New to forum...need advice

I am been suffering from chronic pain for a few years now. It began after I had three very traumatic events happen within six months of each other. I was diagnosed two weeks ago, after several tests and blood work, with Fibromyalsia. A few days ago I was feeling pretty good so i cleaned my house, I took my 5month old daughter with me to the grocery store and my therapist and I have been in excruciating pain every since. I woke up this morning so angry and I am never angry. I am so upset that I feel this bad and I am only 32. I have bi weekly appointments to get massages, go to the chiropracter, see a therapist for anxiety and depression and i feel like I am chasing my tail. Thinking of going to a pain specialist! Any advice or tips? Thanks!!

Hi, WifeMomFibro, and welcome!  I'm so glad you found us and joined in.  You do not have normal "aches and pains".  Period!  People don't understand the type of pain we can have.  You can try to explain this illness to others but most of the time they don't understand.  It's hard when you are young and have this illness.  I was hit at age 39.  But, I also dealt with chronic pain from Crohn's disease since I was 30.  I raised three children working around chronic pain and they are now wonderful adults.  So, if that is on your mind, don't stress over it.

 

What you did, I think, was overdo.  You can't do that with fibro.  You have to pace yourself.  It all gets done but in a different time frame.  When my pain is bad, I might dust one day and vacuum the next day.  But you cleaned your whole house and went to an appointment and grocery shopping while carrying around a five month old child!  Your muscles are screaming at you and telling you not to do that again!  You could clean or partially clean one day, go to your doctor's appointment and possibly shop another day.  Your body will let you know just exactly what you can and cannot do.  Listen to it.  If you do, you will have less pain.

 

A good thing is that the pain of fibro waxes and wanes.  But, when you have the good days, don't overdo.  You might do a little more but don't go nuts!     Sometimes we will just "go for it" if we want to do something badly enough but the pain is worth the memories.  Your muscles do settle down in a couple of days when that happens.

 

Be sure to read 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 some good gentle stretching exercises that do help, too.

 

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

Hi WifeMomFibro,

Oh my, my heart goes out to you. You are so young - 32 - and told "everyone gets pains when they get older"!
I have had fibro for about 40 years or so, and when I was your age I was told the same thing.
Not so. It is very different, as Sherrine has said.
I have 2 children and I know the challenge of trying to do too much when you feel good. But I found that never worked out well. (I am still finding that out!) I also remember finding ways I could play and be involved with my kids while I was sitting or resting, like playing board games, reading to them, and even being the receptionist in their detective agency!
Please come here too to get support. There are a lot of great ideas and listening ears here.

Hope

Hi and welcome!


I'm sorry you've been suffering with this. Your pain isn't just normal aches and pains. If it were, you wouldn't even mention it - why oh why can't people take your word on that?? I went through the same thing as you when my kids were little, and it's no fun. I thought, too, that I must have cancer or something horrendous because every doctor told me I was fine. Finally, I found one who actually listened and diagnosed me with fibro, which I'd never even heard of.


I know what you mean about not wanting to get addicted to painkillers. But from what I understand, and have experienced, if you're actually taking them for pain, you won't. And while all medications do take a toll on your body, to varying degrees, being in chronic pain does, too. (sigh) You just have to weigh the pros and cons and figure out what is best for you, and we're all different. It's kind of a lonely road when you're walking it alone. We all experience the pain, fatigue, and so many other weird symptoms (Fibro 101 again!) in our own unique way, but we always support eachother. That's why I love this forum. As much as family and friends care, they really can't relate, and they get tired of hearing it.


I hope you had a good time at your sister's party, and are not paying a price for it ;)


Debbie

Thanks almostmedfree! I am also very sensitive to medications. I am very hopeful that I will find something that helps without taking a narcotic. However, the caffeine has been hard to give up. I have been cutting back though. Thanks for your support!

wifemomfibro- I know it must be hard to be so young and have children to chase all day. It took years before I had a diagnoses and I was in and out of the hospital. My kids and husband had to pick up the slack. I couldn't do nothing about it at the time. I look back and I was wondering how we made it without any problems sluch as marriage or kid problems. I now can say after getting the diagnoses I finally got a better handle on this mean chronic illness. I knew it wasn't in my head. It took years to get where I am today with me managing my fibro. I now feel so happy and look forward to each day. If you can teach your family members about fibro and learn as much as possible yourself, it makes a difference. I have went mostly to natural remedies for fibro. It seems the more meds the more side effects I get. You will see that we are all differeent in our treatments. Some are similiar, but we seem to react different to some of the meds. I hope to see you around on the forum. Have a great day!