health report for Thursday May 1, 2014

Fun and Games IIIe (Insomnia)
by me, Mary Stebbins Taitt
digitally altered Photographic composit from my own photos
click to view larger

Health report for Thursday, May 1, 2014:  My fibromyalgia seems to be slowly improving, knock on wood, with ups and downs. Also my itching seems to be improving, knock on wood, generally, with ups and downs.  Yesterday, I walked to Rolandale and back again with a stop at the store, as you know, which was a long stop.  My fibro didn’t bother me much, although I was eager to sit down when we got home, but I was able to put away the groceries first.  However, after dinner, my let hip started hurting, and was getting gradually worse, and I was considering applying Voltaren, but decided to wait.  Then I developed asthma (relatively mild—but enough to disturb my sleep for a while), and I starting feeling itchy.  I had a restless night and have been up three times.  I am up now, of course.  I am all itchy.  At 4:08, I took some Benadryl, but it hasn’t helped yet, and now (5:20, it’s been well over an hour!).  One of the previous times when I got up, my fibro was pretty bad, but that has subsided some.  My neck has really been bothering me, too (arthritis).  A couple days ago, whichever day it was that I felt dizzy (I think the day before yesterday), I took some Niacin and again yesterday. I was not too suspicious of the Niacin, since I’d been taking without a problem (that I was aware of) for so long.  I was suspicious of the shallots for the fibro pain, but here is the thing--I got this whole complex of symptoms which I certainly can’t place at the feet of the shallots, since most of them I’ve had without any shallots!  I suppose the Niacin could be a problem. (?)  The shallots also could be a problem, because they are listed as a possible fibro trigger—there are many.  But would the small amount of shallots I had trigger all those symptoms?  That is, asthma, worsening arthritis, itching etc.?  Here’s the thing:  I can’t think of anything else I ate that’s different—I had a veggie omelet for breakfast with the same bran mix I’ve been having and rotten cabbage, plain dry toast and almonds with bran and cabbage for lunch and you know what I had for dinner.  (Spaghetti, salad, bran, cabbage.)  There was no grazing at VM.  I know K thinks that whatever is causing the problem may be unrelated to what I eat or consume (e.g., meds).  And it may well be, but I am suspicious of foods and meds because I know for a fact that dairy causes asthma and soy causes fibro in me, and I seem to be quite sensitive to many foods and am allergic to a number of meds.

Also, Dr. Ferarra was saying that my sudden bad rash was bilaterally symmetrical and thus internally generated and not caused by contact, but that doesn’t mean the original itching might not be caused or exacerbated by contact (detergents, etc.).  The original itching was not necessarily bilaterally symmetrical (hard to tell, since I couldn’t see I, usually) and the sudden bad rash (SBR) did not follow the same pattern as the original itching.  The SBR is fading and peeling, but it was bothering me in the night (itching).  My eyebrows and head and back and buttocks were also all itchy in the night.

If the cabbage is actually helping me, it is definitely not a protectorate against flare-ups at this point.

I do seem to be feeling, on the average, knock on wood, somewhat better than I had been except for my insomnia, which does not seem to be improving.

I had been thinking about not bothering to see that allergist, since I seemed to be gradually improving, but tonight (last night and this early morning), I do not feel improved.  I was hoping to avoid further trouble, annoyance and expense.  Once you start going to an allergist, it’s a long-term deal, most of the time.

Also, there are the almonds, which I’ve been eating a lot of.  I was worried at one point that nuts were causing a problem for me, but then I was eating them and my fibro was not worsening (but my insomnia was not improving, but it wasn’t visibly worsening either, since it was already bad.)  But they could be causing a problem.

The Problem with Holidays

Bumbleberry Pie

One of the problems with holidays is that not only do I gain weight on
the holiday itself, even if I only eat fruit pie and fruit, but it
makes it difficult to get back to a healthy diet--it gives me
cravings!

Insomnia Report for March 6, 2014

INSOMNIA #140306

Thursday, March 6, 2014:  I had terrible insomnia last night.  I was very agitated and could not sleep and did not in fact have a single wink of sleep until after 4:30 AM and then had less than 4 hours.  I am very tired.  In examining factors, I am looking for things that are different from days when I slept better, and here are some possibilities:

·         Lack of Exercise:  I did not get my normal amount of exercise yesterday, as I was working on a story for my class and didn’t have time to walk.  Nor did I do my other exercises.

·         Potato chips:  If I remember right, I’ve suspected potato chips before.  They have a very high glycemic index, and sugar seems to affect my ability to sleep.  Potato chips taste so good to me.  L

·         Blueberries:  I ate more than the normal amount of blue berries at lunch yesterday.

·         Raspberry vinegar:  I put in the spring rolls I made for lunch.  I was in a hurry and not as careful as usual tipping it in.  (Got lots).  I think it may be high in sugar.

·         Excitement:  reading my story in class was exciting and somewhat stressful.  I often do not sleep well after ANY evening event, such as the opera.

·         Stress:  That business last night with Graham and the car was extremely stressful and I lay awake worrying about it when I did try to sleep again.  However, I was already having insomnia, which how I even knew he took the car—otherwise, he might have taken it without my knowledge.

What I ate yesterday:  vegetarian omelet, non-vegetarian spring rolls with carrots, cabbage, turkey, spinach, raspberry blush vinegar, a hamburger and stir fry for dinner, with scallops.  And my bran mix with Psyllium at every meal, which was oat-free and wheat free.

What I would like to do is NOT EAT potato chips for a while, and see if I sleep better, and same with blueberries and raspberry blush vinegar.  (This will not be easy or fun.)  YES, I am aware that it could be a chemical imbalance in my body that has nothing to do with food, but I have to check this out.  I should do it systematically, but that is not so easy to do with food.  I guess the thing to do would be eliminate all of the suspected foods and then, assuming I sleep better, reintroduce them one at a time.