught up on a few friends here and see Nicole's life has been chaos too - but she is steadfast with her eating. I need to get there but I never seem to be well enough to shop right and cook right. This week I won't be home at all until Wednesday - between various obligations and appointments - hopefully then I will get the cupboards restocked and the cooking going again. Meanwhile having time to breathe right will be appreciated.

However my sleep is getting better from the new bed - I slept 5 hours last night - a far cry from the two I have been used to. something is going very much in the right direction with that

[sksamboots]

Keep on keepin!

[lmggallagher]

Yesterday
Food:
B: cornflakes/flax meal/oat milk/
L: kitchen sink salad
D: Garden pizza (all good veggies BUT cheese!!)
S: tangerines and pineapple bits
Weight: ?
Sleep: new bed right for comfort but not logging right ?
Symptoms: pain/fatigue at high levels now
Exercise: none
Morning Sun: none
MWL:the polar opposite of McD and Fodmaps
Meditation: none
Friends, family and fun: OK

Today
Fibro: pain - 8 fatigue - 6
Sleep: very disturbed much leg pain and restless leg syndrome - no idea on Sleep IQ it seems to be broken?
Gratitude to start the day: Mr. weasel woke me up only once last night and let me sleep until 6:30 am - normal wake up time

Life has not been as hectic since last Saturday. the computer is still being fixed, but my old laptop seems to be doing OK for email and this The bed is very comfy with it's addition of the topper and new pillows. BUT - the Sleep IQ is bonkers. the Sleep IQ is the internal program that tells me how long I slept and whether it was deep, restless or I was up - every second of the night.

To get this fixed I spent an hour on the phone yesterday with two Sleep Number reps and eventually we base-lined the bed again which they do from their end via computer to be sure it's working spot on. He told me it would likely take 3 days to get in sync - we'll see. Today my remote, my computer and the phone app each give me different numbers of sleep percentage and none of them relate to the full period - it seems it turned itself off at 3 am?

Last night was not a good night's sleep - but it was infinitely better than the night before. I have been sleeping until about 3 am and then I wake for several hours only to go back to sleep about 7 am til 9am - waking feeling just awful and with bad sinus headaches ???? Thursday night's sleep was deplorable and I hit the highest level of fatigue I have had in a long while.

Yesterday I ate right on target until dinner and then caved and ordered a small vegetarian pizza I am not sure if that contributed to my high end pain last night and the RLS but it was really hard to get to sleep despite the fact that I was well past bone tired.

None-the-less - I am now back on my normal sleep pattern which is midnight to 6:30 am - which I haven't done in months and months. this is a really good thing Plus, the electronic cat food dispenser which Blue turned me on to - is my great ally. Mr. weasel will still wake me up once per night but that is down from 4 to 5 times per night which is miraculous! It would be better if I hadn't run out of the food Weasel wants currently. Right now it's canned rabbit - before it was lamb. I have to order this from an online source. It's in one pet store here but the varieties he likes are most likely the same as other cats like - it's hit or miss on the shelves. Yesterday they didn't have the rabbit meat variety he likes - the same brand has three varieties and I had to buy the most expensive - at $2.99 a 5.5 oz can. boy does that hurt. especially since he is turning his nose up at it here. I did special order it online at the same time but it won't be here until next week sometime. It's amazing to me how he goes off and on the few varieties he will eat! but I have a clue now how that is going and have to be prepared.

So here is where I went wrong yesterday and where I need resolve to correct it!

Wrong:
Food: I ate vegetarian for dinner and high on the salt and fat.
No exercise or Egoscue
TV right up to bedtime

Right:
I did meditation
I did all the cat preparation to get them to sleep through the night.
I did benadryl to get me off to sleep.