I was inspired by reading your previous post and I believe what you say is true.
I also understand being tired of the pain -
I read you also get a lot of stones as well , so do I and I know they add to the pain.
You can do it - keep up the great work and the positive outlook.
My old t-shirt says " Keep on Truckin'"

Hang in there tryn2bpos. There are good and bad days with this disease. One of the first things that I read in the posts here when I joined this group (Jan. 2009 - I think - time flies!) was about there being good days, bad days, good weeks, bad weeks, sometimes as far as good years and bad years. Whenever I'm in a bad phase, I think that this is the way it is now but have to force myself to remember that it does always get better. Eventually. As you say, you have to force yourself to be positive sometimes. I get physically tired from everything that this disease entails, but also emotionally exhausted with dealing with it (and its repercussions). It's hard for family to understand, but we here really do know what you're going through. We can get through this together. You're not losing it, but sometimes it is a case of mind over body. I hope the counselling helps. Perhaps you could share the new insights that you gain with us here.

Take care,

Chewitt

I'm here if you need anything. I am 17 and I have had PKD since I was 6mos. I am still considered a mircle babym .

Thank you all for your responses. It has helped knowing that there will be good days ahead. The counselor reminded me to stay active and forward looking/plan for future. So, I plan whether I will ski (I live in the mtns), bbqs, and check the local calendar for other adventures in my area. There was a really good op/ed opinion in Newsweek by the chairman/big wig about his attitude toward the cancer he had: his message was to remember to live. He did not want to dedicate his whole life to battling and dealling with the disease as he had seen so many others do. Good for me to read that. With his spirit in mind, I'm dedicating myself to living!

a positive attitude goes a very long way in the way you feel.
my motto regarding PKD has been, "when life hands you a lemon, make lemonade."
there are times when making lemonade is not easy but through kidney failure, dialysis, transplant and bilateral nephrectomy I always tried to find a reason to smile, even if it was only, this is not fatal, there are treatments.
having someone to live for helped me a lot. there are your children or friend's children if you don't have your own. grandchildren are the absolute best, they love you unconditionally and don't expect you to be perfect the way your own children do.
hobbies can be extremely rewarding.

I am so glad that I have joined this group. It is heartening to see that I am not the only one that feels the way that I do at times. This is beating me down right now and reading these posts is helping me :-)

tryn2bpos you say you live in the mountains? I live in the San Bernardino mountains in CA. Are we neighbors? I would love to find some local people with PKD to hang out with and compare notes.

Are you/will you be a transplant candidate?

The stories about how good people feel post-transplant keeps me going.

Unfortunately this can just be PKD at times. I have spent the last year up until recently battling pain. I have now found that Oxycontin 20mg 2-3 day is keeping it manageable. I was crying more days then not. Some times crying from the pain, but mostly crying because I grieved the loss of my health and knew I would never go without pain again. I don't really know how I have started to accept it after a year, but I have in some ways.
True that others never really get it :( Great call on seeing a counselor!!
Jenny