Wednesday in FibroLand

When people ask "how do you feel?" I'm not sure if it's easier for me to say "today kind of sucks" or to say something along the lines of this:

Today when I woke up, I was stiff from head to knee. My ankle was wrapped in a compression sock because it was swollen twice the normal size last night (continued tendonitis issue). I took a few minutes to VERY SLOWLY sit up in bed, stretching my joints so I could actually get out of bed. I walked downstairs - stiffly - and as the next 30 minutes wore on the stiffness wore off. But I could still feel the aches in my limbs and joints. For me, the shoulders, elbows, and hips are my worst points. Today I felt the most pain in my shoulders. It's a constant ache, it never really "goes away." If I sit for too long at my desk I stiffen up from head to toe. It's a good thing my Apple Watch tells me stand every now and then, otherwise Kevin might come home to find me stuck in my chair. Tonight as I'm typing this both of my arms are tingling from shoulder to fingertip. You know that tingling feeling you get when your feet fall asleep? Yeah? Imagine your arms feeling like that. Or your whole body. It isn't pleasant - my arms felt like that for an hour. Now it's just a dull tingle combined with a dull ache. Joy.

Of course, that's just how I felt today.
Tomorrow will be a different story.

I've been wondering if this whole tingly-feeling is me being "crazy" or if it really is a "fibro thing." According to my rhuematologist (who is so effing cool)...it's "normal." Or at least it's normal for my fibro.

See, the thing is - according to my doctor and other things I've read - everyone's fibro is different. Some people don't have a lot of pain, but they have debilitating fatigue. Some people have pain so severe they can't get out of bed.

Me?

Apparently I am overly sensitive to the sensation of "touch" ... among other things like the whole body tingling feeling. (Maybe this explains why I'm not that big on hugging). My doc says not everyone with fibro has that sensitivity .. but I do. And to be told that I'm not crazy for that was a bit refreshing.

So there you have it - a day in the life of me as I try to navigate this fibro thing.

Onward and upward....

Yep. Monday.

I'm going to skip my regularly scheduled program of random Monday afternoon thoughts today and just focus on one thing.

Medical stuff to be exact.

Long story short: for about the last 6 weeks or so I've been having pain in my hands, wrist, elbows, and shoulders. Nothing unbearable but a lot of joint pain. At first I ignored it ... like "wow, I guess this is what happens when you turn 43." Then it got annoying. And the pain got worse.

So last week I went to the doctor - and we all know how much I detest the doctor - and after listening to my symptoms she said it sounds like it could be rheumatoid arthritis but she's not 100 percent sure. So I had to do a blood test AND get X-rays on my hand (due to swelling and pain in my thumb joint).

The results so far: X-ray is "normal" .. whatever that means. My thumb joint still hurts and it's still swollen so I guess that's "normal" now. And, while my RA factor was "normal" my ANA levels are "elevated."

The doctor isn't sure why they are elevated or what it means - so now I have to see a rheumatologist to figure out what the hell is going on. Basically an elevated ANA level could indicate an auto-immune disease (like RA or something else) or it could mean nothing.

So right now I'm at a "wait-and-see" standpoint and won't know anything until I see a rheumatologist. Until then I'll just deal with the almost-constant aches and pains and keep on keepin' on. ;)