Sorry I couldn't get logged in for a few days....

Not feeling the best either..weather and overdoing..shoveling too much snow and when it blows shoveling it again. The gal that helps me out (clean) has not been doing a very good job lately, always wanting to leave early, talking on her cell and leaving some things undone that I have to redo. I talked to her before x-mas and she said ok to everything. I do not like ahving to apy someone to clean and then having to redo the floors or bathrooms. I have enough to do trying to still get things unpacked and organized and cleaning inbetween and all the outside stuff. Still got lights up..too cold to take down so they are shinning brightly!!!!!! Left winter stuff out in the house..jsut aobut did myself in putting away the other stuff. My neck and shoulder have been out of sorts so hard to look up and to the side. Still doing pilates but trying to get more rest too.


Tammy has cancer??????? Oh my....((((hugs)))) I wondered where she was.

Meme..the took Darvocet off the market????? That is what the dentist gave me alst time cause the other stuff makes me feel like I am having a heart attack the tylenol 3....and ultam makes me anxious!!!! WE all know I do not need that! Loved the pic of your grands:)

Happy....Hope you feel better...I think Januaray is a month taht is hard on most Fibromites andthe likeness. When I got super skinny I hurt like crazy..felt too weak. But due to my Bloodsugar the doc wants me to lose some.

Joanne..glad the shoulder is better...sometimes it just takes time. Seems alot of us are having shoulder problems.

Hi Loopy, you sound full of cheer!:)

Initative...losing weight makes everything easier...not so much to haul around;)

Glad you made it.Candice. Went to see the King's Speech last night-excellent!
Going to another funeral today. So congested and achy. But I have been doing my exercises/
Poor tammy-she has been through so much. Now where is Kate?
Talk about projects-going to make a quilt for daughter's gf=very simple-finishing Evan;s vest, painting scenery for Brad;s train and going to paint a simple pic for Alison-just colors and a logo.
But not today. Bye Mima

Welcome to our new people. In ans to the weight-loss and FM question, I can't tell much difference since I lost weight (about 50lb) but decreasing sugar/white flour type foods do make a difference in how I feel. Also, the weather makes a vast difference and so does stress. We have been having a lot of snow/sleet/rain here and I have been either in the bed or on the couch for several weeks now, barely going out of the house except for maybe church or to the store. That's not at all like me! Stress really does a number on me, too. It doesn't take a lot, either. I have RA, OA, FM and Anemia.

My right arm, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand (the whole freaking thing) is KILLING me. It just won't shut down. Up until a couple of months ago, my ankle hurt more than anything else but my arm has it beat now ... I don't even think about the ankle much anymore! :p The Dr. aked me the other day if I had tried Aspercreme ... I told him a took a bath in the stuff right before I came to see him! :( You know, I told you how he gave me all those pain meds ... well I have been going easy on them ... only taking one Ultram during the day along with Tylenol and then a Oxycodone at bedtime. But I told hubby today this is crazy. This is no life! Staying home - on the couch or in the bed all day, in pain, is no way to live. I think I'd rather just go ahead and take the pills and take a chance on becoming addicted than to live the rest of my life like this! I've decided to up the pain meds a little and see if I can get some relief. If I get addicted ... so be it. I can't live like this. He just smiled and said he wouldn't mind having a junkie for a wife! :dizzy: I told him he just wanted me 'out of my mind' so he could have his way with me & I wouldn't remember anything! :devil:

That's awful meme/ and the anemia doesn't help/ Can't tell you how much better I feel after the pt and the give ultrasound and es and perhaps massage. And I have ra-osteo-fibro and spinal stenosis. they have an asperc ream that has menthol and it's great-just roll it on.
Feel better.
Definitely sugar affects the pain-I don;t use white flour because of food sensitivities,
Went to an amazing funeral at church yesterday-I didn't know the woman=just her mil-the testimonies were amazing. I felt like I had been in another realm when it was over,
Been trying to finish a sweater for Evan but have to be careful with my fingers hurting.
It;s -2 back home and 40 here. We volunteered to help at the Salvation Army tonight. That is a blessing! Mima

Meme..if Icould take pain meds I would but they all make me sick and feel yucky. I could do a lot more if I knew I could pop a pill for it. Take them!!!!!!!! and let hubby have his way!;) LOL

Mima...your quilt sounds nice.. If my machined worked right I would atemp making stuff again. Its old and would not use a new on enough. Glad massage and therapy help you. I just use my tennis balls on my trigger points.

Had lots less pain today so tried not to make anything flare but it's hard to pamper yourself! Ended up sweeping some snow off the porcha nd front walk that dh didn't do. A shovel would have been better but didn't want to wake the neighbors! So now some arm and shoulder pain, neck pain leading to a headache....Sweeping with a broom is just too hard on me anytime but someones gotta do it.

Good morning-think I hurt my leg riding the stationiary bike. I don't do it often enough. I can;t take anything except tylenol because I had that bleeding. Use to love Tolmetin.
But that rollon aspercreme works wonders.
WW today. we went out to eat yesterday and all they had was pasta. That makes me hurt a bit.
We went to the Salvation Army to help serve last night, There but for the grace of God go I.
Bye for now-Mima

Meme, I think you're right about flour and sugar. I noticed a huge change in my pain levels within 24 hours of starting Weight Watchers last week. I haven't gone completely off the white stuff yet, but I'm gradually making the changes.

This probably sounds weird, but I'm a "catcher" at a Pentecostal church. I mean that I'm part of the on-stage ministry team, assisting the gifted healers by helping people to get up to the stage, catching them if they fall in the Spirit, etc. Great job for someone with lupus, RA and FM, eh? God has a sense of humor, though. Because though I'm sore every Monday morning, I've never had a real injury even when 300-pound ladies with big hats fall right onto me. And being in the presence of so much healing energy has been very positive for my own health.

So this morning I woke up sore, but DIFFERENTLY sore, ya know? Almost an athletic soreness rather than an autoimmune soreness. Strange but true. An hour on the vibro-pad, and I'm up and running. Also my jewelry is falling off. Always a sign that remission is on its way.

Anyways, I needed to hear this today, because I was debating with myself just how much I needed to adapt to the "power foods" idea above and beyond sticking to the Points themselves.

Loppy..you are a hoot:).....glad WW is helping some.

Good morning-yeah for you Katherine. It does take a while to get used to the diet-
The pain in my hip is back-goes down my leg like sciatica.
Still haven't heard about my biopsy but people are praying.
We are going to a financial advisor today-2 cd's came due so we want to generate some income.
I am praying for Tammy-she has been through a lot. Mima

Mima..my hip pain comes and goes depending what I do. Hope it gets better:) FM support group meeting was cancelled due to weather so just stayed in.

Snowing here ... getting 3-5 inches by noon. JOY! :(

Sounds like MA -I found an exercise that helps my hip pain. Google exercises for chronic hip bursistis. :ove those tornado warnings to the north of us-not.
Mima

Didn't get as much as expected but still got quite a bit of WET snow. At least most the roads are clear, although they say they will refreeze tonight. It's supposed to warm up into the 40s this weekend and then rain again the first of the week with another possibility of mixed precep. They say if you don't like TN weather just stick around and it will change! :p All this wet sure is bad for the bones. I have been hurting so bad I've just stayed in bed or on the couch for weeks now. Getting a little tired of it. Beginning to feel like a zombie! Mima ... I have the Aspercreme with Menthol. It's ok for some pains but it burns my skin in some places. Guess I'm 'tender'. ;)

Hi all! Just got back from Weight Watchers with somewhat bittersweet news. I lost two pounds, most of which came from the fact that my work clothes are much lighter than my casual clothes.

But I feel gratitude for this first week anyway, because I can see measurable differences in my health and energy. I went out today to shovel the heavy wet snow, because DH wasn't going to be back in town before sunset. I did it without losing my breath, and then went to work and spent most of the four hour shift on my feet because I was the only "activities" person who made it to work today. So I covered the yarn club meeting, the weekly word game, and lots of Wednesday stuff above and beyond my two Bible studies and individual visitation schedule. I know that I literally could not have done this even a week ago. My scale may not show it, but I know that things are happening inside me.

I wanted to feel disappointed with all this. After all, I'd gone out in a snowstorm to get to WW! But I refused to be disheartened. We all know that it's gonna take awhile for me, because my exercise capacity is so limited. I got to Subway right before it closed, bought DH and me a matching pair of low-fat sandwiches, and just kept putting one foot in front of the other. We'll most likely be snowed in tomorrow, with another 12 inches in the forecast and a nasty layer of little ice pellets rattling the windows right now.

I do think that I'm on the right track in terms of my general health and well-being, despite the scale's stubbornness. I feel so clear-headed, no "fibro fog" or depression. I'm tired tonight, but hey, I shoveled snow and partied with my residents, who can't even remember 1999. :) I even let the gang play the bolo-tossing game, and only got a couple of bruises from the activity.

All in all, all is well.

Good for you!!! Food definitely affects your physical stamina. Sugar makes you tired with it's rebound effect. etc. And that new WW is so healthy.
They say that about NE too meme-wait a minute although now if you wait a minute it snows again. My daughter is so stressed from her commute-an hour after droppin Lily at the babysitters. The other day she was rerouted because of an accident.
New carpet this am. Bye Mima