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Posted 1/14/2010 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
I found the Chronic Pain forum through google yesterday, and have been reading this Fibro forum too. I thought since I posted in the other forum I'd quickly post here too & say hello.

I was diagnosed with Fibro yesterday, and am on Cymbalta - starting at 30 & being bumped up to 60 after 7 days is up.

I'm sure I'll find this to be a place I come to often, and wish I'd actually found it sooner. I'll probably be at the Chronic Pain forum alot too. I've had TMJ disorder for about 10 years, and have had knee pain since birth (I'm 33) , so I've never known what it's like to be pain free. I'm hopeful that the cymbalta can help me with the management of pain overall. We shall see. I'm optimistic, though, since this new Dr. I'm seeing is so attentive & kind. He spent so much time with me, almost an hour in his office. Every other Dr. just threw Vicodin at me, or said my job was too strenuous (which, yeah, it probably is, but in this economy who can just up & leave their job, especially with my hubby being unemployed about a year & a half now. I'm a hotel front desk clerk, but being a small hotel we also do the cleaning, laundry, loading the housekeeping closets for the housekeepers, setting up & taking down breakfast, etc...) They said I have costochondritis, which I do, but I've had other pain in my neck, back, shoulders, arm, etc... for a long time & has never been addressed properly. Nothing has helped & nobody has listened to me, really.

Well, anyway, I'm glad to have found this place & look forward to getting to know everyone. :)

-- Melissa

 

Posted 1/14/2010 11:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Melissa, and welcome!  I'm so glad you found us and joined in. Yep, you have many of the same problems we do but we have wonderful members that love to help one another and we really do care about each other, too. 

 

Your job does sound strenuous but it's great that  you can do it.  You are definitely keeping those muscles moving and that is a good thing.  If you sit or lay too long, you will be stiff as a board with fibro.  Your attitude is helping you a lot, too!

 

Be sure to check out the Fibro 101 thread...the second thread on the forum.  There are links to good info about fibromyalgia and you can learn a lot there.  There is even a link about costochondritis.  I have that too but ibuprofen with food helps me with that.

 

Be sure to check out the links in Fibro 101 about malic acid/magnesium supplements and vitamin D3 supplements.  Many with fibro seem to be deficient in these vitamins and nutrients.  I take these supplements and they have helped me with pain and fatigue.  Be sure to bounce this off your doctor first.  I did.  He didn't think they would help but he said they wouldn't hurt me either.  He was wrong because they have helped me quite a bit! 

 

Don't hesitate to ask question because we are here to help you.  I have had fibro for decades and have had a full and enjoyable life in spite of it.  I'm so glad you are here and I hope to hear more from you soon.

 

Sherrine

Posted 1/14/2010 11:39 PM (GMT 0)
Yep, I've been taking Vit. D3 for months, along with fish oil, vegetarian glucosamine (to help with the cartilege healing with the costochondritis), a multivitamin. I haven't thought about magnesium/malic acid, though. I'll definitely check that out ! Thanks. :)

ETA : I totally want to enjoy my life. I'm a bellydancer, also, for our local Park District's bellydance troupe. I've also danced solo for a few shows. I haven't been able to dance for almost 2 months due to the pain, which kills me. THAT has dragged me down more than anything. It is the love of my life & I want to make a good dance career out of it (which you can do later in life in middle eastern dance, unlike many other dance forms) I may not dance with Bellydance Superstars, but I for sure want to travel the seminar circuit, maybe start up a solo business to be paid for being booked for solo appearances at shows or events here at some point, and maybe teach. For now, I'm gaining experience dancing for the only troupe in our area to actually represent an entity for our city. Most other troupes around here are not affiliated with any entity but themselves. I don't get paid, but I get free dance classes & free entry to various events, such as the State Fair in the summer. (I get free parking at the State Fair too, which is very valuable. Parking at the State Fair is insane & hard to find.)

More than anything I want to get back to my dancing. I'm really good at it & I really love it... I miss it so much.sad

Post Edited (fitlissa76) : 1/14/2010 4:44:01 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/15/2010 12:24 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Melissa!

Wonderful to meet you and I'm so glad you've joined this family. It truly is like the biggest, most wide spread family ever. We reach around the globe so when we say 'Group Hug' we really mean it in a BIG way.

Sounds like you've been doing a better job of managing your disorders than the doctors have. But where fibro is concerned that's not uncommon, unfortunately. That's why we exist! We have to stick together to not only help ourselves but to get the medical community to listen to the research community and then TALK to us and listen. It's a shame that some doctors still believe that fibro is some form of self-inflicted misery or head trip. Like we all enjoy wincing in pain trying to get ourselves off the toilet! OK, I wouldn't recommend going for the visual on that one...lol

I do love your spirit and attitude and feel that not only will you enjoy this place but will become a terrific asset on top of it all.

Warm welcome!
Chutz
Posted 1/15/2010 12:31 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks, Chutz (((huggles)))

 

Post Edited (fitlissa76) : 1/14/2010 5:48:07 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/15/2010 12:48 AM (GMT 0)
I've been reading the Fibro 101 links & it sounds like my TMJ & neck pain going back 10 years probably points to me having Fibro for a long time, just undiagnosed & getting worse this last year and a half, and specifically horrible since September. (I even performed at events in pain, which I probably shouldn't have, but I have always refused to give up...well, at just about anything)

I've been exercising since Feb. 2003, and the last few months I've hardly done anything & have gained 40 pounds. I think, though, that I probably didn't have such a bad flare up for a long time simply because I kept active & tried as hard as I could to enjoy my life despite mind numbing pain at times.

Being a fighter has only helped me, too, because when my hubby lost his job in Aug. 2008 he got sick just a couple of weeks later & was put into the ICU. He had a foot of his colon removed. He almost died before they figured out what was wrong. He had months of home nursing & I had to learn how to administer IV meds, flush & drain tubes, take measurements of fluid coming out of those tubes, keep records on this chart, then he had another surgery to reverse his colostomy, more recovery after that. Who else was gonna work & take care of our 4 cats, the various needs of the house, etc... ? I had to buck up & do it myself. I never give up, even though sometimes I feel like I'm about at my breaking point. When I'm teetering on the edge I pull myself back because you have to be strong to keep going, it's just a fact. You can't choose to be weak because that isn't going to help you or anybody else. If I want things to get better, going over that edge isn't going to get me there. I have to pull myself together & keep going. That's the only way it will get better. So, I guess that's why I've done so well at managing things up to now. I've had to. I knew eventually somebody would help me. I just had to fight to get there.

ETA : The bone crushing feeling in the knees & legs, OMG ! Could I have been symptomatic since I was a child ? I always thought my knee pain was something else entirely. Sorry, don't mean to keep talking so much, but it's all coming together. Everything I've had is coming up in the stuff I've been reading. I know it sounds silly, but I'm so glad to find out I have this ! LOL It explains so so much !

Post Edited (fitlissa76) : 1/14/2010 6:03:19 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/15/2010 1:03 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the family Melissa, It is great that you are staying so active, that is such a plus
when it comes to fibro. Bellydancing is really a workout. I tried it and it takes alot of muscle
control. Hoping you can get back to your dancing soon!

Glad you have joined us. There are alot of friendly fibromites here always willing to listen,
share and give support.

Hugs, Robin
Posted 1/15/2010 1:12 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks, Robin. :)

Speaking of being active, I need to get off my butt & move around a bit.
Posted 1/15/2010 3:24 PM (GMT 0)
Melissa, you are amazing!  You have to have a good attitude to face this illness and you most definitely have that! 

 

Yes,  you could possibly have had fibro since childhood.  Our mod, Jeannie, has had it all of her life.  But, she never let it stop her either!  She, believe it or not, has a wedding cake business that she runs out of her home!  You should see her cakes.  Go into her profile and there is a web site showing them and they are amazing.  I don't know how she stands there for hours decorating them.  But, like I said in my first post, attitude is half the battle.

 

By the way, we have another member on this forum that is a belly dancer.  My fog won't let me remember who it is but they will probably pop on soon!  Keep moving and never give up on your dreams!

 

Sherrine

Posted 1/15/2010 3:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Melissa and welcome to the family. Love your strength and attitude. We have to be strong and can't give in to fibro. I think many of us, as we look back, had fibro long before it got to the point of knowing something was wrong. It took a full blown flare, the been beaten with a baseball bat feeling, before it all clicked for my doc and I got a dx. I had already gone through all the testing trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

 

We will all be here for you, that's the way we are on here.

 

luv and hugs

Marlee

Posted 1/15/2010 9:16 PM (GMT 0)
You guys are so awesome. (((((huge huggles)))))
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