Confidence

Hey EVERYBODY!
I wanted to take a minute and talk to U about confidence.
I use to have such confidence in myself in nearly everything I did. I still have confidence in somethings but others are tested on a daily basis. I use to be so on top of things and now I seem to question everything over and over again. I never had to question myself as to nearly everything I want to do. I have to think t

hings over or I will pay and I pay dearly. I have to think about things that I never use to think about before. I do get frustrated that I have to consider how much I will pay IF I do a lot of cleaning for the day. I use to be able to just go go go and now IF I do that I am paying dearly for it. This has affected MY confidence in myself greatly. I get mad and do things because I hate telling myself I can't. I have days I do NOT allow myself to do things and then I beat myself up with guilt.
I miss the Cindy I use to know. I NOW live with the fog and I really get bummed that MY memory is affected. I do NOT like that I do NOT remember things when I need to. I do NOT like I have no clarity at times. I do NOT like I have to recheck things just to make sure I turned it on or turned it off. This has knocked my confidence in myself tremendously. The questioning myself on everything is very tiresome. I really do NOT like being asked to do something because I have to think about IF I can. I have the problem that sometimes I just say yes because I hate having to think about how I am. Problem is I pay for some of those days I say yes.
Living with Fibromyalgia is a constant beating of MY confidence in myself.

Can U relate?
♥ Cindy

Involuntary muscle spasms

Causes of Involuntary Muscle Spasms....

Involuntary muscle spasms may take the form of minor twitches or larger limb jerks. The behavior goes by a number of names, including myoclonus, muscle fasciculation and benign muscle spasms. The muscle spasms may be a mere annoyance, or they may be a sign of a serious health condition. Obtaining a medical diagnosis and understanding the cause is important.

Involuntary muscle spasms may be caused by poor dietary choices or nutritional deficiencies. Involuntary muscle spasms may be linked to the presence or absence of vital nutrients in the body. A lack of sufficient vitamin C, vitamin E or potassium may trigger small spasms.

Thyroid problems may cause involuntary muscle spasms. Thyroid issues are most likely the cause of muscle spasms occurring around the mouth, but involuntary muscle spasms may also occur in the hands, arms and throat. To know if this is the reason for muscle spasms, blood tests should be performed to pinpoint thyroid levels.

Any further information can be found at Livestrong.com

MPS or Fibromyalgia

Do U have chronic Myofascial pain Syndrome or Fibromyalgia or BOTH?

I will briefly explain the difference!

Trigger points are characterized by painful cramping in muscle and connective tissue, the cramping becoming so severe that the tissue becomes bound in hard clumps or muscular knots. These knots often ache and radiate pain on a continual basis. Trigger points may exhibit increased pain when touched and this tenderness can lead to confusion with Fibromyalgia tender points, but unlike the tender point a trigger point will exhibit the hard muscular knotting.  Trigger points often radiate pain beyond the immediate location of the muscular knots.

If U have Trigger points U have -- chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome or MPS

Tender points are more characterized by their extreme tenderness and the lack of muscular knotting. Tender point pain also tends to remain more focused to the specific location with the aching or radiating to other body areas being less prevalent.
Tender points occur in 18 specific locations throughout the body. They occur in symmetry on opposite sides of the body. 

If U have 11 out of 18 Tender points U have -- Fibromyalgia
 
I have both and it is hard to deal with the sensitivity I have to touch.  My body is in pain on its own but when touched in any way it is intensified.  I have the knots throughout my body and they do hurt. DR's have a hard time diagnosing between these two conditions because of the similarities.


Key differences between these two chronic pain syndromes:

1. MPS has more localized or regional pain versus the diffuse pain of fibromyalgia.

2. MPS patients have "trigger points" which can cause pain at a distant location when pressed, whereas fibromyalgia patients suffer from "tender points".

3. MPS has a better prognosis, as the pain often resolves with treatment or the rectification of the offending stimulus (such as the ergonomically incorrect office desk); the pain of fibromyalgia has a much higher chance of being chronic.

Fibromyalia is diagnosed by only tender points. U must have 11-18 tender points in order to get a diagnosis plus other issues as well.

MPS is often present in the fibromyalgia patient, but not all MPS patients also suffer from fibromyalgia.

TREATMENT....


As there is no cure for fibromyalgia, so there is no cure for MPS. The goals of treatment should obviously include pain relief and improvement/restoration of mobility and functionality. It is important to identify any other accompanying conditions, and give treatment to these also. 

Education on how to best manage chronic pain, so that life can be lived as normally as possible.

Just because there is no cure for MPS, do not think there is no treatment. Treatments include physical therapy and stretching exercises, massage therapy, trigger point-injections, and medications such as anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, anti-depressants, and anti-seizure meds.

<3 Cindy

Fibromyalgia or Polymyalgia

Do U have FIBROMYALGIA or POLYMYALGIA?
I do, I actually have both of these issues.
Are U aware of the similarities and the differences?
♥ Cindy

Difference Between Fibromyalgia and Polymyalgia

What is the distinction between polymyalgia and fibromyalgia? What is the treatment for polymyalgia?

It is easy to get these 2 conditions confused....

fibromyalgia and polymyalgia; the names and, to an extent, the symptoms of both conditions are similar.

The word myalgia means pain within the muscles. Both fibromyalgia and polymyalgia are characterized by muscle pain, but many other aspects of the two conditions differ.

Polymyalgia, or polymyalgia rheumatica, is an inflammatory disease of muscle. The cause is uncertain but it is believed to be an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system attacks the connective tissues. The primary symptoms are severe stiffness and pain in the muscles of the neck, shoulder and hip areas. People with this condition also may have flulike symptoms, including fever, weakness and weight loss, and approximately 15 percent develop a potentially dangerous condition called giant cell arteritis – an inflammation of the arteries that supply the head.

Fibromyalgia is not an inflammatory condition. It is caused by abnormal sensory processing in the central nervous system. People with fibromyalgia may be extremely sensitive to pain and other unpleasant sensations. To be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, one must experience pain on both sides of the body and in both the upper and lower half of the body. They are also typically tender points throughout their body. Other common symptoms of fibromyalgia include fatigue, difficulty sleeping and concentrating, irritable bowel syndrome and headaches.

Treatment differs, too. Fibromyalgia is treated with exercise, relaxation techniques, analgesic medications and antidepressants to relieve pain and promote sleep. Treatment for polymyalgia is targeted at relieving inflammation. For some people, daily doses of NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), are sufficient, but more often corticosteroids, such as prednisone, are required to control inflammation.

Although your polymyalgia will eventually go away completely, it’s important that you be mindful – both now and after your disease resolves – of symptoms such as headaches and blurred vision, which could mean giant cell arteritis. If you develop arteritis, high doses of corticosteroids may be necessary to control the condition and prevent vision loss.

Daniel Clauw, MD, Rheumatologist