Do any of you deal with chronic or daily health issues that sometimes interfere with HSing? I have been dealing with fibromyalgia for the past 4 years now and some days are real boogers. I have medicine that helps but it is always there (pain in my shoulders & neck everyday, and then hips, hands and back, on and off) and headaches...yuck! I don't start homeschooling for another year yet but I think about.....what do I do if I have a bad day and feel like a Mack truck ran over me? I originally put this ? under a different section until I realized I wanted to put it in the homeschooling section. Duh. So if you see it twice - just know I don't know how to delete things yet. ha ha ha :lol: :lol:
I don't personally have those issues but I do suffer from migraines sometimes and if I"m having an especially bad day I just take the day off from schooling until I feel better. The boys still get what they need and they don't mind the extra day off.
I don't have this problem regularly, now I do get head aches often. I just end up making it a read quietly, paint, or drawing days. I would not stress about it. I think one of the best things about home educating is that we are able to tailor it to "our" lives and schedules, and not to someone else's. Also you could put together a folder or box of stuff they can do independently and quietly for the days you wake up having a bad day. You can have anything from worksheets, craft supplies, anything you can think of. If that would make you feel better about having "stuff" for them to do.
I have RA, am dealing with terrible morning sickness at the moment, and I don't take meds for the RA. So I have some days that are good and others that are horrible, and I am grumpy and not a good teacher. What we do is be flexible. If I am not having a good day, I read to the kids alot, or do outside nature things, anything that the kids will kind of learn from and not be to much on me. On the other days we go as planned. We school all year just because I take breaks when I need to. Like we stopped for a month because the weather was to nice to be inside. Since it is 100+ outside we have started schooling again. I just have a Kinder and Pre K , I assume that as they get older I will be able to let them do more work on their own without me on the days that I am grumpy. I would rather school on sat. then try to push through it when I am grumpy.
I'm not familiar with RA. Is it ok to ask what that is abbreviated for? Sorry to hear about the morning sickness. My worst was my third child, (son). I felt like I had a 6 week hangover (all day, everyday for 6 weeks). I will be praying for you.
I get really bad migraines. I dont know my name or how to form words... they are really scary. When I feel one coming I have to call dh to come home to take care of the kids. Theres no way I could watch them. I'm usually stuck in a dark closet with a trash can to throw up in. I guess "luckily" for me I usually dont have migraine before noon. So by the time one jits our school work is usually done or most of the way done. What wasnt finished we pick up the next day or on the weekend.
Thanks Marylyn. That is it. I have a hard time spelling it so RA works alot better. I have it mostly in my hands and feet, but it is also in my knees and elbows. Which makes for a grummpy mom.
RA - got it....duh, I should have guessed that as I have a friend that deals with RA also. Actually, when I first was diagnosed with fibro, I anticipated that they were going to tell me arthritis (osteo not RA). I found out that I do have arthritis in my spine, fingers and toes but my bad pain is in the muscles which affects the nerves too. Yippy. I remind myself that it could always be worse than it is. Everyone has been super. Thank you for sharing.
How did they diagnose your fibro? I went to the dr with the upper back and shoulder pain in my muscles and he acted as though I was faking it, blew me off and told me to ice it. Well, the ice made it worse! A friend has fibro and I looked at info on line and the symptoms are the same as what I have. Unfortunately, my dr blows off anyone who has pain. Example, ds hurt his neck, he doesn't complain about anything and if he does it has got to be bad. The dr blew him off and I told him, "If my ds says he is in pain, he is definitely in pain, he has a high pain threshold and for him to agree to see the dr. me MUST be hurting as he stated".
hi i have kyphoscoliosis, and have had spd for the last year, so some days i cant walk and the refered pain be nasty but the kids all understand how hard it is for me, so they help me and daddy is great with it paracetomol is my best mate most of the time and its okay until were in the supermarket and bethanie starts complaining about her bad pelvis!!!! but when its a bad day we wait till daddy gets home, get my brothers or sisters to help or have a rest day. bethanie 5.4 alexander 2.4 isabelle 7 months
Fibromyalgia Katie - I would seriously recommend finding a new doctor if at all possible. You need to trust that your doctor cares about you and your concerns. Feeling like he blew you off would be enough for me to find someone else. I was diagnosed with fibro after I had been dealing with chronic aches and pains, headaches and muscle spasms that never really went away (I'm talking years not weeks). Fibromyalgia affects everyone a little bit different, however, there are many common symptoms. I've included some information from the Mayo Clinic website that has more explanatory information. I am mostly plagued with widespread pain in areas from lower back up to my head. I also have trouble with heightened sensitivity to loud noises & bright lights. My kids want to know why I never have the lights on. I never really noticed it until they said something recently. I like dim and dark places - it is more relaxing for me I guess. There are times my skin hurts to the touch. I have achiness in my jaw at times too along with the most common problems for me which are neck and shoulder pain with muscle spasms and headaches. Neck pain is daily. Headaches frequently. Muscle stiffness always. Here's the info from Mayo's. Symptoms Signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia can vary, depending on the weather, stress, physical activity or even the time of day. Common signs and symptoms include: Widespread pain. Fibromyalgia is characterized by pain in specific areas of your body when pressure is applied, including the back of your head, upper back and neck, upper chest, elbows, hips and knees. The pain generally persists for months at a time and is often accompanied by stiffness. Fatigue and sleep disturbances. People with fibromyalgia often wake up tired and unrefreshed even though they seem to get plenty of sleep. Some studies suggest that this sleep problem is the result of a sleep disorder called alpha wave interrupted sleep pattern, a condition in which deep sleep is frequently interrupted by bursts of brain activity similar to wakefulness. So people with fibromyalgia miss the deep restorative stage of sleep. Nighttime muscle spasms in your legs and restless legs syndrome also may be associated with fibromyalgia. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating associated with IBS are common in people with fibromyalgia. Headaches and facial pain. Many people who have fibromyalgia also have headaches and facial pain that may be related to tenderness or stiffness in their neck and shoulders. Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, which affects the jaw joints and surrounding muscles, also is common in people with fibromyalgia. Heightened sensitivity. It's common for people with fibromyalgia to report being sensitive to odors, noises, bright lights and touch. Other common signs and symptoms include: Depression Numbness or tingling sensations in the hands and feet (paresthesia) Difficulty concentrating Mood changes Chest pain Dry eyes, skin and mouth Painful menstrual periods Dizziness Anxiety http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079/DSECTION=symptoms Causes Doctors don't know what causes fibromyalgia. Current thinking centers around a theory called "central sensitization." This theory states that people with fibromyalgia have a lower threshold for pain because of increased sensitivity in the brain to pain signals. Researchers believe repeated nerve stimulation causes the brains of people with fibromyalgia to change. This change involves an abnormal increase in levels of certain chemicals in the brain that signal pain (neurotransmitters). In addition, the brain's pain receptors (neurons) — which receive signals from the neurotransmitters — seem to develop a sort of memory of the pain and become more sensitive, meaning they can overreact to pain signals. In this way, pressure on a spot on the body that wouldn't hurt someone without fibromyalgia can be very painful to someone who has the condition. But what initiates this process of central sensitization isn't known. You can view the most common trigger points where pain is experienced in fibro patients in this diagram. http://www.aurorahealthcare.org/healthgate/images/exhR0051.jpg I take a regiment of medications twice a day. I don't mind sharing what those are. I take: Zoloft - not for depression but because anti-depressants aid in helping our body interpret pain (doesn't hurt for occasional PMS symptoms too...ha ha ha :wink. Tramadol Lyrica Tylenol Ibuprofen Muscle Relaxers as needed (Skelaxin & Soma) I tried a second anti-depressant taken at night for a while to help make sure I was sleeping well. It was called amitriptyline. However, I didn't like it too much because it gave me night sweats which I find most unpleasant. I tried flexeril at bedtime also but I found that I always woke up with a headache the next morning. The best muscle relaxer for me is Skelaxin in that it doesn't knock me out. I function normally and drive, and do whatever I need to do. The only downside is there is no generic formula for Skelaxin at this time and brand name drugs cost more. The Soma is great but it makes me more sleepy. In fact, after a trip to the emergency room for spasms in my neck a few months back and I took the Soma regularly for 2 days and there were things that I don't remember doing. My daughter and I finished reading one of her Geronimo Stilton books and I had no idea we did that. I said to her - Let's go get our book and finish it and she said "we already did". So, being on the Soma can make you "foggy" and very sleepy. Not recommended if you have to travel or do something that you need mental concentration on. I feel like I've written a small book. I just know from my experience that tons of other women experience the same issues and they go undiagnosed. My doctor was great in the fact that he most firmly assured me that it wasn't "in my head". Fibro is real. :?: Can I ask what you have been having trouble with the most?
Thank you for the insight. I hi-lited in green the symptoms that I have. Sometimes it is painful to just lay down on my back from the pressure of laying. I can alway tell when it is going to bother me a lot because I start getting pain in my face and shoulders. Sometimes my skin just hurts. :cry: Checked out the link for the pressure points and they are all sensitive.
I am surprised how many people are diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Handsome was diagnosed many years ago. I really didn't hear much about it back then but now it seems like a lot of people have it.
I was diagnosed with Fibro 2 years ago! SOME DAYS it does interfere. I'm on no meds - I've TRIED to take a more natural approach (light exercise, eating better, good supplements). I do have "boogers" though! As you call them. I will say, I went "gluten-free" about a year and a half ago - and it's helped considerably. I seem to run in cycles...and if it's bad, it's bad for a few weeks. My oldest kinda works "to herself". My son ends up getting a raw deal on my bad days and I eek out what i can. Thankfully he's 1st grade and under reporting age. This coming year is my first reporting year for my oldest. We did pretty well in our "practice" run this year...got about 160 school days (we need 180) and i"m doing a little more planning this time around so that I have about 190 planned and if it doesn't work out, I've got 10 days that can be flumped! I'm here for you....
MamaBear - Fibro (with the exception of the pressure points) is usually a diagnosis of exclusion. They test you for EVERYTHING, and when NOTHING is wrong, but obviously you feel like doo doo then they check the pressure points and 99% it's Fibro! Unfortunately, it's a "syndrome" and not an actual disease b/c it can't be officially tested for. And for those of us with it, we can assure you IT IS NOT IN YOUR HEAD. There are some days...oh the skin sensation pain where I can't even have my kids hugging me....I hate those the most. I'd walk around naked if I could get away with it just b/c I can't stand the feeling of clothes! Oh....and the being exhausted but in so much pain even laying down hurts! FIND A GOOD DOCTOR - you could also see if there's a "Fibromyalgia Center" near you (there are about 20 nationwide).
I have friend with Fibro, not schoolers but I know that they go through a lot of pain, my prayers will go up for you! I had a shoulder surgery last year and had to figure how to fit in my schooling in between that, and threapy, so that was an interesting year, it is easier if you have a curric that is a self taught style though, then your child can learn with minimal help from you and or hubby, and you can get the rest or help you need as well.
yes, its very painful, I have those days, you want to close all doors and scream and I mean scream...
Handsome was tested for every disease we could think of. A friend mentioned Fibro to him so he asked his doctor. The doctor laughed it off. Finally he went to another doctor that referred him to a Fibro Specialist and sure enough, he has it. I think it took more than four years to diagnose.
