Writing, Shipbuilding, and Fibromyalgia

Sometimes it seems our weekends go by too fast - I think a 3-day weekend should be the norm. :)

Since Saturday my pain level has been a 2 or 3, which gets to be frustrating because of the amount of drugs and the resulting amount of sleep caused by the drugs. I'm still looking at different meds and regimes. Cymbalta has been approved for fibro but like Lyrica and the others it too has side affects. So for now I'm sticking with Lyrica and upping my dosages, which have been really low. Hopefully, by taking a larger dosage in the evening I won't need any sleep aids like Ambien or Lunesta.

On the writing front, I have two new school visits this spring and one in the fall. I'm a rarity in the school visit world; not many visiting authors write nonfiction. So that's my draw - I write about real things. And my sub book is coming along despite days when I can't write.

On the boat building front, metal prices have dropped dramatically and probably won't begin rising until 2010. So we'll be buying more steel and aluminium this spring while prices are low. Dad's working getting the CNC machine working so it can cut out the pieces for a large model of the boat -1inch:1foot. Big model - Aden can play in it when we're one. :)

The weekend is coming up - hooray! Not because it's time to slack off and kick back but because it's the opposite. This is our time to be constructive and productive. And Doug and I get to work along side each other - we like that. :) And we get to go out for Mexican food. We like that too.

The last few days have been great. My pain level was usually at a 1. I changed the timing and dosage of my Lyrica, which seems to have helped. It can make me drowsy so I'm trying to take more in the morning, when I'm naturally sleepy and be more awake in the afternoon and evening.

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. :)