Sharing Our Spoons – August

Its time to relaunch Sharing Our Spoons!

Yes, I am totally aware that I am a little late getting this post up. As I shared about coming out of the fog, the treatment I started for my peripheral neuropathy, Cymbalta, ended up being such as difficult to stop. The nurse at my rheumatolgoist office warned me that it would be a challenging transition and oh my goodness. Challenging would be an understatement. We tapered my dosage in hopes of minimizing the symptoms so I cannot imagine what it would be like stopping cold turkey. I was browsing online in trying to gauge whether or not my symptoms were “normal” (when have I ever been normal?) and I discovered multiple sites and blogs solely dedicated to Cymbalta and all of the issues involved with the withdrawal process. It was reassuring knowing that the severity of the symptoms I was experiencing was par for the course but discouraging at the same time knowing how I feel the medication is marketed as a “miracle” treatment now available for fibromyalgia, neuropathy, and chronic pain. The fact that it is a non-narcotic treatment is pushed to the forefront when, I feel, the side effects when ending treatment are not really addressed. Anyways…

:::stepping off soapbox:::

As a Sharing Our Spoons refresher, here are the goal guidelines:

1. Physical: could be weight loss or exercise related or it could be goals like eating more veggies or cutting soda
2. Mental/Emotional: take a day to be alone, write a letter, paint, etc
3. Spiritual: start a new devotional book, commit a certain amount of time a day for prayer/meditation
4. Something fun: Take time to treat yourself – maybe a pedicure or Starbucks (if you don’t typically splurge for specialty coffee)
5. BONUS: One thing to get you out of your comfort zone a week – try something new, sign up for a class you maybe have been putting off.

Progress linkups will be posted the first Tuesday of every month!

Here were my goals for September & the changes I plan to make for August:

• Physical: Take a 10 minute walk every day. This week my sweet Charlie was diagnosed with arthritis. Her age is not only a factor but her weight is as well so the vet recommended daily walks to help her drop a few pounds and help with the stiffness. We have both been hobbling around so it will be good for the both of us.
  
• Mental/Emotional: Get out of the house! I have most definitely shut myself off and the effects of the Cymbalta definitely need not help in the matter so I need to work on getting myself out of the house on a regular basis. I am officially unemployed as of the first of the month as my medical leave with employer was up so the reality of disability is much more evident and my rheumatologist warned me that closing myself off could enhance my fibromyalgia so I need to work on balancing resting when I need to and being active for all aspects of my health.
  
• Spiritual: Do nightly devotions with my husband. We not only need the daily one-on-one time the can be difficult to achieve with an active 4 year old but we know how important it is for our relationship to be grounded in our faith. We can only love each other fully by loving God first and being closer to Him allows us to become closer to each other.
• Something fun: Time to put my Pinterest boards to use! Every week I must take at least one thing that I have pinned and actually do it! Complete revelation yes? Time to cook a new recipe, try a new beauty tutorial, or spruce up some things around the blog! I have actually considered hosting up a weekly linkup called Been There, Pinned That so that we can all share the results. What do you think? Interested?
• BONUS: Take a step out of your comfort zone.  If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that I have updated my hair in a pretty major way so its time to take some fun pictures to update my social media profiles! I have always wanted purple hair and finally bit the bullet (the silver lining for no longer working in an office). I think planning some pics may be a great way to wrap up all my goals for the month!

What are your goals for the month? You can link up your blog post in the linky below or leave your goals in a comment!