Cold Viruses & ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia

Before delving into the oh, so, uplifting subjects of illness, ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia, I just have to celebrate for a moment, this,...

MY 100TH POST IN "FIBROMYALGIA???"!!

I can hardly believe it!  I started writing this blog on Jan 13, 2011 in the midst of feeling so sick and recently having been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (the ME/CFS diagnosis came later).  I'm so thankful for the progress that I've made since then and I hope that some of my experiences were helpful to others who face a similar plight.  Of course, I realize that at any time, I could be right back where I started which is why I will never take my health for granted again.

In celebration of this momentus occasion, I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop, Catalina Inspired, for all of you who've read my blog and let's face it, really deserve something for going through the hell that is ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia (or what ever other challenges you face in life).  Please use the coupon code - 100THPOST - to enjoy 20% off your entire order in my shop through 7/16/2012.


Here's a sampling of what you'll find at

Catalina Inspired on Etsy:

Ok, enough celebrating and back to the topic at hand.

My two and a half year old daughter brought a lovely cold virus back home from pre-school earlier this week.  My entire family has been suffering with a horrible cough, sinus congestion and just feeling super crappy since then.  Before I fell ill on Tuesday, I had a reaction that reminded me that although my ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia are somewhat under control at the moment, what ever it is that caused them in the first place is still thriving in my body. 

I woke up Monday with a scratchy throat which didn't surprise me since I'd been constantly wiping my daughters runny nose the previous day.  What did surprise me however, was what happened later in the afternoon. I started feeling those all too familiar jabbing pains throughout my entire body. In an hour or two I was in bed with a heating pad, moving it from my back, to my legs, to my hips, etc and had strong, throbbing, stabbing pain throughout my whole body and was not able to get out of bed. I couldn't sleep because the pain was too strong. It was like I'd been transported back two years and I was in the middle of Fibromyalgia hell again.

Fortunately, I was finally able to fall asleep that evening and when I woke up on Tuesday, I felt as though I was getting the cold my daughter had but the jabbing pain had diminished to a tolerable level.

It makes me so curious to know why, when attacked with this common cold virus, my immune system revolted into a full autoimmune attack. It makes me think back to those theories about viral causes to ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia and wonder if there isn't something more to it.

Being a Mom with ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia

My almost two year old daughter goes to a really great pre-school for toddlers.  Every once in a while I get asked to bake a plate of cookies or, yesterday, fill out Valentine's for the 22 total children in the program (including the regular pre-school).  These are tasks I can usually handle without too much effort but last week, one of the teachers asked if I would attend a parent's meeting later that week.  I agreed thinking it had to do with the financial problems the center was having and the talks of closing it down.  It turned out it was just a regular monthly meeting that I hadn't known existed until then.  I sat and listened to a recap of last months meeting which included plans for upcoming fund-raisers and holidays.  I started to feel uncomfortable as parents began raising their hands to volunteer for different jobs associated with the latest fund-raiser, a St. Patrick's Day Dinner at one of the local restaurants.  Another parent, who was a teacher at the local public school, talked about ways she could publicize the event to her students and other teachers.  I began to quickly realize that they were expecting a level of parent participation I simply could not offer.  I started feeling sad and weak.  I really wanted to be a parent that got involved with my daughter's activities.  After all, this was just the beginning.

I left the meeting thinking I would never attend another one.  Then I began imagining what I would do when one of the teachers asked me if I could help serve the St. Patrick's Day dinner or help with clean up.  Would I tell them I had Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and as a result was unable to help much physically or even sit and collect entry fees or sell raffle tickets.  What would they think?  I have an idea it would be something to the effect of - "Fibromyalgia?  What is that - some diagnosis created to sell more drugs?" Or "Chronic Fatigue?  We're all tired lady, suck it up and give us a hand here.".  I quickly dismissed using those as explanations for my lack of participation.  My doctor had told me he thought I may have Mixed Connective Tissue Disease.  I could tell them this was my ailment because maybe it sounded more "real".  Maybe I could tell them I had Lupus.

My heart quickly sunk when I realized that doing this would only perpetuate the total lack of understanding that exists about Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue.  I felt trapped.  My heart told me I had to spread awareness about the seriousness and "realness" of these diseases and not hide behind some more serious "sounding" disease so people would more easily understand my suffering.  At the same time I feel I don't have the energy for this fight.

I don't know yet what I'll say when I'm actually presented with a request for my help at the fund-raiser.  I'll only know when the words leave my mouth.