Fibromyalgia Support Group
You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.
Hello All,
I am new to the group and just wanted to introduce myself. I was just diagnosed with Fibromylagia a couple of weeks ago after years of doctors, specialists, tests, medications, etc.
I bought the book, The First Year: Fibromyalgia - and am trying to research as much as possible. I know this is a common feeling... but it's this mixture of - "Thank God someone is finally saying it's something instead of just telling me test after test shows I'm fine and shouldn't be feeling what I'm feeling."... but at the same time... I don't know if I'm in denial? Fibromyalgia feels like such a frustrating diagnosis... for some reasons it feels like giving up? Like - ok yup - here's a label and now any issue you have moving forward can all just be attributed to this and there's no cure... so good luck! It just doesn't feel concrete enough... I don't know... though I know I'm lucky to be diagnosed with it now vs. 20 years ago when there was no belief or support.
Anyway, I just wanted to reach out because I'm really struggling and am hoping to be able to learn from everyone here but also find comfort. I only just turned 33 and I feel like my whole life has been ground to a halt. On a logical level... I understand that I need to accept this and make lifestyle changes... but then there is the angry part of me that says - no, that's not fair! My life has already been so hard and I only just started getting it together - and now this??? and another part of me is saying... this will go away just like everything goes away so just suck it up... and then another other part of me is saying... but there are so many symptoms and every day they feel like they're getting worse... and not all of them 100% link up to what other fibro people say... so what if I accept this diagnosis and chalk everything up to fibro but it's really some terrible terminal something that I should have been doing something about???
Ok... enough. I know this was a very rambling introduction but hopefully some of you recognize the feelings and can offer advice to me. What if it isn't really fibro? Maybe it's not?
Thanks so much.
Vanessa
I am new to the group and just wanted to introduce myself. I was just diagnosed with Fibromylagia a couple of weeks ago after years of doctors, specialists, tests, medications, etc.
I bought the book, The First Year: Fibromyalgia - and am trying to research as much as possible. I know this is a common feeling... but it's this mixture of - "Thank God someone is finally saying it's something instead of just telling me test after test shows I'm fine and shouldn't be feeling what I'm feeling."... but at the same time... I don't know if I'm in denial? Fibromyalgia feels like such a frustrating diagnosis... for some reasons it feels like giving up? Like - ok yup - here's a label and now any issue you have moving forward can all just be attributed to this and there's no cure... so good luck! It just doesn't feel concrete enough... I don't know... though I know I'm lucky to be diagnosed with it now vs. 20 years ago when there was no belief or support.
Anyway, I just wanted to reach out because I'm really struggling and am hoping to be able to learn from everyone here but also find comfort. I only just turned 33 and I feel like my whole life has been ground to a halt. On a logical level... I understand that I need to accept this and make lifestyle changes... but then there is the angry part of me that says - no, that's not fair! My life has already been so hard and I only just started getting it together - and now this??? and another part of me is saying... this will go away just like everything goes away so just suck it up... and then another other part of me is saying... but there are so many symptoms and every day they feel like they're getting worse... and not all of them 100% link up to what other fibro people say... so what if I accept this diagnosis and chalk everything up to fibro but it's really some terrible terminal something that I should have been doing something about???
Ok... enough. I know this was a very rambling introduction but hopefully some of you recognize the feelings and can offer advice to me. What if it isn't really fibro? Maybe it's not?
Thanks so much.
Vanessa
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So there's a Bigfoot festival going on soon and Hubby is soooo enthused.I've spent so much of my life outdoors. I'm 99% sure their whoops and thumps and such are probably people up to no good tryihng to scare other folisk outta the woods without getting in trouble.Why do I say that?There's moonshiners in my DNA. And people who've lived in the forests since before white folks. If something was out...
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Fun facts to up your day:The Big Bang wasn't IN space... it was OF space. How does that happen? Well, now you know why I'm NOT a physicist. Cuz I dunno. It just happened. Thena gain a new hypothesis is that our "black energy/matter" is actually waste dumped in our universe from somewhere else's black holes. How and all that? Don't ask. You start getting all "The Matrix" and muttering...
We usually go with "Fibromyalgia for Dummies" on this board, possibly b/c it's also easy for our loved ones to understand and helps them, too.
The first rule for e is to journal what is going on with me, and then I have a pretty good idea when it is or is not the fibro. A generic headache, pfft. But if I start feeling abdomen pain or chest pain? I don't take chances. We have, in fact, lost people who put it all down to fibro until it was too late. Not a good thing. So if your gut says "Keep looking, be sure"? Keep looking. Be sure. We've had people on this board come back an d it turned out they had celiac, or RA, or fill-in-blank. Not fibro. Nothing lethal.
That scary thing said, fibro is neuromuscular, which generally means while we often have something else going on *with* it? (IBS, RA, or whatever.) So the symptoms won't be very similar. My GERD I snothing like fibro. But pain from fibro can cause other things to feel worse, and vice versa. Ugh.
Welcome to the board:-)
First let me say that I was very much like you when I was first diagnosed. The official diagnosis came last year after 20 years of basically being labeled a hypochondriac. Individual tests for individual problems generally resulted in nothing and I was told time and time again that I should not be having the pain/discomfort I was having. It frustrated me and sometimes even caused me self-doubt. So when I was diagnosed with fibro (which some doctors don't even believe in) it felt both liberating and frustrating at the same time.
However, the more I read about fibro, the more things began to resonate with my experiences. It was like having a V8! :) I knew then that my persistence in pursuing an answer had not been in vain.
Don't worry too much about past illnesses that seemed to go away. Fibro is well known for its "flares", so there are times when things are better and times when things are worse. Sometimes my knees hurt so much I can't walk and other times I have no problems at all.
So as Leo suggested, I would encourage you to read up, think back over your history and assess what you are experiencing today. See if it all adds up to fibro. If it does, you will actually be able to accurately judge when something is fibro-related and when it is not. Until then (and even afterwards when you are not sure) just see a doctor and, if necessary, be persistent about making sure they take a closer look at what might be ailing you.
Kind Regards,
Kimber