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Posted 1/13/2016 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all!

My name is Tim. I have been prompted to make a little introductory thread, so here goes:

I am a 40 year-old man with Fibromyalgia. I have 2 boys (13/17) and have been married for over 17 years. I started out having chronic pain around 2000. I was convinced it was from work, and it probably was. I continues to work through any pain, mild, moderate, severe... what have you. I visited Chiropractors, pain management, physical therapy, sleep doctors, etc. Nothing really helped with most of the pain issues.

I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia at the end of 2010. And while this explained alot of things, I was unconvinced. Fibro was a women's disease, that's just a catch-all diagnosis, etc. Well, toward the end of 2011, I started noticing some concentration issues which mad it difficult to do my job at times. Along with this, I was having memory lapses. By the time February, 2012, rolled around, I had begun thinking I was losing my mind. I couldn't stay focused for more than a few minutes and my short term memory had really bit it. I immediately started seeing a counselor.

I saw the counselor, along with the Psychiatrist he sent me to, AND the Psychologist SHE referred me to, in a matter of about 3 weeks. about this time, I was REALLY having a hard time at work and it was VERY frustrating. These people had gotten together and hypothesised that I had depression, anxiety and syptoms of ADD which had been caused by over 10 years of constant, chronic pain.

At about the same time, I went into the office at work one day, filled him in on how I had been feeling lately, and asked my boss if I could try a less strenuous job where I wouldn't have to think much. He immediately complied. So I spent the rest of that day loading parts in one side of a machine and letting them fall into a box on the other side. I was so sore by the time I was done with that day that I told the boss I wanted to take a vacation day the next day (Friday). BTW, I had used 10 of my 20 vacation days before march 1st.

While checking my email on Friday, I noticed one from my boss which said that I should not return to work until my issues were resolved as it wasn't safe for me to be there. I said ok and I am still sitting home to this day. 03/01/2012 -- present. It's been a fight for disability benefits ever since and I still have not gotten it done. I did start a blog about it recently if anyone is interested, along with a FB page.

I am hoping that I hear from my attorney that went after the company for me soon. The last I knew, he was in negotiations for a settlement. No idea how long that takes or if they will try to low ball me so bad that we end up in court, but I am anxious for this to be over one way or another. I also will hve to reapply for SS as my first case exhausted all options. I will have a much better case by the time we reapply here in a few months.

Looking forward to getting involved!

I took the company name out because that could cause problems for HealingWell. This forum is seen throughout the world. Thanks for understanding.

Sherrine

Post Edited By Moderator (Sherrine) : 1/13/2016 9:54:49 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/13/2016 5:20 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Tim, and welcome! I'm so glad you introduced yourself. This way the members will know you are here and what you are going through.

Yes, fibro does hit women more than men but we have several men on the forum. It isn't a catch all illness either IF you have a doctor that believes it is a true illness. Fibromyalgia is recognized by the American Medical Association, the American College of Rheumatology, the National Institutes of Health, and the World Health Organization just to name a few but there are still doctors out there in the Dark Ages that don't believe in it or think it's all in your head. I've had fibro for 28 years and don't suffer from depression. I used to have anxiety but I managed to kick that to the curb. Nope! It's all in your muscles, tendons, and ligaments!

We do have cognitive memory problems...some have this worse than others. It's frightening! I used to have a mind like a steel trap but now I've even forgotten my phone number and had to pull out my check book to read it there. Talk about embarrassing. I thought I was coming down with Alzheimer's! But my doctor assured me it was from fibro...and that was decades ago. There is a thread about what we take to help with our memory on the first page of the forum.

Fibromyalgia is recognized by Social Security now. I don't think it was several years ago. It is still difficult for many to get it but, with persistance, some have. I have had to take social security early because my husband died suddenly when I was 50 and when COBRA was running out, I tried to find health insurance but no one would insure me because I had so many chronic illnesses. I only get 71% of what I would have gotten if I didn't have to take it early but it has paid off for me because I was able to get on Medicare. I do think you have to be 50 to do that but I'm not positive about it.

I do hope you get assistance with this. You were the bread winner and now can't do that anymore. Just make sure you have all your doctors in agreement with your pain, etc. Keep a daily log and rate your pain when doing things. You will find pain charts and a log in Fibro 101. Pick one of the pain charts, print it out, and use this for your log. Take the chart and log with you when you see your doctor. This way your doctor will have a better idea as to how you are feeling.

I use ibuprofen with food, Tylenol, magnesium malate, vitamin D3 (many are deficient in these and that can cause pain and fatigue), and I take a muscle relaxer called Robaxin that has made a significant difference in my pain. I also walk daily as my gentle form of exercise, pace myself when doing things, do trigger point therapy on myself when needed, and get a gentle massage once a month. Lastly, I keep a positive attitude. I think this has helped me almost as much as the medications I take. It helps me focus on other things besides illness. All of this has helped me live a full and enjoyable life in spite of this illness. Unfortunately, what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another with fibro. It's a trial and error type thing. But you will get many good ideas on this forum.

Fibro 101? It's the first thread on the forum. There are links to good info about fibro and you will learn a lot there. There are links about the vitamin and supplement I mentioned and how they work in the body and also a good link about how to maintain a positive attitude when you have chronic pain. All the links are good so do read them.

By the way, I took the name of the company you are trying to get payments from. It is to help protect HealingWell. We are seen throughout the world and allowing someone to speak badly of a company could possible cause problems for the site. I really do understand your frustration, though. I'm just doing my job. Thanks for understanding.

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.

Sherrne
Posted 1/13/2016 7:41 PM (GMT 0)
I did 9 years for a Phd in medical psychology and graduated magna cum laude - now I am not sure what I had for breakfast.

I have been athletic all my life - no problem doing a marathon or lifting at the gym for 2 hours - now vacuuming is too much.

Interestingly I used to sit on the local judicial social security review board so I know there are slam dunk disability diagnosis and fibro is not one. Many people with fibro have anxiety - it is a much easier disability to win with
Posted 1/15/2016 1:41 AM (GMT 0)
Hey, just another male reporting in. I've been hanging in there with pain meds, tramadol, benzos, and the highest dose of Lyrica for about three years now. I have brain fog too, but so far I've hidden it, I guess. I'm 53 so maybe my co-workers contribute it to just being "old" as I work with mostly younger people...

I've recently been seeing significant progress on the "healing" side through hours of meditation, which is something only significant pain would force me to investigate. :-) I've found that I'm holding my whole body "tense" ALL the time, and who knows how my years I've been doing that...

Anyway, I will report back if the success continues.

No help on the disability, other than it seems the people that need it don't get it and visa-versa...
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