The Simple Woman's Daybook

I came accross this on another stitcher's blog. It looked interesting and fun so I thought I'd give it a shot. For more information on this topic and how to join click here.

FOR TODAY (Feb. 27, 2010)


Outside my window...are trees covered in Spanish Moss

I am thinking...about trying to get some sleep

I am thankful for...my husband and children

From the kitchen...comes food!

I am wearing...my pajamas

I am creating...this blog entry

I am going...to bed (I hope)

I am reading...The Stand by Stephen King

I am hoping...today will be a good pain day

I am hearing...silence

Around the house...lots of books

One of my favorite things...cross stitch

A few plans for the rest of the week: relax

Here is picture for thought I am sharing....

To see other Daybook entries click here.

This was created by The Simple Woman and more information can be found at The Simple Woman's Daybook blog.

Insomnia Returns

I'm a bit frustrated right now. It is 5:23 A.M. and I am still awake. I probably shouldn't complain about it too much because this is the first night of insomnia since I started Pristiq, but I can't help being frustrated and annoyed by it. I know part of it is due to my pain leve being up, mostly in my lower back. This is a major sign that the radio frequency has worn off or is very close to wearing off. The pain is shooting down my left leg. I also have muscle spasms (strong enough to cause my leg to jerk, twitch, and jump), tingling, and numb spots on the left leg. This is what is keeping me awake. It is very hard to relax enough to sleep when my leg starts doing the cha-cha all by itself. LOL

Since I am awake I figured I would come read some blogs and write a post on this blog. This at least gives me something to do.

Today was a fairly busy day. I balanced the checkbook, worked on our taxes, moved a load of laundry, emptied the trash can in my bedroom, did some light picking up, caught up on blog reading (though google reader now shows 11 new posts for me to read), caught up on email lists and facebook. After all that was done I watched a bit of tv and then sat in bed and stitched for about 3 hours or so. Exciting huh?

I have been invited to my step-son's next wrestling show. He loves wrestling and performs in a local show. He is pretty good at wrestling as well as the acting that goes with it. He makes his own costumes to fit the personna he creates and does a marvelous job. He is a very creative person and loves doing lots of creative things from drawing and painting to creative decorations to costumes to writing comics and more. He plays to the audience when he wrestles and gets them involved and they respond very well to him. The show is next Saturday and I will try to remember to bring my camera and get some pictures. It should be a lot of fun!

Well that's it for me today. I hope everyone has a good weekend!

My Week Was Pretty Good

This passed week went pretty good. I was able to do some household chores, enjoy my stitching, have a blast with my niece and just in general feel so much better! I haven't spent a lot of time online because I've wanted only to play with my niece or stitch. I feel so much better and I am having a difficult time believing the difference in how I feel now as compared to how I felt a month ago. I wish I had realized sooner that my anti-depressent had stopped working and that my depression has gotten so bad. It feels like I had been asleep for a long time and have woken up again. On the phone the other day my neighbor told me that I sounded a lot happier and that when I laughed I sounded like I was actually laughing rather than sounding like I was pretending to laugh because it was the "right" response even though I wasn't actually amused. Others have said similar things to me.

My son got his Green Belt in Tae Kwon Do back in January. I am so proud of him! He was very happy to get the belt because he wasn't sure he's win it. He had been sick so he missed two weeks of classes. Because of that he wasn't sure he would pass the belt test. He was so happy when he called forward to accept the new belt. Due to my back pain I couldn't be at the ceremony but my DH was and he took pictures. When Kyle got home and showed me the belt, I gave him a big hug and told him how proud of him I am. He is starting to get muscle definition in his arms and lengs. He is a great deal stronger than he used to be and thanks to Tae Kwon Do he is more active as well.

I Love that smile!

My pain has been staying up between 6 and 9 every day. Mentally I am able to deal with it better. Instead of wanting to curl up in a closet, whine and just give up I am able to make a conscious choice to distract myself somehow. My usual form of distraction is stitching, but when my pain is real high I can't use stitching because I can't stitch in my recliner without constantly having to protect my threads, scissors, needles, chart, and wip from my niece. I know she's just curious, but she doesn't want to actually stitch with me like she has before; she wants to take my stuff and play with it. So I'm back to stitching in my bed when she is awake. Sometimes stitching this way hurts my back so its not always good for distracting me. When stitching can't work as a distraction I use reading or music instead. Not being as depressed makes it a lot easier to not focus on how much I hurt and thus makes it easier to deal with my pain.

Well I'm going to go update my stitching blog with my progress on Christmas Dreams and stitching related stuff then I'm off to stitch!

The Wonders of Medication

I am very glad that I gave Pristiq a full two weeks before deciding whether or not to continue taking it. The headaches stopped after 5 days, which is great. I have now been taking this medication for about 3 weeks and I have noticed improvement in how I feel already. Emotionally I feel more awake, alive, and happier than I have in a very very long time. I did not realize just how bad the depression had become until I started to feel better. I had gotten so used to feeling sad, blah, and just emotionally and mentally exhausted all the time that I had not realized when it got worse.

I am sleeping better than I was also. I have fewer nights where I just can't sleep no matter how physically tired I feel. I take the Pristiq before bed because it said it could make me drowsy. To be on the safe side I took the first dose at night and it did make me drowsy, so I stayed on the before bedtime schedule. Being able to sleep more regularly has helped me in so many ways. I have more energy during the day. With the increase in mental and emotional energy I am better able to deal with the pain. Sleeping more regularly has also made it easier to deal with the pain.

I am keeping an eye on how my feelings change because I know that I won't get the full effect of the medication for 6 to 8 weeks. Part of me is excited because I've already noticed improvement and how it seems to get a little better every day.

It really is nice to feel alive again!

Still Around

The last few days have been fairly difficult. My pain has been pretty bad, though my meds have prevented a pain crisis. The headaches from the Pristiq have not completely stopped, instead my head has that feeling you get that you know could turn into a headache even though it doesn't hurt at that moment. Because of that I have not been spending much time on the computer. I was concerned that the monitor would cause me to get a headache as it did the other day. I think I will be asking for a different medication. I've been sitting at the computer for about 20 minutes now and I am getting a headache. That normally does not happen to me. The only new thing is the Pristiq so I am pretty sure that is what is causing the headaches. This leaves me with two choices: change the medication, or stay away from the computer. Due to my back, my computer is how I stay connected with friends and family. I've met a lot of wonderful people through the computer, people who are now close friends of mine. I am not willing to give that up, so I will request a change in medication instead.

I have continued to stitch and enjoy it. I posted an update on Christmas Dreams on my stitching blog. I also posted book reviews of the stitching books I received for my birthday.

I finally managed to get some sleep. I had a drink which, of course, made me sleepy (which is why I had one) and I went to sleep. I slept from about 8PM Saturday until almost 2PM Sunday! YAY! I really needed the sleep. But of course, now I am wide awake. LOL

I had a great idea to blog about tonight but now my head hurts and my mind went blank, so I'll just stop here. Maybe it will come back to me tomorrow LOL