I had a brilliant idea this morning when I woke up at 5:14 AM before my alarm smacked me over the head and drilled another hole.  Okay, it’s not brilliant, but at 5:14 AM, everything is brilliant or should be, and on Tuesdays, it’s even more important, because let’s face it, Tuesdays are the transparent days of the week.  They’re a figment of our collective unconsciousness, serving the only purpose of rounding out the first part of the week to create the middle of the week.  Can you tell I don’t want to be at work?

Okay, here’s what I decided this morning. I’ve been reading about how fibromyalgia is characterized by doctors – their perception of it – about the different ideas they have in terms of causes and treatments, what to treat, what not to treat, what to study, etc etc.  I kind of forgot I’m the guinea pig here.  Do guinea pigs have red hair?  Anyway, to help fill the Tuesday void, I’m going to chronicle on Tuesdays what the week looked like in terms of symptoms.  I’m looking for patterns, connections, ways to characterize my own experience, because no matter how many ways you look at it, everyone with fibromyalgia has a different experience.  Don’t worry, I won’t be blogging my symptoms – probably TMI and definitely too self-absorbed.  I’ll have a separate page on the main site, “Captain’s Log,” or something like that.  Those who are interested can peek.  My disease is an open book at this point.

Oh, and in case anyone is unclear about the difference between signs and symptoms… symptoms are subjective – we feel them, report them.  An ache is a symptom.  It can’t be quantified.  Signs are visible and quantifiable.  For example, a rash is a sign of an allergy, not a symptom.

So there you go – my brilliant early AM idea.  Like I said, not so brilliant, but it’s Tuesday.  Still. It’s still Tuesday.  Noon on Tuesday. Someone help me.  Where’s the white rabbit and Laurence Fishburne?