Glimpse into Thursday January 3rd 2012

I have been MIA the past few days from the blog because for the past week, the pain and stiffness in my shoulders, back and hips have been overwhelming. I have barely moved from the couch or bed. That coupled with feeling flat and tired, hasn't enabled motivation to sit in front of a computer!!
When I have ventured from the comfort of lying down, after about half an hour of even the mildest strolling, and I feel dizzy, sore and exhausted and have to go back to bed to sleep!
I am finding that over the past two months of being more unwell than I have been before, one or two symptoms seem to become exasperated for a week or two, and then settle into the background (still present but not as overwhelming), and something else comes to the forground. Has anyone else experienced this? The severe fatigue has basically been the same the whole time, and then dizziness, digestive problems, and pain seem to alternate between being the killer problem on top of it!
I think I have come to the point where I am going to invest in regular massage and/or accupuncture. When you get to the point that you can barely pull your arms over to your feet to rub them while they ache because your back is hurting so much, I think maybe that is the time to forget the expense, and make a positive well being decision! I have found a clinic in Paddington that seem to look at the whole person and use various therapies to improve issues, so when they open after holidays next week, I will book in. I will let you know how it goes!
I am realising this might be more of a long term haul than I first thought. I keep looking to my next work shift and think, right I have this many days to get on top of this and get back to work. And then that day sneaks up and I have no ability to even contemplate work and have to pull out. This not only stresses me thinking about letting work down, but also adds weight to the old shoulders thinking about money. It is a nasty circle! I had some good news about income protection yesterday though, so hopefully in a few weeks I might have some assistance there. If anyone out there has similiar issues, I highly recommend speaking to your super fund asap and see what you're covered for.
Today the pain is subsiding a little, and so here I sit at my computer, watching the cricket. My best friend visited me yesterday; she always makes me laugh and feel happy. Another good friend might be dropping in this afternoon. It makes such a difference when you have just a little thing to look forward to. It makes the effort of getting up out of bed worth it.