THE FUTURES SO BRIGHT I HAVE TO WEAR SHADES

I think the volume is turned up.
And I can't turn it down.
That doesn't happen when it's Pink Floyd.
Sensory overload.

When you have Fibromyalgia your body is sensitive to so many things. My senses seem to be on hyper drive.

But it's selective.

Scents like bread coming out of the oven, fresh flowers, even some perfumes that are vanilla based can transport me to euphoria. It seems that I can't get enough of the fragrance. On the other hand, my nose is very, very, sensitive to scents that I find.....shall we say......unpleasant? 

How about malodorous?

How about stinks?

When I worked in sales people would come through the sales office and I'd start spraying air freshener the minute they'd walk out the door. Body odor is one thing I cannot handle and my nose picks it up immediately. Friends have said that they don't smell anything but, me? I could be a bloodhound.  

Then there's taste.

If I don't like it...there is NO WAY that I'm going to eat or drink it. There have been medical tastes that call for drinking, well, crap is the only way I can describe it. The staff becomes impatient with me because it just won't happen. The icky taste almost becomes magnified. My mother used to have the same problem. She'd tell me that there were starving people in China and my response would be, "send it to them because I'm NOT GOING TO EAT IT."

Let's go to the light.

I'm part vampire.

I'm beginning to sound like a real fruitcake but it's true. I get practically blinded by the light. If I'm outdoors I have to wear sunglasses. Even when it's overcast I end up in shades. I don't get a headache from it.....I just start seeing spots. It's like having a huge flash bulb go off in front of my eyes. Boy, I really dated myself saying that didn't I???

Do I dare go to sound??

Turn on the radio.....

I LOVE MUSIC.....

All kinds of it. It has the power to soothe my soul. I can't even imagine a world without it. Classic music, country, rock and roll, pop, blues....even opera. It doesn't matter....just depends on my mood. I can put my headset in and rock. I can handle loud music if I love the song. If I don't? 

TURN DOWN THE FRICKING VOLUME!!

So what is this selective sensitivity? I have to take ear plugs to live events but I could listen to the same song on my headset and it can be loud. Background noise or loud sounds in a restaurant just bug the crap out of me.  A high frequency sound or nails on a chalkboard......sometimes even a loud television.

No go.

No way.

No how.

I think the biggest sensitivity that I have is heat intolerance. I can handle the cold much better than heat. The way I figure it .....I can pile on blankets and clothes but there's only so much I can take off. When it's hot, it's just plain hot and I can't handle it.

And I can get hot in an instant.

It's amazing. I live in Las Vegas......or FSD (fort stinking desert) and I have for 47 years. You'd think I'd be used to the heat. Nope. Not happening. I have fans going and the A/C cannot be over 75 degrees. If it is......I'm ready to stand in the freezer. I don't cool down quickly and I don't sweat. Basically, I just can't tolerate hot. Is this weird or what??

Plus, I get very bitchy when I'm hot.

Wait.

Is that all it takes??

I may have to rethink that.......

I'd probably have a lot of dissent!!