Writing, Shipbuilding, and Fibromyalgia

Until now I've pretty much been employed as a white collar worker - public school teacher, hospital teacher, curriculum specialist, and writer. The most physical things I did was lift boxes and desks when I moved classrooms and at Laureate I didn't even do that because that was housekeeping job's to do. Now, however, I'm moving into a new phase of my life as a blue-collar worker.

As a welder, shop assistant, seamstress, sail maker, and steel worker (a little bit of one), most of my activities involve moving some part of my body, particularly my hands. And unfortunatly, unlike Doug and Carl I do not have a clear sense of body in space (as the physical therapists call it). Which means at times I have no idea of how to coordinate my body with my brain. I don't know where my feet are in reference to their environment. I am terrible at positioning my self when welding, cutting, holding on, lifting, etc. (there's lots in that etc.).

However, while frustrating at times, the positive aspects of physical labor is that when my pain level is high, I still have lots I can do. Sewing seams does not take a lot of brain power. Nor does sorting sockets, bolts, tools, and other clutter around the shop. And I think straight line, flat welding or plasma cutting doesn't take a lot of thought, though it does take attention to detail. And I think I can handle that job at a level 2 without having taken narcotics (probably not a good thing to use tools that create as much light and heat as the sun, in much smaller amounts, of course.)

So on the days I can't write or weld, I can clean and organize. My life hasn't diminished, which is one fear that people with chronic pain often face. In fact, building a boat has enriched it. I now do things that challenge me, yet provide a sense of satisfaction because there is concrete end product. I can watch my welding get better or faster.

Today, my pain level is at a persistent 2 after lots of sleep and valerian. We'll see how the rest of the day goes. And even if my pain level increases to a 3, I still can be a productive person. That sounds rather Stalinistic but it is accurate. :)

Doug's ideas on my last posting:

I think the important thing is that we decide what you should do at each level. Or perhaps better to just simplify the pain level to: 1) Good, 2) Not Good, 3) Bad and then add an apporach level system. Something like: 1) Normal Routine, 2) extra drugs and more sleep, some together time, 3) lots of drugs, as much sleep as possible, lots of attention. Then you could go to "pain level 2" but decide to stay on "treatment level 1". Then after it's been on "pain level 2" for too long, you could switch to "treatment level 2" or even "treatment level 3" if it's still a "pain level 2" but the duration is just been too much.

So that could mean

Pain level - Good. Treatment level 1 - Continue with necessary amounts of sleep and medications
Pain level - Not Good. Treatment level 2 - Extra sleep with first the use of homeopathic meds and then minimum use of prescription meds like Flexeril and Lortab, more than normal amount of attention
Pain level - Bad. Treatment level 3 - More sleep, maximum use of Flexeril and Lortab, lots of attention

We've noticed that sometimes it's not the intensity of the pain that can really drag me down, it's the duration of it. After a week of Not Good, I often just need some relief. And lots of Doug's attention always makes me feel better. :)

I updated the look of the blog to make it more personalized and organized. I'll try to keep my posts more organized, too.

Work in Progress
I'm finishing up the outline of the Squalus book today. I like a detailed outline when I write a book this long because it helps me to see how the chapters will flow. Sometimes it seems like it's the hardest part.

Family
The last few weeks have been busy with settling Randi and Aden in while Carl gets ready to leave for Afghanistan. While I'm proud of Carl's role, it's hard for me not to worry - I'm a mom.

Pain
My pain level was pretty high two weeks ago but has come back down. Today it's less than a two.

Doug and I tried to come up with a workable pain level continuum but it's been hard. :)
Basically I have four levels:

Under 2
More than 2 but less than 3
3
Over 3

which could translate into:

OK
Good
Not So Good
Bad

I think we'll stick with the number system - we're now calibrated to it.

Picture of the Day

I love our tattoos. Too bad they stay out of sight for the winter months. Maybe global warming will change that. :)

Not much pain today until this afternoon - it was getting close to a 3 or "bad" so I took a Flexeril and 10 mg of loritab.

I'm trying to not let my pain level get so high that I can't do anything - trying to intervene before a 4.

Over the last few weeks I've been working on my school presentations, translating my book Helicopters into Spanish, and helping Randi, Carl and Aden move in.

Translating a book, even an elementary book, is a lot of hard work, mostly because my Spanish is based on conversations with the neighbors about tools, houses, divorces, and kids.

The kids and grandkid are settling in to their new apartment. We turned our CNC room into an apartment. Times like this show how broad Doug's skills are - he can manage large databases, write scripts, nearly automate himself out of a job, build cabinets, fabricate household items out of aluminum, and build a boat.

Even though it's been windy and cold I'm looking forward to working on the sub and boat again after our slow-down over the last week.