Did I Keep My 2011 New Year's Resolution?

It's hard to believe that 2012 is here!  Where has the time gone?  All this focus on a New Year and a new start has got me wondering, 'Did I accomplish my New Year's resolution for 2011?'

My 2011 Goal: Finding My Sweet Spot

I set out this past year on a Mission 2011 to see if I could find my "sweet spot."  I defined the sweet spot as a state of energy use would leave me with a little bit of energy remaining at the end of each day.  That extra leftover energy would get banked and create an energy reserve.

The concept behind this goal was simple: banked energy would be used by my body to heal.  Healing would allow me to expand my energy envelope, the boundary within which I operate on a daily basis: the fine line between functioning and flaring up.

So in theory, finding the sweet spot meant finding the method by which I could get "better," with "better" being defined as the ability to do more while still successfully managing the symptoms of my fibromyalgia and chronic pain disorders.

Where I Started

At the beginning of the year, I thought that examining different aspects of my chronic illness self-management might reveal areas that needed improvement.  From there, I figured if I fine-tuned my coping strategies I would be closer to finding and living in my sweet spot.

So I began by reviewing topics like planning, social support, routine, meditation, exercise, mindset, special events, using forms to track symptoms and body mechanics... 

The Road I Traveled

Then I hit a really rough patch:  a series of stressful events beginning in March.  By May I was getting buried and thrown off track with my Mission 2011 review process.  I also started making plans to schedule several medical procedures (which I wrote about in my post Mission 2011: Happiness is Having a Plan.) Along the way, I came to realize that having carpal tunnel surgery on both hands and preparing for Hepatitis C treatment were not compatible with my year-long goal.

For all practical purposes, I put my Mission 2011 on hold while I focused my efforts on using all my coping strategies to maintain my status quo and avert flare-ups during the second half of 2011. Switching gears into defensive mode, I learned that I do have the ability to keep my symptoms under pretty good control in the face of difficult circumstances.  Despite all the stress, I avoided a major flare-up in 2011 by pacing, planning, resting, asking for help, delegating, saying no and making sure I had fun too.

Unfortunately, there were many days when successful coping meant using all the energy at my disposal to maintain homeostasis.  This is not a strategy compatible with banking energy and discovering my sweet spot! 


Lessons Learned

So I learned to find my sweet spot I need a stretch of time where I get a break from major stressors like surgery, financial problems and the big annoyances and irritations in life.  You know, a period of relative calm in my life.

Despite the mid-year change in course, I am proud of myself for setting this goal and actively pursue it.  For the topics I did review, I discovered that I was consistently implementing many of the self-help strategies I learned.  I am also proud to say that I wrote 26 blog posts in support of this goal.  Along the way, these are the things that I learned about setting a year-long goal:

• The only way to learn and grow is to challenge yourself.
• You won't know if you can accomplish a goal if you don't get started working towards it.
• Every attempt to better yourself moves you closer to a new-and-improved you. 
• Even if you don't accomplish your goal, you will gain invaluable knowledge and insights along the way.
• Reviewing your progress (or lack thereof) helps uncover feedback that you can use to be more successful next time. 

Fortunately, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel here in 2012.  I'd love to say that everything got resolved, but most things did and the rest is tying up a lot of loose ends during this year.  The really good news is everything worked out in the end, and that's really all I can ask the Universe to do for me.

As for connecting my goal with my blog, I have to say that I really enjoying the challenge and the built-in accountability.  Having a meaty weekly blog topic to write about worked for me.  I still find myself thinking about posts I want to write in support of Mission 2011, so I plan to continue the review of my self-help strategies into 2012 and beyond.

I also see that by choosing to treat my Hepatitis C in 2012, things are going to continue along the path of upheaval for another whole new year.  So fasten your seatbelts because 2012 is going to be a bumpy ride.

In closing, I'd like to share a random sampling of my Mission 2011 posts below courtesy of the Zemanta widget.  You can find them all by clicking the Mission 2011 link here or in the right sidebar under My Blog Topics.

You might also enjoy reading:

• Mission 2011: Living Life 15 Minutes at a Time (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: Happiness is Having a Plan (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: Friendship Fresh Start (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: Finding Social Support Through Social Media (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: I Love Twitter

Selena from the blog Oh My Aches and Pains! talks about her experiences connecting with others living with chronic illness on Twitter using the hashtags #fibromyalgia, #fibro, #chronicfatigue, #me/cfs,#chronicpain and #spoonie.

Related articles

• Mission 2011: Finding Social Support Through Social Media (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: How I Make Social Media Work for Me (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: How I Make Social Media Work for Me

Perhaps the biggest hurdle to getting started with social media is figuring out how each platform works.

Obviously you need to sign up for an account--which sometimes can be a little complicated.  Then you need to figure out how you want to present yourself online.  Next you need to figure out how to find people to connect to and how exactly you go about having "comversations" with them.

Creating A Social Media Presence

One of the first decision you face is if you will use your real name or a pseudonym (like many in the chronic illness community do.)

I decided to use my first name on my blog, my blog's Facebook page and on Twitter.  With a pretty unique name like Selena, I don't really have to compete with others to use my real name.  If you have a more common name, you might find yourself trying to figure out how to make it different from the other Lauries, Marys or Sarahs out there.

I also decided to use a real picture of myself as my avatar.  I chose to do this so that people could see the real me in the hopes that this might help them develop a connection to me.

Connecting to Others

I found my chronic illness community by searching keywords like fibromyalgia, chronic illness, chronic pain and chronic fatigue.  I've also discovered my peers by searching the nicknames they call themselves, like: spoonies, sick chicks, fibromites, chronically awesome and ChronicBabes.

Once I identified a few people to friend or follow, I looked at their friends/followers lists for ideas about who else I might want to interact with.

Luckily for you, if you want to try Twitter, I can make connecting to others there a little bit easier.  I have put all my friends with chronic illness on Twitter into a public list called My Chronic Friends.  I think they are a great group of people and encourage you to follow and interact with them too.

Communicating with Others

To be honest, I just sort of dove in, joining groups and then inserting myself into conversations. Using this tactic, I sometimes got positive results and sometimes got mixed results.

In retrospect, I could have spent more time "listening" to conversations to see how they unfolded to get the hang of things.

What threw me off initially was not always getting a response when I put myself out there.  I learned over time that not all my attempts at communicating will elicit a response from others.  As my social connections grew, I knew others were reading my tweets and posts even if they didn't always respond to them.  Somehow knowing this has become a social connection in and of itself.

Here are some of the ways that I connect with others:

• Contributing to a conversation on a Facebook wall or in a Facebook group
• Having a conversation via Facebook messages 
• Sharing a link, photo or video with others on Facebook
• Hitting the "Like" button on a Facebook page or status message
• Reading and commenting on a blog posts 
• Writing a blog post in support of an awareness day or illness-related event
• Hosting and participating in blog carnivals
• Using Twitter to have any time, anywhere conversation with others
• Participating in Twitter chats, like the weekly #spoonieparty

Building Relationships

Through social media I have learned a lot about other people just by reading their tweets, comments, posts, etc.  In many respects, my interactions online are very much like having a whole bunch of digital pen pals.

I learn bits and pieces about them with every shared communication.  And just like a puzzle, those bits and pieces come together and a fuller picture of each person emerges over time.   

Always Available

The absolute best thing about social media is that people from around the world are always there participating in conversations--all day and all night.  So when it is 5 am and I can't sleep because of pain or insomia (or painsomia), I can always find someone on Twitter who is awake and wanting to chat.

I also love how well social media works with my chronic lifestyle. Social media is always there for me whenever I want it or need it to be.  So when I have the energy and the time, I can connect to other people simply by tweeting, commenting, chatting and posting. 

Final Thoughts

I hope this post has inspired you to try some new ways of connecting with others through social media.  I've also included these links below to some good articles with ideas about how to get started and how others with chronic illness use social media too.

• 10 Golden Rules of Social Media
• 10 Steps to Start on Twitter
• How to get a conversation going on Twitter?
• Social Media Conversation Basics
• 8 Reasons Why Twitter Can Boost Your Happiness
• Does Facebook Boost Happiness — Or Not?
• Getting Low: Helping Others with Chronic Illness
• Social Networks a Lifeline for the Chronically Ill
• Social media brings hope to chronically ill

Mission 2011: Finding Social Support Through Social Media

photo by crirez

My Life Resembles a Commercial 

Have you seen that commercial on TV with the young woman who is trying to get her parents connected on Facebook?  She comments that they only have 19 friends there; meanwhile her parents out mountain biking with their friends.  She, on the other hand, has 687 friends on Facebook and is sitting at home in front of her computer.

I got a chuckle watching that commercial.

Then I went to lunch with a very good friend of mine.  She has been diagnosed with a pretty awful illness, Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), that one day will limit her ability to do things.  So when I told her how I use social media to connect to other people, she told me she is trying to be like those parents.  She wants to get out there and experience as much of life as she can before her life resembles, well, mine.

We both got a chuckle out of her comment.

My Social Reality

I can't be mad at her for pointing out the obvious.  She is blessed because right now her illness isn't making her mostly housebound and unable to work.  She doesn't spend much time on social media sites because she is busy with real life.

If I was in her position, I wouldn't be spending much time with social media either.

The truth of my current situation is that I spend a lot of my time alone.  I have a very limited ability to participate in social activities because of chronic and persistent pain and fatigue. When I can participate, it takes extensive planning on my part, as well as a lot of assistance from my family and friends to make it happen.

Even then, there is always the chance that I might have to cancel at the last minute because my body won't cooperate.

To be honest, I don't see a lot of my real life, in-person friends very often because my very specific requirements for getting together don't mesh with their lifestyles.  That's just the way it is. 

From Real Life Disappointment...

I guess I knew this was going to happen, which is why when I first was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic pain I made a huge effort to find a weekly in-person support group.  I had such a positive experience with the weekly young adult cancer support group I participated in from 1988 to 1992.  I wanted that same kind of experience again as I began to face a life with chronic illness.

So I searched high and low...and came up empty handed.  

The closest I got was a monthly support group, which I tried for a while. With chronic illness making life pretty unpredictable for myself and others, the group was not well attended.  People came and went, often before I was able to get their contact information so we could stay in touch.  Then when I lost my transportation assistance, which was key to my regular attendance, I stopped going too.

...To Online Friendships

Eventually, I turned to the Internet.  It was actually one of my real life friends who pushed me in the direction of blogging, Twitter and Facebook.  (She is now one of those real life friends I hardly see anymore--yes, that is ironic, isn't it?)

From that initial exposure, I went on to discover websites and blogs that included community building tools like forums and chats that took meeting people and getting support to a whole new level.  Through my blogging, I discovered blog carnivals where I met other bloggers and worked collaboratively with them around issues and themes of mutual interest.

Flash forward to today and I thank the Universe every day that websites like Facebook, Blogger and Twitter exist.

Without them, I would be really lonely...

I have more to say on the topic of social support and social media, so please come back and join me next Thursday when I plan to continue this discussion.

Related articles

• Mission 2011: Friendship Fresh Start (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: Happiness is Having a Plan

I've been figuring out my next move when it comes to my pursuit of recapture my good health and I think I have a pretty good plan. That said, this is the fourth big plan I have researched, prepared for and implemented in the past 7 years.  So before I share my new plan, perhaps I should take the time to review the old ones too.

Plan A: Pain Management

When I developed chronic pain and fibromyalgia after a trip-and-fall accident, my first plan of action was getting rid of my pain.  To do this, I saw a lot of people who specialized in different aspects of pain management.  Then I participated in lots of different pain management therapies.  These included:

• physical therapy
• trigger point injections
• deep injections, like epidurals and facet joint injections
• acupuncture
• acupressure
• myofascial release
• a chronic pain rehab program
• warm water pool therapy
• non-narcotic pain medications
• heat
• cold
• topical pain rubs

First, as I look at this list, I am sure I am forgetting things.  Second, I am saddened that all these approaches did not reduce my pain in any way, shape or form.  So after about three years of trying Plan A, I knew it was time for Plan B.

Plan B: Better Sleep

At one point during Plan A, one of my doctors suggested that I needed a sleep study to rule out any sleep disorders that might be associated with having fibromyalgia.  Sure enough, my sleep lab results showed I had sleep apnea, delayed onset sleep and problems falling asleep, staying asleep and getting enough Stage 4 deep sleep.

In 2007, when the pain management approached was failing to bring about a significant change, I decided that maybe I should switch my focus and tackle my sleep issues in the hopes that a good night sleep might help with the pain.  So I tried:

• seeing a sleep specialist (or three!)
• religious use of a CPAP machine
• sleep medications
• sleeping on a wool mattress pad
• using a Comfort-U body pillow
• switching to moisture wicking pajamas
• focusing on sleep hygiene

Unfortunately, my three year pursuit of a good night's sleep was both frustrating and fruitless.  Treating the sleep apnea didn't help my pain.  I failed to find a good medication fix for my sleep problems that didn't create other problems for me. And for some of my sleep problems there were no good treatment options.  Plan B was a good idea, but it didn't yield the results I was looking for.

Plan C: Treat the Hepatitis C

There was a lot of speculation that maybe my Hepatitis C was contributing to my pain disorders.  My rheumatologist, who didn't seem to be able to help me, was convinced this was the case.  My hepatologist was more skeptical, ultimately saying that the only way to tell was to treat the Hep C.  Hep C treatment is not easy, so I waffled for a while about whether or not to try it.  I finally decided to give it a go in Fall 2007.

I lasted three weeks and gave up after multiple complications that landed me in the hospital.  It cause a major flare-up of my chronic fatigue symptoms and it took me three months to recover.

Recommendations from the Mayo Clinic

Having failed in some of my previous attempts, I was encouraged by the neurologist at Mayo Clinic this past March to consider yet another plan of action.  In addition to making some changes to the medications I take to control my dysautonomia symptoms, I was asked to consider two more things: 

1. surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome 
2. trying Hep C treatment again

Based on a second EMG and nerve conduction study, it was discovered that the compression of my median nerve has been getting worse, not better.  (Compression of the median nerve at the wrist is what causes carpal tunnel syndrome.)  My neurologist was very up front with me about his recommendation that this was a problem that needed to be addressed, sooner versus later.

Additionally, he expressed his concern that my ever increasing Hep C viral load was somehow contributing to my dysautonomia.  He wanted me to be seen by the Hepatology Department while at Mayo, but since this was not possible during the week I was there, I promised to follow-up with my hepatologist at UCLA when I returned home.

There have been several advancements in the treatment of Hep C.  These include a blood test to see if a patient will respond to interferon therapy and two new anti-viral medications approved in May 2011.  Since I am a responder to interferon and the new medications would be available to me, I've needed to seriously consider trying Hep C treatment again. 

In addition, some of the complications that landed me in the hospital last time have now been addressed and managed to the point where they may not interfere with successful treatment a second time.

Plan D: Taking Care of Business

Having pondered the advice I got at Mayo, I have decided to move forward with both the carpal tunnel surgery and a second attempt at Hep C treatment.  Surgery is scheduled for August 31 for my right hand and then 6 to 8 weeks later I will have surgery on my left hand.  Which gives me a few months to recover before my follow-up appointment in early January 2011 at which time I will start Hep C treatment.

Although I have high hopes for success, the bottom line is that I'm not sure how these two actions will impact my health.  As I see it, they both involve interventions that have the potential to make things flare-up and worsen in the short term.  But since it is long term relief I am seeking, I have forced myself to focus on the benefits and positive impact less carpal tunnel symptoms and the absence of an active Hep C infection could have on my overall health.

Yes, I have a new plan and I am sticking with it.  Which is great because I always do feel better when I have plan. There is something reassuring about knowing where you are going and what you are doing and just giving in and going with the flow.  And if this plan works, I will definitely be a happy camper.

And if not, there is always Plan E to look forward to, right?

Mission 2011: Persistence

Keep moving forward

It's been a while since I have written a Mission 2011 post, so it is definitely time to get back on track with this year-long goal that I have set for myself.  And getting back on track has given me the topic for this post: persistence.

A lot of things in my life do not go as planned.  The reason?  Chronic illnesses have added an extra element of unpredictability to my life.  You see, every day when I wake up, I have no idea how my body is going to feel.  And I dread waking up with more pain, more fatigue, more dizziness...

Despite all my efforts to plan, pace, rest and say "no," I can never exactly know what kind of shape I will be in tomorrow. It sort of makes planning in advance for each and every day difficult.

If you are a healthy person reading this, you probably have no idea what I am saying.  If you live with chronic illness, you know all about this.

With so much uncertainty about my health status, it becomes all too easy to get derailed.  Even the slightest change, like a bit too much activity the day before, a stressful situation, a change in the weather or catching a cold, can suddenly send me off in the wrong direction and turn my day upside down. Then I am faced with scrambling to cancel plans and implement more rest for the next day or two.  At the worse, I am forced to scale way back on my day-to-day activities so I can start rebuilding my energy reserves.

The point I am trying to make is that, in order for me to get anything of significance done, I need to be persistent.  My chronic illnesses knock me off my horse, push me down and send me two steps backward.  In short, they can treat me pretty badly.  But I am determined not to let them pin me down.  I dig deep, real deep, and find the strength to get back on my horse, pick myself up off the ground and take one more step forward.

With each roadblock and setback, my chronic illnesses are teaching me to be persistent.

Nothing in the world
can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not;

nothing is more common than
unsuccessful men with talent.

Genius will not;
unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not;
the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination
alone are omnipotent.

The slogan "press on" has solved and
always will solve
the problems of the human race.

~Calvin Coolidge

Related articles

• Mission 2011: Flexibility (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: A Simple Routine (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: The Underdog Meditation (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: Flexibility

Image by khalid almasoud via Flickr
I'm not sure why, but in my mind the words "routine" and "flexibility" seem to be at odds.

I mean, if you have a routine and you are doing the same things on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, where exactly does flexibility fit into the picture? Wouldn't it make more sense to abandon a set routine if your life requires a high degree of flexibility?

After all, it's hard for me to get anything done consistently day to day when my energy level can vary greatly minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day.

What really brought this point home to me this week was my follow-up appointment Tuesday with my hepatologist.

When he asked me how I was doing, I mentioned that I was feeling more fatigued and having more problems managing my diabetes. I almost said, "I'll make you a bet it's because my Hepatitis C viral load has gone up again." Sure enough, when he shared with me the results of my blood work drawn a few weeks earlier, I've learned that my viral load had gone from 11 million to 24 million in a little over 12 months.

I was floored.

After I got over my shock, which took a few hours, I realize this was the explanation for why it has been so much more difficult for me to get things done over the past several months. It also explains why I have been more prone to fatigue flareups when I try to live outside my energy envelope. I then really connected with the fact that my experience of chronic illness is an ever changing state of being which requires a large amount of flexibility on my part to change and adapt to my highly variable health status.

It makes me wonder if focusing on a routine is really relevant for me.

After sitting with this thought for a few days, I recognize that limiting how much I organize my day using routine is perhaps the best approach. The routines I talked about last week, which involve my bed time and awakening time, do work and I will continue to focus on utilizing and refining them. They truly do help me get my day off to a good start and help me transition into sleep, an area that has been profoundly affected by my chronic illnesses.

But I need to have the flexibility to arrange the rest of my day based on my pain and fatigue levels. To put this into the frame of a routine, I guess I would say that, in general, I have on average two to four hours during the day in which I can engage in activities that require my energy, attention and physical abilities. The rest of my day needs to be spent reclined on the couch engaged in passive pursuits and resting.

As I read this back to myself, I see that I'm building my case for trying to treat my Hepatitis C infection once again. And I did talk to my doctor on Tuesday about the new antiviral drugs that were recently approved to treat Hepatitis C. At my appointment, we decided to put off the decision to start treatment until I see him again in January 2012. Hopefully, by that time, he will have gained more experience prescribing these new medications, which will allow him to make a better recommendation to me about which course of treatment might work better. This gives me six months to get my head into the right place to prepare to do battle again.

I want to end this post by acknowledging that many of you may be in the exact same position I am with the illnesses you live with on a daily basis. I remember asking the staff of the chronic pain and fibromyalgia rehab program I attended back in 2005 what the prognosis for fibromyalgia was. I had to push because the staff was a little reluctant to share that information with me. What I learned is that at any given time, one third of people with fibromyalgia are getting better, one third are staying the same and one third are getting worse. While I'm sure the staff wanted me to focus on doing everything I could to get better, my reality has been staying the same or getting worse.

Understanding and accepting the reality of how my illnesses work really puts things into perspective for me. It helps me not feel so bad when, despite all my self-care efforts, I can see no measurable improvement in my symptoms. After all, it's hard to obtain improvement when your illness is getting worse.

A lack of progress does not mean I should abandon my self-care practices. It just means that, at the moment, more rest, pacing and patience are needed.

Related articles

• Mission 2011: Getting Back On Schedule (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: A Simple Routine (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• What Is Working and What Is Not (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Question of the Week: Are You Paying or Playing? (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: A Simple Routine

Image via Wikipedia
I've given it some thought and I've come to an understanding about my aversion to the word routine. In my mind, having a routine and getting things done are two concepts that are intertwined. Unfortunately for me, getting things done, whether on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, is a sketchy proposition at best. If you live with chronic illness like I do, you know what I mean.

My Biggest Challenge

I've been disabled by chronic illness for almost 7 years now and the thing I find the hardest to accept is the profound way my disability prevents me from doing.

I mean sure, I would expect my disability to interfere with getting big things done that require a lot of energy and time, like yardwork or spring cleaning, a day full of shopping or cooking. What I did not expect were all of the hundreds of little ways my disability interferes with me accomplishing the small things. I often feel frustrated at my inability to be productive. I have learned to recognize this as old expectations for my previously healthy body and consciously dismiss these expectations as unreasonable for my current state of being,

While trying to be kind to myself, I do acknowledge that I completely and utterly fall short in my ability to do compared to healthy people. I sometimes wonder how healthy people judge me, especially those without knowledge of my chronic illnesses and disability. Although maybe that judgment is coming from that small bit of myself that desperately wants to be healthy and normal once again.

A Plan for Success

Using this new insight, I've decided I need a simple routine, a routine that focuses on the basic essentials I need to accomplish each day. At this point in my life, it needs to be doable as well as specific and focused. My simple routine needs to set me up for success, so I can feel good about accomplishing what I can, gracefully accept what I cannot and have clarity about what tasks and projects belong in each category.

With this new frame of reference, it was easy to see that my routine needs to focus on two times a day: when I wake up and when I go to bed.

When I Wake Up

There are a cluster of items I need to focus on after I get out of bed that will help get my day started in the right direction. While this may look a little bit different each and every day, the basic tasks remain the same: get up, get dressed, let the dogs out, eat breakfast and then rest. This also happens to coincide with a time of day when I need to take my medications.

After mulling over several different ideas about how to make sure taking my diabetes medication is part of this wakeup routine, I've settled on combining it with testing my morning blood sugar, which is something I need to do every morning as well. That way, if I can't remember whether I took my medication or not, I can simply look at my glucometer to see if there is a blood glucose reading for the morning. I'm hoping that focusing on these two tasks together will ensure they both get done daily.

When I Go to Bed

This is the second cluster of items I need to focus on daily. This includes taking several medications before bedtime, as well as cleaning my CPAP machine before its nightly use. This is also the time designated for showering, since doing this in the morning wipes me out for the entire day.

I'm adding a regular "brain dump" here so I can let go of the things rattling around in my brain before I go to sleep. This will also lend itself to reviewing the upcoming day so I can get prepared mentally and physically for any appointments or special events that might be happening. Another integral part of this time of day is winding down and enjoy activities that are quiet, peaceful and sleep promoting.

The Time In Between

As for the rest of the day, I'll live by one guiding principle. I will check in with myself, assess my energy level and choose my activities accordingly. My brain dumps will be used for ideas about the things I'd like to focus my attention on and I will see if those things fit with my energy level each day. And I promise to go easy on myself if I'm low on energy and unable to accomplish much that day, as well as exercise caution on the days when I have more energy to make sure I don't over do it and wind up flaring myself up.

Over the next seven days I'll be paying closer attention to how this simple routine works in action and I'll report my findings back to you in my next Mission 2011 post.


Hey there--don't forget to check out my Blooming Beauty Contest. There are six easy ways to enter into a drawing for a limited edition Mary Kay Lashes Love It! bundle that includes the *new* Lash Love™ Mascara in I ♥ black, best-selling Mary Kay® Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover and a pretty pink eyelash curler. You have until Tuesday, July 5th at 11:59 Pacific Daylight Time to enter.

Related articles

• Blooming Beauty: A Wordless Wednesday Contest (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: Getting Back On Schedule (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• What Is Working and What Is Not (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: Getting Back On Schedule

Image via Wikipedia
Welcome to a new month of Mission 2011 posts.

This month I want to focus on the related topics of schedules and routines, mostly because my recent increase in life stressors has almost completely and totally thrown off my own habits. Since things have finally started to calm down, it's time to get back in my groove.

When I initially set out my plans for my year-long series of posts for Mission 2011, I set this goal:

Making and sticking to a schedule of rest breaks throughout the day.

Now that is still a great goal, but I have recently realized I need to work on so much more than rest breaks when I comes to my schedule.

For example. the other day I could not remember if I had taken my once-a-day diabetes medication. You would think that since it is an injectable, I would remember poking myself. I literally stood in front of my diabetes supplies for several minutes racking my brain for recall. In the end, I decided against a possible second injection for fear that I might take too much medication and have to deal with the consequences.

Not a good way to start my day.

Back in 2009 I wrote a whole month-long series of post about developing a daily routine. One of the earlier posts in that series was Can Routine Help Me Manage My Fibromyalgia? Two years later and it seems I am in need of a refresher course on this topic.

The good news for both you and me is that can take that refresher course together by clicking this link: routine.

In the meantime, I did one thing this week which I hope will get me back on track. I call it a brain dump. I recognized I was getting bogged down by a bunch of things rolling around in my brain. So I took the time, a few minutes each day, to write down all the things floating around in there.

I've found that a To Do list and/or scheduling tasks with due date makes me feel pressured, overwhelmed and unproductive. So this brain dump was more about creating a prompt I can reference to help get me focused when I have the energy to accomplish something.

When using this prompt, I emphasizing flexibility and breaking things down into smaller steps, which works so much better with my fluctuating pain and fatigue levels. Sure, there are things in my life that have specific due dates, but I've learned that the majority of things aren't so time and date dependent after all.

I have to say that getting those things out of my head has really helped me get clearer and more focused. I am also being diligent about adding to the list whenever I hear myself talking about other things that need my attention. Yes, the list is long, so I hide it away when I am feeling tired, overwhelmed and not up to taking on tasks.

One thing I have come to accept is that not all the things on that list are going to get done...and that is just going to have to be OK.

I'll be back next week to write more about this subject. At the very least, by the end of June, I will schedule those regular rest breaks during each day and figure out a daily routine that ensures I take my diabetes medication every day without fail.

Related articles

• Mission 2011: Fibromyalgia Redefines Exercise (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: More Meditation in May (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: The Underdog Meditation

Image via Wikipedia(Please note: This post was originally scheduled for May 12, 2011. It's publishing was delayed due to Blogger platform problems.)

There are a lot of good reasons to meditate. For me, one of the most important is the ability to gain insight into your life through the quiet moments created during meditation. This discovery has recently led me to an appreciation of what it means to be an underdog.

What follows is a sequence of thoughts I watched flow by in my mind during a recent meditation session. The technique used during this session was to simply notice the thoughts and let them work themselves out without trying to consciously alter their appearance or content. So in essence, I let my mind wander where ever it wanted without an investment in what the outcome would be. If a feeling arose connected to any of the thoughts, I simply allowed myself to feel the feeling and then let it go.

It's no secret that recently I've been particularly bogged down by an assortment of troubles. Since many of these troubles are connected to people in my life, I got to thinking about how my current circumstances make it appear to these people that I am all wrong. Quite simply, I am dealing with people that think they are right and they are out to prove it.

This has translated into a lot of hassles for me.

Ordinarily I'd choose to ignore troublemakers, but the situations created by a few select people in my life recently aren't the kind of situations that can be ignored without negative consequences for me. In other words, I've been put into situations where I must respond.

The first problem with people who think they are right is that they seek to subjugate other people with their righteousness. That's just not right. The second problem with people who think they are right is that they are not always right. Have you seen how crestfallen the righteous are when they find out they aren't? The third problem with people who think they are right is that they underestimate the drive, motivation and determination they inspire in those they have made the underdog.

Yes, I am currently the underdog, but that is OK with me. That's because I realized what being an underdog truly means:

Underdogs never take anything for granted. They work at 110%, are smarter, better prepared and more successful at everything they do. People often make the mistake of discounting the underdog. The top dogs laugh and think you are beaten. They forget the underdog fights harder and is more motivated to obtain success.

Honestly, I'm happy always thinking of myself as an underdog, because when you're down the only direction to move in is up.

I LOVE being an underdog.

I hope this example conveys the true power meditation can have in opening your mind and allowing the stillness to lead you to places that can bolster your spirit and ease your mind. I am pleased to share that once I was able to see myself as the underdog, I was able to put my troubles into perspective, ease my mind and figure out ways to creatively deal with the situations I find myself in.

Above all, this insight helped me reaffirm to myself that I was indeed strong enough to conquer my current tribulations, just like I am successfully facing the challenge of life with chronic illness on a daily basis.

I am a hero who never fails. There's no need to fear--Underdog is here!

Related articles

• Mission 2011: More Meditation in May (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: More Meditation in May

Image via Wikipedia
Welcome to month five in my year-long series of Mission 2011 posts.

As you know, I am in search of my "sweet spot" through the optimal combination of self-help techniques for managing my fibromyalgia symptoms. So far, we have covered the topics of making activities more fibro-friendly, using symptom logs, planning for special events and exercise. By the way, if you have missed any of my posts, just click on the words Mission 2011 above to get caught up.

Now I don't know about you, but lately I seem to be going through a rough patch with way more stressors in my life that I would like. Which got me thinking about adding more activities to my daily routine to help me combat stress and promote my overall well-being. Things like meditation and using my emWave Personal Stress Reliever.

Given my current situation, I decided this would be the perfect time to explore this subject further in my Mission 2011 posts.

Now I know that mediation can be good for me, but I often struggling with trying to consistently practice it. Turns out I'm not alone. I stumbled across a fun and helpful resource to get me back on track that I am going to share with you today. It's a website called HEADspace. They partnered with the British-based Guardian newspaper earlier this year in a series to make meditation more accessible to everyone.

I really like their approach, which strives to make meditation practical, easy and bite-sized. So I've included their Start Happy introduction to meditation video from the Guardian website below. I also encourage you to visit their website and get started with the Tools and Techniques section like I did.

For those of you in England (or inclined to travel there), HEADspace offers in-person training too.

Enjoy this kick-off to a month of exploration on the topic of meditation. Cheers!

Mission 2011: Some Final Thoughts on Exercise

Image by Cornell University Library via Flickr
Yesterday I finally touched base with my best friend and learned that she is currently participating in a boot camp style exercise program. She described for me in detail what her workouts look like and how much fun she is having doing them. She admits that exercise has never really been her thing, but this whole boot camp approach has recently changed her mindset on exercise.

Then she told me how sore she was from today's workout and said, "I bet this is how you feel all the time."

I certainly appreciated her empathy, but I have to admit that her description of her current exercise program made me 1) feel like a big, fat slug and 2) realize that I live in an entirely different world than she does.

Exercise has always been a part of my life since I was a kid. I can remember dance lessons, bike riding around our local park, hiking and backpacking as a Girl Scout and years spent as a member of the local YMCA swim team. In high school, I was my mother's companion at the gym, riding my bike to meet her there and then taking aerobics classes and working out on the weight machines.

Exercise became even more important to me when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1999. I discovered just how powerful it was in helping to maintain tight control over my blood glucose number. I also discovered the elliptical machine at the gym, which quickly became my new favorite piece of exercise equipment.

The irony has not escaped me that my entrée into life with fibromyalgia was a trip-and-fall accident that occurred while I was taking a brisk walk around the building while on a break at work.

While I have been exploring exercise in my blog posts during this past month, I have learned that I need to work on my acceptance of how fibromyalgia has completed and totally changed what exercise looks like for me now. I can more clearly see that my expectations about what I should be able to do are a complete mismatch with what my body can do. I can hear that tiny, critical voice inside my head saying, "You can only do three minutes of exercise, three time a week?!?" Yeah, that little, judgmental voice needs a reality check.

But I also understand: that voice is the part of me that misses being busy getting things done. It's really hard for me to be home all day and unable to get done all the things I need and want to do because I lack the physical energy to do so. It's those physical limitations, the by-product of living with chronic and disabling pain and fatigue 24/7/365, that are the hardest part of my current health situation.

I think spending this past month adjusting my attitude towards exercise will help me be more successful with my current endeavor to implement the exercise advice I got last month from my new neurologist.

To that end, I am pleased to report that I am slowly building up the number of reps and number of exercises I do on a daily basis from the Exercises to Help Manage Orthostatic Hyptension handout. I light of my recent diagnosis of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), I am putting together the money to purchase a recumbent bicycle, since it is now clear to me I need to engage in seated exercise. Perhaps I can get a good quality used one from a second hand exercise equipment store.

I am also practicing more patience and understanding with my body. After all, it is doing the best it can despite all my health challenges.

So you see, like my best friend, I am working on changing my mindset when it comes to exercise.

Related articles

• Question of the Week: How Do You Get Your Exercise? (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: Fibromyalgia Redefines Exercise (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: Exercises for Dysautonomia (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: Exercise, Exercise! (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: Fibromyalgia Redefines Exercise

Fibromyalgia fundamentally changes your relationship with your body.

One of the greatest losses that I deal with on an ongoing basis is my inability to do whatever I want, whenever I want. I simply don't have the energy to live the active life I used to lead.

Yet one of the great paradoxes in the current state of fibromyalgia treatment is the recommendation of regular exercise as a means to manage symptoms.

I think that what many of the people making this recommendation forget is that fibromyalgia makes each and every activity during the day into exercise. Or that chronic pain and chronic fatigue makes everything in life more difficult to do, especially when it comes to physical activities. They don't acknowledge that physical activities may need to be modified so that pain and fatigue are not aggravated or made worse. Nor do they talk about the very troublesome problem of postexertional fatigue, that very tardy message from your body telling you did way too much yesterday.

Trying to figure out the how's, what's, when's and where's of making exercise fibro-friendly can be daunting. For starters, you need to start looking at exercise in a whole different way. I mean, you can't just stroll into the gym like you could before, work out for half an hour and expect to feel okay over the next 72 hours. Exercise means something completely different when you have fibromyalgia.

So for example, if your fibromyalgia symptoms include dizziness or fluctuations in your heart rate or blood pressure, doing exercise in a standing position may not be the best choice for you. If you have problems tolerating heat, working out in a warm water pool might not be a good idea either. If you are dealing with moderate to severe fatigue, just getting to and from an exercise class might be more activity than your body can handle; between the travel and the class, you might find yourself completely wiped out.

When it comes to how much exercise and for how long, I think the adage start low and go slow perfectly applies here. Since it's so easy to overdo it and derail your exercise efforts, it really makes sense to start with just a few stretches done just a few times. Or maybe just a few minutes of walking or biking three times a week. If postexertional fatigue rears its ugly head it's a sign to cut back and try again. If you can tolerate just this little bit, then play it safe and add a tiny bit more over time: one new stretch, two more reps or one or two more minutes of cardio.

I share these thoughts with you today because I know that all too often the recommendation to exercise doesn't come with fibro-friendly instructions. My hope is that if you can remember that having fibromyalgia means having to redefine what the word exercise means, you can take that recommendation and make it work for you.

This post is for informational purposes only and doesn't take place of the advice of your health care team. (Yeah, the irony of this statement in light of the discussion above is not lost on me.)

Mission 2011: Exercises for Dysautonomia

Today I am sharing with you the exercise handout I received from my new neurologist during my visit to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

Strengthening my muscles is the purpose behind all the exercises below. Stronger muscles help prevent blood from pooling in my lower extremities when I stand, as well as help my body maintain a more consistent blood pressure. It is my understanding that my body's inability to compensate correctly when I stand is what causes me to get dizzy. While I have never fainted from standing up, I do get dizzy, light-headed and woozy.

Hopefully these exercise will help minimize these symptoms over time.

I have been instructed to start with the first three exercises, all done while laying down. Once I have mastered these, I am to add the rest of the exercises, one at a time, to my routine. After a month or so of doing all the exercises every day, I then will add some cardiovascular exercise, like biking or walking, starting at three minutes, three times a week.

The goal with my exercise program is to start out easy and work very slowly towards adding more exercise for longer periods of time. This is definitely not your typical exercise program, but it is a good fit for where I am currently with my multiple health problems that interfere with me being able to exercise in a more typical fashion.




You'll find this handout loaded into Google Docs, which will allow you to download and print it for your own personal use. Be sure to discuss it with your medical provider to make sure these exercises are right for you and your unique medical situation.

Related articles

• Mission 2011: Exercise, Exercise! (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Question of the Week: Are you struggling with making changes? (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: Exercise, Exercise!

Image via Wikipedia
As I mentioned last month, the topic for my Mission 2011 posts in April is exercise.

Funny thing is, as I thought about this topic, a song about exercise from my childhood popped into my brain and stubbornly got stuck there. That led to a several day quest to find the song and then figure out a way to be able to present it here on my blog.

All I knew a few days ago was that the song began, "Exercise, exercise! Come on everybody do your exercise." What I learned from my Internet search is that this song was from a segment on the 1970s children's TV show called Wonderama. This song was sung by the show's host Bob McAllister and the children in the audience.

It took some finagling, but I finally figured out a way to capture the song using my video camera. The audio and video quality of the clip below isn't that great but I hope it's good enough to convey all the reasons why this song caught my attention when I was a kid and has been stuck in my brain ever since. My hope is that the infectious tune and upbeat nature of this little ditty will get you into the proper mood to tackle the topic of exercise this month.

Enjoy!

Exercise, exercise!
Come on everybody, do your exercise.
Exercise, exercise!
Come on everybody, do your exercise.

Jumping Jack, Jumping Jack!
Come on everybody, do the Jumping Jack.
Jumping Jack, Jumping Jack!
Come on everybody, do the Jumping Jack.

And freeze!

Exercise, exercise!
Come on everybody, do your exercise.
Exercise, exercise!
Come on everybody, do your exercise.

Hands on hips, hands on hips!
Touch your toes with your fingertips.
Hands on hips, hands on hips!
Touch your toes with your fingertips.

And freeze!

Exercise, exercise!
Come on everybody, do your exercise.
Exercise, exercise!
Come on everybody, do your exercise.

Stand up straight, shake around!
Let me see you twist your body all about.
Stand up straight, shake around!
Let me see you twist your body all about.

And freeze!

Exercise, exercise!
Come on everybody, do your exercise.
Exercise, exercise!
Come on everybody, do your exercise.

Now rest!

Mission 2011: A Report on My Big Special Event

In my Mission 2011 post today, I want to talk about my big special event this month and what I did to plan for it to make it a success.

Planning for Success
As you know from my posts earlier this week, last week I traveled to Scottsdale, Arizona for a neurology consultation at the Mayo Clinic. After making this appointment in January, the first step I took was to imagine what this experience would look like. That led me to the activities I needed to plan for: travel, packing and trip schedule.

Travel

My first consideration was traveling to and from Scottsdale. I talked it over with my husband and we decided to travel by car for this trip, with Robert acting as our designated driver. With the help of Google Maps I learned that the trip by car would take approximately 6 to 8 hours. Before we left, we decided that we would stop at the halfway point, Blythe, California, to have a late lunch/early dinner. Once we got on the road, we discovered that taking advantage of the rest stops every 100 miles or so was also a helpful strategy. I was amazed at how stiff and sore I got just from sitting still in the car for an hour and a half at a time.

I made sure to bring along a couple of assistive aids to make sitting in the car more comfortable. These included a travel neck pillow and a car seat cushion. On the trip to Scottsdale, I realized that I had forgotten something. Since I am so short I have problems resting my feet comfortably on the floor of the car when I'm in the passenger's seat. I improvised by using my backpack as a foot rest. On the trip home I acquired an old phone book to use in place of my backpack. That worked so well that when I got home I used duck tape to turn the phone book into a more sturdy foot rest alternative.

Packing

As for packing, I admit that I usually I wait until the very last minute to get my bags packed. Since waiting to the last minute doesn't work so well for me anymore now that I am dealing with chronic pain and chronic fatigue, I decided it was time to allocate a full week to this task. I broke the task of packing up into smaller projects that could be tackled one day at a time. So, for example, I spent one day packing up all my toiletries, another day packing up all my clothes, a third day gathering all my medical records for my appointment, etc. Overall, this strategy worked much better and is something that I will repeat the next time that we travel.

Trip Schedule

Since the purpose of this trip was to obtain medical care, Robert and I didn't expect to be doing much sightseeing. We knew our days would be planned around whatever medical tests and follow appointments that were scheduled after my initial consultation. Knowing that these activities would use up a lot of my energy, my main goal during the week was to use any free time we had resting and napping.

When Robert and I travel for fun, which we do about once every 18 months, we plan for one day of rest after each day of activity. For me, this is a big change from how I used to approach travel. Previously, I was the kind of person who filled every moment of a trip with all sorts of activities befitting the destination. With chronic illness, this simply isn't possible anymore. Ironically, Robert actually likes my new approach to travel activities much better.

The Week Before and After

The week before we left I made sure not to schedule any appointments or errands outside the house. When I wasn't packing I made sure that I was resting. I also made sure that I got plenty of sleep as I knew that my sleep schedule would be disrupted by both the travel to our destination and a schedule imposed upon me by all my anticipated medical appointments. I find that the night before we leave on a trip I tend to not sleep very well, probably because my body gets wired from anticipation which makes it difficult for me to fall and stay asleep.

Upon our return this past weekend I've been focused exclusively on getting extra rest and sleep to recover from our trip. Again, I have made sure not to schedule any appointments for this week and limited my errands to a trip to the grocery store where I purchased more ready-to-eat items to conserve energy on meal preparation. So far, this has worked very well for me.

The Big Pay-Off

I know my plans have paid off because I haven't flared up. Through planning, pacing and resting, I have learned to manage my symptoms despite travel, a change of schedule, unfamiliar surroundings and a different bed. Now that is my definition of successful special event planning.

Now that you know my secrets, I am confident you can do the same.

Related articles

• Mission 2011: When Your Special Event Involves Travel (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• Mission 2011: Saying "Yes!" to Special Events (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• My Mayo Clinic Adventure - Day One (ohmyachesandpains.info)
• My Mayo Clinic Adventure - Autonomic Testing on Day 2 (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: I CAN Go to a Rock Concert

Image via Wikipedia
Welcome back to this month of posts all about special events. This time I want to share with you how I learned that fibromyalgia couldn't stop me from going to a rock concert.

The Ultimate Motivation

A few years ago my all-time favorite band, The Police, organized a reunion tour. I knew I had to go. I never got a chance to see them in concert back in the 80's, so I sure didn't want to miss this special event.

Now it just so happens that they nicknamed their new tour "certifiable." Having disbanded in 1984 because they were all getting along so poorly, they had said they would be crazy to ever get back together again. Which is a real coincidence, since at first I thought I might be a little crazy for trying to attempt going to a rock concert when I had fibromyalgia, chronic pain and chronic fatigue making my life disagreeable.

A Plan for Success

I knew if I really wanted to do this, I had to get super serious about managing the aspects of this event that were within my control.

Special Moves

The first thing I decided was that I needed to rent a mobility scooter. I was already using mobility aids like a cane and a rolling walker, but I knew there was no way I could tackle going to Dodger Stadium with them. I also owned a transport chair, but that required someone to push me around, literally. I decided that wouldn't work either.

I needed wheels I could manage on my own that allowed me to sit so I could conserve as much energy as possible.

Imagine my surprise when at the medical equipment supply store my husband suggest we purchase the scooter instead of rent it. I have to say that this is the best chronic illness related purchase I have made to date, as it truly opened a whole new world of possibilities for me.

Special Tickets

Since I was taking a mobility scooter, I would need a disabled seat to park it in. Thankfully the folks at Ticketmaster taught me how to go about purchasing disabled seats when I called them a few days before the concert tickets went on sale. The process was super easy and actually allowed me to purchase better seats than if I had gone through the regular channels with all the other 56,000 fans.

While you don't get a discount on the price when you purchase disabled seats, you do get greater availability (even when a show is almost sold out.)

Final Preparations

With the two big concerns taken care of, I turned my focus to the smaller, yet equally important, details.

A week before the show, I eliminated appointments outside the house and drastically cut back on all other activities. I spend lots of time resting and building up my energy reserves.

On the day of the concert, I made plans to arrive as soon as the gates opened to avoid the last minute crowds filing into the stadium. A super early start gave me and my party time to find our seats, get settled and get snacks.

I brought along earplugs to reduce the noise level and help combat auditory over-stimulation.

I brought layers of clothes with me. Since the concert was outside, I need to stay cool in the afternoon and warm after sunset. To beat the afternoon heat, I brought along a small battery powered fan to cool me down.

I attended the concert with my husband and my best friend. With a friendly face on either side of me, I had lots of help if I needed it. Having both of them with me helped me feel safe and secure in a very loud, very crowded and very overstimulating environment.

The Results

I had a fabulous time at the concert. Because of all the preparations I made in advance, I was able to relax and enjoy the concert. I felt comfortable and able to manage a very demanding situation because I took advantage of all the ways I could judiciously make the little energy I had last throughout the evening.

Wrap Up

As my husband drove us home, I felt both exhilarated and thoroughly exhausted. You would have thought I'd of crashed and fallen asleep the minute we walked in the door. But the weird thing about chronic illness is that sometimes when you are beyond tired, you get so wired you can't sleep!

Luckily I had a plan for that too: I took the follow week off from appointments, errands and activities to rest and re-cooperate from my "certifiable" first concert post-fibromyalgia experience.

I recognize that I don't have the energy to do something like this more than once every year or two. But when I do choose to participate in a special event this big, I know putting plenty of thought and effort into planning translates into enjoyment and memories that can sustaining me until the next time one of my favorite bands comes to town.

Related articles

• Mission 2011: Saying "Yes!" to Special Events (ohmyachesandpains.info)

Mission 2011: Saying "Yes!" to Special Events

Image via Wikipedia
As fate would have it, I have a "special event" this month that I need to diligently plan for so I can make it through it without a flare-up disaster. Which makes this the perfect month to tackle the topic of special events for my series of Mission 2011 posts.

Defining the Term "Special Event"

Let's start with talking about what exactly I mean when I say "special event."

I guess for someone healthy, a special event might be a wedding, a party celebrating a milestone birthday or a dream vacation--something big, fun and out-of-the-ordinary. For those of us living with chronic illness, a "special event" could simply mean leaving the house! Or it could mean going to a concert, a play, visiting friends or going to a holiday dinner.

Whatever the occasion, I think you'll agree that in the grand scheme of things special events are important. Why? Because they are opportunities to create special memories and participating in them fuels our passion and creates moments of enjoyment in our lives. Sure, chronic illness makes attending these events problematic, but I don't think the solution is eliminating them all together.

My Strategies for Attending Special Events

Rather than forgo them, I find that if I employ a variety of strategies before, during and after a special event I can attend a few throughout the year. Here are some of the things that I do:

1. I am choosy about the events I attend, weighing physical strain vs. pleasure gained.
   
2. I RSVP for only a handful of events over the course of a year.
   
3. I always leave myself the option to cancel if my health won't cooperate with my plans.
4. I schedule lots of extra rest before, during and after an event.
5. I know that it will take me 3 to 10 times longer to prepare for an event than I initially think it will and plan accordingly.
6. I purposely cut back on appointments, driving, errands and other activities at least a week before and a week after the event.
7. I employ as many energy-saving strategies as I can before and during the event, like having someone else do my hair and makeup, using a mobility scooter, asking someone else to drive or arranging for a place to lie down and rest during the event.
8. I make sure I bring my flare-up medications and some snacks with me.
9. I always attend with someone who understands my situation and can help me if I run into trouble.
   

Big Challenges + Extra Work = Big Rewards

You might be reading this and thinking 'This seems like a lot of work Selena.' I agree. But I also think that it is a tragedy to let chronic illness stop you for doing things you really want to do.

Like I said early, it's the special events in our lives that create some of our most memorable and cherished moments.

Initially, I shied away from special event because of the really big challenges they present when you live with chronic illness. In fact, the first big outing I attempted post-fibromyalgia was a huge disaster that landed my in the Emergency Room with a massive seven-day headache.

But you live and learn. In my case, I learned more about self-management strategies to cope with my fibromyalgia symptoms. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that employing these self-help techniques could help me do some pretty awesome things despite living with fibromyalgia. Not only could I get out and have some fun, I figured out how to avoid getting all flared-up in the process.

For me, the extra work in planning, pacing and resting really paid off. I've got the proof too! Next time I am going to share with you how I successfully attended a really big event, The Police Reunion Tour, back in 2007.

This Month's Goal...

Until then, start thinking about the special events you'd like to attend. You know, the ones you have been putting off or gave up on because of your chronic illness. My goal this month is to inspire you and give you the tools to create your own plan so attending a special event can be a reality for you too.