I'm Gonna Write An Article About Frbromyalgia

I have fibromyalgia and it hurts! Right now I am having a flare up and it feels very painful all over my body and I just want to lay down and sleep but I am not sleepy I'm just exhausted and I haven't even done anything today to be tired , my joints feel swollen but they don't look it, I lose my train of thought usually it hits me the hardest when I am pmsing like I am now. Or when I am under stress it really hurts, and when the weather changes I all of a sudden will get extremely tired an have to go lay down. It's debilitating because I have to stop whatever I'm doing and lay down my whole day gets ruined by it and some days even getting out of bed makes me want to cry it hurts so bad but it hurts bad if I stay in bed. I've had it for 9 years, well that's when I was diagnosed with it, I believe I have had it longer than that. I have taken so many pills for it right now I have a combination of a pain reliever with a muscle relaxer it takes the edge off it will never go away for good but at least I am trying to learn how to live with it. When I have flare ups I tell everyone and they all know to just leave me be and let me rest. I have done a lot of research on this and I do know that as I age it will only get worse and so far that has come true. I know what my limits are and I listen to my body when I know when to stop and rest before I overdue it and I prepare myself with warm compresses and soft lights to just lay down and relax. Taking a warm shower and getting into bed afterwards feels good and some massages help too as long as it's very light. I am going to go lay down for awhile everything is hurting.

I have fibromyalgia, and it's so much more than that definition tells. With fibro, you can have throbbing pains, stabbing pains, burning pains, aches, and the pains mentioned where it's painful for anyone to touch you (or even hug you). Most people with fibromyalgia also have chronic fatigue. Many have IBS. Most have depression. These are things we deal with each and every day...and yet, the Social Security Administration doesn't really acknowledge fibromyalgia as a real problem. So, when you're dealing with trying to get disability, you have to have the doctors list each symptom individually and prove that you have them. Even then, it can take forever. I applied for disability 5 years ago and have been denied, denied, denied. (Yes, I have an attorney, and yes, we are appealing. I've heard about some who have waited 10 years before being approved.) Here are a few links: http://www.fmaware.org/ http://www.fmnetnews.com/ http://www.cfids.org/default.asp http://www.restministries.org/

Hi yuna I hope you have a good response to your article and that it will help a lot of people who don't have to realise how bad the illness is. Fortunatley I don't suffer with it but there is one of my friends on here I know who does, hopefully she will see this discussion and answer it for you. Good luck with your research...littleowl

i have had fibro all my life and im 27 etc.. if you have livejournal they have a great group there that has a lot of info on there simply named "fibromyalgia" my hubby also has it and so does my best friend so i know it all too well.. if you have any questions feel free to pm me because i dont want to go into a huge ramble about it on here and i dont know what you would want to know.. ive pretty much been there and done/tried it all for fibro though lol

Fibromyalgia is so much more than just widespread pain. I've dealt with it, among other illnesses, for over 10 years now. I am on SSDI and have been on disability for 6 years now. If you go to WebMD you will find alot of good information, including symptoms of the illness. Unfortunately there is no cure for the illness, and very little to treat it with either. Most of us have to learn to deal with the pain and manage it with pain killers. Some people are fully able to carry on a normal life, where as others such as myself have so many problems with it that we are severely disabled with it. Why it varies in different people they don't know. Now some may disagree with me, but alot of it is personal attitude. No, we can't "think" away our pain, but it does help to try and keep a positive attitude. It helps us control the symptoms and not feel like the illness rules our life entirely. I know that with pain meds (which I try not to use more than needed), I also try heat, ice, physical therapy and even meditation to deal with the symptoms. For those of us with this illness one day of "overdoing it" can put us down for days or weeks. Where as normal people recover quickly from a day of pushing themselves, for us it can literally put us in bed for a week recovering. The fatigue has us sleeping odd hours, and the pain can be unbearable. Our skin can be sensitive to touch - even hugs can hurt at times. And the clothing touching our skin can bother us too. "Brain fog" is a term we all know well. The illness interfers with our thought process, short term memory and can cause confusion. At times we may forget words, where we put things, what we were doing. There have been times when I've been driving and I've forgotten where I was going. So I'd have to pull over until I could remember. I've had to call home and ask how to fill my gas tank, or where the switch for the headlights or wipers are. I've found my ATM card in the crisper drawer and the lettuce in my purse. (And no, I'm not kidding there - but it was pretty funny when I discovered it) A frustrating thing I've found with this illness is times when I feel better. I know, that sounds odd so I'll explain. A few years ago I woke up one morning and I felt FANTASTIC. No pain, no brain fog - nothing. I had all kinds of energy and thought wow, THIS is what normal feels like! This "remission" went on for several months for me and I was on cloud 9. Then one day when gardening (something I hadn't been able to do for years) I started getting tired and achey. By the next morning I could barely move, and the symptoms all came rushing back. I remember crying because my life was now back to dealing with daily pain. For me the one thing that makes me so angry with this illness is the people who refuse to believe in it. We have to struggle with dealing with people who think we are just lazy, with the government who fights us for benefits, and with medical professionals who just don't have a clue. I get dirty looks and comments from people when I need to use a scooter at Walmart because of the pain and fatigue. And I get yelled at for parking in a handicapped space even though I have a legal tag. Life with Fibromyalgia is like living with a never ending, life long, case of the worst flu you've ever had.

HI Yuna: I've had this for almost 4 years now I guess?? When I first was diagnosed it was still so "new" and so very few Physicians even knew what the heck this was much less how to treat it or "believe us" that were trying to tell them I HURT! I ACHE and so on; Yes its very painful, very depressing at times especially ( for me) as the weather changes back and forth so quickly it really tears me up pain wise; I also have many other health issues too but this one, its a nasty thing to have though there are way worse ones out there too but any pain we suffer is bad you know? I take Lyrica for mine and thankfully I have a very very good doctor, thank The lord!

I have fibromyaligia, it is a terrible sickness you are in so much pain that it wakes you up in the middle of the night, It also has other symptoms like loss of memory, headaches, nausea, you can read more about it here. http://www.fibroymalgia.com/handcrafted2.asp

It is a nice word but I would not know how to use it in conversation. I am happy though that I don't have it. This is great information. Cheers!!

A painful response to a gentle touch?? That sounds pretty serious and it means her skin or flesh is ultra sensitve.. So how does she even sleep?? This is the first time i have heard about such a disease.. Hopefully there's a cure for it and if my love one or family members and frenz were to contact it, i wont know what to do either.. Just pray hard that your fren can be cured ^_^

Yep, I have it since 1989. Here is a link that might help you out: http://www.fmnetnews.com/

I remember when (and maybe it still is) this disease wasn't even recognized. I have a very good friend who has it and a great-aunt who has it. Not fun at all. It hurts to move, literally. Worse than arthritis according to my aunt (who has both.. yikes). I haven't got any links, but I would recommend the mayo clinic always for information about any disease online.

i'm sorry yuna but that's one thing we have missed thank heavens. sorry u have it. i have alot of problems but that's not one of them.

I can understand as to how painful this condition could be . Imagine us having this condition . If any of us gets this ; we would be in tremendous pain .

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1996 when I felt I had the flu for 4 months but did not have the fever, chills, etc. that is associated with the flu. I only had the all over body aches and fatigue. I was going to a primary doctor who was treating me with "flu pills" but I was not getting any better. I left him to see another doctor and it just so happened that he was a young doctor fresh out of medical school and was very familiar with the symptoms of this condition. I can remember that visit as if it was yesterday...mind you, I had never heard of this condition before that day. He pressed on certain parts of my body and asked if it hurt. Most did, some did not but the ones that did hurt were very tender. He left the room and then came back with a pamphlet and asked me if I see myself in that book. That was my introduction to the rest of my life of ups and downs and chronic pain. I had 14 of the 18 tender points and it takes 11 to diagnose fibromyalgia. There is more I can tell you but it would probably be better to email.

yup got it and it is work related in me repetitive work like using drills and sanders things like that that do a circular motion. Took months for them to find what was wrong I got where it was hard to brush my hair. Then I went into therapy and had trigger point shots into the muscle that was on the muscle thats they way they told me that they were doing. also gave me meds for it to slow down the pain. Now I make sure I dont wash walls or paint to much anything I have to do repetitively.(sp) I know otrher people that are very cripple by it. and really the work place should have plans to help th epeople that get it just like they do corpral tunnel. For it is like that as to compare to working.

I've had fibro for over twenty years, and I can tell you that it involves a lot more than just pain. If you plan to write an article I hope you will do thorough research. There are so many areas where people just want to write an article that will bring in some money and do it on the basis of very little information, or misinterpreting what they've read. I don't want to discourage you completely, but I've seen too many articles about various conditions, by people who know about them only through reading, and it gets very depressing. I have one article on Associated Content--about proper excercise for fibro to help with pain and avoid losing muscle strength. I might write another one or two, to cover various aspects of fibro.

I would be very interested in the article you write on this disease. I have been diagnosed with CFS or M.E. or a post viral syndrome that is very similar to Fibromyalgia. Some doctors believe it is the same thing. It is no respector of persons either as I am a therapist and it didn't miss me out! :-) Derek

yes i have fibromyalgia among many other things its a pain and very little is known about it i can tell you one thing it hurts!

I do not have this illness but a lot of people I know on here do. It seems to be an under recognised, but common disease that causes a lot and pain and hardship to people. I think writing about this is a great thing you are doing and I hope you get many replies to this and I am sure it will help people to understand about it all.

I have severe migraine some days I cannot sleep but excedrine helps with head aches. You can go http://mayoclinic.com and you can get plenty of information about this.