THE FIBROMYALGIA SERIES PART B

Here we are to the letter B.

If you were to ask anyone to name a trait....

and it's not brilliant.....

B - definitely have to start with bitchiness. When I am exhausted and the pain has moved in and taken up permanent residence, I tend to get a tad bitchy. It starts out with being snappy and as the day progresses it can definitely move into the bitch range.

B - feeling like you are bound by pain. I have to remember that this too shall pass. I have two pain levels: manageable and voodoo. The other words in this category are Bad, Bone-tired and Beaten down.

B - is feeling betrayed by your own body. Every time a bizarre symptom rears its ugly head we wonder if it's something to do with Fibromyalgia or another body part is deciding to revolt.

B - is for the belligerent stance we take when a doctor gives us that "Fibromyalgia-isn't-real" look. If this look has been given to you.....find another doctor. This brings me to another word for doctors that either don't believe you or patronize you......Bogus.

B - is for keeping the emotions that are tied with chronic illness bottled up inside of you. This isn't good for you or anyone else for that matter. I have trouble in this area. I think when you're somewhat reserved opening up is difficult. That's why I was surprised how much I could open up in this blog and it was truly healing. If you have trouble in this area....get a journal and write. Trust me...it helps.

B - Which brings me to balance. Life in general is easier when we find balance. It can take a bloody and bruised, bedraggled soul and bring it peace. Take time to be quiet and listen to that inner voice that is in there buried beneath the struggles of chronic illness.

B - is for beige. Beige is looked at as a flat, neutral color. We don't have to live life in beige because of Fibromyalgia. Find joy in something and laugh every single day. 

We may not be able to run at full speed and we may be tired and hurting. There are lots of challenges that we face every day because of this, however.......

Remember.......

In all things we are blessed.

Baggy sweats or pajamas still feel really good........

We can still walk barefoot and feel the cool grass under our feet...

A glorious sunrise or sunset is still breathtaking.

And even though we look in the mirror and see pain....we are still beautiful. 

and maybe, just maybe.....

in the midst of pain we can find purpose and bliss.

THE BLOODSUCKING LEECH EXTRACTION

Little Sucker Word of the Day

leech

"You would probably be alarmed if your doctor kept a container of bloodsucking worms on her desk, but it wasn't always so. It may be shocking to learn that today's word, before it denoted said bloodsucking worm, meant "physician" or "surgeon." The creature attracted the name because of the former use of leeches by physicians to bleed patients. Leech is a native English word, of ancient origin."

I get Thinkmaps Visual Thesaurus Word of the Day in my email. I'm one of those geeks that love words. I will say that since Fibromyalgia has been foraging around my system my mind works slower than it used to and my vocabulary has definitely shrunk. (Hey, I sounded kind of literate there for a moment!)

Not so fast.

Anyway, when I saw this word I knew I'd have to comment. 

Where to begin? The fact that while there are some excellent physicians who really take the time and have the desire to help you, there are those that resemble the picture and word that I'm writing about. You know those doctors. The ones that take thousands from you promising to cure what ails you only to tell you that it will take thousands more, "but you're on the right track."

Or those who belittle and dismiss your symptoms as, "all in your head." The ones that tell you Fibromyalgia isn't real and they certainly won't write that down in your chart.  The ones that have you crying when you leave the office. They are also the physicians that have you doubting yourself and you start thinking about what you did to deserve this or, worse, what you did to yourself that brought this on. 

But then I thought of something else.

There's also this blood sucking leech called Fibromyalgia. It wants to suck every bit of life and joy out of you. There are leeches of this illness all over our bodies and our soul and every time we recognize one of them we need to pluck them off and throw them in the fire. The leech of telling us life is over and we will be miserable for the rest of our lives. That one? Definitely pluck that off and throw it!

Whenever anything robs you of your joy, whether it be a symptom or a doctor, get rid of it.

We have enough to deal with managing our symptoms.

We can't let all this other crap get in the way of that.

I know that laughter is truly the best medicine,

even though sometimes I feel like I'm in the placebo group.

The link:  Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus