Most days..

..i feel 'crappy'. and it's an all-around 'crappy' - kind of like just before you get sick, you know, 'blah'. i struggle to get going in the morning, then feel as though i spent the day participating in a marathon when i've only surface cleaned my house and taken care of my 18 month old son. sitting, standing, walking, laying, lifting, bending, etc - it all hurts, though, depending on the duration. i struggle to lift/hold my son for more than 3-5 minutes. short bursts of activity are the easiest, if possible. i rarely sleep through the night because i wake up with burning, throbbing pain in my lower back + the shoulder and hip of whatever side i'm on when it wakes me up, which results in a minimum of 30 minutes i spend standing in the kitchen trying to stretch it out and hoping it will pass quickly. my husband has a low-paying job that he just started (economic crappiness) recently, so insurance isn't an option, nor can i get medicaid. apparently, if you have an income (regardless of how meager it is) you do not qualify unless you are pregnant. no thanks - been there, done that, don't want to do it again. i plan on applying for disability eventually, but since i have no insurance and food/utilities/rent are much more important, who knows if/when i'll ever be able to afford a Dr. visit let alone any tests necessary. about 1 year ago, i was able to see a doctor for a preliminary exam who ordered an MRI to check for MS, but my husbands' insurance at the time required pre-approval for pricey tests - while waiting for approval, he was laid off.

anyhow, i just created an account on here so i don't know if others can read this, but just in case - if you get this far i guess that means it's possible - if you have any ideas about what could be causing my symptoms please don't hesitate to let me know. i've attempted to research, but haven't gotten much farther than the basics. fibromyalgia is a possibility, as is arthritis, ms, etc.

- muscle pain/tenderness/weakness
- sore/stiff joints
- hot/cold intolerance (hot = dizziness, nausea, increased fatigue, brain 'fog'. cold = body tenseness/increased muscle tenderness, flu-like achiness, uncontrollable shivering, headache generally beginning at base of skull and spreading outward toward ears, jaw pain, earache)
- difficulty concentrating
- impaired memory
- impaired mobility/difficulty performing every day tasks
- increased 'clumsiness'
- trouble focusing (vision)

::jae::