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morgantaylor
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It was 7 years ago when I first heard the word "fibromyalgia". My ex sister-in-law was diagnosed with it and since she was the "sickly, cry wolf" type, I immediately assumed this "fibro" didn't really exist. Today, I am devastated. I am almost 40 years old, perfect health, though I do exercise regularly I could stand to lose a good bit of weight. I went to an internist today because for months now I have been having horrific pain throughout my body, Motrin will not help, I have no energy. It happens everyday. I can feel it coming on. Nothing real brings it on, it just happens. I tell this all to the doctor, she goes through my medical/family history, pokes around my body, draws blood and says she thinks I have fibro. I laugh in her face, telling her I do not believe this condition exists. Afterall, there isn't even a blood test that diagnoses it for sure. There isn't even any medicine that makes it go away. She says Motrin will not work, I have already figured that out. She says exercise will help, I tell her that I love exercise, but I hurt so much I don't feel like exercising. She tells me there isn't any real medication to fix it, but prescribes an antidepressant so I can learn to deal with it, she prescribes a sleep aide so I can sleep well at night. Still, I ask you...how do we know this condition exist if there isn't any real blood test that concludes this, nor any medication to make it go away? Please enlighten me... |
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kychick
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I will jump in here and ask you what proof do you need? It's usually the opposite problem that most people have.Most doctors don't believe in fibro,but this is the first time somebody has been diagnosed and doesn't believe this condition is for real. I think you are in denial because that's easier than excepting the truth. Read through the posts on this web site and you will find smart,hard working A type personalities that have this condition. We are not lazy or looking for sympathy or "crying wolf"or just plain "sickly". We are in debilitating pain and fatigue and no 2 people are the same. I could go on and on about all the tests I had done and the treatments I have tried but I just wrote about it in another post and if you don't believe that fibro exists then I don't think I am the one to convince you that it's real. I have enough of a hard time here at home with the people that love me to try and get them to understand. I will say I feel sorry for your ex sister in law for how she must have been treated by people who thought she was just making this illness up.I hope you find the answers you need and I wish you well. |
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natesmommie
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I was in perfect health sixyears ago,and now i have fibro,i live with chronic paineveryday usually 10,you need to webmd and read about fibromyalgia,mine is genetic fibro is real most of us can't work,socialize because we are in so much pain.
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sweetheartsuzee
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Welcome morgantaylor... You asked your question in a perfect spot! Although I can't give you the answers you're looking for, I can tell you that Fibro IS real! I (and everyone here) are living proof. That's if you wanna call it 'living'. I say that because most of the time I feel only half alive I'm soo fatigued. The pain is horrid. And work??...FORGET IT! I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, let alone fill a job position that anyone could count on me for. Get this... I take: 270 percocet's a MONTH. Not to mention valium for anxiety and panic attacks, Flexeril for the muscle spasms, pain and stiffness AND an anti-depressant. I was diagnosed in 1999 and have suffered for way longer than that. It took me forever to find a doc that would listed to me and talk with me. I've tried almost every pill under the sun (that would be the sun that never shines in MY life) and I'm still back to what I'm on now. I did just start acupuncture a while back. It's helping and now I also take handfuls of herbs every day! I'm like a walking pharmacy but barely walking. Denial is a big part of Fibro...just like any disease I suppose. I know my life will never be the same and it hurts...inside too! You'll get through it...and learn to live with it. It's not easy...it wasn't for me...but you will! And, you found some awesome support here, so stick around! Ask questions, vent, laugh...everything with us! Remember we're here for each other and we are here for ourselves! We don't sit on these computers and feel sorry for ourselves and each other because it's fun. It's because WE NEED IT! WE NEED EACH OTHER! And, it sounds like you need us! WE'RE HERE FOR YOU! Again, welcome and hey...whatchya think about maybe giving your sister-in-law a call and letting her know that you're sorry for not believing her! It will change her soo much! We all need our family and friends to understand...you having another family member with Fibro is GREAT support for the both of you. Hope you stick around... {{{{Fibro Hugs}}}} ~Suzee~
Only YOU can control your thoughts...
SO...
Change your thoughts and CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!
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misfitmustangs
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Morgan, I know how you feel. When I was a teenager, my Mom just "gave up". She had a prescription for Darvon that, i swear to you, came in quart jars. She had a Dr. prescribing her "diet pills" (speed)for years that she took so she could function. I would try to respect that she didn't feel well but deep down I thoughtn she was just lazy. No one had heard of FM then and if they had they would have said it was just a name to give the "fakers". My Mom passed away before that diagnosis was ever made. She died of cancer, but let me tell you this, she was in such pain that she was taking 12 hour time release morphine and Dilaudid every three hours and was still able to function enough to be in charge of her own meds. When your body is able to use that much pain medication and not knock you out- the pain is real! Fast forward to me. In my thirties I started having aches and pains. My brother mentioned that he thought our mom had fibro. I snorted and said sure, whatever. The in the past year I started telling mt teenage son that he would have to leave me alone I couldn't get out of bed. I thought, "Crap I am turning into my lazy mother". When the doc said fibro I was insulted. I am not a hypchondriac! I'll be honest, on my last Dr.s visit he said he would like to run more tests to rule out other possibilities so I can't say at this point that I have a firm diagnosis. But whether I have it or not, it is real and the pain these people are going through is hell. No one WANTS to give up their life and live in a fog. As much as it may seem like an excuse for getting out of work, it's not worth the other things you lose. And I think the worst pain is having people tell you it's all in your head. My pain tollerence is high. I can still push through pain and do things I want to do. But I can't fight the fatigue. I just hope my mother forgives my foolishness. Carol |
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morgantaylor
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I did not mean to piss anyone off, I am merely grasping at straws to learn anything and everything about this. I always doubted this sickness b/c there isn't a blood test to diagnose it like less say, diabetes. There isn't an xray to diagnose it either. It seems it's just saying out loud that you're tired all of the time and hurt all over. I went to the doctor, desperate for a diagnosis, but mostly for a magic pill to make this go away because I am clueless as to how to handle this. The pain is overbearing and cripling, I cannot handle this as I am a very active person who cannot handle lying on the couch all day, and all I got was Prozac and sleeping pills. Do you see how I (and most of the population) can think that this is a unreal disease? She took my blood, but for what? I go back in two weeks hopefully for her to tell me the results of the bloodwork but what about the tender point test that I've read about? What about the drugs that are supposed to treat this disease? She told me that Motrin will not help the pain, I had already figured that one out. What am I supposed to be doing for the next two weeks about the pain? I've been on Prozac in the past for depression, what does Prozac have to do with the pain and fatique of fibro? I, obviously, do know fibro exists now, since I have been cursed with it, I am simply questioning how do they distinquish between people who really have it and people who are let's say depressed? Depression makes you feel tired and achy all of the time. I'm sure some types of cancer make you feel tired and achy. I go back to this...there isn't a blood test/xray, what I'm trying to say it there isn't any concrete test to prove what it is. I know I have something, as I type I can feel it coming on, my plans of Christmas shopping today that I had just 30 minutes ago are now cancelled b/c it's here, it's like a black cloud that comes upon me and screws up my whole day cuz I'm now punished to the bed or couch for the rest of the day. I'm sure the Prozac is to help prevent me from killing myself b/c of the depression that comes along with the helplessness of this fibro, and yes, of course I'll take pills to make me sleep better at night, but what about a pill to make this pain go away? Shouldn't she have given me some sort of med for that? The first response to this post was about the many drugs to help, why didn't she give me some to try? And what about the pressure point test? Does it exist? Have any of you had that test? Like I said, I'm not trying to make anyone mad here. My ex-sister-in-law, she was one to cry wolf, her fibro mysteriously went away for good after a month w/o any test or meds-obviously she didn't really have it. Now, I think her latest ailment is fever in her pinky finger-see what I'm talking about? Anyway, please anyone, please tell me tricks or meds or anything that will help me deal with this pain and tell me about the pressure point test. |
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misfitmustangs
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Trust me, you aren't pissing anyone off because we all understand the FRUSTRATION. I am an active gal too. I have forty horses in the yard that need attention and when I have to ask someone else to feed and I know there will be no training that day, I get pretty darned upset. Fibro is a clinical diagnosis. They rule out everything else before they settle on FM. That is why my doc is redoing blood test and sending me to another doc to confirm. It sounds to me like you doc is not taking this seriously. Anti-depressants and sleep aids are important but th epain meds are too. I practically begged my doc not to give me anything strong for pain because I was a fraid he would think I was a junkie. He told me that's what pain meds are for; people in pain. Your doc needs to understand that you have REAL pain. I would seek a second opinion. Look at http://www.fmaware.org/site/PageServer and see if that helps you out. Carol
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ggirl
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When your doctor "poked around on your body", maybe thats what they were doing, checking the tender spots. If I remember right, there are 18 spots and if you have at least 11, its fibro. I've read so many books on it, its difficult to remember, not to mention all the fog in my head thats going on. I would suggest that you go to your local library and read up anything you can on it. There's lots of info out there. Look up anything online about it too. Just put the word Fibromyalgia in search and see all the different sites you'll come up with. NONE of them say it doesn't exist. They talk about how nobody USED TO believe. Not all doctors will prescribe pain meds right away. There is only one medication that is currently labeled to be for Fibromyalgia. Lyrica. In fact, its advertised on this site. And that's only been recently. Unless you went to a doctor that is a specialist, you probably won't get much else. I hope you find what you're looking for. Welcome. |
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kychick
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To answer your meds question,unfortunately everybodys drug tolerence is different. The newest drugs being prescribed are Lyrica and Mirapex. I was started on Ultram and then Ultracet but they didn't work for me so I was then taking Vicodin and Fentanyl patches.I also have cervical degernerative disc disease with osteoarthritis so that combo adds more pain. I am now trying to get off the patches and it is hell because your body becomes addicted to it. it's not an abuse issue it's just the way it is. Another drug that has helped some people is Neurotin and some have had luck with Cymbalta. I would advise that you look into all of these meds on line,and then talk to your doc about them. You have to take charge of your healthcare. You know your body better that any doctor and it's going to be trial and error for awhile.Try to get samples when possible in case you can't take the medicine it will save you a bundle. Just remember all drugs come with side effects and sometimes that can be worse. I hope this helps..that's the great thing about this site. It's about helping each other and finally finding people out there who really understand you. I have also experienced clinical depression,and trust me you will know when your in that dark hole. I went through it because I was having difficulty accepting my fate in life with pain and exhaustion. Once I realised life as I knew it was going to be different and through the grace of God I came out of that depression. I still feel down most of the time,but not like that was.You sound like someone very strong and smart and just know you will come through this and we are all here to help if you want us. |
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Aunt Rinn
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I can understand all of this that everyone has written. I can say that over the past 2 days, I've been feeling mad about this whole Fibro thing itself and doctors. I mean does everything that happens to me just have to be "well, that's part of your Fibro" or that "there's nothing I can do for that, you'll just have to wait it out". I get mad b/c what if there is something wrong other than the Fibro...does this diagnosis mean that I'll never have another blood test or xray for pain in a spot to check for some other issue? I get so frustrated with that thought. It seems to me that physicians that I've come in contact with just attribute everything that I feel to Fibro, no doubt, a majority of my problems could be attributed to Fibro, but Everything???? I worry that something greater is happening, what if I had a terminal illness that was causing me grief, but no one ever sees it b/c they just figure it's Fibro?!? It's rather a scary thought to me. I didn't read the first post as something that irritated me b/c sometimes I have that doubtful reasoning in my head. I wonder to myself sometimes, is this really real? Of course, I "live" (I prefer the definition of living that Suzie uses) with this everyday so my thoughts and feelings about Fibro are on a roller coaster. Couple that with a lot of people that just don't feel that there's really anything wrong with me and that I'm a bit of a hypochondriac in their eyes, I get forced into that mind state to doubt myself and what I believe or that the pain is really real. It's hard to stop doubting sometimes when you just want that one day free of any sort of symptom. Honestly, I'm tired today of being nauseated and hurting...I just want to get up out of bed and not feel like I have to run to the bathroom before I make a mess of the bedroom...I just want to have a normal day...so frustrating... |
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