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hipmama42 Posts: 939
Senior Member
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A "normal" life with fibromyalgia is a different life for you than it is for most "normal" people your age, and different from your "normal" life in the past before you got fibromyalgia. If you can truly accept that simple, hard fact, you can then focus on making the quality of your present life with fibro the best that it can possibly be...for you and your loved ones. Like any chronic disease, living with fibro requires numerous adaptations, changes in priority and lifestyle, accepting one's limitations and knowing the importance of taking medications, treatments, getting enough rest and not pushing oneself beyond one's capacity to endure. Fibromyalgia is a high-maintenance condition in that it requires finding and constantly adjusting the proper treatment cocktail unique to each individual. To live a more "normal" satisfying and productive life, it is essential to find a knowledgeable and supportive doctor and group of family and friends who love and accept you exactly as you are, and don't place unreasonable expectations on you or make your life more stressful than it already is. Stress aggravates fibro symptoms and can trigger a bad flare, so it's best to avoid all unnecessary stress whenever possible. If you make taking care of yourself and your health your number one priority, you will be amazed at how much better you will feel mentally and physically, and those around you will respond in a positive way --because you then have more time and energy to participate in family activities and do the things that are important to you and your loved ones. Is this a normal life? No. And you will never get your old life, body, and brain back again, but with a little willingness, courage, determination and hard work -- along with lots of rest! -- you can have a satisfying and rewarding life most of the time. It may be different than it was in the past, and it may be different from the life you had expected and envisioned for yourself, had hoped and planned for...but life with fibro can be good, if not "normal"....if you can learn to see the glass as half full most of the time. A positive attitude and having gratitude for what you still have and are still able to do can go a long way in overcoming difficulties and depression about the illness. Post edited by: hipmama42, at: 07/04/2008 09:46 |
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