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.
so i haven't seen a doctor yet, which means i'm not diagnosed with fm, and may not even have it. but my body is chronically aching. i'm not even sure how long this has been going on, since i tend to repress both physical and emotional pain. but in working with a therapist on emotional repression, i'm starting to notice that when i feel super depressed, lo and behold, i'm also in a lot of physical pain, like it's connected. mostly it's in my arms and hands (my hands like to fall asleep when i fall asleep), and my legs and feet. but lately i've been feeling weird and nerve-y, like things are pinched. and if i have more than 3 drinks, i feel crazy weird the next day, all tingly and mentally disconnected and almost like i am on the brink of mildly convulsing. can anyone else relate to this?
and does anyone else feel like if they have to keep their hands in a "holding" position for too long (like holding a garden hose attachment) that the pain becomes almost unbearable?
i feel so frustrated with myself and my life right now, because i feel tired and uninspired and achy and really depressed. i feel like somehow this is connected to the physical pain i've been in lately. and i'm only fricken 33 years old.
i wish i could take a bath in ibuprofin.
YES, i promise i am going to see a doctor. i finally got approved for free health care, and am going to make an appointment once all the information is processed.
thanks for reading my vent.
and does anyone else feel like if they have to keep their hands in a "holding" position for too long (like holding a garden hose attachment) that the pain becomes almost unbearable?
i feel so frustrated with myself and my life right now, because i feel tired and uninspired and achy and really depressed. i feel like somehow this is connected to the physical pain i've been in lately. and i'm only fricken 33 years old.
i wish i could take a bath in ibuprofin.
YES, i promise i am going to see a doctor. i finally got approved for free health care, and am going to make an appointment once all the information is processed.
thanks for reading my vent.
-
We're all troubled.WSo, to remind ourselves we're not at rock bottom (this is a reverse optimism thing I learned as a kid):We are not living on the island of Krakatoa when the volcano goes boom!Yeah, okay, that sucks.***Toay in 1942, Pierre Laval announced that the way to free France was for Germany to win WW2. Pierre did not win a lot of friends. When the war ended, quite quickly he was tried...
-
Another day, another ouchie?My bruised achilles tendon (don't ask) makes my foot numb. Wonky on meds, whacked it.Now, as to fibro:A lot of reports are going around some parts of social media that fibro (and dang near anything else) are caused by post-Covid, post-flu, post-vaccinations, post-pick-something.1. Your risk of death or serious complications beyond "ow, that shot hurt!" are typically...
I would definitely make an appointment with a Rheumatologist and a Neurologist too. Have blood work done and I would also suggest that you not drink alcohol at all at this time. That is my suggestion to you. Have them do a full blood work up to either include or exclude other things and have them check your thyroid and check for RA and your blood sugar levels too. Just ask for a complete blood work up but be sure when they check your thyroid they do a T-3 and T-4 also with the regular thyroid test. It is more accurate. Ask them to test you for MS too.
Make a list of all your symptoms and concerns and take the list with you to the Doctor's appointment so you won't forget what you want to tell the Doctor. Maybe ask about an Anti-Depressant and what he or she suggests. But please stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant and also if you are going to be taking Medications you should not be drinking. Just my two cents but always talk to your Doctor and be open and honest.
I hope that you will be okay. Good luck to you with your appt.
Don't wait too long. The sooner you can see the Doctor hopefully you will be able to get some answers and some help and relief for the pain.
Welcome to the group! :)
Please let me know what happens...okay? :)
Good luck at the doctors.
so i have a real live doctor's appointment monday, hooray. daisy, thanks for mentioning the thyroid, i looked into the symptoms and that makes a lot of sense, too.
i'm working on that list of symptoms/concerns, and trying to piece together the sequence of events. i feel really frustrated with both the physical and the emotional pain. can i vent about something else, please please please? my significant other is awesome with being in touch with emotions, but he tends to say that my physical symptoms are psychosomatic, which makes me feel like my pain isn't legitimate, that it's all in my head, but is @#$%! isn't, it's in my body, and it hurts, and it's getting harder and harder to ignore.
sigh.... i wish it was monday already.
Sounds like you've got the doctor's appointment under control already, so I'm just going to respond to your "second" vent.
Once you get your symptoms sorted out and diagnosed, you'll be able to educate your significant other on exactly what it is that's going on with you physically. It's really, really hard for people to understand pain, especially when a lot of us "look fine." Be patient just a little longer, and hopefully you will have some answers that will help in understanding.
Getting tests to rule out other things is *essential*, because so much can cause this kind of pain and not be FM---and we also all manifest FM a little differently, so maybe looking into stress-busters right off the bat to help you through.... come up with easy ways for family and loved ones to know your status (I use green yellow and red construction paper on the fridge. Green is Good; yellow is I need help with some stuff; and red is Don't come near me if you value your life.)
So whatever the dx, keep us posted:-)
I'll add that if you stop drinking alcohol it does 2 things beyond helping yoru physical health.
1. It impresses doctors and other medical professionals no end. (Wow, this person doesn't drink!) so they take you more seriously.
2. It helps your symptoms "clarify"---alcohol masks. Sucks, but there it is.
Good luck:-)
i went to the doctor, felt vulnerable and cried, but she gave me a few options on how i could begin, so i picked bloodwork first, then maybe antidepressants next week if the tests don't show anything else. i'm scared of antidepressants, though. when i was a kid--well, teen-- i took prozac for a couple months but had the most vivd, gory dreams. i imagine medications have come a long way since then, but i'm still wary. i'm taking 5htp right now just to keep me on this planet but it hasn't really helped too much. just kind of makes me feel content in a state of blobulousness.
she said there are types out now that address depression-affiliated pain, though. i had no idea...
thanks for the laugh, leo, with the red construction paper. actually, my family members that live in my house all have four legs and fur. they've been super snuggly with me lately. very supportive. even my spooky kitty. :)
I'm glad that you got to see a real doctor. I can relate so much to you--when I was first sick and undiagnosed nobody understood and I felt like I had to do whatever I needed to for survival.
I'm a bit concerned about your therapist's implications that your illness may be caused by or directly connected to depression.
He or she may be right but I'll share my experience: I had a great therapist before I was diagnosed and was all about the repression theory and making that psychosomatic connection.
Unfortunately though I had a lot of congnitve symptoms (and yes alcohol will may the fibrofog worse), I do not believe that the root cause of the problem was psychological.
While there is a direct connection between those who have fibro and anxiety and depression, not all people who have depression have fibro.
I would suggest a good book--Mary-Ellen Copeland has written a good one and there is one call the Fibromyalgia Advocate which offers great advice in all areas including talking to family.
I feel like I wasted years of my life, buying into the theory that the illness is all in my head.
In fact I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease eventually.
I am a licensed social worker, and I recently heard someone speak about diagnosing those with mental illness....the latest that I heard is that diagnosing someone with psychosomatic illness is not a wise practice--most times, at some point a true medical problem is found.
Symptoms of depression can mimic other illnesses but your symptoms sound clearly medical. Good Luck and worry for my rant. I wish you all the best--And a Rheumy is the way to go from my experience...neurologists really don't know much about fibro. The one I saw told me that my symptoms were part of the human experience!
Go see your doctors some over the counter rubs might help with the pain. I do not know if hot or cold compress might help. some things to try. Do not loss hope.
So does something like spraying bathroom cleaner. Hence I buy the battery operated sprayers or aerosol.
Ps. You can use a flexible head type mop to then wipe the tub. Still hard, but easier than bending and rubbing by hand.
A doctor who is condescending and/or rude should be fired on the spot. They are your employee. If you have a bad experience, follow up with your insurer in the form of a written objective letter. Save someone else the same angst. Take care.
This will be a long process of finding out what works for you and what doesn't. You may have your ups and downs....days you feel like you've got this thing licked and days that you feel you'll never feel good again. Hang in there. Hopefully you have a compassionate doctor that can help you through this. If you are allowed to go to specialists, do it. A Neurologist trained in sleep problems can help you with that (a difficult thing to manage).
Just take one thing, one day at a time. We're here with you every step of the way. Hang in there. Prayers & Blessings your way.
anyhow, i'll hear more from doctors next tuesday, and i'll let everyone know what they do/don't find.
amiradora, those rubs sound like a good idea. i noticed that lavender, rosemary, and peppermint "flavored" epsom salt baths seem to help.