Becoming a better me: January 2016

Huge hurdle in my journey over came this week-end. I realized that in my efforts to try to meet society's standards of "normal/healthy" that I have been over looking the lessons I have learned and the person I have become. I am a totally different person than I was when I was "skinny", I realize now I do not like who I was then and I have no desire to be that person again. Yes, there are a few health reasons for losing weight, such as lessening the strain on my lower back, but my cholesterol levels are excellent, my blood pressure, and heart rate are text book perfect, I have good A1C readings, as a matter of fact with the exception of Fibromyalgia, osteo-arthritis, Degenerative Disk Disease, and a few mental issues, I am a picture of health. So why do I want the skinny me back? Answer is I don't, not anymore, a few less pounds, would be nice, but I am not stressing about it anymore! I am working instead on loving the me that is in the mirror now, instead of waiting for the one that may never be, and quite frankly hopefully never will be again.

Please share it with anyone else you know who suffers with Fibromyalgia, or think they might.

Fatigue, made worse by physical exertion or stress
Activity level decreased to less than 50% of pre-illness activity level
Recurrent flu-like illness
Sore throat
Hoarseness
Tender or swollen lymph nodes (glands), especially in neck and underarms
Shortness of breath (air hunger) with little or no exertion
Frequent sighing
Tremor or trembling
Severe nasal allergies (new allergies or worsening of previous allergies)
Cough
Night sweats
Low-grade fevers
Feeling cold often
Feeling hot often
Cold extremities (hands and feet)
Low body temperature (below 97.6)
Low blood pressure (below 110/70)
Heart palpitations
Dryness of eyes and/or mouth
Increased thirst
Symptoms worsened by temperature changes
Symptoms worsened by air travel
Symptoms worsened by stress
Headache
Tender points or trigger points
Muscle pain and aches
Muscle twitching
Muscle weakness
Paralysis or severe weakness of an arm or leg
Joint pain
TMJ syndrome
Chest pain
Lightheaded; feeling “spaced out”
Inability to think clearly (“brain fog”)
Seizures
Seizure-like episodes
Syncope (fainting) or blackouts
Sensation that you might faint
Vertigo or dizziness
Numbness or tingling sensations
Tinnitus (ringing in one or both ears)
Photophobia (sensitivity to light)
Noise intolerance
Feeling spatially disoriented
Dysequilibrium (balance difficulty)
Staggering gait (clumsy walking; bumping into things)
Dropping things frequently
Difficulty judging distances (e.g. when driving; placing objects on surfaces)
“Not quite seeing” what you are looking at
Hypersomnia (excessive sleeping)
Sleep disturbance: unrefreshing or non-restorative sleep
Sleep disturbance: difficulty falling asleep
Sleep disturbance: difficulty staying asleep (frequent awakenings)
Sleep disturbance: vivid or disturbing dreams or nightmares
Altered sleep/wake schedule (alertness/energy best late at night)
Depressed mood
Suicidal thoughts
Suicide attempts
Feeling worthless
Frequent crying
Feeling helpless and/or hopeless
Inability to enjoy previously enjoyed activities
Increased appetite
Decreased appetite
Anxiety or fear when there is no obvious cause
Panic attacks
Irritability; overreaction
Rage attacks: anger outbursts with little or no cause
Abrupt, unpredictable mood swings
Phobias (irrational fears)
Personality changes
Eye pain
Changes in visual acuity (frequent changes in ability to see well)
Difficulty with accommodation (switching focus from one thing to another)
Blind spots in vision
Sensitivities to medications (unable to tolerate “normal” dosage)

Sensitivities to odors (e.g., cleaning products, exhaust fumes, colognes, hair sprays)
Sensitivities to foods
Painful urination or bladder pain
Alcohol intolerance
Frequent urination
Alteration of taste, smell, and/or hearing
Prostate pain
Impotence
Endometriosis
Worsening of premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Decreased libido (sex drive)
Hair loss
Mitral valve prolapse
Cancer
Dental problems
Periodontal (gum) disease
Aphthous ulcers (canker sores)
Stomach ache; abdominal cramps
Nausea
Vomiting
Esophageal reflux (heartburn)
Frequent diarrhea
Frequent constipation
Bloating; intestinal gas
Decreased appetite
Increased appetite
Food cravings
Weight gain
Weight loss
Difficulty with simple calculations (e.g., balancing checkbook)
Word-finding difficulty
Using the wrong word
Difficulty expressing ideas in words
Difficulty moving your mouth to speak
Slowed speech
Stuttering; stammering
Impaired ability to concentrate
Easily distracted during a task
Difficulty paying attention
Difficulty following a conversation when background noise is present
Losing your train of thought in the middle of a sentence
Difficulty putting tasks or things in proper sequence
Losing track in the middle of a task (remembering what to do next)
Difficulty with short-term memory
Difficulty with long-term memory
Forgetting how to do routine things
Difficulty understanding what you read
Switching left and right
Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words and/or letters when you speak
Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words and/or letters when you write
Difficulty remembering names of objects
Difficulty remembering names of people
Difficulty recognizing faces
Difficulty following simple written instructions
Difficulty following complicated written instructions
Difficulty following simple oral (spoken) instructions
Difficulty following complicated oral (spoken) instructions
Poor judgment
Difficulty making decisions
Difficulty integrating information (putting ideas together to form a complete picture or concept)
Difficulty following directions while driving
Becoming lost in familiar locations when driving
Feeling too disoriented to drive

The high-lighted ones are my most common symptoms. I also suffer frequent bouts of insomnia, and have other physical reasons for some of the pain (advanced degenerative disk disease, and osteo-arthritis). I always wondered why my "normal" body temp was lower than the set standards and why my hands, feet, and nose were always cold, no matter how hot it was outside! According to this list of symptoms, I have had Fibromyalgia since I was a very young girl, well before puberty, which makes a lot of what I went through as a child make sense. It also makes me want to ask why now? Why are we just now finally recognizing Fibromyalgia for the disease it is? What took so long? And why did so many doctors fight for so long telling us it was all in our heads?