I’ve Lost That Blogging Feeling

I am having one of those days where I just can’t seem to pull it together enough to get my creative juices flowing and write my usual high standard of editorial brilliance (in my opinion).  It is definitely not going to happen today.  The reason for my loss of mojo is due to a horrible, shitty condition called Fibromyalgia which is  a common syndrome in which a person has long-term, body-wide pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. It is has also been  linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, depression, and anxiety. It is also closely aligned to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  Sounds like I am a real fun person to be around doesn’t it and normally that is true however, not today. Every so often it “flares” up and I do struggle to get through the pain.  It can be very debilitating in that not only does it affect you physically but also mentally eg. I sleep like a baby; I wake up every two hours crying. A lot of people suffer from it but not a lot of people know about it.  It’s one of those conditions that people can’t see how much pain you are in and so you are reluctant to bang on about how crap you are feeling because unless it is to your doctor or other health physician, people don’t really want to know.  Including husbands.  Especially husbands.  The reason they don’t like to hear about it is because they are waiting for you to shut up so they can tell you just how bad their man flu is.  In my case, while my husband does suffer man flu-like no other, he is very sympathetic to my aches and pains (of which there are many!).  He is like a lot of men I think, they just want to be able to fix the problem and they feel completely frustrated if they can’t.  Where as we feel they are completely useless if they can’t fix our problems! Sorry guys, just having a bit of fun at your expense.

Anyway, back to me talking about me.  I was talking to my friend Sue this morning, who is a GP  and she asked me, apart from drugs (I take Lyrica), what sort of measures have I put in place to deal with my fibromyalgia.  It got me thinking and I would like to share six things that help me manage not only my pain but keeping it at arm’s length as much as possible.  These strategies also work for many other problems as well eg. stress, PMT, menopause and all sorts of aches and pains that we all experience from time to time:-

1. Pilates: I have practised Pilates twice per week for the last three years.  I have to be  very sick or have gone away to miss a class.  Pilates has improved my core strength and has helped balance my muscles around the joints, improving my overall well-being.  Love it.  I cannot recommend it highly enough.  There are different types of Pilates so you do need to do your research to find one that is right for you.
2. Exercise:   I am by no means an exercise junkie and never have been BUT I have always been active.  I have had personal training, group training, gym membership (not a personal favourite) and I have competed in local triathlons and two international triathlons.  Does that impress you?  Well it should because you have to train like bloody crazy to do one of these events, which is why I don’t do them anymore.  The international events were in Fiji and anyone could sign up for it so it wasn’t like you had to be some super athlete, in fact I was the exact opposite at that time.  My personal trainer at the time (thank you Richard) encouraged me to just train for one, I didn’t have to compete but just do the training.  Well as is often the case, one thing lead to another and there I was on a plane to Fiji with real athletes – after all I was just faking it.  Seriously, it was one of the best things I have ever done as it really pushed me out of my comfortable lounge chair comfort zone.  Exercise whether it be walking, running or pole dancing, it is not only great for the body but great for the mind.
3. Rest: I know it is really hard to find the time to rest, as we all have really busy lives with kids, jobs, relationships etc but if you have any type of illness then getting enough rest is really important.  I am not always good with this because I can’t say no to an invitation but sometimes I just have to.  If I do too much I am going to pay for it – big time. It was Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival last week and I was really looking forward to going but I had had to pull the pin because there is no way I could stand up all day, drinking, chatting, laughing, looking at all the gorgeous fashions! which made really depressed – I love doing all that and I don’t like missing out. 
4. Osteopathy: I go at least once per month but sometimes more than that.  Whatever your choice of therapy is, just make sure you do it regularly.  It is easy to skip an appointment if you are not in any pain but by doing that it can lead to what I call a “flare up” later on.
5. Massage therapy: Find yourself a good massage therapist and book yourself in when you are feeling some aches and pains.  Massage is also excellent for stress management.
6. Retail Therapy:  JoJo has to have some fun!