Hi my name is Melanie, I am new to the group. I would like to share a bit about myself. I am 28 years old, I was diagnosed with FMS Febuary 2012. Until a year and a half ago I was a teacher, kindergarten. I was a busy person and always had a full plate that to others looked like chaos, but I thrived in it. I have been married for 7 years, no children though I have always wanted them. Now I can not work, in fact I can barely get out of bed. My days are spent on the couch watching TV and on the internet. I have no motivation for anything. Leaving my house for any reason is costly for me. Here is a bit about my story.

I have been fighting with pain and fatigue for years but it didn't become a disruption to my life until spring of 2011. In 2010 I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and on June 30th 2010 I had a complete thyroidectomy and a radioactive iodine ablation the following september. My health has really never been the same after that. In the spring of 2011 I started having a lot of pain primarily in my lower back, it was awful and interfereing in my ability to work and function. Faitgue and sleeping problems have plaugued me for all of my adolestant and adult life. In the last year and a half I have had multiple MRI's, x-rays, and a bone scan. So far what they have found is: some minor facet arthritis in my L5 and S1 joints (tried facet and SI injections), the moderate scoliosis that I've had since adolescence, the migraines I have had since I was an adolescent, several disc bulges, and that is about it. Fall of 2011 my health took a violent shove in the wrong direction. I was in so much pain that I had all I could do to get out of bed in the morning, I would wake up feeling as if I had been hit by a train during the night. I became unable to work any longer and the pain landed me in the emergency room several times, sometimes more than once a week. I fell on more than one occasion because the pain would shoot down into my legs, i'd become dizzy and lose my balance. The doctors could come up with no reason for any of my issues. They put me on oxycontin ER and sent me to a pain specialist. The specialist did the facet joint injections and an SI joint injection, both of which did nothing to help me. Then it was like he had no other ideas just kept refilling my pain meds. I was referred to a rheumatologist whom I saw in February 2012. She tested me for fibromyalgia, ran some blood work, and did a pelvic MRI. She diagnosed me fibromyalgia, she put me on Cymbalta and told me to find what works for me and sent me on my way. I have also seen a physiatrist who told me that essentially all of my problems were in my head and that I needed to learn more coping skills. I have seen 3 different neosurgeons because all of the doctors that I had seen all believed that there is something more going on other than the fibromyalgia and nobody has been able to figure out what that might be. Now it is December of 2012, I have been out of work for the last year and a half. I am on the following medications: morhphine for pain, 120mg cymbalta, methocarbenoyl as a muscle relaxer, levothyroxine and liothyronine for my lack of a thyroid, wellbutrine to attempt to fight the daytime fatigue, and temazapam for sleep. My problems are only getting worse. The pain is everywhere in my back and neck, I have had a constant unrelenting headache for over two months now(it varies in intensity but never ever goes away), there is more and more periods of numbness, tingling, and "going dead" in my arms and legs, my vision randomly will go blurry and then be fine, I am severely depressed, my memory and my balance are awful (and that's being very kind) and all ontop of the achiness from the FMS.

Last week I saw a different pain specialist that has an amazing reputation, and I had to pay out of pocket for the appointment because she is not in my issuance network (which since my insurance is less than stellar isn't too surprising). She seemed very unimpressed with how my case has been handled. She feels that there are many more tests that need to be done and should have beeen done already, she feels that I have a very severe case of FMS and that nobody has been properly caring for, and she wants me off of the pain medication ASAP. She also believes that there is more going on than just the FMS. She is looking at the possibility of MS or perhaps another form of cancer, that perhaps this all started with the thyroid cancer. She had a thick accent and threw ALOT of information at me during the appointment, its difficult to remember everything but she will be sending a lengthly report to my primary and he will be able to explain it all to me in plain old english. I'm scared and worried. I feel hopeless, useless, and many other things that are negative and unhelpful but I can't seem to stop myself. She wants me to get a brain scan, an eye exam, an EMG (I think), more tests, and see an endocrinologist.

Im sorry that this is SO long. Any information, suggestions, thoughts, or comments would be greatly appreciated. I am so frustrated and defeated, that is why I am reaching out to all of you. I need more support, I've been hesitant to try this but here I am.

Thank you for listening.

Mel