I knew this would happen, was just a matter of time...

Since my last entry on April 7th things have been crazy…..just crazy………….and I'm certainly paying for it with a major flare.......god I hate fibro, I hate chronic fatigue - I HATE IT!

So our insurance called to let us know they totaled the van as the crash had done some damage to the frame.  With that they sent us a settlement letter requesting the title be signed over to them and offering us some money to replace the car.  They offered us a little more than we expected so we were happy with their offer and just wanted to get it done.  Of course the amount is not enough to get the same vehicle or even anything close.  It’s a shame, I went from no car payment and a car that still had plenty of life in it to looking to replace it with something that was similar – good luck right?  Not exactly what I was looking for but it is what it is.

Let the stress begin – all I can hope is that I don’t end up going into a major flare over this entire process…….fingers crossed as we embark on the car search…financial worries and all that comes with it…fun times! 

So I stared off by doing a lot of research online and looked at a lot of different cars.   We knew we wanted something 4WD or AWD to start.  Nissan, Subaru, Dodge, Jeep, Ford……the list I’m sure goes on, honestly I have really forgotten all the different brands and styles, at this point it's all just a blur.

I was initially set on a Jeep Patriot – however, after looking at the reviews and sitting in it decided it was not the right car for us.  Too boxy for starters…..although I do love the way it looks on the outside, it’s just not the right fit on the inside.  In fact, every time I see one I take a double look, I just like the way they look.

We sat in many cars over the past 2 weeks – the Murano and Rogue were nice – I really liked them both – it’s hard to get use to going from a mini van to a much smaller car but it’s time ……nothing really struck our fancy much……so the search continued…….

At one dealer we were introduced to the Dodge Journey – this car was one that did strike us as something we liked.  It is very similar to what we had in both color and options but yet different enough – it was a 2013 and had 28k miles.  We drove it – enjoyed it’s power and comfort.  We left that dealer with the Dodge Journey as our top pick from the day.  But we still wanted to check out some other cars so we weren’t quite ready just yet to make a commitment on it.

As the week went on we continued to search – looking for used vehicles between 2010 and 2014 that weren’t priced too high or with too much mileage – that really narrowed down the field for us.  I looked at a Ford Escape – BLEH – the 2010 model I sat in felt so cheap – the 2013 had bad reviews.  It felt like it was very cheap plastic inside – while it was the size I was looking for and the price – I couldn’t get over how cheap it felt and I knew I wouldn't be happy with it.  Probably because I’m use to the nice interior that generally comes with Dodge vehicles.

So needless to say, the Ford Escape was now off our list.  At this point our options were getting much more narrow and I was getting really tired of looking – literally tired.  All the walking around, talking with people and internet research was catching up to me – we weren’t getting home until late every night and our entire “normal” schedule has been off really since the crash on April 3rd.  I’m now feeling the effects of it all in full force – my fatigue is off the charts this week.

Wednesday this past week we decided to go check the Dodge Journey again.  After several days of going around looking, dealing with pushy sales people and not finding anything we liked, I wanted to see the Dodge one more time before I made a decision.  We went, we looked, we still loved – so the choice was obvious – let’s talk numbers!  We also really liked the sales person we dealt with.

We ended up staying at the dealership for HOURS – we had to come to grips with several things before we could feel comfortable with our decision.  For a variety of reasons, our credit scores aren't that great.  That right there put us in a bad situation for our APR on a loan…….the dealer worked with what they had and ended up getting us as good a deal as they could considering.  I was leaning towards continuing on looking as I really wanted a lower payment, however, with our credit, we were unlikely to find a lower payment even if we found a less expensive /older car.  My husband reminded me too that if we left we would put to chance that the car we want would be gone, and that we might not find another like it.  So after thinking and thinking and thinking we said yes to the car!  I’m now driving a nice black 2013 Dodge Journey, AWD with 28k miles.  We were able to negotiate a lot of things so we ended up getting some good deals attached to the car.  Our 1^st 4 oil changes are free with the dealer, the entire car is covered on any problems it could have pretty much for the life of the car.  That makes us feel good about the purchase and comfortable that we won’t have to shell out even more money should something bad go wrong with anything on the car – lots of electronics so that is a great peace of mind for us.  At most we would have to pay a $100 deductible to get anything fixed - sounds great to me!

Here it is Friday as I’m writing this update and I can barely keep my eyes open.  I’m so exhausted from everything this week.  My chronic fatigue tends to flare out of control when my “normal” schedule gets upheaved like it has this past couple weeks.  Between driving my husbands older truck, which is difficult for me to even get into most of the time, the stress of trying to find the right car, finding the right car and the stress involved with that purchase – it all adds up and ends up leaving me dealing with excess pain and fatigue that I haven’t had in a while.  My normal aches and pains are in overdrive and like I said before, my fatigue is just off the charts.  Of course life goes on so I have to push myself through and get things done - but believe me, as soon as I can, I'm down for the count!  

This weekend my plans are to rest if I can.   That is of course after I grocery shop, plan Easter dinner and get things ready for the kids – but after all that, rest!......is there even time to rest?

I saw my Chiropractor on Friday and he gave me a shot of B12 - historically B12 does nothing for me at all - I'm one of those who just doesn't metabolize it - but we thought to give it a try and see if anything changes - maybe my body has changed since the last I tried it. 

Coming into this next week I work M-W and then my daughter and I are off to MN for the Northern Lights Volleyball Tournament.  She will play with the 17’s team from her club as they invited her to join them for this tournament.  It’s a great opportunity for her and we are very excited.  Of course this trip will most likely not help my fatigue as traveling tends to take it out of me so I don’t suspect won’t feel much better until well into May when things finally start to settle down in my world and I can get the rest break I so much need in order to get back on track.

Through all this I’ve been continuing to see my chiropractor and getting adjustments.  That’s been helping a lot – I have also had some acupuncture, which helped my ribs finally stop hurting.  They were hurting so bad, I am sure from the accident.  After the acupuncture they finally stopped hurting.  

Today (Saturday) as I'm finishing up this post I wanted to add that I am not as tired as I was yesterday - so maybe that B12 did help a little.  I went to bed early last night too.  On the other hand, my entire body hurts - I think it's just par for the course with having Fibro and Chronic Fatigue - I just hope this flare leaves sooner rather than later.

Whew, that was a lot to share this week!  If you made it this far, I applaud you and thank you for your continued interest in my story.  

Until next time - to your health!

Gerri

All in 5 days - what a crazy week to say the least!

Well last week was quite eventful in my world!  Settle in and let me tell you all about the craziness!

First, in case you missed my update earlier in the week, I was introduced to an absolutely fabulous product that helps people manage pain - of course I had to try it and I'm amazed at the results, no.....I'm in love, absolutely in love, with this product.  It's a product you can get from a company called FGXpress - the product is "Powerstrips".  These thin adhesive strips are nothing less than a gift sent from above.  You can check it out here, or send me a message with any questions you might have.  I've been using these on my chronic pain and have been enjoying NO PAIN since!  Check it out!  Seriously, do yourself a favor and check it out!

So as I'm enjoying my new pain free living I went along with my week and on Thursday my world was turned upside down.  It was a snowy morning - typically in March and April we get lots of heavy wet snow between our bouts of warm spring weather.  Thursday was no different than years past, heavy wet snow falling.  I took my kids to school and noticed as we were driving that the snow was really heavy and wet - really slick in places on the roads.  I dropped my kids off at school and headed home.  On my way down the road to my house I had the foresight to put the van into a lower gear as the road was slick and I was getting ready to go down a pretty precarious hill that turns to the right towards the end.  Before I knew it....whoosh.....I caught some slush and my van took off sliding sideways......I couldn't get it back in line or pull out of the slide and ended up plowing down a pole with a reflector on it and barreling into a large boulder right off the road - it was loud, it was scary......my van bounced from one large boulder to another with a thud and boom......when everything stopped I was fine for the most part, my coffee had flown down to the floor, many things that were in the center console were now at my feet.........I was shocked I'm sure........my airbags did not deploy so I got out the car to survey the damage - not looking good at all.......I got back in and called my husband and lost it - I started crying uncontrollably.  I've never been in an accident and I was scared and didn't know what to do!

My husband assured me he would be on his way.  Meanwhile, a neighbor in the area came running down to me to check to see if anyone was hurt and to inform me she had called the fire department - she said that I hit a boulder and moved it several feet from where it originally was so she was sure someone was hurt - thankfully that wasn't the case.  I've included some pictures of the damage.  It was about an hour of action from the time of the crash, fire truck, police, neighbors - and me......in tears and hysterical.

By the time my husband arrived it was just me and the van.  He got me home and we called the insurance and set up a tow truck to come haul the van away. We also made an appointment to see the chiropractor that afternoon as I was already starting to feel the pain in my neck and back from the accident.  I was concerned how my body would react to being jolted around....with fibro you just never know.  We still don't know what the story is for the van - we kind of think it could be totaled as it's only worth about $5000 at this point (before the wreck)

As of now I'm seeing my chiropractor every other day to work on my body and healing.  I'm pretty sore in my lower back, ribs and shoulders/neck.  I keep getting more sore so it's a good thing I was able to get into see him.  As soon as my inflammation goes down I will begin putting the pain strips on my pain to help with that.  Until then I need to just use ice and biofreeze to help.  It's really more stiff and sore than it is painful.

Saturday was my birthday.  Considering everything it was a good day.  I got my hair cut and the family took me out to a nice dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. That is my favorite place - mostly because they have the best cheesecake ever!  I had my favorite dish, Alfredo Pasta with Chicken and sun dried tomatoes and for dessert I took home a red velvet cheesecake slice - it was DELICIOUS!

Today I went back to work after having a 2wk Spring break.   It was tough to get up and going this morning as I woke up sick.  Of course I didn't get sick all the time I was off work, had to get sick the day we go back.  I managed to get my butt out of the house and stay at work all day even though all I wanted to do was come home and crawl in bed.  Now I'm just on the couch, my entire body aches and it's all I can do to not go crawl into bed now - I think I will be doing that soon though.

So that's about it for this update - quite a bit to digest.  The past 5 days have been a little on the crazy side - probably why I'm getting sick now.  It always seems that if it's not one thing it's definitely always another!

Until next time, to your health!  And NO PAIN!

Gerri

Let's visit this FMS and Herpes connection again shall we?

So if you recall in my last post I included an article I had found that shows a potential link between FMS and HSV.  If you need to refresh yourself on that article, you can do so by clicking HERE - then let's dig a little deeper into this connection and see what we find.

Naturally, I've been doing some research of my own and think that this article has a lot to it and that this .  I have EBV (Epstein Barr Virus) which is also known as human Herpesvirus 4.  EBV is also linked to Chronic Fatigue - hmmmm interesting, I have that too.  EBV can also cause infectious mononucleosis - another interesting thing, I was diagnosed with Mono when I was 16 - seeing the dots connect yet? Mono and EBV, the two seem to go hand in hand.  Funny thing though, once you have it, you NEVER ever get rid of it.  It lurks and can cause havoc on your body at any given time.  Sound familiar?  Boy it sure does to me!

So we know there is a link between EBV, HSV, CFS and Mono.....where does FMS come into play?  I wonder if because of all the other things, FMS and the pain we experience is just another part of the Herpes virus boring away at our nerve ganglia which in turn causes our unexplained pain all over our bodies....something to consider as a real possibility.

See what happens when I have too much time on my hands?  I start posting to my blog and researching things which leads me in all kinds of directions!

On a side note, please, please look at this product I've talked about PowerStrips - it works and the results are incredible!  I've been enjoying pain free living since finding it and hope to help others who suffer from pain with this simple system.

Until next time - to your health!!!

Gerri

Interesting study on FMS and HSV (Herpes Simplex Virus)

My entire purpose of starting this blog is to keep my own research someplace that I can refer back to and reflect on.  Another reason was to hopefully touch the lives of others who may find themselves in a similar situation as I did about 4 yrs ago - sick with no answers!  It's not a fun place to be and actually a very desperate place to find yourself.

Over the course of time as I started to feel better and become more active in my own life I slowly stopped posting things to my blog - this was not intentional, just an oversight as life gets busy.

My goal right now is to keep up on this blog, continuing to add beneficial information that I have found online myself or that was sent to me.  I hope to be a source of information to those out there who seek it and to keep those who wish to be kept up to date on how I'm doing with my own struggles.

Today I read an article that I found quite interesting.  As anyone who suffers from FMS, CFS, and other chronic issues we don't really have any answers but all these studies being done touch on the POSSIBLE - they still have a long way to go to be proven or to even have a remedy that will work.  It's a sad place to be, looking in on these things with the hope that someday in our lifetime they will find something to help us - until then, we carry on, trying new things until we find something that works well enough.

You can read the article HERE

Until next time - to your health!

Gerri

Unbelievable!!! You have GOT TO READ this!

I'm going to get right to the point - I've stumbled on a product that is nothing short of amazing!  If you are like me, you have heard this before, been approached by people who claim to have what you need to make you feel better - only to be disappointed when it didn't work - well, from one chronic pain sufferer to another - I am not pulling your chain and I would NEVER vouch for something that didn't work on me!

If you are like me and live with pain all the time day in and day out then you have got to continue reading this and be prepared to share with everyone you love and know that lives with pain.

I for one don't take medication to relieve my pain.  I try all natural ways to control it and most of the time am just dealing with the pain as I go through my daily life.  I visit my chiropractor about every 2 wks to keep my body in line and working good.  I have found that these regular visits help more than anything else.

Long story short, a friend of mine told me about this product that relieves pain. She explained that it's all natural and there is nothing like it anywhere.  Like everything else my initial thought is "yeah right" - so she sent me a sample of this product to try.  It's basically a patch you put on where you experience pain.  You can check it out here!

For me, at the moment, my daily pain is located in my shoulder joint.  It's a deep aching pain that just won't give.  So I slapped this patch on my shoulder as instructed.  She said to let her know how it feels in the morning.  So I went about my business for the rest of the night and went to bed wearing this patch.  I didn't notice anything spectacular that night after applying the patch.  She had told me that some people may experience warmth where it's placed  but I did not have this sensation.

When I woke in the morning I moved my shoulder expecting to have my normal aches and pain - much to my surprise there was NO PAIN.....I moved my arm in all directions to try to find the pain and at the very most I could feel where the pain should be but it was so minor I wasn't sure if it was really even pain.

The patch is worn for 24-48 hrs with most of the relief happening around the 24 hr point.   This was just about 12 hrs of wearing the patch overnight and I was pain free for the first time in a good year!  You read this right - PAIN FREE!  In my world, that isn't something that you hear or get to experience!

AHHHHH, PAIN FREE....yes it's true!  A real product, an ALL NATURAL product that REALLY takes away pain where ever you have it!  This patch is brand new and only available through individuals who sell it.  I can tell you right now, I jumped at the opportunity to get my hands on more of these patches!  I have friends all over who will appreciate the pain free living that is awaiting them in this patch!  I want to make this a readily available product to anyone and everyone I know who suffers from chronic pain!  I know first hand how getting even a little relief from chronic pain is - to have something that is able to keep the pain away - PRICELESS!

For about $80/mo you get 15 patches - those patches can be cut to any size so you can actually make them last a full month or two if you cut them in half and wear one for 48 hrs at a time.

$80 might seem like a high price but whats worse?  Paying that much or more for a chemical RX to treat your pain or paying that much for an all natural pain remedy?  I would say the later of the two.  I look at it this way, I pay my chiropractor $45 a visit, per week, to relieve my pain.  I can take my $80 and purchase a package of patches and see my chiropractor every other week to keep everything in alignment.....no more money than I already spend and getting full time pain relief - WINNING!

If you are interested in more information about this amazing discovery please don't hesitate to contact me - I'm telling you it's going to be a game changer for people who live with Chronic Pain - it's new and powerful!

With excitement I look forward to hearing from those of you who are serious about living pain free!

For the first 6 people who contact me, I will send you a free sample of this amazing product - I believe in it 100%!

To your health (and living pain free!)

Gerri

I just stumbled across this interesting information - a must read for every CFS/ME/FMS sufferer......

Study on THIAMINE (B-1)

I just read this information and am inclined to run out and get some B-1 in high doses and give it a try - can't hurt right?

To your health!

Gerri

Spring Break time, family time, VOLLEYBALL and me.......

So here I thought it's been a few weeks since I've posted and when I looked I realize it's been a month already - sheesh.  Things are "Status quo" with nothing really "new" to report.  Well, one thing is new, my sister had her 2nd baby!  So we have a new family member, Ms Audrey Rose Gordon.  She is precious of course!

As most of you know I'm always on the look out for new and great things that will help with CFS/ME, Lupus and FMS symptoms.  Well I have recently found a product and I want to tell you about it because I'm excited about it's potential. It's called "Aloha" - basically it's a dried green juice powder!  SHUT UP!  I literally was just thinking about how I wish there was a product that would give the benefits of juicing in a much easier form such as a powder or pre-made but good drink that was affordable....I know, I know, in my dreams!  Or at least I thought! Then I see an ad on Facebook pop up one day that caught my eye - it was EXACTLY what I had been thinking about - weird I know!

They appear to be a relatively new company and the product is exactly what I've been looking for.  I was able to get a sample of it and so far have found it to be just as good as it seems.  I mix the powder into my daily protein smoothie because on it's own it's quite harsh tasting!  I made the mistake of mixing it with just water when I first got it - ACK - I drank it but man, I won't make that mistake again!  If you have ever had spirulina straight, that is exactly what it reminds me of - but I find mixing it with my smoothie drowns out the strong taste and it's palatable.  I'm always looking for ways to easily incorporate lots of vegetables and goodness into my daily diet and this seems like a great way to do just that without the time/money/mess it takes to juice all the same things (and then some). Don't get me wrong, I love juicing and all the amazing health benefits but it is just too time consuming for me to do it on a regular basis anymore.  For the same cost, if not less, I can get the same benefits out of a package of dried juice - easy, fast and most of all convenient.  Check it out here Aloha - The Daily Good.  As anyone who is dealing with the affliction of a chronic illness knows, the more good stuff we can put into our bodies, the better off we are all around.  I really encourage you to check it out if you are like me and want to put the good things in but just don't have the time and energy to juice 3x or more a day.  With this, you take it once a day and you are good to go. There are 14 organic ingredients that promise to help detoxify, energize, hydrate and best of all BOOST IMMUNE SYSTEM function!  The process they use to dry the ingredients doesn't take away the nutrients or fiber which a lot of the time juicing does - so there is another bonus!  I've been using it just for a few days now so I can't honestly report anything over the top with it but I do plan on continuing to use it for the internal benefits I believe it will deliver.  A strong immune system is a huge plus for me.  I can also say I have noticed a temporary increase in my energy when I take it so that is always of course a huge plus!

In other news, it's spring break for myself and my kids - very much needed I might add!  I was thoroughly exhausted by the time it came along.  Last Friday was the first day and honestly I haven't done a whole lot since.  We did have an all day volleyball tournament on Sunday, but aside from that I've pretty much been a lazy lounger......of course I'm still keeping my normal schedule of going to be around 8 or 9pm but I'm able to sleep in past 5:30 am which has been nice.  I'm finding myself getting up around 8am, still tired but unable to sleep any longer.  I also have been noticing I wake up a lot at night, which isn't uncommon and surely part of why I'm always so tired, I'm not getting restful sleep.

So I wonder how many of you feel like I do - lazy.  I often feel like my illness has made me very "lazy" for lack of a better term - I feel lazy because I just don't want to do ANYTHING most of the time.  It makes me feel bad because I know I "should" be outside enjoying the nice weather, exercising, taking the kids out to do things etc.......so I start to get on myself and negative thinking hits.  I can sit here all day in my PJ's - easy.  So I wonder, is it just me being LAZY or is it truly because it's not often that I get to do it and when the opportunity shows itself I'm all over it?  Am I lazy?  Some would say YES.  I on the other hand am not sure at this point.  While I know I'm chronically sick, it's hard to convince even myself at times.

Volleyball is coming to an end soon - this has kept us very busy and on the go most of the time.  With 3-4 practices a week and an all day "power" each Sunday we find very little time to do much else.  Early mornings and late nights tend to be our M.O. during the club season.  As of May there will be a little break in the action before the summer camps start up with the school.  My daughter loves the sport and we are so blessed to be able to give her the opportunity to play for a club and in school as well as the countless other things she gets invited to do.  My husband and I love watching her too.  Our son on the other hand, not so much.  He isn't a big fan of noises so volleyball is really something that stresses him out.  With his sensory issues it's not the most accommodating sport for him.

Now I have a question for those of you with CFS/ME and/or FMS.  What strategies have you found work for you to keep you in a good place with your illness and struggles that come with it?  I feel like I do all the "right" things most of the time but still find myself very tired - some days more than others.  Some days it's very hard to get myself through and I can't wait to get home and collapse in my rocking chair/recliner.  I'm just curious what methods or things you do that keep you on top of your illness and what things you find make you crash and burn??  Thanks in advance for sharing as I know it can be a very personal thing.

Personally, I find that every day is so different from the last, especially dependent on what I did or didn't do for myself.  Things we put into our bodies will effect how we feel in the near and sometimes not so near future.  I find it hard to stay away from sugary things though, which for me is a downfall as I'm sure that lends to a lot of my symptoms of being extra tired. I also have a very hard time managing my weight NO MATTER WHAT I DO....Since being on the Body By Vi challenge I have found it easier to maintain my weight and I enjoy the fact that I'm getting great nutrients from the protein shakes but I wish I could LOSE weight as effortlessly as it seems others do.

At any rate, I hope this finds you well and enjoying spring!  Please send me comments if you have anything to share or say about anything I've put in my blog.  Let me know you are out there!  I am beginning to feel like I'm writing to a black hole!  I'm off to get some laundry done (the never ending pile seems to get bigger by the day) and then spend the evening in the volleyball gym - it is our life for now!

To your health!

Gerri