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Sunday, June 13, 2010

Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll

How do sex, drugs, rock and roll factor into fibromyalgia, you might ask? The sex is self-explanatory and drugs also need no explanation. The rock and roll part equals activity, work, moving around.

For the past 3 weeks, I have been on a pain-free reign. That is a previously unheard of record for me. I stated in a previous blog that I didn't know how to account for this lucky streak.

I haven't been taking pain-killing drugs, thus the 21 Tramacet-free days. Cross that one off the list.

Rock and roll? I have been more active lately. I'm not sure whether that is because I have had no pain or merely because I have been moving around (hence, preventing the pain). The chicken and the egg. I've been up on my feet, dancing to Glee CD's, doing yoga stretches when I remember to, running errands and keeping house with energy left over to have fun.

That leaves sex.

People, I completely understand the lack of desire when you're exhausted and hurting. It's like participating in a gorilla wrestling match and you're wearing the bananas. However, please allow me a brief podium to give a shout out to the wonderful world of endorphins. We all know that our bodies make naturally-occuring endorphins during exercise and ... sex - well, good sex, anyway! As if that wasn't incentive enough, endorphins are natural pain-killers. I don't know about you, but I'll take sex over squat thrusts any day.

To be honest, at my age and with all the medications I consume, my sexual desire needs to be dusted off for cobwebs. Perhaps it's been the lack of pain that has me endorphin-seeking and I'm not talking about ab crunches here - wink wink.

Obviously, I'm not a sex therapist. But I do know there are different kinds of intimacy within a relationship: emotional, mental, physical and sexual. Even with a chronic illness, it is important to maintain some semblance of a sex life with your beloved. Perhaps on a reasonably good day, a 'date' could be set for intimacy later on. The endorphins could give you a reprieve from pain and you will have had the win-win experience of connecting with your partner.

This leads me to the question: how long do endorphins stay in the body? I've been googling and searching but haven't come up with a definitive answer. Maybe no one knows - has a study ever been conducted? If anyone knows the answer, please drop me a line.

Rock on, folks.

2 comments:

  1. I love this. Oh how so true. Your writing is fantastic, clear, serious but have added the humour. Keep up the good work and thanks for doing this for all of us.
    Evelyn

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  2. Thanks Evelyn. Glad to hear you're enjoying it.

    ReplyDelete