Welcome to the group!

Welcome to the group, Cinben!

Is it wrong that I'm a bit jealous of you for making it to 55 before fibro hit? I was only 27 when I got diagnosed and I feel like I was robbed of the bulk of my "best years" by this debilitating and maddening illness.

I do hope for your sake that Lyrica works for you; it seems to be a hit or miss drug in terms of effectiveness on fibro. Some people swear by it while others, like me, have horrible side effects and have to get off it quickly. I recommend reading fully through the list of side effects so you're aware of what may come with taking it so if you have any side effects from the drug you can alert your doctor right away - but hopefully for you, you will be among those the drug benefits.

Best wishes...

I'm a little jealous about the 55 thing too. That's actually statistically pretty late for the diagnosis. It's more common in the 40s but some here were much younger. I was right in the typical group at 45.

Helpful hint for the grocery store - use the motorized cart. It's pretty awesome in terms of saving yourself both pain and precious energy.

To start off with, I am also one of the newbies here and I was just diagnosed at 59 yrs. old. From all the comments I've read from people, I am very thankful it was not earlier, but when it did hit, it hit my whole body all at once. There was no easing into it, or honeymoon period to let me know what the heck I was dealing with or what kind of Dr. to go see to say, "I hurt everywhere you could possibly touch!" LOL! The only other diagnosis I had was a genetic disease I've battled since my early 20's called, Familial Essential Tremors. So, now, instead of just shaking, I shake and ache. I have been put on Gabapentin, Xanax, Tremadol, Percocet, and a sleeping aid, "Tamazepam." I tread lightly with the Percocet & the Tamazepam as they are both controlled medications, and I've already found out with the Tamazepam, for example, that a 15 day supply better last you 23 days or the insurance company will deny the re-fill. I had to quit my job of 20 years with 911 because of the long extended periods of sitting and the stress. It broke my heart. I qualified for SSD and a long term disability program I was signed up on at work. I praise God that even though my income along with my husband's SSI does not put us in the category of the rich and famous, it does supply our needs right now. I thank every one of you who share on here, as I am ready to learn from all of you who have been dealing with this for a while. I pray for you too. This is no picnic, but the blessings that come from sharing can make the worst days better... With prayers to you all and I'm right there with you cinben, Sharon

Thanks all to of you;in your warm welcome and heartfelt sharing :-) i really sympathize with you guys who got this crappy ailment in your younger years.If it makes you feel any better-i too have had many struggles starting in my younger years.it would take too much typing to list all-but to summarize ;i ve had 8 ear surgeries resulting in profound deafness(i wear bone anchored hearing aids)major clinical depression,alcoholism(im clean x 5 years),osteoarthritis(knee replacement) and now this afflication -fibro. Whew!I also caretake for my angel mom of 94-whos on a slow decline.I need all the support i can get.On a positive-im a survivor and try to stay in a positive light xxoo