How I coped through a Fibro Flare Up
This week I have had a nasty flare up and I didn’t see it coming. That, of course, is all part and parcel of the condition. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we knew and could forecast our symptoms, especially for any fellow sufferers who are self-employed? I suppose to a degree other people are affected by sudden sickness’ of their children which can appear at any time and totally mess up the timetable, however, I would argue that being thrown off course by someone else’s health does at least enable the most organised to be mentally splitting their time between child care and productivity. I digress.
On Tuesday I will confess that I was totally grounded, I had one of those hideous headaches that left a little room in your brain for anything other than awareness of pain and certainly, in the morning I was safely tucked up in bed, at best-visiting dreamland and getting away from everything. Into the evening things looked a little better, I was able to look at my computer screen and be inspired by sites like Pinterest.
Wednesday arrived and I had hoped to return to work and my version of normality but again my body had other ideas. My labyrinthitis that had been dancing around me causing some minor problems decided to jump in with two feet. Let’s just say the simple act of turning or tilting my head coupled with moving kept sending me into a total spin, not unlike lying on a child’s roundabout. This coupled with an earache and a totally wiped out sensation caused by a colossal headache the previous day left me with very limited options on how I could spend my day.
I did, however, manage to be creative. I spend quite a bit of time looking through some of the craft magazines I am working through to extract all the inspirational information I wish to keep. As long as I moved the magazine rather than changing my head position as I went between pages this proved to be pretty doable. The other advantage was that less pain meant more room in my head to be inspired and use my imagination. Really don’t rule out the potential of what you can accomplish just by letting your imagination work, no you may not be able to do those things there and then, but you will be able to do them later. Just remember to record them in some way before the Fibro Fog comes and steals those thoughts away. When things are bad in the memory department I have been known to use the voice recorder on the Evernote app on my phone, at least the idea is recorded in some way and not lost. It is easy enough to store it in the correct place later.
During the later part of the afternoon, I felt a lot more in control. My medication for Meniere’s was maybe working a little bit better, the spinning sensation was still an issue when I was up on my feet but while I was sat down I was able to tilt my head without too many problems. If things got bad I was safe in my chair and unable to fall, a short pause whilst I clung to the desk for a while sorted me out. So, I was able to use this time to investigate some of the techniques I had read about earlier and have a short play with my crafty stash. I was really happy with this card I made. It was the first Christmas card I have made since early January (when I like to make the most of the festive spirit and get a head start on the next year’s Christmas cards) More importantly it was the first card I have made full stop using the mountain and valley stencil from Inkylicious and one of their stamp sets (Snowy Trees), along with a set from Crafter’s Companion edition eight of their Crafter’s Inspiration magazine. Here is that card.
Other products used:
- Memento Ink in London Fog
- Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black
- Inkylicious Ink Dusters
- Stickles in Crystal
- Black cardstock
- Silver Mirri card for the mat layers
So, to sum up, when you have a flare-up and feel like your whole world has ground to a halt don’t think about what you can’t do but instead of what you still can. Can you look at books or magazines, or pages of the internet that can inspire you? Can you still think or imagine? If so remember to somehow record those thoughts, they may be some of your best and become perfect plans for other better days. If all else fails and things are just too dreadful then escape by sleeping. Some of my best ideas began as a dream.
Are you a card maker and if so have you started making your cards yet? I’d love to hear about it and to see your cards. Why not post your first on the facebook page. I’ll talk to you very soon about who has inspired me this week (it seems very short following the flare up!)
Gentle hugs to anyone who needs them,
