fibromyalgia flare + infusion side effects

make a line drawing

of your body to contain the pain

and then fill it in

 

zig-zag line stretching from ear to ear

is the buzzing of tinnitus

 

two rows of half-moons with the straight lines on top

represent dull pain behind the forehead

 

a slide from the back of neck splits in two—

spreads out to each shoulder

and continues to the upper back

the dark shading on the sides of the neck

identify intensity

and gray out to aching of the upper back

 

draw your spine line

with a small gray box on T 9-10

for the intense ache there and

another on L 2-3 (I believe)

 

copy a frowning face emoji

on the abdomen for discomfort

 

a wide path from shoulders to elbows

demarcates muscle tension

on the right arm only

make a squiggle from elbow—make that two—

one extending to the end of the pinkie

with electrical fire needles

the other knifing through the carpal tunnel and wrist

 

your fingers

have grown into fat sausages

that do not like to bend

draw swirls that threaten to grow outside the lines

to burst the skin

 

 create thick lines down the centers of your legs

to indicate their heaviness

and wobbly circles in the knees

 

finally spikes within toes

show the sharp ache of arthritis

 

and now you’ve sketched my pain

 

oh, I forgot my sluggish brain

(which has kindly provided a temporary clear space for writing)

it wants quiet rest and dozing into dreams

maybe draw grey clouds behind the half-moons

 

this, too, shall pass

after an hour one Tylenol #3 partly erases the pain

sleep and tomorrow I hope will erase

the rest of this body pain map

 

*I wrote this yesterday and am glad to report that today I’m only dealing with fatigue and the usual brain fog, of course, today.  Finding a way to describe my pain helped me deal with it.