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.
Hi,
I am 21 years old, and suffer from chronic pain. I have many old injuries from my competitive dancing years that still bother me regularly. Knees, hips, back, wrists and ankles, etc.. I have been in and out of physio since I was 11years old, but these problems have never disappeared.
Over the past year and half I have been to my doctor numerous times because I constantly feel exhausted, fatigued and in pain. I have been given too many painkillers and muscle relaxants to name and most of them dont seem to have any effect. I take vitamin B12 injections monthly because my levels were very low, but even with the injections I dont feel a difference. Some days I am too exhausted to get out of bed (and I dont suffer from depression, I truly want to get up and do things). On days that I do go to classes, I have a hard time concentrating which is not like me at all! I am very interested in the subjects I am learning, I just can't seem to get my brain to pay attention. I have even had difficulty concentrating while writing a midterm recently, simply reading and understanding the questions was like a fog. Last year I even missed a midterm because I had terrible back spasms and couldn't sit to write it. It irritates me that this is affecting my everyday life, but it seems like it has become the norm. Other things I have noticed lately are that I am having headaches more regularly and that my hands and legs have been falling asleep more often, not sure if that means anything.
I'm not sure if my symptoms are caused by many different factors (like injuries and low B12) or if there is a single explanation, like fibromyalgia, but I figured anyone with fibromyalgia might be able to relate and offer some advice. Does this sound like it might be fibromyalgia? I haven't found much info on it but a friend suggested that I ask my doctor about it.
Mainly, I am just hoping for some advice.. How do you manage your daily life? Any tips for dealing with chronic pain and the lack of energy and ability to focus?
Thank you for any help!
Katt
I am 21 years old, and suffer from chronic pain. I have many old injuries from my competitive dancing years that still bother me regularly. Knees, hips, back, wrists and ankles, etc.. I have been in and out of physio since I was 11years old, but these problems have never disappeared.
Over the past year and half I have been to my doctor numerous times because I constantly feel exhausted, fatigued and in pain. I have been given too many painkillers and muscle relaxants to name and most of them dont seem to have any effect. I take vitamin B12 injections monthly because my levels were very low, but even with the injections I dont feel a difference. Some days I am too exhausted to get out of bed (and I dont suffer from depression, I truly want to get up and do things). On days that I do go to classes, I have a hard time concentrating which is not like me at all! I am very interested in the subjects I am learning, I just can't seem to get my brain to pay attention. I have even had difficulty concentrating while writing a midterm recently, simply reading and understanding the questions was like a fog. Last year I even missed a midterm because I had terrible back spasms and couldn't sit to write it. It irritates me that this is affecting my everyday life, but it seems like it has become the norm. Other things I have noticed lately are that I am having headaches more regularly and that my hands and legs have been falling asleep more often, not sure if that means anything.
I'm not sure if my symptoms are caused by many different factors (like injuries and low B12) or if there is a single explanation, like fibromyalgia, but I figured anyone with fibromyalgia might be able to relate and offer some advice. Does this sound like it might be fibromyalgia? I haven't found much info on it but a friend suggested that I ask my doctor about it.
Mainly, I am just hoping for some advice.. How do you manage your daily life? Any tips for dealing with chronic pain and the lack of energy and ability to focus?
Thank you for any help!
Katt
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I'm alive, I'm sleeping like a rock, and for some reason I wanted cherry juice so that seems to be helping. (??? Weirdo that I am.)***Infamous therapies over history:1. The Attic. The madwoman in the attic is a motif in literature going waaaaaay back: the nutty female relative is locked in the attic. (See: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte for a grotesquely racist version of it, and Charlotte Perkins...
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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...
So sorry you are in such pain and exhaustion. I hope you find relief soon. I am sending you positive energy.
Gentle hugs.
I do recommend that if you have tested low for specific nutrients (you mention B12) that you and your doctor meet up to discuss the best strategy on replenishing your body. If it *is* fibro, we feel lousy enough without added issues. (And many of us have those. I have epilepsy and PTSD.) If it isn't? Then fixing dietary issues is actually a pretty simple fix.
There's also a lot that can develop as it goes on. It may not be easily diagnosed by symptom or sign for a time, and it's frustrating, exhausting, irritating, and so on.
You can also buy, if you get the diagnosis from *trained medical personnel*, "Fibromyalgia for Dummies". That's the go-to for us on this board. Helps us, family, bosses, you name it. (And, of course, if we get realllllly short-tempered, we can imagine smacking someone upside the head with it. Not that we do. That means more energy than I, for one, currently have.)
Basically? Same as anything in life. Keep hydrated, healthy eating habits, gentle exercise, stick to schedule/routines to make sure you get those in, and finding a restful sleep. (Again with the docs' help on that. My neuro actually tipped me off to a great cushion against issues lingering from a 2011 injury, and also ice pack placement.)
Luck and blessing.
And, if it turns out to FMS, purchase the book "Fibromyalgia for Dummies." You can find it on Amazon. Highly recommended!
Good luck to you and take care.