Some Cheese With That Whine…

Today I got out of bed all by myself and did a reasonable day’s housework. Go me! 

This is after nearly two weeks of paralysing pain. I have been bothering my doctor for months about the constant pains and aches I suffer, especially in my hands and arms. Some of it I could ascribe to getting older and being fat and unfit, but I felt there was no way I should feel as if I’ve overdone things badly at the gym following a day’s potting about the house. I’ve been tested for everything, all negative.  

Finally got an appointment with a rheumatologist, who has diagnosed fibromyalgia. However, the day of the appointment, I woke up with a frozen shoulder (bursitis). I haven’t been able to drive since. I’ve had to get the Mighty Offspring to help me out of bed more than once. Topped it off by nearly collapsing in a supermarket carpark while waiting for a lift. I feel like I’ve been beaten up – on a good day. 

It has left me worrying how I’m going to hold down a job if I go through periods like this. How do I get to work if I can’t drive? How do I do my job if I’m in so much pain that I can’t move, or can’t lift my arm up to write on a whiteboard? How do I do my marking and planning if I’m so exhausted I fall asleep as soon as I sit down? It’s been suggested i apply for Disabled Living Allowance, which would help with the cost of taxis, for example, but what about the rest? I could do supply, working only when I’m able, but I won’t get much repeat custom if I can’t work when I’m asked. Tutoring on the same basis is a possibility. I could do more serious design work too, set up a proper sole tradership. 

And figure out what drugs are going to sort me out, if any. 

Wah wah wah…