Easter Pics

Finally getting these up for those who asked,... Easter Egg Hunt at my mom's (aka Nana's) this year. My sister & I wanted to do things a little different this year,.. we wanted to eliminate the excessive candy, so instead of candy, each egg had a piece of paper with a number written on it. We hid 40 eggs, and each of the four girls were allowed to find 10 a piece, PLUS one would get the bonus Golden Egg. After the hunt, they took turns opening their eggs and traded the numbers for prizes that matched the coordinating numbers (Thank goodness for the Dollar stores!),.. the Golden Egg had a better prize, but it was indeed a fun way to administer the egg hunt and eliminate the excess candy. The kids loved it... Here's a sampling of 'the hunt':

My three girls, Courtney, Brittney & Ashley, and my niece, Akasha. She's the one in all the braids. :)

Disneyland

It occurred to me, that I never posted pics of our trip to Disneyland so for those who have been waiting all this time to see them, you have my apologies. We took the trip the end of last October (2006), hence all the pumpkins, LOL.

Lincoln City...

Monday, the girls & I went down to Lincoln City. On the way down, we stopped off at Basket Slough on Hwy 22, and saw thousands upon thousands of Canadian Geese,.. reminicent of something you'd see on National Geographic. VERY KEWL. We spent a good portion of the day in Yaquina Bay at the interpretive center, the lighthouse and the tidepools. I shouldn't have climbed the lighthouse, but I did,.. for the kids. I was the only one brave enough to do it, LOL, and I wanted them to get to see the views from the top so I did it, and snapped as many pics as I could from the top (insert stroke... anywhere, lol). Stopped off in Depoe Bay for awhile, too... watched the waves & did a little window shopping We enjoyed dinner at Sambo's in Lincoln City, and then went to the local put 'n bat for mini golf. I was exhausted and hurting a lot by the time the day was over so I opted to get us a room. 2 queen beds, a hot shower, a few cartoons, and a good night's sleep was just what we needed, LOL. In the morning, we packed up, went back to Sambo's for breakfast, stopped in at the Salt Water Taffy shop, then we all grabbed Starbucks and headed home. Got home in time to handle a couple of things and head to my rheumatology appt. I'm exhausted, but it was fun. A nice little get away.... and a couple of field trips to boot.

Diagnosis...

K, so I'm pulling back out of this recent flare, but I'm still exhausted & I hurt, just not as bad. This kind of hurt is the hurt I feel every day, all day, and have felt for the past 15 years, and have just become somewhat 'accustomed' to. I'm always 'aware' of it, but I guess I'm so used to it that I've just learned to basically deal with it until it gets so bad that I can't function well.

I had my appointment with the Rheumatologist yesterday, and I've been officially diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. They want to get me started on a comprehensive care program with physical therapy and strongly urged me to learn & get regular in practicing Yoga, Tai Chi & Meditation. And no more "over-doing",... he said I really have to learn to pace myself, and there are a lot of things I really shouldn't try doing anymore. Even some of the things they normally recommend like walking & cycling, he didn't recommend for me because we already know that those things contribute to my pain. This is where he feels that I have a higher level of Fibro going on, and he feels that I've been dealing with it probably all the way back since highschool, and it's unfortunate that my doctors in the past have overlooked me on this all these years.

He said, in addition to the Yoga & Tai Chi that getting an eliptical would be good so after payday, I'm planning to go get one of those, as well as getting started on the Yoga, Tai Chi & practicing meditation. There's a bunch of other stuff, too, that I have to get routine about in order to help myself live with a better quality of life, and avoid flare-ups, but they're still going to happen. He said he'd like to keep me on the Oxycodone, IB & muscle relaxers at bedtime for awhile to help me get into a good deep-sleep pattern. If I can maintain a good routine with my comprehensive care program though I should eventually start doing better. It could take a good 6 months to start feeling like I have some energy & strength back, or could even be years, they just don't understand enough of the syndrome yet, but thank goodness they know enough that they know it IS a condition and so they aren't sending people to the psychiatrist anymore thinking it's all in your head. Anyway,......... that's where I'm at. Oh, and he did say that he believes I do have arthritis definitely going on throughout my body as well, just not necessarily one that would have came back in my labs,... he said to look at me on paper, I'm the picture of health, but to look at my history of complaints, and to physically see me,.... obviously something is wrong. He also mentioned another specific arthritis of the knees, but I cannot recall the name,... we'll get into that more later, I guess. For now, we're going to address the Fibro.

Just a quick review of some key points on Fibromyalgia......... it is associated with widespread, chronic pain, fatigue, memory problems, and mood changes. It is a syndrome, not a disease. It is not life-threatening, just life-altering. It is not arthritis itself, but is associated with it. It does not lead to joint & muscle damage, but does cause severe joint & muscle pain throughout the body. The cause is unknown, but it is thought to be due to abnormalities in central nervous system function, leading to an "amplification" of normal pain signals. Widespread musculoskeletal pain is the most common symptom. The pain can be described in a variety of ways including burning, aching, stiffness, soreness, and more, and often varies according to the time of day, activity level, weather, sleep patterns and stress. Many people say that some degree of pain is always there, although it can come & go. For some people the pain can be quite severe. Studies suggest that people with Fibromyalgia have abnormal levels of several different chemicals in their blood or cerebrospinal fluid that help transmit and amplify pain signals to and from the brain. There is also evidence that the central nervous system's ability to inhibit pain is impaired in these people. Whether these abnormalities is a cause or result of Fibromyalgia is unknown.

A GREAT Day!!

Yesterday & today have both been VERY good days,.. my pain levels have been tolerable, and have not required medication to cope so that's a good sign that I am pulling out of this recent flare-up! I'm still waiting for my rheumatology appt., which is not until next Tuesday though.

While there are unresolved conflictes still taking place,.. I'm dealing with them beautifully, and actually feel really good right now. I have a clean conscience, a forgiving heart, a good head on my shoulders,.... and AWESOME friends. I love them all, but I want to leave an extra special shout-out to Anna, Andrea, Kevin, Jenni, Javene, Kat, Barb S. & Barb C. You guys are all amazing friends & I love you to pieces....

Why this post? I guess I'm just feeling really, really good for the first time in the last few weeks due to all this connective tissue crap I'm dealing with, and I just want to share the love,.... I hope all of my friends, not just the ones I've listed here, know how VERY thankful I am to have each of you in my life! xoxox

Today, I got to spend a little over an hour and a half in a tele-conversation with one of my best friends, Anna, and I couldn't feel better! I don't know if two people can 'connect' much better than we do, although I am blessed to have a very similar friendship with another one of my best friends, Andrea. I love them both dearly, and my life is so much more enriched by having them in it. Anna & I go all the way back to 1st grade though so we share not only a mature friendship, but we had one of those very special, sweet, sentimental, little girl friendships, too... the kind you treasure for a lifetime. LOVE you, Anna!!!

So, while I am still sore & achey, and tiring more & more as this day transitions into evening ,... I'm having a really terrific day!! I hope you all can say the same!! *MUAH*

Men!! *psshhht!* lol

As soon as I wake up, Will Power helps me get out of bed. I need him, but there are days he's just not there for me.

Then I go to see John, but he pissed me off so I told him to go flush himself.

Then Charlie Horse comes along, & when he is here, he takes a lot of my time & attention, but he can be a real pain.

When he leaves, Arthur Itis shows up & stays the rest of the day.
He doesn't like to stay in one place very long, so he takes me from joint to joint.

After such a busy day, I'm really tired & glad to go to bed w/ Ben Gay, but sometimes he rubs me the wrong way.

What a life!

Oh, yes, I'm also flirting w/ Al Zymers, but he can be so darn forgetful!

And remember: Life is like a roll of toilet paper,
The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.........

Got me a dyson!

So, my vacuum decided to blow up on me a couple of weeks ago, and dang near caught fire,.. out of the blue, no warning, no nothing. It was second one of that model to do it,.. I finally have gotten sick of cheap vacuums, and splurged (dipped into some tax refund $, hehe), and got myself the ever coveted dyson.

I am now in vacuum HEAVEN!!!!!!

If you ever have the means,.. I HIGHLY recommend one.

Wii wants to play!

Can I just say that the new Nintendo Wii is SUPER fun?!!

We FINALLY got our's Friday night, and although I can't play much right now due to my physical state *grumbles*,... it's awesome! Now this is a game system I can support,.. gets ya off your butt and you actually move more than your thumbs, LOL! And making your Miis is both fun & HILARIOUS!! We made them for each of the 5 of us, plus ones for both sets of grandparents, my sister and my neice, and it's just too darn funny how closely they all resemble each of us.

Three words: Wii IZ KEWL!!!

Got my car!

I bought my car today!! Got it for $3,000. LESS than the list price, too because the guy who was supposed to put it in the Auto Trader online ad, listed it wrong. I was stunned that they actually agreed to honor the price,........ Anyway, may not seem like a catch to others, but this is actually the car I wanted right now. Good, clean, reliable, safe, and gas efficient. I'm a heck of a happy gal. Here's a peek.........

Labs Are In...

Well, my labs are back, and everything is normal except my ANA was high, not as high as it could be, but high. This eliminates me from a number of possibilities, yet also opens the door to many others. For now, the big one that my doctor was considering being a plausable cause, was MS, which she has now ruled out, thank goodness. But,.. this still leaves an open door to the original concern of it possibly being Lupus. Now, it certainly may not be,.. about 95% of people who test with a positive ANA do not get diagnosed with Lupus, but the concern here is that I do meet several criteria. Basically though, I still have a great big question mark plastered on me,.... I should be hearing from the Rheumatologist next week and seeing him shortly after. There will likely be many more tests,.. more poking & prodding before anyone can come to any sort of conclusion.

In the meantime, my medication has been changed. The Vicodin was doing NOTHING for me, except add to my drowsiness. I was still in horrid pain even though I was taking 800 mg of IB, 1,000 mg of Robaxin (a muscle relaxer) AND 1,000 mg of Vicodin.

I'm still on the IB & the Robaxin, but they've switched me from Vicodin to Oxycodone. It's about as close to Morphene as you can get in pill form, LOL. Although, I don't care for how it makes me feel (like I'm highly intoxicated), it IS doing a fabulous job in numbing my pain so I am greatful.

Anyhoo,... I'm wiped out so off to bed. Just thought I'd let you know where I'm at on things. xoxo

Updates...

Ashley's MRI went well. It looks like perhaps the tumors may have grown again, but if so, only marginally, and so the oncologist & radiologist are not concerned right now. They said it was so minimal that it was difficult to tell if it was true growth or if perhaps it was just a slight difference in the slicing from the last scan. I have to schedule her for another ophthalmology appt., and that will be the true test as to whether her vision has changed & the tumors are effecting her sight (If so, we'd start chemo), otherwise we just wait another 3 months and do this again (since they're benign). I can't believe we've been doing this every 2-3 months for 3 years already! He did say that it was okay for us to try doing the MRI 'awake' next time, but to have the anesthesiologist on stand-by just in case, but he thinks she could probably do it without now. I hope so!! It would be great if she didn't have to be put under anymore.

Now, as far as I go,.. I've been a real mess. I think what stirred this flare up was all the work getting ready for the darn convention the week before last, and some other things that helped contribute. This has gone on long enough, and it's clearly 'something' and so (before anyone starts yelling at me about it, lol) I DID go see my physician!

I've gotten much, much worse,... It hurts to move,.. EVERYthing hurts. All my bones, every joint, every muscle,.. my hands, fingers, wrists, elbows, arms, shoulders, neck, back, hips, knees, legs, ankles, feet, heels, and toes,.... I am exhausted beyond belief, and even with adequate sleep (7-9 hrs) I am still feeling wiped out and in need of (almost) daily naps,.. and STILL feel tired. My eyes are heavy & fuzzy, it's difficult to concentrate because I feel so awful. I don't even have to be moving to be in pain. Sometimes, it's tolerable, others it's excruciating, and I have to fight from bawling,.. and still other times I can't hold in back no matter how hard I try. My skin burns sometimes, some of my muscle tissue burns, I feel bruised on all pressure points on my bones/joints,.. I have stabbing pain in places that don't make sense, and in my fingers, hands, elbows, shoulders, and knees, feet & toes. It comes on sudden, stays a bit, and then fades. It hurts to hold a pen to write, it hurts to hold a phone, hurts to hold the steering wheel to drive, hurts to walk, even stepping on or off a curb, let alone the stairs. It hurts to type right now (which is why I'm going to keep this fairly short).

I saw my Dr last night, and she said I definitely have some sort of rheumatoid thing going on,.. question is, WHAT. She ran me through all sorts of clinical tests, which I could do, but not without a great deal of difficulty so much so that she told me to stop trying because she could see it was only hurting me. She said it's definitely effecting my connective tissue, and she's concerned... And she doesn't think it's just my osteoarthritis anymore. I got labs done,... they're running a battery of tests which I fully anticipated. The tech took about 7-8 viles,.. said they were running 10 different tests. I know they're checking for rheumatoid factors, cancer tags, Lupus, and a bunch of other possibilities. I should have some results tomorrow, and she's referring me to a rheumatologist, which I'll probably see next week. In the meantime, she put me on Rx IB, vicodin, and muscle relaxers,.... OTC stuff didn't do ANYthing to help, and actually, the prescriptives didn't do anything for me last night either until I was finally so drowsy I didn't care anymore and basically passed out. I still woke through the night with pain any time I moved.

Anyway,.. *fingers crossed* for them to figure me out & help me,............... I seem to get worse day by day. This has been going on for years, but has been getting closer together and worse each time. This is by far the worst I've been yet.

Anyway, it's really hurting to type so I'm going to get off of here. I'll talk to ya'll soon.

Love, me