I have been wanting to blog but I've been too busy - sorry!  I looked at a really great website for Fibro-ees... well it was full of relative info anyway.  And I'm not sure if you remember I was telling you about the link between car accident injury and Fibro... well this website - bang on... you should check it out!  http://www.fmaware.org/ National Fibromyalgia Association, in particular have a look at the 'science' link.  I found it very medically terminated so I had to read it about 4 times before I got what it was saying, but it sunk in... SLOWLY!!! ha!  Have a read and I reckon you will take something from it!  I did.  Even if a confirmation that this is such a varied syndrome that no two people suffer the same.

So, to continue where I left off... after a few weeks on Amitriptyline - YES I was sleeping and also taking about an hour each morning to wake up properly... everyone in the family knew it was coffee first before addressing me or I would barely be able to respond!  So my hubby got into the habit of bringing me coffee in bed (some would say a highly recommended syndrome for those who want to be served coffee in bed ha!)... and then one day my toe went numb, but also part of my scalp... and I started to panic thinking that this surely wasn't right... I was supposed to be getting better!  Could this be even more serious than sleep deprivation I was wondering?  Immediately I rang the Neurologist and she said that she wasn't overly worried (ahem) but organised an MRI as soon as possible!  Okay, so then I was panicking, relooking up the symptoms of MS (Multiple Sclerosis) particularly because it is in my extended family!  What the heck... why of all pieces of my body was my toe going numb?  And part of my scalp feeling all tingly - crikey!  

In the meantime because it takes some time to organise an MRI in this country my Doctor organised an appt with a Rheumatologist because all the test he had run for Lupus and other recognised diseases weren't present... (although my ANA test came back present with autoantibodies in it, he disregarded it as a red-herring as 1/4 people come back positive and they don't have an autoimmune disease present)... strange but true apparently!  Off to the Rheumatologist (not covered in NZ) and a wonderful man he was - top in NZ - we had a good hour appt, he asked loads of questions about me personally and my personality, and questions about me not asking for help in my home and work life, and doing everything on my own, OTT (over the top) trying to do it all yadda yadda, and then performed some pressure point tests, bend over to touch my toes - (no plastic gloves involved here thankfully!), and so on.  Well - to make a long story short, I left there and waited about a week to find out my results... which were - yes... officially diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.  HOWEVER, I wasn't quite prepared to accept it 100% yet!!! 

It was determined that my MRI was going to take a year under public care so after major discussion to be sure my hubby and I decided we would go private and pay the $ for an MRI to put our minds at rest that it wasn't more serious like MS or a tumour!  A fair bit of $ later when the results of my MRI came back clear of MS or tumours, I was coming around to taking the Rheumatologist diagnoses. I settled into taking Amitriptyline and Tramadol (for serious pain during flare ups) and kind of carried on in a bit of a zombie-like state (at least in the mornings) for quite some time!!!  Zombie-like state is no word of a lie, I would have eaten my family and infected them for sure... however I was lucky enough to have a gorgeous and lovely husband who made sure I had caffeine before I could!!!

This is NOT the end of my story of course... there is certainly more more more more, and I know I promised some cartoons from him but he's struggling with the 'PC' side of his cartoons and what people might find funny being a sensitive issue and all... he was telling me about one or two of them he'd drawn and I LOVE them but he's so bloody picky about what is going to be public... crikey... you'd think being a published illustrator he'd just go with it!  I may have to sneak them on here when he's not looking because I know that we will all have a giggle from them!  Like I said though - we mustn't be sensitive about them.  We have to keep laughing don't we?!  It's not a nice thing to have pain, and then no pain (sort of) and then unexpectedly have more pain, and then think it's over for sometime and then go through this cycle over and over again!!!  So, I reckon laughter is good medicine.  Take that as my prescription to you for now... find something that makes you laugh or start hanging out with people who make you laugh, and feel good, because it sure helps.  I know because I have a funny husband, and a funny family, and I think I wouldn't be here without the laughter... it just keeps me going.  Until my next entry...