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Surrender - darn!

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Fibromyalgia
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Posted 2/27/2014 12:20 PM (GMT 0)

First off I am male and have been athletic all my life. In 1997 I came down with severe fibro for three years and then recovered 100%. Then in 2004 I had a 6 month flare and recovered again. Then in 2007 it came and stayed with increasing pain and disability over the years.

I have ran every day of my life – now my feet and calves hurt so bad I can hardly walk to the other room and as we know strenuous exercise is something we pay for. Here is where the surrender comes in:

In the last year I sold my sail boat – hurt too bad when I finish sailing

Sold my off road motorcycle – just cant take the rough stuff off road

Sold a hang glider – hard landings tore up my legs and feet even more

And now I am parting with my Jeep – we live 6 months of the year in Arizona and I love to go into the desert...can’t now the rough ride makes me hurt for days afterwards

I feel like I am being forced to design a life for a 90 year old man – not one many decades younger.

I hate surrender, I have never given up on anything in my life...I have always been an Alpha male ready to take on anything or one!!! The reality of fibro is setting in.......

And ladies why aren’t there any men here...I think surrender for a man may be harder than it is for women.....

Posted 2/27/2014 12:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hi NextAdventure,

We do get a few men on the forum from time to time. This seems to strike the women moreso, or maybe the men just don't like to talk about it, I am not sure. I have personally met a few men with fibromyalgia. I think because of the stigma of men, they find it harder to cope with. Which is sad to me...

I hope that you feel better soon. I had to part with many things that I can't do anymore. I know how it feels. I lost my floral business to fibromyalgia. That was my dream... But there were other factors too.

Take care and keep posting. Visit the first thread on the forum titled "fibro 101". It has a wealth of information to read about...

Hugs, Karen...
Posted 2/27/2014 5:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, NextAdventure, and welcome! You don't have to surrender! You have to find what helps you control your pain. I use some supplements that really help the muscles. One is magnesium malate. Magnesium helps with muscle pain and the magnesium malate also has malic acid in it. This is found in apples but you would have to eat a bushel to get what is in the capsules. There have been studies that have shown that if you take a certain amount of magnesium and malic acid, you do get some relief from the pain.

Another good thing to try is Vitamin D3. Most of us use sunscreen when out in the sun and that blocks the vitamin D from entering our bodies. I take 5,500 IU of vitamin D3 a day.

Also, I have found a muscle relaxer that has made a significant difference in my pain.

I also do trigger point therapy on myself and have helped myself in the pain department. I bought The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook on Amazon and it has diagrams of where to find the trigger points that are causing your pain. I took care of my frozen shoulder this way and now my shoulder is perfectly normal and pain-free. Much of our pain is referred pain and this book shows you where to look for the trigger points.

It is very important to keep as active as you can. Don't give up everything. I have parasailed and love snorkling and fibro hasn't gotten in the way. Of course a lot of bumping around can play havoc with the muscles so you do need to pay attention to what you are doing. Just find things that you CAN do. Some people do cycling. I walk and swim as daily exercise. There are things you can enjoy and keep active.

It seems fibro hits more men than women but, as Karen said, that might be because many men don't get help for it. They think they need to suck up and handle it themselves. But, we are getting more men coming to the forum and that's wonderful. I'm so glad you decided to jump in with both feet.

Be sure to read Fibro 101...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 that I mentioned and how these work in your body, too.

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.

Sherrine
Posted 3/1/2014 2:11 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome. Next adventure! I hope you can continue to find new hobbies with fibro. I started camping last year and really fell in love with it. Hiking is great in Alaska and canoeing is too. You just might have to taper it down like me to a lesser activity. I know it must be hard for you as a male. My husband as a rare skin disorder that keeps him from many outdoor activities. I can see his frustration as a man.

I was wondering what kind of treatment program you do for your fibro? I have learned so much from here. It has given me encouragement to try new things in life. I hope you can achieve the same.
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