Raging hormones, raging hunger, raging fibro
 

As I get closer too menopause, my TOM/PMS is getting bad again. Before I was on bc, hubby would call me werewolf, because my mood swings were so terrible. He joked that during TOM, it wasn't safe to enter the apartment until after he threw in burgers and candy bars and waited to hear munching.

Literally, I do crave red meat and chocolate only during TOM and PMS. I can also easily undo a month or more of weight loss in four or five days of hormonally fueled hunger.

Hubby's gone to GenCon for a few days, and in preparation I made sure the pantry and fridge/freezer were free of bingeables.

It's also free of foods I find helpful in settling my mood (aka carbs).

As luck would have it, we had a sudden temperature drop which threw me into a severe fibro flare (as drastic weather changes often do), so I'm miserable.

I feel like I have the flu and sunburn (or maybe road rash). I'm as mad as a wet hen, and my lower back is killing me (that's the period).

Carbs do help me feel better (at least in the short run), but I left myself only a limited supply of fruit, oats, protein bars and dark chocolate.

I'm following The Simple Diet and I can fit quite a few carbs into the shakes, entrees, bars, and freggies, but I'm not pacing myself very well.

I'm glad I didn't let hubby persuade me to stock more carbs, because I've already gone through most of my fruit budget. I'm also sorry I didn't let hubby persuade me to stock more carbs, because I've already gone through most of my fruit budget (I literally almost cried when I had to throw away the last apple, because it had rotted. I felt cheated out of that apple).

If I get desperate I can walk to the store or even call a cab, but I know it's just drama I'm creating in my head.

This whole peri-menopause thing is a load of crap. I haven't been this snarky since high school.

Yes, perimenopause SUCKS! But to have it compounded by fibro...sucks worse! Kaplods, I'm sending you good vibes through the Internet.

I'm dealing with raging hot flashes tonight. I seem to have the stomach flu tonight and can't find a comfortable place to be. And I think my head is going to explode too. I want an ice bath!

I think I prefer road rash flu to hot flashes (if I take my pain meds, crawl into bed and don't move, I can get reasonably comfortable and read or watch tv) but I haven't found a way to make a hot flash comfortable (sometimes benedryl helps). I always thought hot flashes would be short (as flash implies) and would feel like being just a little too warm or like being sweaty.

I did not expect them to be like your skin was on fire (and nobody said anything about itching).

I'm feeling better today. I'm still a bit stiff and achey, especially my back, but my skin isn't nearly as sore.

The all-over skin hurting is really what ruins my day (I swear it feels like even my hair hurts). I'd rather have badly hurting hands or knees than even mildly hurting skin, because it's literally like being rubbed the wrong way, all day.

Fibro is one weird duck of a disease. The weirdest for me is how it can be horrendous one day and mild the next. Insomnia (or sleep deprivation of any kind) and weather are my biggest triggers (at least the ones I have no control over).

I slept most of the day yesterday and most of the night and all that extra sleep seemed to reset my system.

Thank God, my fibro responds to rest and relatively mild pain medications. Some people have it so severely and unrelentingly that they're on daily morphine.

I know I'm feeling better when I can put a positive spin on my fibro.

Hope you're feeling better too.

I'd like to second the motion that perimenopause sucks!

Kaploids, I have fibro and NO Carbs & gluten free has helped me alot. I was diagnosed in 1991, at that time I had never heard of it. It is a beast and is not predictable when it will rear it's ugly head. I took meds for years, but haven't taken anything for it in over 4 years as it caused my liver enzymes to go up. Try no carb and no gluten for 6 - 8 weeks and see if it helps

I do avoid all gluten and most carbs, and it has helped tremendously. When I started, I was virtually bedridden. Slowly I'm becoming more functional.

I did a lot of experimenting and have found my perfect carb window. Too few and my blood sugar goes wonky and I get weak, headachey, dizzy and will even pass out. Too many and the fibro and autoimmune symptoms start flaring.

I may be able to reduce carbs more as I lose weight and get my blood sugar under better control. I'm already finding this to be true. Intermittent fasting used to be absolutely impossible for me. Now I can use IF occasionally (if I'm not going to be exercising that day).

Without a carb-controlled, gluten-free diet, good sleep, and as much movement as I'm able to handle, I'm sure I'd be in much worse shape.

The biggest problem with treating fibro is that it has to be fought on so many fronts - sleep, exercise, diet, stress management, sunlight (or vitamin D), medications and supplements, schedule-keeping, social supports, weather monitoring.... so many balls to juggle that it's so easy to drop several without realizing it.

Sometimes you even have to even set down some balls so you can concentrate on the most important ones - or to find out which ones are the most important.

Sleep for me is #1 and diet is a close #2. Exercise should be #3, but it's the ball I'm most likely to drop.

Everyone with fibro seems to have a different set of variables to juggle in slightly different orders, but it seems like sleep, diet, and stress are almost always at or near the top.