A C-Joyful Life: The good news is....

I didn't really intend to stop blogging for so long, it just sort of happened. January and February are generally tough months for me to get through -bitterly cold weather that keeps us from going outside and a long stretch of time with no significant time off. Of course this winter, we did not get the bitterly cold weather so on most days, the kids were able to go out for recess. We still managed to get a few late starts and at least one day off due to weather.

The biggest reason I stopped blogging was health related. Last fall I had what we thought was a nasty virus that left me bone tired and in pain from head to toe. By the beginning of December, I was finally starting to feel better. By the end of December, my hands were hurting again. In February I woke up once again in severe pain from head to toe and hardly able to move. There is a history of autoimmune diseases in my family, so I was really worried. Really worried.

Tests kept coming back normal, my doctor was puzzled and referred me to the local university hospital to see if they would be able to discover anything. I am able to say with a huge sigh of relief, the good news is that I have fibromyalgia! Not that fibromyalgia is a fun walk in the park, but at least for now I don't have to worry about taking horrible, nasty drugs to try and control a progressive, degenerate disease. I just have to worry about taking horrible, nasty drugs to control pain and various other symptoms for an illness that no one understands.

I was given a prescription for a muscle relaxant, two pages of information on fibromyalgia, a cheery wave good-bye, and a "call us if you need anything" from the university. I take this to mean that they aren't really interested in helping me manage my care, so I'm doing the best I can until I can get back to my own doctor and get some professional guidance.

I feel blessed that I did not have to suffer for years before getting a diagnosis. It is sad that women with chronic pain are still not taken seriously. Perhaps someone should design a course on how to be assertive with a doctor. I know I would sign up for it!