On the Island of Emotion!

The Wikepedia entry on pain says
"This article is about physical pain. For pain in a broader sense, see Suffering." For some reason, this makes me laugh.


Sally Cruikshank animated this bit for Sesame Street--I love it!

Years ago, I noticed that when a big weather front came through, I'd stop sleeping. Later, I paid attention and recognized that when there was a dramatic change in the weather, such as the one we're having now--when the first wintery cold front and rain moves in-- I'd have an increase in fatigue, pain, and other fibromyalgia symptoms. Poking around, I've found that there is research that shows that many people with arthritic conditions, depression or migraine also feel these changes. It's not clear if it is a specific weather factor, such as the drop in barometric pressure, or the change itself, as some who study migraines believe, that triggers the increase in pain, but the correlations are unmistakable. Over the years, I've come to recognize those times of the year and weather conditions that trigger the worst flares, and the beginning of the heating season in MN, my body goes kablooie.

For the last several days, I've been a hurting individual: to the usual stiffness, joint aches, tight muscle bands, the flare has added stabbing pains: it feels as if someone stabbed me with an ice-pick behind my eye, another in front of my ear, and another at the base of my skull, burning pains down my back to under my shoulder-blade, to that the spot I named H.A.L.; throbbing pains --pressure behind my eye and ear on the right side. My right ear feels itchy and hot, there are knots of pain where my lymph nodes lie under my jaw. The back pain is almost unnoticeable through the intensity, the electric shooting pains in my hands and feet feel 'normal.'

Monday it got so I had to focus just to speak clearly. Grading papers, writing for a deadline, and peering at the computer all made it worse. I am so used to sucking it up that I plow on until I feel as if I'm going to collapse. I can do things like let the dishes pile up, stay in bed later or slow down at work (I even canceled classes one day) but when the weather is moving through, I just have to hunker down and wait it out.