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.
For the last 3 weeks, I have been feeling worse than ever. Overwhelming fatigue, pain, bad sleep, well, you get the picture. A few days ago, I had to drive myself to a doctors appointment, and make another stop after that. Nothing that would be unusually taxing. But when I got home, my body just fell to pieces. I fell into a chair, and started sobbing. I felt so defeated, pityful, and useless. My daughter asked what's wrong, she is only 14, but usually makes me feel better. All I could say was, how bad I felt, and how I felt having FM is worse than having cancer. There is no surgery to remove it, no chemotherapy to kill it off, and no relatives who offer sympathy and support. I have never had cancer, and hope I never will, just borrowed this as an example, to vent. I am sure that some of you can identify?
I am the posterchild for healthy living: don't smoke or drink, eat healthy and exercise a little. Yet, it's not enough to stop the fatigue, pain, and all the other sypmtoms of FM. Sometimes I feel very, very poorly, as if my heart is going to stop.....and.... I am afraid....that.... this "cancer"...... could kill me......
I am the posterchild for healthy living: don't smoke or drink, eat healthy and exercise a little. Yet, it's not enough to stop the fatigue, pain, and all the other sypmtoms of FM. Sometimes I feel very, very poorly, as if my heart is going to stop.....and.... I am afraid....that.... this "cancer"...... could kill me......
Cancer I see children dying from cancer I had a sister in law die from cancer, I had a mother that died from cancer. A slow agonizing painful death with a morphine drip constantly that still doesnt stop the pain.
I have seen chemo make one so sick, vomiting all the time. in pain, losing all your hair, growing weaker and weajer each day and wanting to die from it. Then it still doesnt help most of the time.
One can never compare fibro to cancer.
NO ONE wants to have to "take care of" (as in...take up the slack) a disabled person. They may "claim" to...however, it becomes very obvious, very soon...that it really isn't so! I suppose I "should" just be grateful that I have a man who stands behind me...& refuses to leave my side...irregardless of how difficult he is to live with!! So many here complain of their spouses leaving them...due to their sickness. "Danged if I do...& Danged if I don't" situation!! WHAT TO DO??? Doesn't leave us with many choices...does it? It's just ALL so overwhelming & exhausting to me!!
Scootermom...you are sooo right!! When someone mentions that they have "CANCER...or MS, Parkinson's, Lou Gehrig's, etc...." (& I do NOT speak of this lightly...as I lost my precious Mom to Breast Cancer 2 weeks after my 18th B-Day! She was only 36!)...EVERYONE seems to run to them with arms open wide...with such sympathetic words & attitude...wondering what they can do to help! But when you tell someone you have "FIBRO"...they either just look at you like you're crazy, bc they've never even heard of it...OR...they say something like "Oh yeah...I've heard of that...that's where your muscles hurt & feel sore. So sorry to hear it"...& that's that! They have NO idea what ALL this disease entails...nor does 1/2...or maybe that's more like 4/5's of the medical field. I think the ONLY ones who truly know this disease are those who have it...& especially medical doctors who have it! Everyone else just considers it a "waste basket" condition. Well...if in fact it IS...then somebody needs to hurry the heck up & find out just what it is that we all REALLY have...I say!! Because THIS FIBRO is FAR more disabling than the medical industry admits!!! {{{Hugs to everyone feeling this way!}}}
~tj
Sleepless...I'm totally with you! "That's" all I can take anymore too! The Big Pharm Poisons have done their damage here as well...already getting cysts on my liver, per last ultrasound. Besides...I believe "it" does more good anyways!
At least we all have each other to talk to about all this MESS!!! So glad to have read the "uplifting posts!" By the time I had finished my 1st post...Several others had responded...making me more "aware" of my Pity Party! Guess it helps to keep each other in check...but I think we ALL have days where we go through this! I also think that true "chemical" depression is a big part of this disease as well! Hope you have a much better day tomorrow ScooterMom!! {{{Hugs!}}}
~tj
FM is no doubt hard to deal with but know I would never ever want to deal with cancer and as miserable as the FM can get I would rather deal with it then cancer or even some of the other deseases and illnesses out there. Does not make FM any easier to cope with however.
take care
gentle hugs
I had stage 3 breast cancer. The pain from my cancer treatment is something I hope I never to have to experience again.
Also if your family and friends are not supportive with this illness they wouldn't be anymore supportive if you had cancer.
My boyfriend at the time dumped me the day I found out I had cancer, my friends slowly disappeared and my family out of 5 brothers and sisters only one brother was really there for me and my mom tried to be but she had her own illnesses dimentia being one of them so I was taking care of her most of the time with my brother's help.
I know the grass looks greener on the other side but it isn't.
I'm sorry for what you are going through. Sending Hugs & Prayers that things get better for you soon.
Mary
I would take fibro I think over any other disease,I have a friend with MS and an ex with Crohns disease,and I would never want to trade places with either one of them.So I try to look and find all the positives I have with having Fibro.
I do believe the best thing for people who have fibro is to keep moving and active,not over active but don't let yourself stay in bed or just sit,when I have done that mine gets much worse. I have been on pain meds for yrs and yes I worry about the damage it might have caused to my Liver and Kidneys,I have no income or insurance so I never can have anything checked with bloodwork(sometimes I think thats better,then I don't know what damage its done) if I knew it would just give me something else to worry about,so I am learning to take it one day at a time and make the best of my life right now.
Gentle Hugs and Prayers to you :)
I can't say this is worse than cancer. I've had long periods of "remission", but I can't say FM's comparable to cancer. I watched my dad die of cancer. His agony makes mine look---not small, but certainly endurable.
But then I spend some time with my grandkids, hold hands with my husband, cuddle with my dog, or see a beautiful Gulf Coast sunset, and I realize that cancer really is worse than fibro. I'm alive and I do have good days. I'm not going to die from fibro, and I feel very blessed that I didn't die from the cancer.
I pray that you will re-find the joy in living soon, and feel better.
Hugs,
Linda
There are people in the DS fibromyalgia community who have both, and they may or may not see this and respond, but I do know a couple are terminal and I think they'd gladly take their fibro and leave their cancer behind.
I have friends who have lost children as young as five, and I've watched the children of my friends lose their parents when they still needed them badly. I've lost my grandmother (who spent her last months in the hospital either unconscious from meds or screaming in pain).
A member of our DS fibro community just lost her husband to cancer recently - I'm pretty sure she would wish fibro on him if she could have him back without the cancer.
Fibromyalgia may make us wish we were dead from time to time, but that passes. Cancer will make you wish you were dead, and then it really will kill you.