3/12/09 - Randomness

Greetings,

This is actually amusing writing about this particular subject as most of the times when I am having a "bad day" I don't have the energy to write about it. One of the most annoying things about the condition is the randomness of it. I just don't know how I will be tomorrow, for the most part I can work through things but there are times....

Perfect example, last night, nice and comfortable, then I get this sharp stabbing pain through my knee. I rub it, it goes away. I continue doing what I am doing and then a about an hour later, same again. Of course, less that 12 hours later, the pain is gone from my knee. No explanation why at all. This is one of those things which drives me nuts about this condition.

FM is one of the most random set of symptoms and irritations I have ever experienced. The pain can be utterly random and for no reason.

One day I woke up with a stiff left shoulder, happens sometimes. Then I get a sharp stabbing pain through my chest. This pain persists for a couple of hours to the degree that I am thinking that there may be something wrong. I call for an ambulance as I am suffering from loss of breath as well. I tell them the symptoms and they get around here quick-smart.

I am bunged off to hospital. They give me an ECG and other stuff and then look at the results. It is at this time that I figure that they think that I am having a heart attack. The doctor comes in to talk to me and he is looking excessively confused about the whole thing. He asks about smoking habits and all of that sort of stuff. He finally asks about pre-existing conditions, I say "FM" he looks at me, rolls his eyes. "Right." he says "This was an attack of pain caused by FM." I am discharged from the emergency and go on my merry way.

This of course begs the question what happens next time? Do I think it is just an FM thing or do I call the ambulance possibly for a false alarm? This is one of the things that makes FM so annoying the standard sorts of pain from FM can mask underlying other problems. I have had pneumonia more than once and put the chest pain off as FM.

While FM is not directly life-threatening, some of the symptoms can mask things that are. This can be a real annoyance and can lead to all sorts of problems. Needless to say I am being a little more careful about my symptoms and trying to decipher which is FM and which is not. I am making some progress with this, but some days are really trying.

Cheers,

Henry