Oh that's right!

I had almost forgotten I have fibromyalgia.  Hello winter weather!

I really can't complain too much.  Compared to where I was a year ago this is a cake walk.  I would hurt like this every day.  Now it just sort of comes out of nowhere like that "friend" you try to avoid making eye contact with.  You know who I'm talking about.

Goldfish are high maintenance.

So far we have had to say goodbye to two goldfish.  Our children would have nothing to do with a water burial for their beloved princess fish so our flower garden should be well fertilized by spring.  AND the girl at PetSmart may have been just a little high and mighty with her goldfish ethics.  Maybe.  Just a little.  After all, there were no less than three floaters in the tanks she was overseeing... undertaking... whatever.  Hopefully we'll get this nonsense figured out and the world goldfish population will never rest on our shoulders.  Currently monitoring Ph and ammonia levels...  This is bordering on a level of chemistry I'm just not sure I'm qualified for.  Where is Walter White when you need him?

Maybe I can find a way to get goldfish to eat stinkbugs and become super goldfish that never die because they'll take on the stinkbug superpower of Never Dying.  Like Rogue, except hungrier?

Dextromethorphan HBr

So... I've been doing really well lately.  Thanks for asking by the way, you're so sweet to ask.

But NOW I am questioning my think muscles for sending me out into the world after what basically amounts to a year and a half of shut-in-ness during COLD and FLU season.  Really, Jenni... really?...

Vick's Nature Fusion Cold & Flu: Tastes like poo and makes your brain voice louder.  But at least you can breathe while you're listening.

Still recovering...

Went in for my iron infusion on 11/19 and I'm slowly but surely rebounding.  I'll find out on 12/13 if the infusion is working and with any luck I won't have to go through that process again.

In the days leading up to my infusion I did a lot of poking around on the interwebs to find out about other peoples experiences and hopefully have some idea of what to expect.  Holy. Jesus.  There were some horror stories out there.  I just want to say that my experience was textbook, uneventful, and seems to be working *knock on wood*.

I arrived at the HOPE Cancer Center at 9am.  Got settled in my fancy recliner and was set up with my IV and premeds.  Tylenol, Zantac, Benadryl, and a steroid... THEN finally I was ready for my test dose of iron. The whole idea of needing that many drugs and then a test dose to make sure there wasn't going to be any horrific reaction was a bit unnerving.  I got to hang out with a saline bag for about 30 minutes after my test dose just to be ABSOLUTELY sure nothing terrifying was going to happen.  All went well.  I hung out and watched Thanksgiving cooking shows on Foodnetwork and tried to tune out the most annoying sound in the world.



Physically the whole thing was pretty easy.  Emotionally it was one of the longest days of my life.  To be there getting iron and sitting next to people receiving chemo was... difficult.  I will never apologize for my emotions dealing with my own health experiences but it did give a certain amount of perspective.  It could be worse.

And then I became a Vampire...

... sort of.

I still haven't tested whether or not I sparkle or burn in the sun.

So I spent Sunday doing the fun colonoscopy prep... again.  This time it was prep for a capsule endoscopy (swallowing a cool camera pill with a flashy light).  My blood work still showed that I was very anemic so the next step was to make sure nothing in my small intestine was being missed.  I needed to be at the hospital at 6:30am.  The plan was, I go in, swallow the capsule, wear the ever fashionable recording device for 8 hours, and then drop it back off to be read by my GI.

Things rarely go as planned.  I woke up at 6 feeling pretty faint and worn down.  During the process of getting ready to go to the hospital I ended up passing out.  I totally fell off the potty and woke up in the tub.  I was able to get up on my own and even walk myself into the hospital once we got there.  I registered at Out Patient Surgery and the nurses were immediately concerned about how ill I was feeling.  Blood was drawn and it was determined that because of my symptoms I needed to be taken to the ER.

Once I got to ER they drew blood for every test they could ... which seems counter intuitive if my one known issue is very low blood levels... but I'm not a doctor.  Once test results came back they immediately began the blood transfusion process.  The line in my arm promptly blew and then the doctor had to come in and place a line in my neck for the blood.  They set me up in a room with a view and around 12:30 I was finally able to begin the capsule endoscopy.

I must have spoken to at least 4 doctors who all have slightly varying opinions on what might be going on.  The guesses range from my body not replacing blood loss from menstruation, to possible GI bleed.  I am calling to set up an appointment with a hematologist today and will hopefully have the capsule endoscopy results by the end of the week. More tests in my future but hopefully that will lead to more answers.

Now stop reading this and go vote.

A Gluten and (relatively) Anxiety Free Vacation: or How I SurvivedWilliamsburg. Part 1.

We recently made a huge step in getting back to our "normal" lifestyle.  We went on VACATION!  I know... I know... our inability to vacation over the past few years is TOTALLY a first world problem.  I get it.  I'm still really excited at the possibilities this has opened up for us.

For our first adventure we decided not to stray too far from home.  After dosing myself with Dramamine and Xanax we made the two and half hour pilgrimage to Williamsburg where our very generous brother and sister (in-laws can be so totally awesome) set us up with their time share.  Having access to a full kitchen got  rid of sooooo much anxiety.  We still had to be careful of things we hadn't had to worry about in a while (don't use the toaster, make sure everything is very clean, or lined before cooking) but I cannot imagine trying to travel any other way for more than a couple of days.

I handled the car portion of the journey by traveling with a pillow in my lap.  This wonderful suggestion came from my grandmother, who also suffers from fibromyalgia, and was very helpful.  We also stopped about halfway through the trip so everyone could get out and move around a bit.  I can see frequent stops being really key to car travel with fibro.

I was so excited to get settled in and to shop at Trader Joe's!  Yes.  I went into the grocery store!  And I wasn't overwhelmed by tons of super high aisles, five different types of flooring, and way too many choices (I know... these first world problems really get in my way).  Everyone had a great first day.  The girls were excited to share a room and I got to watch FoodNetowork.

Phase one of operation vacation had been completed.

Trader Joe's Sparkling
Lemonade in a fancy glass.

A recipe. I know right?!

Tonight we experimented a little with dinner.  We sliced up some eggplant ran it through an egg wash and coated it in grated Parmesan and Asiago mixed with a bit of garlic powder.  Fried until crispy and served with GF spaghetti with Trader Joe's Vodka Sauce.  Delicious.

I will post about all of our vacation adventures soon.

Happy Autumn!