shrtcak81: In 20 years you will feel exactly like you do today, no better, no worse. The only thing that will change are your (possible) medications and your coping skills. What you must start doing right this minute is start taking care of yourself in every way because the years take their toll on all of us, but will do so especially with fibromyalgia, not because of the condition itself, but because we are so likely not to take care of ourselves because we don't feel good. I'm just as sick as the next guy with this dreadful ailment, but we have to eat well, get some exercise or at least move about
in a normal way as often as possible, get the best sleep possible (work with your doctor on that, but first be relentless until you find a doctor who understands and cares), and somehow through all this awfulness, keep a positive attitude. I was diagnosed 25 when years ago when very few knew what fibromyalgia was or worse, very few believed in it. It wasn't pretty, but now there are doctors who know and care.
I am pay the price now for not taking care of myself well when I was younger (many of us are!). I developed severe degenerative arthritis in both knees (doctor said it was hereditary) and have had them both replaced during the last four years, and that didn't help. It (and many other things) contributed to weight gain and a great deal of inactivity, and I ultimately became diabetic. There are a lot of risk factors for diabetes besides obesity. Risks include inactivity, stress, and I believe, certain other medical problems or deficiencies. Work with your doctor about
that. I had a whole lot of stuff going on. Now I am at risk for a whole lot more than I ever would have been without the diabetes, including heart, kidney, and eye problems. Diabetes is largely avoidable unless it runs in your family. It does not run in mine. It is very important to keep your weight down the best you can and keep moving.
I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just trying to make you aware. You may develop some depression. Who wouldn't with the kind of pain and stress and fatigue we live with. My internist referred me to "someone who knew more about
the drugs" he wanted me to take, antidepressants. That doctor turned out to be a psychiatrist, but please don't be alarmed. He's just the doctor who can prescribe best for me, and you better believe I need him. I took Prozac for years, but now I am on Cymbalta which goes a long way in making me more comfortable. I've never taken Lyrica, largely because I'm afraid to rock the boat where I am. There a lot of options out there. Again, work with your doctor. This is a process not a cure.
It may take you many years to work out the drugs and the strategies that work best for you. It did for me. I still don't have the perfect answer, but what I'm doing keeps it down to a dull roar, which is a heck of a lot better than full blown.
A person may develop sleep apnea when they are older (forty-fifty-ish) or are overweight. Sleep apnea can be treated and sleep becomes much better.
If you live in a northern climate (or even a southern climate if you do not get outside enough) you may find yourself Vitamin D deficient and/or find you have SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder. Both are treatable, just talk to your doctor. A couple years ago I was so low in vitamin D that my doctor kicked me off with a one week prescript
ion for 50,000 mg of Vitamin D, followed by an adequate OTC daily dose.
Your life will change whether you want it to or not. You will be way ahead of me if you have a spouse and family who understands and take it as seriously as they would with something like rheumatoid arthritis. My husband had no idea whatever and refused to understand (his empathy gene is missing) until after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's five years ago. Now he gets it.
Make the best of what you have to change. I had to start going to the last half of soccer and Little League games because I couldn't sit through a whole game. I had to totally revamp my thinking of family get togethers (more store bought foods, less homemade), and I had to downsize Christmas into something I could handle. You might want to invest in something for just you like lovely bed sheets and bedding as you will probably spend more time in bed. Try to get an enormously comfortable Lazy Boy recliner if that is something you will use a lot. Do what you have to do for you, because if you don't incorporate these things into your life, you won't be happy, and I can guarantee you if you aren't happy, no one will be happy, and none of us want to be that kind of a person. Crabby Lucy Van Pelt (Peanuts strip) is NOT our hero.
Understand, I'm not trying to turn us into demanding witches, but we do have to take care of ourselves in the long run. I recently started doing "Pinterest" when I don't feel well enough to do anything else, and have found great support with pins from other ladies with fibromyalgia, a little humor too. We MUST remain positive, and I try to remain patient and kind. All the votes aren't in on those yet. I'm indianahome2 on Pinterest.
Best of luck, but I must stop. I don't know how such a long post will fly on this forum; this is my first post.
P.S. We don't all have exactly the same pain and we don't all have the same secondary problems. I have IBS but not migraines. Etc. Who knows why. Do a lot of reading, not because you'll ever find one correct answer, but because you need to learn all that you can. Keep an eye on the date of whatever information you find. Toss out anything over eight or ten years old and anything that suggests this is an autoimmune condition. It's pretty well been determined it is not.
Post Edited (Ruth1225) : 2/3/2013 7:34:01 AM (GMT-7)