Fibromyalgia Support Group

Hi to all my new friends

as you may or may not know i dip in and out of mdjunction, mainly becuase i am self employed and never get the time to sit for long and most importantly because when i do it hurts.

but i was wondering how long has any of you been pain free? or lesser pain maybe (enough to feel "normal"

my medication (first one and so far so good) seems to really help and although i have some pain to some degree it is def eased by meds.

anyways just wondering or clutching at huge straw that someone out there has had long respite

much love

suziees xxxx

I am never pain free but I also deal with several other diseases/illnesses on top of my Fibro, with my Fibro I had never had a "flare down" I suffer from a severe case. My Rheumy did tell me of patients experiencing flare downs lasting over a year and more when I asked him if flare downs even existed. I have met people on here that have gone into remission that long as well so I do know its possible. Some people also will have flare ups for a couple of weeks and then a break for a bit, everyone is different. He said in my case I have major flares and then the major flare may settle to lessor pain so that is considered my flare down, I am just not pain free. I have my faith though I havent given up hope completely that I will someday experience a flare down. I know you will get better more uplifting stories than mine because like I said I have more conditions that leave me more debilitated so its harder to answer. I pray you find relief and have some wonderful pain free days, weeks, months and even years ahead my friend. Hugs, Stacey

Thanks missStacey i guess as its so new to me i live in hope that its all a big mistake and really i have some minor prob that can be fixed. or they got the diagnosis wrong. on here its difficult to tell but everyone seems to be in so much more pain than me. i mean i sit here and it hurts, i know my hips and legs hurt everyday but since the meds started i have slept at least 6 hours. mind you they wash me out (really feel tired and wasted in the mornings)

it would be nice to be able wave a wand and make you all feel well

much love

suziees xxxx

I am never totally pain free. I do have times when I have less pain. And then I have times when I am in a lot of pain or have a lot of fatigue or both. I do much better when I'm watching my diet more closely and not eating processed food. I NEVER knowingly consume aspartame and try to avoid MSG as much as possible. I take several medications including Lyrica (although I'm thinking of trying out Neurontin to see if that is better) and Vicodin. As my NP says as far as I'm concerned, "It is better" for me to take the Vicodin than it would be for me to not be able to work at all which would be the case without it.

I have osteoarthritis on top of fibromyalgia as well as irritable bowel syndrome and familial tremor, sometimes known as essential tremor. The tremor isn't painful but is a huge annoyance and causes work-related issues.

I hope this helps.

Red

Just because someone seems to be in more pain doesnt mean your pain is any less. Dont minimize your pain in anyway, everyone handles pain differently. When I first got Fibro which I truly believe was in my early teens it was not anything like it is now or even was a few years ago. Now Fibro is not a degenerative disease whereas it doesnt effect your organs or kill you and such but it definately can get worse over time, we are all proof of that. Your pain may not seem bad right now maybe because its new to your body, you have not had a "major" flare yet, you havent experienced all over pain I dont know I cant answer that. Fibro is not something you can really compare from person to person, symptom wise yes we can compare notes but other than that we all deal with it differently. I hope you do feel better soon and you are not alone we are all here for you.

I am also never pain free usually everyday in the afternoon, I have just had it and feel like I need to crawl under the covers. If I don't have as much pain for a day or so, I ruin it by trying to do too much. My husband gets upset with me but I tell him that I have to do what I can when I can. I still hope that one dy we will find the magic meds.

I'm also never pain free, I have good days where I can have pain but its easy to handle. I do wake up some days with just exhaustion and fatigue, ugg I hate those days. But never pain free, there are times when I wake up with a sore throat and then start feeling sick and all of a sudden there it is the flare up. The pain, fatigue, exhaustion and sickness all in one, those are the worse. But everyone is different, there is a lady who just started working here who has fibro, when I spoke to her she told me that she has no pain, she takes lyrica. She did give me a weird look when I told her im always in pain and then another weird look when I told her about this support group Im a part off. She gave me the (it's not that serious look) for the support group and the (your just milking it look) as if just because she is all good everyone else should be too. That was the end of that conversation. Anywho, everyone is different. I thought the same thing when I started with this group, that everyone was in a lot more pain then me and sometimes I felt stupid to even comment. Then I realize we all have ups and downs and all of our pain is different.

Oh bc1028 my husband says that all the time, i had a few really good days so i painted the hallway. he cant as he has a back injury. and he kept saying you know your going to suffer for that. but its like i really need to get it all done quickly before it hurts too much. i was proud of myself though for doing it. missStacey i know pain is relative but when i read people like MIssa saying aboun their pain it makes me feel a real fraud.

i have always hated feeling sorry for myself, i ahve a brother who does it all the time, his pain and problems are from dfrink and drugs over the years (drugs i mean non prescription) he has never worked a day ever and i hate to think people might see me in the same light.

i run a very successful business, and i love working, so this kills me when the pain inhibits all my plans. i was even doing competitions with my horse, now i am lucky to get through basic care of him.

hang on i am on a rant... arghhh

much love

suziees xxxxx

Like everyone else I'm always in pain... I don't even remember what not being in pain feels like. On a 1-10 pain scale I'm usually a 6 or 7 on a good day, and an 8 or 9 on a bad day. I don't think I'll ever be able to live a really normal life honestly, everything I do has to revolve around my pain. I have a handicapped life where most of my smiles are lies and all my laughs are sarcastic. And my best friend is a wall.

Suzies,

We all have days when we feel a bit sorry for ourselves. And many of us know someone with fibro who has very few bad days. (My sister-in-law and my co-worker's daughter to name two.) We can't compare our pain to someone else's. There is no such thing as a pain-o-meter even though I've often wished someone would invent one so pain could be measured objectively. Your pain is real and you shouldn't dismiss it as not being real. (I remember from my early days after diagnosis I often wondered if it was all in my head.) I finally figured out that I had to stop doubting myself. My daughter was diagnosed with fibro when she was in high school. When she was pregnant, the fibro just left, and she remained pain-free for about two years after she had her daughter. So people do have remissions. I hope you do too!

Red