Yep, I was reminded of Fibro's use of chronic fatigue.
         This morning I slept in till about 9:30, and that felt great. I got online about 12:30. By 1:30 I'd dozed off a couple times, and decided if that was going to happen I'd better lay down. I did, and woke up an hour and 15 minutes later.
         Now I fully understand how it could put Kenzie to sleep in the middle of watching the Bengals-Steelers footballl game last year at our church, despite the noise from the broadcast AND of the crowd.

Sheesh!
 

         Yep, you read it right. A couple months ago or so, when it was still fairly mild outside, I took our bigger, but younger (about a year old) dog, Zeus, out the front door to do his usual business. Problem was, he spotted our very friendly neighbor, Ryan. Those two had really gotten to be good friends. So, when Zeus saw Ryan out by the sidewalk at the corner of his driveway, he takes off running to greet him.
         I hadn't spotted Ryan at that point, and didn't know this was coming till Zeus yanked the leash, pulling me off balance. I tightened my hold on the leash so he couldn't get away and make things even tougher, but that meant that I landed on my stomach on the grass and he literallly pulled me along behind him till he got to Ryan at the corner of our yard.
         Very upset by then, once I was on my feet I yanked him back toward me, speaking in a tone that could not be mistaken, and put him back in the house.
         My right arm and shoulder hurt off and on after that, but I figured it would dissipate with time. Wrong. It went away for a while, but now the pains in that arm come back once in a while, coming and going like my other fibro pains that have been added to my list over the last few years. The shoulder itself is included in that list.
         So, I have a couple new chronic pains to surprise me when they feel like it. (I felt led to make this entry when they started acting up again tonight.) Zeus still spots an animal or person and starts to run at top speed once in a while, and even though I watch for those moments as soon as we get through the door so he can't pull me off balance, the effort it takes to pull him back could be helping to maintain these new pains; I'm not sure. But, there's not much I can do about it because I don't stand any chance of keeping him under control at all using my other hand. That's physically impossible. So, I do the best I can and take my chances on the future of those new pains. Sometimes I think I'm gradually getting used to most of my pains, and maybe I am. But then a new one comes along and reminds me what it feels like to wish they could find a cure for this Fibromyalgia thing. I know I'm not alone in that wish (I know I have millions of others for company on this), but I also know that cure is something that not even Santa can bring this year.
         So where does all this lead? Right back to a short prayer of thanks that I'm as healthy as I am, and that He watch over those whose health is not as good as mine. Wherever they might be. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' name, Amen.
 

         You read it right. This past Thursday and Friday have been the two worst Fibro days I've had since knowing I had it to begin with. And trust me - that was a long time ago - about 40 years, give or take a couple.
         Both days I had pain from the moment I got up in at least one place, most often more than two. And, both days, it got worse as the day progressed, to the point where in the evening hours, from about 7:00 PM on, I couldn't move without something hurting, and there were a number of things that continued to hurt whether I moved or not.
         You name it. Back, shoulders, legs, arms, neck, plus every joint you can name and one or two that we can't usually name because we don't give them a thought until they hurt. Knuckles, knees, elbows, sacroilliac (usually the left, but sometimes left and right take turns).
         Kenzie and I have made short work of communicating the thought to each other when we have this all-inclusive problem. We sum it all up in just 2 words: everything hurts. Period.
         Then tack on the energy drain as my body consumes energy trying to fight the pain, and that makes for an interesting end to the evening. Getting up out of the chair after watching NUMB3RS with Kenzie last night took energy, which I barely had, and brought more pain that I didn't need. But, praise the Lord, I managed it. And yes, I'm giving Him the credit because with that much pain I can't be sure that I could have accomplished it on my own.
         I got up at 8:30 this morning, took both dogs out, then went back to bed and slept till almost 11:00. That's about 11 hours of sleep. But at least I got reasonably well recharged, and the pain is down to something manageable. Just my elbows and back at the moment. But this rainy, cold weather is liable to bring back all the rest as the day progresses. We'll just have to see what happens. Hopefully, it won't come any where close to last night's situation any time soon.
 

         When I got on here just now to make this entry, I noticed how appropriate my wife Kenzie 's costumicon is for the day I've had. I got up about 9:30, after going to bed about midnight. That's around 9 1/2 hours of sleep. I feel great after a sleep like that, even if it is momentarily interrupted when she comes to bed about 1:30 AM or so. Today was starting off just fine. The problem this time was it didn't last that long.
         I had my cereal breakfast, cleaned up after the dog, swept the living room floor, sat and talked with Kenzie on the porch for about 1/2 hour or so, then came in and got online to check email here and at Gather.Com, then do a little more of what I hope will be the final editing on the biography. I turned the local news on the TV here in the bedroom as I worked, then turned it off after the news and went back to typing.
         Next thing I know, Kenzie's opening the bedroom door to go through a couple baskets of clean laundry, and she says, "You look like you ought to take a nap, dear." As soon as she opened the door I realized I'd dozed off, sitting here at my PC. That told me she and I were on the same page. I hit the bed.
         I woke up between 3 1/2 and 4 hours later, at 4:45 PM.
         So much for a Saturday afternoon. And a fair share of that editing.
         Looking back, I think I should have expected this. I was hurting all over most of the evening last night, and still when I got up this morning. So my body was burning a lot of energy fighting a lot of pain. It's at times like this that I get a first hand taste of what Kenzie feels like on most of her days. That "overall" pain is a real problem. Thankfully, the only pains I've had since the nap are my back and the fact that part of my left leg was on fire for about 1/2 hour.
         I'm just thankful that the fatigue part of the fibro only hits me outside the office. Hopefully it will stay that way. Obviously time will tell.
 

         Yep, a see-saw. After that extra-painful 48 hours or so, the most recent 48 hours have been considerably more pain free. Just my back pain moving around, a small occasional headache, and my legs once in a while. Much better than the preceding painful period. Praise the Lord! Hopefully, that will continue. But, as always, it's in His hands, and I will praise Him either way.
 

         Hello again, all! The last 48 hours or so have been more painful than in the recent past, but I also discovered that Kenzie and I seem to be much better off than some of those with Fibro.
         The last couple days, I've had more first-hand experience with what Kenzie means about "hurting all over". My elbows, my legs, my left sacroilliac joint, and my right shoulder have all been hurting at the same time. The left sacroilliac joint would be worse when I first got up, backing off over the first few hours of each day, then all of them would hurt about equally.
         And one day last week, I found out from a coworker that another coworker has fibro too. Karen was going to put me in touch with the other lady that has it, but when she tried to contact her, she found out that Nisha has been off work for two weeks, and will be off for at least one more, because her fibro is acting up so badly. Ouch. Hearing that tells me that despite our pains, Kenzie and I aren't doing so badly. Praise the Lord!
 

         Remember that irritated sacroilliac joint I had to deal with using the cane a few weeks back? Well, it looks like it's back in a different, and thankfully more manageable form: as the newest "member" on my list of Fibro pains.
         Yep, over the past week or so, it's been coming and going all over again. Shorter stints, milder in intensity, but definitely consistent, about every three or four days at this point. Only time will tell, but I'm hoping it cools down rather than getting worse. We shall see.
         I have to make an appointment with my doctor for July anyway, so I'm hoping I can get him to give me consistent refills on the muscle relaxer so I can take them as needed to cover this darn pain. Time will tell. Thankfully, it's only a nuisance pain at this point like my others. If it has to be here, I just hope it stays in THAT category.
 

         Those of us with Fibro never know when a pain will start, where it will hit, how long it will last, OR, what will cause it. Often, we never know the causes, only the surprise pain.
         But, there are also times when we can predict a strong likelihood that we'll get a pain, and sometimes, where.
         In my case, the latest one of those came when I went to take our biggest dog, Zeus, out for his latest chance to do his business last Sunday afternoon. The moment I took him out the door, he spotted our next door neighbor, Ryan. Those two have a mutual admiration society thing going.
         That meant Zeus took off running at top speed, when I didn't even have time to turn around and start after him after closing the front door behind us. The end result? I was yanked so fast that I took 3 or 4 running steps but couldn't catch up to keep my balance. I landed on the grass on my stomach, and he pulled me about 3-4 feet before stopping right in front of Ryan.
         Stunned, I sat up and began retracting the leash, shouting at Zeus to get back here NOW! Ryan, a little startled I think at my reaction, walked back to his yard.Marilyn came up beside me and took the leash. I got up, and made sure everything still moved like it's supposed to. It did.
         At Marilyn's request, I went up to the porch and checked in detail to see if I had anyplace where the skin had been irritated enough to bleed. Everything felt and looked OK.
         But, Marilyn and I both knew, as we talked later, that that evening, and the next day or two could be interesting. We were right. I started feeling it in the joints on my right side before bed. Just a little.
         The next day it set in. Those joints, my back, my left leg, and a skinned spot on my left elbow. And even now, 4 days later, my right shoulder still pops when I move it a certain way. I'm trying to decide if I have to do anything about that or not.
         Most of the other pains are down or mostly gone, but the shoulder hangs on. We shall see what comes later.

 

         The question mark in the title is because I think that's what I have had today but I'm not sure I'm ready to concede that; not sure I want to buy into that idea. But, that doesn't change what happened.
         With the imminent threat of "scattered showers" after rain during a number of days this past week, I figured I'd better get the grass cut before it rained again this afternoon. No telling how tall it would be when I get my next chance.
         So, I went for it. Got the mower out, unrolled the extension cord (the mower is electric), scraped the remainder of dried grass from the underside of the mower, plugged it in, and went to work on the front yard.
         Later, having finished that part of the lawn, I sat down on the porch to take a short break before tackling the back yard, which had the potential of being a bit soft yet since water tends to puddle back there. On the driveway apron, and the yard itself, keeping things soggy for quite a while, sometimes days after the rain passes by.
         I should have known something was up when it took a little effort to get up from the chair on the porch to finish the mowing. But, I got the job done. Got my shoes a bit muddy from the too-soft spots back there, but it's all cut. I figured I'd better get it done, even if it was a tad soft, since I didn't know from the current forecast when my next chance would come.
         As I sat on the porch, enjoying the breeze after putting the lawn mower and extension cord away and taking the dogs out, it began to drizzle. "Nice timing," I thought.
         Next thing I knew, I was jolted awake when my neighbor, Ryan, stopped over to ask my thoughts about his putting a fence along our property line to keep his dog in his yard. Harley is a big dog, and he's been getting away from Ryan and his wife Tracey on occasion lately. And, if he did put that in, our backyard woud then be fenced in accept for the driveway and a short distance between his fence and our side porch. That meant we could then fence ours in at minimal expense and let our two dogs run, too. Which would be nice. Naturally, I told him to go for it. He said, smiling, "Sorry to startle you, go ahead and finish your nap." That confirmed the way I had felt when he first awakened me. Cutting the grass doesn't usually make me this tired. But it had today. That nap was an off-and-on thing that totalled about 2 hours.
         I went inside, took the dogs out again, then hit the bed, asking Kenzie to get me up in time for the news at 6:00 if I wasn't up by then. When I layed down, it was 4:30. As was usual when either Kenzie or I take a nap, or when we go to bed at night, both dogs kept me company.
         I awoke at about 5:55 PM when Zeus jumped from the bed. Obviously, with his size, it would shake the bed a bit.I've been up since then, still feeling a bit sluggish as if I'm not fully rested. Now the big question: will this happen every time I cut the grass from now on? I guess I will find out. We will see, and I'll let you know the outcome.
 

         Yep, you read that right. I THINK I have a new pain that's going to be part of my ongoing group of them - the ones that take turns bugging me. It's a milder form of that sacroiliac joint pain. It's not sharp enough to cripple me like it was originally, just enough to be a nuisance when it appears, and also send a shot of pain down the front of my left leg once in a while. It's been taking turns recently with my right shoulder and my back.
         And even my back pain has morphed a bit. Now it's no longer just on the left side right above the beltline; it runs all the way across my back at that point. Actually, for some reason that change makes the back pain a bit easier to deal with. Don't ask me why or how, I have no clue. But I"m not knocking it. It's just not as severe a pain when it's spread across my whole back. Go figure.
         Obviously we'll have to see what the future brings here, too.