Need some advice

Fibro is extremely difficult for teens.  They want to fit in so badly and you know how cruel some kids can be.  I hope he has a special friend or two that he can talk to. 

 

I did look up the side effects of Paxil and it can cause confusion, decreased concentration and this should be reported to your doctor.  It might not be the medication for him.  I take no medications like that.  Here is a link about the side effects of Paxil.

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/paxil-side-effects.html

 

The only prescription med I take for fibro is a muscle relaxer called Robaxin and I have no side effect with it...except for the very first pill I took.  That one pill made me sleepy.  After that, no problem.  I also use ibuprofen with food, extra strength Tylenol, malic acid/magnesium supplements and vitamin D3 supplements to help with pain and fatigue.  I also use an alternative pain product called Curamin. 

 

Fibromyalgia can cause something we call Fibro Fog.  I find if I stress over that, then my memory is worse.  But, if I laugh off my mistakes, I relax and do far better.  I know that is difficult for a teen to do, but being angry is just making things worse...his pain and his memory.  Stress is very bad for him.

Walking is a wonderful exercise for fibro and a real stress-buster, too.  Swimming and yoga are other good exercises.  He needs to keep getting involved in things.  This takes his focus off his health and the pain will fade somewhat in the background. 

Keeping a positive outlook has helped me about as much as medication.  Fibro waxes and wanes so if he is having a lousy day, he could feel much better the next day.  He really has far more blessings than problems but, at that age, it's hard to get them to realize this.  He's blessed to have family standing behind him and trying to help, too. 

 

Be sure to read Fibro 101...the second thread on the forum.  See if your son will read it too.  There are links to good info about fibro and you both will learn a lot there.

See if he would like to come on the forum and ask questions.  We have had teens on here before.  Let him know that he can have a full and enjoyable life with fibro, too.  I have.  I have done so many things I never thought I could do with this illness but I try everything and 95% of the time, I can do it.  I've traveled overseas several times, done activities like parasailing, swimming with dolphins, snorkling, etc.  I have a good life but so many times people think their lives are over when they get this diagnosis.  Once he finds what helps control the pain, he should do just fine. 

Sherrine 

I started having Fibro symptoms very young; my doctor believes that the onset of my migraine headaches at age 8 were part of it. I went through high school with much the same symptoms I have now--full blown fibro. It was very difficult, because as Sherrine said, we want to fit in so badly that anything that makes that hard is something that torments us constantly.

One of my biggest problems was the concentration; math was especially bad. Even during simple school work, I would feel like I was missing something, like things just didnt want to "click" in my head, and talking coherently became a struggle. I even started stuttering on occasion, and still do. I would repeat myself several times and my boyfriend at the time (a real dirt-bag, but beside the point) would make fun of me and call me stupid. And I really felt like it, like I was thick-headed, nothing could penetrate through. My mom didnt make it any better, because she insisted I was a hypochondriac.

Other students looked at me like I was trying to get all kinds of attention, when really I just wanted to be ignored. I was in pain all the time, stressed to the point where I had migraine headaches 4-6 days a week (Sundays were the only days I was home, and pretty much the only days someone didnt stress me out).

If he wants to talk, I will gladly try to help, as one who went through teenage years with fibro. My email is in my profile.

Good luck.

It would help him alot to just look up what fibromyalgia is. It helped me to understand the things that was happening to my body. Honestly to me it sounds like his paxil is making him feel worthless, some depression meds do that to teens. I have a sin with ADHD and another one with tourettes. They had a hard time in school. I still have one in school and there friends don't always understand. Maybe he could find a site for just teens.

It's not the Paxil, he's been on it for 9 years. I was told it's the Fibro

Have you tried looking into local Fibro groups? I could help him to be with people that have the same condition in person that he can talk to and be friends with. They even plan events together that you can go to if you are feeling well that day. I'm sure there are other young people in your area that have fibro that he can connect with that won't make fun of him or make him feel stupid.
Have you considered home school? Or even vocational school? My youngest doesn't have fibro but we moved so much due to my job that she couldn't finish her senior year at her high school so we found a local accademy that didn't cost anything and enrolled her. They had to be at the school like one day a week the rest was done online from home. She was even able to graduate 8 months early. You can not change crule teenagers they just have to grow out of it but you remove your son from it.

Enajones, does someone need to remind you to write things down? You sound like what my son is going through. Sometimes he is talking about something and finishes that conversation with the end of something else. Really odd, I usually just stare at him and wait for him to fix it.

Kidz Mom, we have been homeschooling for 2 years now. The high school would only give him a teacher for 2 credits a year at home and with all the surgeries he was having, he would have graduated when he was 30. It's been so nice not having to deal with the school administration.

I don't have any solutions other than what others have already said, but just want to say my heart goes out to you and your son.