Another Drug Bites the Dust

Well the second drug didn't work out either... This one caused me to pretty much go insane, or at the very least to lose control of my emotions and sometimes my actions. Yeah, needless to say it wasn't pretty. I only took this second drug, Seroquel, for 4 days before we realized it was just too much to handle. Now I get to detox off of this one for at least a week before trying the third and final option the doctor has currently given me.

Fibromyalgia stinks and I can't seem to find any relief...

I'm Back

I'm back! Hopefully for good although I will not promise to post every day. Life is just too crazy and difficult for me to know how I will feel and what I will be up to doing from day to day. Especially since I am attempting to go back to work on a part time basis working 2 or 3 days a week up at the cafe again. Working is very hard on my body, but I know that I need to do something and other than the intermittent on-line freelance work I pick up and this is my only other option.

On the Challenge Front - I finally contacted the winners of my round of the "Pay It Forward Challenge". I am so sorry that it took me so long to get around to doing that. I plan on picking up a few more goodies for the boxes when I hopefully go to town with my DH tomorrow.

On the Company Front - Having my parents here was great and I was sad to have them leave last week. It is nice having the house emptier and less stress though. No matter how much you love having company and seeing those you love it is at times difficult, especially for me with the health issues. I want to go and do and be able to just enjoy but my body doesn't always or even often want to cooperate. I still push through most of the time but then I suffer for it in the end by being totally down for the count for a few days.

On the Health Front - The medication that I have been taking for helping me get restorative sleep which should help me to have less pain and to feel less tired all the time doesn't seem to be working like it should anymore already. I have upped the dosage like the Rheumatologist suggested and all that seems to do is make me sleep harder - to the point that I don't even hear the alarm clock - but still I wake up exhausted and in continuous pain. I see the doctor again on August 3rd but considering that she doesn't want to listen to me I don't have high hopes for the visit. I have been spending some time searching on-line for how other people are dealing with their Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. I know that I am doing some of the right things already by eliminating dairy and wheat from my diet. However, I think I need to do some other things as well such as reducing refined sugar, increasing fruits and vegetables to 10 or more servings a day, greatly reducing preservatives and additives, incorporating probiotics such as lactobacillus acidopphilus and lactobacillus bifidus through supplementation, increasing leafy green vegetables, and more... Some people with these conditions find that they have a problem with vitamins B12, K, and D, zinc, magnesium, and biotin being too low. They also seem to have problems with calcium and iron inerfering with the others being too low. So I need to try to find a balance with these vitamins and nutrients and see if that helps with my symptoms.

I hope that all of you are doing well and are enjoying the summer!

What is Sacroiliitis?

One of the things that I struggle with medically is Sacroiliitis. My PA and I believe that I now suffer with this condition and will for the rest of my life because of an untreated urinary tract infection. The not so funny thing is that I had been trying to get one of my many specialists to treat me for the urinary tract infection for over a month and a half before I found my new PA and he agreed to prescribing antibiotics.

Here is some information about Sacroiliitis. (More information can be found at the Mayo Clinic Website)

Sacroiliitis is an inflammation of one or both of the sacroiliac joints, which connect the lower spine and pelvis. With Sacroiliitis, even the slightest movements of the spine can be extremely uncomfortable or painful.

Sacroiliitis symptoms may include:

• Pain and stiffness in the lower back, thighs or buttocks.

• Pain that worsens with walking because the motion of the hips strains the sacroiliac joints.

• Inflammation in one or both of the eyes (uveitis or iritis).

• Psoriasis, an inflammatory skin condition

• Pain radiating down the leg.

• Limping.

• Decreased range of motion in the hip joint.
  

• A fever that appears quickly.

Complications:

• Delayed treatment of Sacroiliitis — Either because of an incorrect diagnosis or because of delaying going to the doctor — can cause serious harm to the sacroiliac joints.

  Sacroiliitis may be part of a larger inflammatory arthritis condition known as Ankylosing Spondylitis. Complications of this condition can be very serious, including difficulty breathing, spine deformities, lung infections and heart problems.

• Ankylosing Spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily causes pain and inflammation of the joints between the vertebrae of your spine and the joints between your spine and pelvis (sacroiliac joints). However, Ankylosing Spondylitis may also cause inflammation and pain in other parts of your body as well.

Initial symptoms - Early signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis may include:

• Chronic pain in the lower back and hips, especially in the morning and after periods of inactivity.

• Stiffness in the lower back or hip area, especially in the morning.

As the condition progresses - The condition may change over time, with symptoms getting worse, improving or completely stopping at any point. Over time the pain and stiffness, which usually begin gradually, may progress up your spine and to other joints. One may experience inflammation and pain in these other parts of the body:

• Where the tendons and ligaments attach to bones.

• Joints between the ribs and spine.

• Joints in the hips, shoulders, knees and feet.

• The eyes.

Symptoms of advanced stages - In advanced stages, the following signs and symptoms may develop:

• Restricted expansion of the chest.

• Chronic stooping.

• Stiff, inflexible spine.

• Fatigue.

• Loss of appetite.

• Weight loss.

• Eye inflammation (uveitis).

• Bowel inflammation.