An Examination of My Health

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I have always raved about the benefits of being in Hawaii. How the sunshine and salty air eliminated any symptoms of fibromyalgia including IBS. I wasn't careful with what I ate there except for pasta. I don't need pasta so I avoided it. I just got back from the East Coast of Canada. I have been there before and never really noticed a change in my symptoms. Salty air, yes. A couple of sunny, warm days, but also some windy, chilly damp days. Eating in Prince Edward Island is not exactly healthy. They love their bread. I love the homemade bread they serve and of course desserts galore. My mother-in-law is the left over queen bringing everything out for people to eat and hopefully finish. The rum cake (and I am not a cake eater) was brought out at every meal. My last lunch there she brought out the final two pieces as well as the last two tiny pieces of lemon meringue pie. Yup, I ate both (not all). And we also had shrimp fetuccine alfredo which was yummy and didn't bother my stomach. So my health check consists of pain, IBS issues (did I have cramps, rushes to the bathroom, stomach aches?), and sleep. I will look at how I felt while I was down there and how I feel now that I am home. Down there I didn't sleep very well. The beds were uncomfortable as were the pillows. By the last day I had some neck pain. But I think my overall body pain was under control (like my shoulder, tennis elbow and right leg). I did have a few headaches (damp, rainy weather perhaps). I did experience pain in my right leg after a few dances at the wedding. I ate pretty much whatever was put in front of me except for the chocolate cake and ice cream. I can live without that stuff. Now that I am home not only has the pain in my right shoulder and right side increased, now the left tennis elbow is bothering me more than it ever has. Of course I am sleeping well back in my own comfy bed (11 hours last night). But my IBS has been out of control. I couldn't keep any food in me Saturday or yet today, Sunday. On Friday I had salad and salmon for dinner. It was good and sat well but woke up with problems Saturday morning. The only thing I ate Saturday that didn't go right through me was a late night bowl of the new Cheerios with oatmeal chunks and crispy flakes. My first meal Sunday, the usual oatmeal with blueberries, did not sit well. In fact, the minute I had a couple of sips of cranberry juice I knew things weren't going to sit well. So maybe Hawaii is not the ONLY place that is beneficial to my health. Obviously anywhere near a salty ocean is good, but warm, dry climate is necessary as well (which I didn't get every day in PEI). A comfortable bed is imperative (great bed on the cruise ship in Hawaii) and the one at home needs a change of mattress, but I change the pillows regularly. Sometimes I wake up with lower back pain, always wake up with shoulder, arm and leg pain. So you can see it's pretty complicated. How is it that the salty air seemed beneficial to my IBS issues? It is what it is I guess. If you are suffering with fibromyalgia and fibro-related IBS, this analysis may be of interest to you. I have figured a few things about but I am still confused with this illness... twenty years into it.