January is a Brutal Month
The few months after Christmas are always rough months for my health so I always expect health issues after the ramp-up to Christmas. This year is no different except that my energy levels seem to be at an all-time low too.
Leading up to Christmas and through Christmas, I pound extra medications... adrenaline is flowing... and, I'm careful about my diet and managing energy. Once Christmas Day has passed, I'm exhausted... I mean completely spent... I mean overwhelmingly fatigued... I mean that just taking a shower oftentimes will use up whatever energy I had to use for that particular day.
All this fatigue is accompanied by bone and joint pain. The joint pain is easy to describe... it feels like an ice pick being stabbed into the joint... my ankles hurt, my knees hurt, my hips hurt, my spine hurts, my shoulders hurt, my elbows hurt, my wrists hurt, my fingers hurt. If I attempt to hold anything... ie, a plate while attempting to wash a few dishes... the pain in my fingers, wrist, neck and lumbar spine is instantaneous and quite brutal. If I attempt to simply open a jar, the stabbing pain in my wrist and thumb is severe enough to drop me to my knees.
The bone pain is more difficult to describe. It typically affects my legs but, at its worst, can also affect my arms and ribs. The bones... deep to the core of my being... just ache... they hurt... it makes you feel as though everything in your body is hurting. You sort of feel as though you were hit by a train and then tumbled and bounced over the tracks and rocky ballast for half a mile. EVERYTHING aches miserably.
If Sheila attempts to massage my legs during bouts of bone pain, it feels good and is excruciating at the same time. My muscles welcome the massage but my bones feel as though Sheila hit me with a sledge hammer. It is the weirdest, oddest sensation. The mix of feeling good (the muscles) and feeling miserable (the bones) is enough confusion to bring me to tears. It is an overwhelming mix of sensations and emotions. If she lightens up on the massage, my bones are happier but my muscles need more. It is a conflict of feelings and emotions.
Mast cell degranulation episodes bring about bone and joint pain (as well as many other problems)... overdoing it brings about bone and joint pain... sometimes I feel as though sudden changes in atmospheric pressure bring about bone and joint pain. During these post-Christmas periods, bone and joint pain is quite prevalent after pushing my body through Christmas.
So... I've been exhausted and in significant pain lately. I get up in the morning... and within an hour or so, I am ready for bed. Today is no different.
I continue to rest up for whatever little excursions we might attempt... a short trip to the grocery store, the ice rink to watch Lukey play hockey, a short trip to Burlington to do some shopping, etc. I nap and then we head out and then I sleep most of the way back home.
I sleep when I'm exhausted because, clearly, my body is tired from this massive cellular war inside my body and needs a rest. Most of my time after Christmas is spent in the house... sitting or sleeping.
January, typically, is a brutal month and this one is proving to be no different.
Leading up to Christmas and through Christmas, I pound extra medications... adrenaline is flowing... and, I'm careful about my diet and managing energy. Once Christmas Day has passed, I'm exhausted... I mean completely spent... I mean overwhelmingly fatigued... I mean that just taking a shower oftentimes will use up whatever energy I had to use for that particular day.
All this fatigue is accompanied by bone and joint pain. The joint pain is easy to describe... it feels like an ice pick being stabbed into the joint... my ankles hurt, my knees hurt, my hips hurt, my spine hurts, my shoulders hurt, my elbows hurt, my wrists hurt, my fingers hurt. If I attempt to hold anything... ie, a plate while attempting to wash a few dishes... the pain in my fingers, wrist, neck and lumbar spine is instantaneous and quite brutal. If I attempt to simply open a jar, the stabbing pain in my wrist and thumb is severe enough to drop me to my knees.
The bone pain is more difficult to describe. It typically affects my legs but, at its worst, can also affect my arms and ribs. The bones... deep to the core of my being... just ache... they hurt... it makes you feel as though everything in your body is hurting. You sort of feel as though you were hit by a train and then tumbled and bounced over the tracks and rocky ballast for half a mile. EVERYTHING aches miserably.
If Sheila attempts to massage my legs during bouts of bone pain, it feels good and is excruciating at the same time. My muscles welcome the massage but my bones feel as though Sheila hit me with a sledge hammer. It is the weirdest, oddest sensation. The mix of feeling good (the muscles) and feeling miserable (the bones) is enough confusion to bring me to tears. It is an overwhelming mix of sensations and emotions. If she lightens up on the massage, my bones are happier but my muscles need more. It is a conflict of feelings and emotions.
Mast cell degranulation episodes bring about bone and joint pain (as well as many other problems)... overdoing it brings about bone and joint pain... sometimes I feel as though sudden changes in atmospheric pressure bring about bone and joint pain. During these post-Christmas periods, bone and joint pain is quite prevalent after pushing my body through Christmas.
So... I've been exhausted and in significant pain lately. I get up in the morning... and within an hour or so, I am ready for bed. Today is no different.
I continue to rest up for whatever little excursions we might attempt... a short trip to the grocery store, the ice rink to watch Lukey play hockey, a short trip to Burlington to do some shopping, etc. I nap and then we head out and then I sleep most of the way back home.
I sleep when I'm exhausted because, clearly, my body is tired from this massive cellular war inside my body and needs a rest. Most of my time after Christmas is spent in the house... sitting or sleeping.
January, typically, is a brutal month and this one is proving to be no different.
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