First, I'd like to thank Tara for her comments.  I'm looking forward to reading the books she suggested.  {1. What your Doctor may not tell you about Fibromyalgia by Dr. Paul St. Amand,  2. Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia by Dr. Rodger Murphree, 3. The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf.}  I would have loved to respond to Tara's comment, but unfortunately I haven't figured out how to do that on here yet, lol. 

     I never claimed to be a computer guru, no point in lying.   Although it may take me a little while to figure out how to respond in the comments section, I want to encourage everyone to feel free to comment any time.  I'm always anxious to hear what others think or new ideas.

     Ok, I have to apologize for taking so long between postings.  I have to confess that I've been reluctant to post that it's been more than three months and I haven't started my diet or my exercise program.  Oh if good intentions were useful, I'd be sitting here wearing a size 5, ok... maybe a size 16, but still, that would be an improvement! 

     Once I wrap up this 48 hr shift, I'll start vacation.  I have all the excuses lined up, don't want to start my diet while I'm on vacation, travelling, etc, then the holidays, and so much more.  All the same excuses I've used for years upon years.  Although I do want to wait until after vacation because we will be eating out alot and travelling, I still plan to start watching what I eat somewhat. 

     My new work schedule is very odd.  We work 48 hours on duty, then have 96 hours off, repeating.  I think this schedule will actually help in dieting.  The town where my station is located doesn't have much in the way of restaurants so we typically bring whatever we eat during our shift.  My new partner, whom I just love to pieces, is willing to eat healthy as well so that helps. 

    Speaking of my new partner, it turns out that she also has fibromyalgia.  She was diagnosed when she was sixteen years old.  It's wonderful having someone who knows and understands what I'm going through from day to day.  Not that I'd wished this on her in any circumstances, but misery does love company. 

    Some days we're quite the pair, each of us moaning and shuffling across the room, lol.  But for the most part, we manage alright. 

     Actually several things have happened since my last posting.  As I said, I have a new partner at work.  She is wonderful.  I really enjoy working with her.  We have a lot in common it seems.  She cracks me up.  I've moved to a new station which means I have all new crews besides ours.  In late July, we put a new truck [ambulance] in service.  That caused a huge shake up, six new employees, a new station and a new schedule came about as well.  We were able to move based on seniority.  I was fortunate enough to have enough seniority to be able to pick exactly which schedule and which station I wanted.

     In days past, I would have easily chosen the busiest station without hesitation.  That was always my favorite station.  I liked the frenzied pace.  I loved the constant flurry of activity.  But when I began evaluating my choices this time, things were very different.  I can't keep up the pace anymore.  I looked for things that I never would have considered prior to my illnesses.  One of my main issues was which station had or didn't have stairs I would have to climb regularly.  Another concern was which stations had the most drama.  And no, I do not mean drama in a good sense.  I have little patience for employee drama and some stations have way more than their share of it here.  [That isn't a by product of any illness, I've never had much of a stomach for drama and gossip, although the stress is certainly not wanted now.] 

     I chose a station that was a little farther from home, low run volume, no stairs and fortunately no drama / gossip.  Working here and on this schedule has really helped though.  I know working 48 hours on duty wouldn't be for a lot of people, but I prefer it.  I put in my shift and then I have four days to recover, build up strength, etc.  It really has screwed up my sleep habits though, which has me exhausted some days. 

     I have discovered how important good sleep is.  When I don't have enough sleep or get good quality sleep, I feel like crap.  The problem is difficulty sleeping is one of the many issues associated with fibromyalgia.  I have started taking a single Tylenol PM when I go to bed at night.  For the most part, it seems to help.  Others I know take something to help them sleep as well, such as Ambien.  An important thing to consider when deciding whether to take sleep aids [or which one to take] is not only the effect they have on your night's sleep, but how they make you feel the following day.  I was taking two Tylenol PMs, and I slept really well, but the following day I was a drugged zombie all day.  Everyone reacts differently.  You just have to see what works well for you. 

     Another issue I have when sleeping is I have eight cats.  Yes, I said eight.  [We recently lost a furbaby we'd had for 18 years.  The stress has been extremely hard].  But of the remaining eight, at least four or five feel the need to sleep on top of me or up against me all night long.  It's like being wrapped in a cocoon and then having sandbags placed on top of you.  So far, they haven't gotten the "just sleep over there" message very well.

     I completed a series of shots for my knees.  Initially I thought they were really going to make a big difference. Truth be told, not as much as I would have liked.  There's some improvement, but not what I thought I'd have.  It was a series of shots, once a week, five weeks, one shot per each knee.  The drug was Halygan.  At first I refused it because it's made w/the combs of roosters.  I felt bad about using something that required an animal to die.  [I'd love to be completely vegan if only I liked vegetables] However, my husband finally talked me into it.  I've heard some pretty wicked stuff about the Synivisc shots which apparently is the precursor to this drug.  Fortunately I didn't have any intense reactions to the shots.  There was a small amount of pain at the time of injection, but with getting a shot in the knee, I'd say that was to be expected.  The shots were just a stop gap measure trying to buy time until I get a total knee replacement on both knees.  With my weight, it's just not an option right now.  [Nor could I really afford the time off of work to recover from such a fiasco].  So, a little relief is better than none.

     I've also been on a program where I've had two trial injections in my back. If they are successful [and I believe they have been], I will be a candidate for an ablasion to the minor nerve endings in that area to help bring some long term relief.  My back doctor has been so enjoyable to work with.  He has a wonderful sense of humor which certainly makes things easier, and he's open to working with me.  My family doctor doesn't want me to have an opinion of my own on anything it seems.  My orthopedic surgeon also has given me Tramadol, a pain reliever.  I can have it as often as 2-3 times per day if necessary.  I don't take it that often, usually a single time per day.  But it's helped me through some rough days. 

     My goal w/the pain relief, the knee injections and the back procedure is to be able to walk for longer periods of time.  I really need to get back on my feet and get back walking again so I can lose weight.  No matter how much I diet, it won't be enough w/out exercise.  I need to do both to get where I want to be. I've asked for a new pedometer for Christmas.  I know I'll have to start off slow, but that's not a problem. 

    All of these things are working together to make things a bit better.  The only other thing I wish I had access to is a muscle relaxer.  I haven't talked to my doctor about it.  Actually, I try to talk to my family doctor as little as possible.  That's probably why I appreciate my ortho doctor so much.  But I have so many muscle spasms that it would be nice to have something to alleviate those sometimes.  I have them really intense in my upper back and around my rib cage.  So much so that it's difficult to breathe at times.  I could do without the spasms. 

     At any rate, I'm finally getting adjusted to the new schedule, except for my sleep patterns.  I think things will start to fall into place more soon.  The diet, exercise routine and other things I have going.  I do have a little more energy on my days off.  I always have a "to do" list.  Occasionally I actually get a few things done from the list.  Slowly but surely things are beginning to come into their own.  Time will tell how it all comes out.