Scattered Thoughts . . .

I've really had a few weeks of virtual nothingness lately. I've been laid up on the couch trying to recover from some excruciating and debilitating bone and joint pain. At times, I had to deal with the usual Systemic Mastocytosis intermittent anaphylaxis, nausea and gastro-intestinal issues too. Needless to say, it has not been a very productive month as a result. As I lie on our couch, I have a clear view through our living room window of the moon rising from behind the Worcester Range each night. The moon always captures my attention but considering I've been confined to the living room all day, every day, for the past month, the bright moon rising and shining through our living room window is impossible to ignore.  Two things make this full moon worth mentioning. First, the full moon in September is known as the Harvest Moon which oftentimes is spectacular. Second, this particular full moon is also considered a Supermoon because it is so near the Earth at this time

I've had debilitating ankle pain for the past 11 days now. The first few days I could not even put any weight whatsoever on my left foot. Since then, I've been hobbling and limping around with a cane. Needless to say, very little has been accomplished around here for the past week and a half. A few days ago I wrote that I realized that I probably injured some nerves while working on the waste plumbing for a new bathroom that I am trying to install. There is no doubt that I was hard on my ankles while crouching on the floor and sitting on my feet on an uneven, unfinished wood floor. I was also crouched down in a tight crawl space for part of the plumbing project. These activities were no help to my ankles, knees, shins and lower back, that is for certain. This morning when I awoke, my ankle pain seemed to get a little bit worse again. It was raining out and the moist rain always affects my bones and joints since I've been struggling with Systemic Mastocytosis (or perhaps

For more than a week, I've had severe ankle pain which has left me unable to walk without aid for most of the week. I am now limping around but that pain is still constant. I've had my ankle elevated everyday and I am taking a maximum-allowed dose of an anti-inflammatory medication for the maximum-allowed time. The only side effect thus far is just a bit of drowsiness but that is hardly worth mentioning since I can't do much else anyway. So, what has caused this severe, disabling pain in my ankle?   I often struggle with terrible, debilitating bone and joint pain so this is more than likely contributing to my current problem with my ankle. Now that the pain in my ankle has waned slightly, there is no doubt that in addition to my ankle pain, I am also struggling with my usual debilitating bone and joint pain. The ankle pain was so severe in the beginning that it masked most other pain in other areas of my body. These regular bouts of bone and joint pain are very typica

Those of us struggling with Systemic Mastocytosis, and all its variants, have to contend daily with a long list of symptoms. These symptoms are sometimes mild and sometimes debilitating. The symptoms can affect my legs one day and my brain the next. Sometimes symptoms are neurological in nature and sometimes they are affecting my organs. Sometimes symptoms affect my gastro-intestinal tract and sometimes symptoms affect my skin like a burning, hyper-sensitive rash. Sometimes the symptoms can be widespread throughout my body all at the same time. There seems to be little rhyme or reason to it. One common symptom which can be relatively mild or excruciatingly debilitating is bone and joint pain. Today has been excruciatingly debilitating with this far too typical bone and joint pain.  All my long bones hurt... this is a deep pain felt to the core of my body. All my joints feel like they are being stabbed particularly when using them. Even opening a previously opened jar is so painful

My latest dip in health started late last night. Nausea and associated lower gastro-intestinal issues kept me in the bathroom for an hour or two. (I really need to get that second bathroom finished... my current project.) In the big scheme of things, last night was not miserable but I knew it was a sign that things would deteriorate further today. There are all sorts of signs of quickly deteriorating health for Systemic Mastocytosis patients. During these periods, we become much more vulnerable to idiopathic anaphylaxis as our mast cells continue to degranulate at a rate which is much more disastrous than what should be normal. With this mast cell degranulation comes nerve irritation, inflammation and excruciating pain. My morning started with some minor cognitive issues. Needless to say, any cognitive difficulties makes home renovations next to impossible. As a result, I spent much of the morning researching and taking notes related to my next tasks in our home renovations rather

For the most part, my health over the summer has been relatively good. I've had some lousy health each week but I've been able to accomplish a few things each week. Overall, lately I am finding that if I am religious about taking all my medications, careful about not straying from my very restrictive diet, keep my body as cool as possible and avoid all stress, my health stays relatively stable. Last night, however, my health crashed. It has been terribly hot and humid the past week... bad news for my health. I strayed from my limited diet last night at dinnertime... bad news for my health. I got stressed over a four day-long project getting damaged in an instant last night which means I wasted very precious energy... energy which is very rare to come by... bad news for my health. At some point yesterday, I screwed up one of my doses of medications which I did not realize until after my health started crashing... bad news for my health. I also didn't pick up on a v

As one would expect, my pain level definitely affects my mood. As my pain increases, my mood worsens exponentially.   Over the past few days I have experienced increasing pain every hour of every day. The pain just seems to get worse as the day wears on and does not subside after sleep. I slept for a solid 11 hours last night and awoke feeling worse than I have all week.  So, you may be wondering... Where is my pain? Quite simply, it is everywhere. My bones hurt deep, deep within the core of each bone but particularly my longer bones. My joints hurt. Every part of my body hurts to the touch. My skin hurts.  The odd thing is that this level of pain did not register in my brain until I noticed a serious change in my demeanor and mood. The moment I noticed I was easily angered was the moment I noticed how bad my pain had gotten. You see... I am in pain all the time even on a good day. My spinal injuries always hurt...  every moment of every day. Quite often I get bone and joint pa

I was going to write that my health has been quite lousy the past week but, upon thinking about it more clearly in somewhat more stable and better health, my health really has been quite lousy for the past three or four months and quite brutal the past week. A good portion of the past week has been spent being nauseated and ill in the bathroom. I've had the usual breathing difficulties, vision problems, tremors, twitching and some relatively minor signs of impending anaphylaxis but mostly have been struggling with lower gastrointestinal issues this past week. I never even wandered farther than about 30 feet of the bathroom for a few days! Now that my health seems a bit more stable, I am dealing with the usual post-episode bone and joint pain. My long bones... mostly my leg bones... and my spine are inflamed. My joints scream whenever I put any weight on my feet. To say I am "uncomfortable" is a bit of an understatement. That being said, I think my mood only soured eno