I understand entirely, I was just officially diagnosed in November. All I can say is that this group is full of knowledge and support. They have helped see me through some of my darkest days recently and are full of knowledge. Know that you're not alone and there are people who care and those that don't or aren't willing don't matter.

Hello! I'm the "welcome wagon". So... welcome! I was dx'd 20 years ago and odd days now, and the sad truth is? Trial and error on what we do, what we take, eat, etc., is how we figure out the "best" path. And you're grieving. THat's *normal*. People don't realize how much you feel you "lose" with a diagnosis, but go ahead and *grieve*. Denial, anger, fear, all that. We're here for you.

We usually recommend Fibromyalgia for Dummies (somewhere in an older thread there's a link to a free dowload of it), as a good guide on general stuff, for us, and family and friends. And feel free to rant, rave, ask, whatever. We've got a large group of people who are here regularly, if not daily, and share on daily check-in just the general status of "things". Fibro, life, both neither, whatever.

Healing hopes to you,
Leo

Free "Fibro for dummies" download
online.slidehtml5.com/ymyt/ueoa/ueoa.pdf

Hello, and welcome! I very much second Leo, especially on the grieving. The grief didn't hit me until I was 3 or 4 months into an intensive out-patient, non-narcotic pain management track at a hospital. Even though no-one promised me anything, I realized I assumed I would make huge strides and walk away with fibro completely managed. That's unfortunately not how it panned out for me.

While it is also one of the hardest parts to accept for me personally, I think you're already in the right frame of mind to talk about lifestyle changes. Because that is honestly the only thing that consistently seems to help people with their pain. After the diagnosis comes a long trial-error period of discovering the boundaries that respect your diagnosis. What things can you do just fine? What things will tip you over the edge on a bad day? What sets you off in a flare every single time? Then comes reworking or culling those aspects until you hopefully find a balance that leaves you with the best quality of life. This will come with hills and valleys, so a lot of people gain benefit from places like this where people understand the little things that can feel so huge to us.

Again, for me personally, exercise is a huge positive for the amount of energy that I have, but I haven't found a way to implement it in a balanced way. I go from too little, to too much.

We're all in this together, so feel free to ask questions, come hang out in the check-in for peer socialising, or just write a shout-y rant post when things get too much.

Good luck with everything and take care. The intensity of the diagnosis and your emotions around it will get better. :)

Welcome to the group! I'm about 8 years into coexisting with Fibromyalgia. It's not always peaceful but we've learned through trial and error how to get along. You can still live your life albeit at a slower pace. Learning to say "no", mean it and not feel guilty is tough but it can be done. Respecting your limits is very important.

Managing the sleep issues associated with Fibromyalgia is very important. Fibromyalgia interrupts the deep sleep cycle with short bursts of high intensity brain activity. Your muscles require deep sleep in order to repair themselves from the days activities. No deep sleep means higher levels of pain. You should consider having a sleep study done. And, you should be on a medication to help you get restorative sleep.

The three primary medications used to treat Fibromyalgia are Cymbalta, Savella and Lyrica. Gabapentin and muscle relaxers can be used/helpful too. Only certain classes of prescribed medications are effective for Fibromyalgia pain. There are no natural alternatives. It takes time to figure out which meds and dosages work for each patient. We are all on different medication cocktails. When starting meds a key point to remember is that the longer a chronic pain cycle has continued, the harder it becomes to manage or stop. Expect side effects; stay well hydrated with water. Allow a minimum of two weeks to notice any change in your symptoms. If a prescribed medication causes more issues than you can stand, call your doctor before stopping it. Some medications require weaning.

Diet is important. Jettison deep fried food, anything containing nitrates (bacon, lunchmeat, red wine and more) and diet pop. Artificial sweeteners generally don't agree with people with Fibromyalgia. If you need a sweetener use Stevia instead. And, there is soda made with it too.

We have a daily check in every day hosted by our brainiac and lovely spokesmodel Leo. She dazzles us with historical trivia everyday and funny stories. Some people just lurk and read. Just look for the day of the week in the heading and a Puma avatar. Its a nice way to get to know everyone and vice versa.

You are not alone!

I forgot this - Your headaches could be due to sleep apena, TMJ or just because Fibromyalgia can do that. Get the sleep study done and see your dentist. If you are clenching and/or grinding a bite splint can be made to put your jaw in a neutral position while you sleep. I've worn one for years. Worth checking out so you can have a better quality of life. Hugs!