Let's Welcome Truthhurts!

Hi, Truthhurts, and welcome!  Your post really touched my heart.  We have been there and done that.  But I KNOW there are things out there that can help us...a variety of things and not all medications, either.  I believe in conventional medicine but also a touch of natural medicine, too.  I try things that either are medically proven to help or things that our bodies need naturally to run correctly.  This is why I use malic acid/magnesium supplements and vitamin D3 supplements and these do help with pain and fatigue.  Malic acid is found in apples but I'd have to eat a bushel of them to get the same amount I'm getting in the supplement.

 

I use gentle stretching exercises and daily gentle exercises...I walk and swim.  Yoga is another good one for fibro.  You see, if you sit or lay too long, you will be stiff as a board and have more pain.  You need to keep moving with fibro.

 

I also get gentle massages and I pace myself when doing things.  Just the fact you only go grocery shopping once a month tells me you aren't pacing yourself.  You have to shop longer and have soooo many groceries to carry in and put away.  I will shop usually a couple of times a week.  I usually only need 10-15 items and it only takes me under a half an hour to shop and not long to get it put away.  You see, I do a little, rest, and do a little more.  It all gets done but in a different time frame.

 

Anxiety is an issue for you and nearly every other fibromite.  I suffered with that, too, until I asked why I was afraid.  I had no reason to be afraid so I got a grip on it and, when it starts to rear it's ugly head, I get busy doing something constructive and the anxiety leaves.  This is exactly why I have the scripture in my signature. 

 

I don't like to read all the side effects of medications and usually don't but I know enough about some that I know I don't want to take them.  LOL  So, I do a lot of searching for things to help me.  I report them here whenever I find something new that has definitely helped me. 

 

BUT, you know what?  You can have a full and enjoyable life in spite of this illness.  I know because I have!  I've done a lot of traveling..even overseas...I've walked through Italy, stood on a glacier in the Canadian Rockies, snorkled in the Caribbean, and even parasailed with fibro.  A couple of years ago, I walked through DisneyWorld for nine hours and even rode Splash Mountain with it's 55 foot drop!  I had a blast and I'm not spring chicken either...I'm 64 years old.  But, you see, I refuse to let this illness rob me of the great times in life!  I always try things.  Yes, I generally will have more pain for a few days but the memories are well worth it.  So, don't think your life is over.  It's just beginning and today is the first day!  You are newly married...still on your honeymoon...so you have a lot of living to do and it is possible to do it with fibro.

 

Be sure to check out Fibro 101..the second thread on the forum.  There are links to good info about fibro and you will learn a lot there.  Good starting links are called Symptoms and A Thorough Explanation of Fibromyalgia.  You will also find links about the supplements I mentioned along with the gentle stretching exercises.  There also is a wonderful post about positive thinking and how it can help you with chronic illnesses.  Positive thinking and my faith have helped me as much, if not more, than medication.

 

I'm looking forward to getting to know you better.  Don't hesitate to ask questions because we are here to help you.  Hope to hear more from you soon.

 

Sherrine

Thank you all for the welcome

@Ms. Sherrine. Your words inspire me to want better for myself, and your age is giving me reason to get out of bed.  God has promised me long life and im doing nothing with it. I am so out of order.  Thank you for awakening something that was laying so dormant. Me.   I have a script for the vitamin D3 and ill get the magnesieum.  

I'm so glad I could help you!  If you have been staying in bed and kind of laying low, start out slowly.  Get up and move around and then rest a bit.  Then do it again.  When I started my walking, I could only walk four houses down the street and had to turn around.  But I didn't give up.  I went out the next day and went a little bit further.  I now walk my dog for at least one mile a day and feel more energized and have less pain when I get home.  I don't always feel like walking...actually, most of the time I don't feel like walking...but I do because I know it's good for me.  If you live in a cold or snowy climate, there are some great walking-in-place videos you can get.  Leslie Sansone has a ton of them out there and I have one of hers.  The one I have I have to do for 15 minutes to equal one mile.  That's not bad, considering I hate to exercise!  LOL

 

The magnesium should help.  I use malic acid/magnesium supplements.  The malic acid helps too.  Check out the link about that.

 

Be sure to add the stretching exercises several times a day.  I do some of them before I attempt to get out of bed.  This helps a little with the pain and stiffness.  I still use a cane when I first get out of bed so I don't fall but then I can set it aside for the remainder of the day.

 

Let us know how you are doing, okay? 

 

Sherrine

Welcome to our fibro family! I'm sorry that you had to find us, meaning I wish that none of us was plagued with this syndrome, but since these are the cards we've been dealt we have to live with them. We may not be able to change them, but we can change our attitude and retain a positive focus on life.

A couple years ago I spent so many hours of the day in bed I can't count them all. I didn't know then that the more I rested, the worse I was getting. Naturally, I fell into a deep depression as well, but I have managed to turn that around.

Like Sherrine suggested, I started slowing in trying to get out and do more -- and I've now found I can do much more than I EVER thought possible. Sure, we still all have those bad days and those times when we run into a wall, but life is definitely better for me than it was a year ago, so I'm thankful for that.

Now I try to listen to my body and live within my limitations. It's just so wonderful finding that those limitations are broader than I initially realized. LIFE IS GOOD!

Hi~

And I too would like to welcome you to the Fibro Family! I agree that just talking to and knowing others understand what I live through makes daily life so much easier to handle.

From my experiences I believe that all pain reliever will work for a limited time and then we have to either up the amount, change the type or combine them with something else. But if you are at that point don't panic...there are so many types of medication that doctors can try and if you have a good doc he/she will keep working with you to find something that will give you a descent quality to your life.

So hang in there with us and we'll make it down this fibro road together. We'll even have some fun along the say...

Chutz