Welcome & Introduce yourself to the Fibromyalgia/CFS Forum!

[dustybrown]

Hello and welcome to the Fibromyalgia/CFS forum on MedHelp. This forum is a place for people to come and share experiences with FMS and CFS. Some of you may have a diagnosis from your doctor, some of you may be seeking an answer for undiagnosed symptoms and some of you may be a relative or friend of one who is suffering. This is a great place to learn more and to gain support from others who suffer as well.

In addition to the community here, MedHelp also offers tools to help you and your doctor in your road to wellness. Fibromyalgia and CFS can be so intricate and can have so many different symptoms. Due to this, it is very helpful that MedHelp offers health trackers for us to utilize. We can track our progress and especially our flare ups. Below are just a few trackers that I find useful.

• CFS/FMS Tracker - http://www.medhelp.org/land/health-trackers
• Pain Tracker - http://www.medhelp.org/land/pain-tracker
• Mood Tracker - http://www.medhelp.org/land/mood-tracker
• Weight Tracker - http://www.medhelp.org/land/track-weight-loss

MedHelp also offers a plethora of “encyclopedia style” information available through the Health Topics tab at the top of the page. If you follow the links below you can learn more about Fibromyalgia and CFS, both topics of which are available on MedHelp.

http://www.medhelp.org/medical-information/show/124/Fibromyalgia

http://www.medhelp.org/medical-information/show/636?section_id=27670#sec_27670

I urge you to introduce yourself below and tell us a little about what brought you to the Fibromyalgia/CFS Forum. Again, welcome to MedHelp and the Fibromyalgia/CFS forum!

Sincerely,

Your Community Leader,
Dustybrown

[repowm]

Hi my name is Kathy I am 41yrs old and have been living with the pain and depression associated with FM.  I have been under the care of 2 doctors in the past 5 years and I am currently taking 6 different medications for FM and arthritis. Some days are better than most, but when my stress level is up I hurt so bad the medications are no help.  I have a very stressful career and my doctors seem to think that my FM and arthritis is due to/from my line of work, or at least it has not helped it.  Anyway I was hoping to get some insight on how long and how many medications other people that have FM and what works best for them. I was so glad when I found MedHelp, I have learned so much.  I wish I could get my husband to sit down and read some of the posts, than maybe he would understand better what I deal with on a daily/nightly basis.  

[lvfrogs]

I just wanted to say that I know how you all feel. I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome about 3 years ago and finally with Fibro, although I believe I have had it longer. I had a nasty bout with the Epstein Barr Virus and I believe it is the cause of all my issues. It has given me peripheral neuropathy (they ruled out all other causes) and I take Gabapentin for that. Currently, I am on Savella for the fibro and it does seem to have helped some. I still have some bad days but I do wake up a little better and feel like doing things. Like the rest of you, if I do it all, then I take 2 days to recover! and that is hard when you are working also.

to emz_brent - do you take anything for your ME? It sounds to me like you have fibro too! I am sure others more knowledgeable will come along and post so look for those, but I would be talking to my doctor about fibro, if it were me.

[emz_brent]

Hi I am 23 and was diagnosed with M.E at 14... I've always had all the commonly known symptoms.
The thing is over the last year or so things have seemed to take a turn for the worse as I am writing this all of my arms are aching my neck and shoulders are killing me, I have started with really bad palpitations and shortness of breathe. My hips seems to ache all the time and my thighs to basically my entire body feels like its giving up. If I find myself in a busy street or around lots of people I get stressed and want to run a mile I get confused easy and have no energy or get up and go. I cannot walk up the stairs to bed without feeling severe pain and discomfort just walking around the house is a chore not to mention trying to keep up with my two young children.. I don't feel I can talk to my doctor as I don't have the confidence to ramble like I am here, I also get really bad headache/migraines and my face aches too

So basically my question is does anybody have any ideas what the hell is wrong with me???

[julie4104]

Hi!  I am new to this forum as well and very glad to find a place where someone can understand what FM sufferers go through on a daily basis.  I have had a diagnosis for 15 years now and although it is good to know that I am not imagining all this, it is taking it toll.  I have worked on and off for years but at this moment it appears that I will not be returning to work this time.  At the end of June I had a TIA which was the final straw and the wake uop call that working and forcing myself through the days with FM,. and 5 herniated discs was not going to work for me at my age. (49)  I am currently taking cymbalta with a little relief but the pain and fatigue is overwhelming.  Like most of you I must pace my daily life...ie:if I do the laundry I must plan a day or more of recovery time.  My family has a difficult time understanding that at this point I just cant plan too far ahead as I dont know what each day will bring. Lousy way to live but... it is what it is.  thanks to all of you in advance for your understanding and support.

[deadgamegrrl]

I'm new to this forum & new to fibro.  I've had it only about 4-5 months.  Unlike a lot of you, I don't have a lot of other health conditions other than episodes of major depression since I was a teen as well as IBS since about the same time (I'm 50). I've managed to mostly eliminate the IBS with diet & stress management.  The depression was managed for years with zoloft until it stopped working about 5 years ago.  Since then its kind of been a lab experiment to get that back under control (including a HORRIBLE Cymbalta experience) but Celexa is working well for now.  My fibro came on suddenly.  I'm a personal trainer and extremely active and one week I just started feeling horribly overtrained.  Everything hurt and was stiff down to my bones.  MY feet and back were the worst, as well as my hip flexors.  The worst was the exhaustion.  I would come home and try to nap on the sofa between clients and wasn't getting any sleep at night.  I had done a Zumbathon (latin dance workout) about 2 weeks before the symptoms started and it was outside in 95 degree heat on asphalt so I attributed a lot of what I was feeling to that.
Well anyway, I now have fibro.
I'm currently taking gabapentin which seems to help some, and xanax for sleep.  For better or worse, I've always had an extremely hight pain tolerance but this thing just kicks my butt.  I still work out but I've modified my routine and try not to do too much high impact stuff.  I'm trying to add more yoga & mindfulness work while not letting my clients know how much it hurts just to demonstrate an exercise some days.
I have 3 pit bulls and my oldest is going on 14.  She is extremely arthritic as well as having joint damage from RA when she was younger, but she still gets around and grins.  I  figure if I'm half as game as my dogs maybe I'll be able to deal with this :-).
Sorry this has run on so long.  Its great to find this forum!

[lojewal]

Hello, I am brand new to this forum. I am 49 years old and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 2 1/2 yrs ago. However, I know my health problems started when I was 40. That is over 7 years to get a diagnosis. I was on zoloft for several years for mild depression (one of my initial syptoms) and about 1 1/2 ago my doctor switched me to Cymbalta. I have major problems with fatigue and muscle pain and weakness. Even though I was diagnosed and getting treatment, I feel worse than ever. I still work full time but struggle to make it through the day. On my free time, I barely function sometimes. I get so frustrated because I want to spend time with my family. I can no longer do the things I enjoyed such as gardening and playing guitar. I recently was put on a med to keep me awake during the day. My fatigue was so severe I couldn't work, drive or do much without starting to nod off. I was amazed at how much more alert I was. I didn't realize the fog I've been existing in. I am fearful of staying on the med long term though. I have side effects from both meds that are making me wonder if it is worth it. Anyway my husband is very supportive as are my children. I am sure there are many at work and in my personal life who just can't understand. I hope this forum helps me.