5+ months later

I thought I'd take a few today and update anyone interested. It's been over 5 months since my treatment and my life has changed in many ways...for the good. It's changed in many ways for my immediate family, too, and I'll speak for them and say it's good for them now, too. It's different, that's for sure!

My first treatment was at Thanksgiving time last year. The decrease in migraines and fibromyalgia pain lasted approximately 6 weeks at most. My last one, the game changer, was in May of this year and I'm still having pain reduction. It worked! Right? Yeah, I guess. It's just the other side effects I wasn't counting on...the loss of memory, the lower IQ, the changes in personality kind of stuff.

I must be pretty persistent when I want to be because I've now relearned how to subtract by 7s (who knew that would have been such a specific memory loss? Crazy!) and I'm pretty good again at balancing the checkbook. It takes a little bit longer but hey, I make time for what's important.

I've got calculators and online/automated calendars to help me remember important things. Who really remembers phone numbers anymore anyway? They are preprogrammed into your phone or you look them up real quick online. I keep scratch paper and pens by the phone and ask people to repeat the message if I can't understand what they are saying. No biggie. (That isn't new by the way. I've always had a hard time understanding different accents...even when people are speaking English!)

I've relearned or gotten my taste buds back to normal so I now can taste when things are spicy. I'm no longer fooled into thinking prunes tastes as sweet as Costco chocolate cake. I definitely have food preferences again...though I do still eat a larger variety of things. I'm willing to TRY a lot more foods and give them a chance.

Part of that last bit is because I've realized I just don't enjoy cooking that much anymore. Is this caused by the treatment? Because of my hubby's stricter diet? Because I don't have a large family at home anymore? Or just because I can afford to buy more premade stuff now? I don't really know. I LIKE trying healthy foods and I don't mind tasting them. I know eating organic and nonGMO and non high fructose corn syrup, etc, is supposed to be better for you (though I guess I'm one of the fortunate few that can eat whatever and still stay under 200 pounds) but I'm just not willing to make that a priority in my life. For many reasons. When/if I ever DO need to worry about it (see the 200+ lbs), I'll make myself miserable like so many other people sound, when that time comes. Right now, BHiBTBslim. BHis being comfortable and being thankful for the health I have.

Since I don't have constant headaches I have more energy...and probably because I'm not on all those drugs. Almost all of my previous prescriptions had fatigue as a side effect. Now don't misunderstand, I do still have fibromyalgia with it's chronic fatigue but being sleepy is different than the total exhaustion I felt before.

This summer I was not noticing the fibro symptoms at all. That's when I did crazy things like the Tarzan rope swing into the pond (for which my middle fingers are still paying the price). When I got back from VA and tried to start running around the neighborhood and going to a church zumba class I quickly learned again that the treatment was only going to treat the symptoms of fibro, not take it away. Yeah. There is a reason they say low impact and more stretching when you have this condition!

But I walk around the neighborhood a lot. Dave and I walk together a lot. That is great! I especially love it now that it is getting cooler. I'm mowing the yard...and if you don't know what our yard looks like you should be impressed because we took our riding lawn mower to VA and now it all has to be done by hand. My teenagers used to fight over who got to mow the back yard (riding lawn mower) vs the front (push mower). I do it all. (Sorry, Dave has to do weeding, fixing any/all sprinkler heads I ruin, and you can forget blowing the grass off the sidewalk. I mow. Period.) {Hmm, I'm proud of myself and I know we shouldn't compare ourselves to others but in all fairness I've gotta mention my new friend, Marie. I met her this summer in VA and she is amazing! She is in her 90's and mows her lawn by herself. She only uses the riding lawn mower for the "fields" which are acres worth and she uses her push mower for probably close to an acre that is right around the house. And part of that acre is on a super steep incline that you can't even ride a riding lawn mower on! But hey, since I'm not comparing myself and my accomplishments to someone else...this is just a shout out. Hey Marie! You rock!}

Another thing we've all noticed around here is that now that I no longer have constant headaches I have started singing and dancing again. I think that it's great, my immediate family...not always so much. Apparently my singing and dancing skills are lacking in today's society but again, since I don't want to compare myself against anyone else...I say who cares? I'm having fun. I'm happy. Like it or live with it. The new me is here and this is all I've got so I'm gonna have fun with my time I've got to enjoy it. (I advise that for everyone. BHiBTBS, or popular, or rich, or whatever.)

Well, I still talk a lot. I'm still loud. I still say whatever I'm thinking and it's not always the correct thing to say. I even screamed last night when I was awoken by a huge clap of thunder that shook the whole house! I said I was sorry to my hubby, I was "scartled", and could I help it that then he couldn't get back to peaceful sleep? I put in my earplugs and was just fine! :)

Don't you wish you could be in my immediate family and enjoy the new me? Maybe. Maybe not. But whatever. My daughter's friends are going to get to experience me in fine form because we are having a dozen teenagers over for a BBQ tonight. Who cares that it's Halloween? That we've had some of the worse floods in recorded TX history this weekend? It's smoked ribs and jalapeno poppers and Costco chocolate cake and all kinds of good stuff over here tonight! BE JEALOUS!

And have fun. And stay safe if you are in Texas. Flash floods and tornadoes are real. Have fun trick or treating...I'm handing out full sized candy bars so stop by! BHiBTBS and having fun with your life is the way to go!