Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Being proactive (finally)

When I was about 25 or 26 I was diagnosed by a specialist they brought in at UK's Student Health with fibromyalgia. At the time there were doctors who didn't believe it even existed, and there wasn't much to do about it, except try to stay active to stave off the chronic pain. There's no blood test, and at the time there wasn't much they could do medication-wise. And so I've lived for decades with a lot of pain that limited my activity levels. I finally decided a lot had probably changed since 26 or 27 years ago and it was worth going to a rheumatologist to see if anything can be done. So I went this morning and turns out that I'm doing a lot of things right already. I use my CPAP religiously. I'm on medication that helps with anxiety and depression. I used to do yoga but can't get up from the floor anymore, but he suggested doing chair yoga or modified poses. He also prescribed 8 to 10 weeks aquatherapy and some cognitive-behavioural therapy, both of which studies show reduce pain 50% together with no other treatment. He also put me on a very small dose of a medication, the lowest available given the other meds I'm on, but my pharmacy didn't have it, or Kroger on Tates Creek either. My pharmacy tracked down one that had it (apparently the low dose is not popular). But since it's a controlled substance (but not an opioid) the Kroger pharmacy has to request a new prescription from the doctor. So I can pick it up tomorrow. I'm really hoping all this will help and I can be more active.
Also, when they weighed me I had a crossbody purse on with my phone, etc. in it, and it was already lower than I expected. So I've lost about 8-10 lbs in the last couple of weeks without trying. That was nice.

When I moved away from the apartment, which had a pool that I rarely got in due to having a bright fuschia swimsuit that made me feel like a giant pink blobbie, I got rid of the suit and gave it to Goodwill. So today I ordered a new suit for the aquatherapy. Here's hoping it fits fine and makes me feel less conspicuous than the old one did. I've attached a photo on a model. 
Meanwhile, I have both initial appointments made and I've emailed my boss about tweaking my schedule when I know more about how often I need to go to therapy and when. 

Alright, time for bed. Good night. 






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