Newbie here! My symptoms and a little about me. Also, does everyone has Fibro?

Hi there! I am new here and I have been diagnosed with Fibro for a little less than a year now.
My chief complaints are muscle tightness/stiffness, neck pain.
Other symptoms...numbness and burning in hands and feet, blurry vision, the fog, fatigue!, noise sensitivity, some shooting pains, insomnia, mood swings, and many more!
Mostly my life hasn't changed, it has just slowed down.
I am 40 years old and have the support of a loving wife and daughter. Praise the Lord for that!

My meds are Lyrica, Effexor, and Skelaxin
I have gone through physical therapy(aquatic) and have been exercising. Seems to help some, but I am getting ready to give Yoga a try.
That about sums it up, I guess.

It's nice to see so many people here supporting each other with their thoughts and words. I find that personally people are usually very supportive and understanding. There are a number of people that seem to understand until it comes time for them to want me to do something physical for them(help them move, cut fire wood, etc.) then they seem to forget that I just can't do stuff like that so much anymore. They don't seem to understand or care about the 4 or 5 days of laying in bed that will follow if I help them.

I find that most of my pain tends to sneak up on me. The meds seem to do a pretty good job at helping, but then I start to get cranky. That is the clue for me that I am starting to hurt. Sometimes the hurt comes in like a lion, but usually it sneaks in. Lately I have been able to catch my mood on a down slide and get to some extra pain meds in me quickly. Luckily, that seems to help out a lot.

I do have one gripe and I wonder if anyone else has noticed or experienced this.
When I talk with people and they find out I have Fibromyalgia, it seems like all of the sudden they have it too. Out of all the people I personally know that have Fibro, I am the only one that has been professionally diagnosed.

I have had multiple MRIs, CatScans, Xrays, blood tests, spinal tap, and you name it. They did everything to me to find out what I have. All these tests were not fun either. Schedule and wait, test and wait, then re-schedule to get results and wait... Also, it seemed to me that evey Dr visit was on the other side of the world.

I tend to feel a little bothered when I find out that someone just read about it and decided they have Fibromyalgia. I think it's fine to figure it out all on your own, but don't go around telling everyone without a formal dx. This just makes us all out to be hypochondriacs. Fibro all ready has enough of a stigma attached to it.

Sorry I got on that rant there.

Keep trying everyone and you'll make it! We will all make it and do fine!

Welcome,

I love all of the people who have or HAD it. My favorite is when they offer what cured them, like pineapple juice, mucinex, etc.

I think we can all feel your pain.

T

Hello, welcome to the forum.

Your post made me chuckle! Yes, the ones who "used to have Fibro" really are annoying. Or the ones who say, "Oh, do you still have that? What is it again?" (like my mother in law, who still seems to think that I just lack motivation. She has googled everything under the sun, but apparently not Fibro. Then again, I've only known her for 34 years.) :(

I can also relate to your pain sneaking up on you. It helps so much if you can catch it before it gets into full swing.

Having a hard morning, but I'm looking forward to getting to know you. We all help eachother out so much here, it's a great place!

Debbie

Welcome! Glad you found this site.

I can definitely sympathize with you, as far as your pain and other symptoms. In fact, we all can. And it is great that you have so much support right at home.

I was told to find a physical therapist for aquatic therapy, but my insurance only covers after I pay a $2k deductible. And naturally, there are no pools nearby; a little girl drowned in the one we had a few years ago, and it was shut down.

I have found that, even in the best of times, people simply do not believe that I really feel as bad as I do. I already know the look they give in any given situation, even if I dont know that person. The "You are such a baby," or "If you'd start thinking positive, you'd feel better," or "Take a pill and get over it" looks are all universal, no matter the person giving it.

I have not had very good results with medications, and lately I have been going through what I assume is a flare. Im fairly new (diagnosis-wise) to fibro, and I dont really know how to recognize a flare. I just know that Ive been having a lot of back/neck pain for the last two weeks.

I have also noticed that everyone seems to have it after I tell them I do. I guess its one of those things like the commercials--people see them and automatically, they have that disease. I only personally know one person with fibro, and thats my landlady. My BFs mother had it, but she passed two years ago.

And I agree about those who make us look like hypochondriacs. It is very hard to get people to take our condition seriously. All it does is to make us look like we complain about every little thing, that we are lazy and dont want to work. Its irritating

Hello there,

And welcome to the forum. I am glad that exercise is helping you some. Remember to pace yourself and don't over do. I had to really start out slow. Now I am walking daily. I think walking is good for the mind too. I Hope that you are having a good day. And know we all do understand here.

Hugs, Karen

WOW, Bovineboy!  What a beautiful post!  You have discovered something huge....all the blessings you have.  All of us have so many blessings but chronic pain tries to steal the thought of them away.  Counting your blessings and keeping a positive outlook on life has helped me as much as any medication and you found that secret early on with your journey with fibro!  I'm soooo happy for you.

 

We all deal with problems with this illness but for me, at least, I've lived a full and enjoyable life in spite of fibro and all the other "junk" I have.  You will learn how to work around fibro to do the things that you want to do.  I've done a lot of traveling with fibro, seen all the places I really wanted to see in the world, and done some fun things like snorkling, parasailing, and even standing on a glacier.  I even swam with a dolphin and kissed it, too!  So, you have a full life ahead of you.  Don't let this stupid illness steal that away.  If you ever find yourself a little down, check out the article on Fibro 101 about maintaining a positive attitude.  I go back and read that a lot and it does help chase the blues away.

 

I'm glad you are sticking around.  We can help with tips and, when things crop up, we are here to help you.  Thanks again for the nice post.

 

Sherrine

Hi bovineboy~

I'm a little late posting, but welcome!

I know what you mean about others telling you that they "have it, too", in reference to both fibromyalgia (I'm newly diagnosed, and have had symptoms for less than six months) and to RA, which I've dealt with for 26 years. 

I, too have come to the conclusion that I'm supposed to learn from the  "obstacles" that I've encountered in my life, and I know my health conditions have made me a more empathetic person.  (I know they are supposed to make me a more patient person, as well, but I'm still working on that one!)

The weird thing about fibro is that most people have to go through so much to get diagnosed, but I know two people that have gotten diagnoses of fibro, and I don't even think they have it!  (One lady has pain in her foot...that's it--how they ever arrived at a diagnosis of fibro from that one symptom, I'll never figure out.)  The other woman is similar...her only complaint is tingling in one hand!  What the heck?!

I'm lucky in that, because of the RA, I've got a long-standing relationship with my rheumy, so she took my new complaints seriously from the get-go. 

I'm glad you have family support--I know many people here don't, and that would be so difficult.  My husband is very supportive, and it's a Godsend...I'm so thankful for that.

Anyway, welcome...there are wonderful people here, and tons of information.  Good luck to you!