Fibromyalgia Thread

[tiggspring]

Aaaagggghhhh!!!!!

Starting finals week!

My PET scan came back great!!! YAY and happy dancing as best I can all over the place - till I figured out that now that the big bad meanie has been ruled out, we still have no idea what's causing the fevers, lymph node enlargement and high WBC. Hmmmm....

Other than that, I've been trying to force Shakespeare down unwilling brains, grading art projects, dealing with college students who are truly confused as to which one of us is the professor and is thus giving out the grade ( "yes, Sally, you really do have to follow my instructions and do a self portrait, no matter how much you want to paint a landscape" a/k/a Sally has a landscape hanging on her wall and would rather attend open keg night at the Sigma Chi house than work on her art project, thus turning in the landscape as her own work). December 15th and it will all be over!

Oh, and I have to pass an Italian exam sometime in the next week...

Can you say stress to bring on flare?

Oh, and its raining a monsoon here - I think I just saw an ark float down the street! My arthritis is killing me!

Is it January yet?

Momelie I'm so Happy for you!!!!! What a wonderful holiday presentYou have been on my mind alot these past few weeks.

Since one of your medications can cause lymphoma and you had this scare are you going to stop it? I havent found any medication works well enough to endure any kind of side effect.

As I have mentioned, I had some heart and liver issues almost two years ago. My heart skipped every 4th beat for nearly 9 months. No reason for onset. And high liver enzymes at the same time. After multiple tests and a monitor 24hrs for a month they concluded it was "nothing"
and I would have to live with it. Then two months after I went off the monitor it went away never to return. My liver improved too although we chalked it up to losing weight. I joke with the Dr's it's my job to rewrite the textbooks because my symptoms never make sense. If they give me some dire prediction i chaulk it up to fibro and try not to worry. So far they have always been wrong! I'm gald your Dr's were too

I'm very optimistic about this new virus theroy because it explains my heart issues your blood issues and a host of other things. Think of it, if this is a virus when the viral load gets high form stress etc. then we would develop all sorts of virus complications. My heart issues started after my entire family had the flu and guess who was out of bed most????? some how I dragged my ..out of bed with the flu and FMS when they were all in bed. I had to lean against the wall to move around but I got up! Dont know what your situation was before the problem started but give it a few more months and it might dissapear as quickly as it came.

I too have felt awful for quite awhile now. Friday I needed to go to the destist for a broken tooth but when they called me back I was so tired I had to schedule it for Monday. I was bearly able to drive to the bus stop let alone the 13 miles to my dentist. and my husband wasn't around as back up so 5 miles was my limit.Here's hoping we all are feeling better for Christmas

Sending pain free vibes and pixie dust to all

 

[brighteyes]

Momelie,

I am so glad you got good news, but understand your frustration with wanting some type of answers. I think that is the hardest. My prayers are with you that you finds answers, but answers that are not too awful to deal with.

Your post made me laugh because our professors are telling our class that for some reason because we are stressed and tired that for some reason we think we can do assignments that we make up, not what our professors want. I notice, our professors seem as stressed as we are. They said they are fed up with marking, so we just told them just give us less assingments and it will be good all around.

I must say that our class of social service workers are very stressed. Our professor asked us what we have learned this year so far and alot of the class broke down when discussing things that we have went through personally this year. It was like a big group therapy session of about 35 people, even our professor cried. We were about 90 down to about 40, and the stress from the work load and the personal learning we are doing has been very emotionally trying. It was very touching to see how close we all are for the guys to even break down and cry. It is a unique process how bonded our class seems.

I made it through my 3 hour written exam, I know I passed. Two more exams to go and two more weeks of placement and I am done.

My sleep is sooo messed up. Since being used to being up all night doing papers, I cannot sleep before 3 am. Today I slept till 1:30 and so did my DS14

I am trying to get it back on schedule but it is not working.

Are you all ready for Christmas??!! My tree is not even up yet.

Hope everyone has the best day they can.

 

[brighteyes]

Tigg,

I called around on Friday and asked,and they lady at the Permit Office said to dispute it, by going to court. And to say that I didn't know it was expired.

However, I did know it was expired, and there were probably plenty of days that I COULD have gone to the Transportation Office to get my temp permit renewed but didn't because I just wanted to get home and rest.

So I am not sure if I am going to go to court to dispute this because I DID know my temp permit was expired, even though it was not my fault the real one was late in the mail.

So I am not sure if it is worth it to go to court, take a day off school, which will be a problem as well. And to explain that I was too tired some days to go to the office?I don't think a judge will understand that?

I am confused and not sure what I want to do. A reduction in the fine would be nice. But kinda scared to go to court.
That kind of freaks me out to think of going to court.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

 

[tiggspring]

Tigg,

I called around on Friday and asked,and they lady at the Permit Office said to dispute it, by going to court. And to say that I didn't know it was expired.

However, I did know it was expired, and there were probably plenty of days that I COULD have gone to the Transportation Office to get my temp permit renewed but didn't because I just wanted to get home and rest.

So I am not sure if I am going to go to court to dispute this because I DID know my temp permit was expired, even though it was not my fault the real one was late in the mail.

So I am not sure if it is worth it to go to court, take a day off school, which will be a problem as well. And to explain that I was too tired some days to go to the office?I don't think a judge will understand that?

I am confused and not sure what I want to do. A reduction in the fine would be nice. But kinda scared to go to court.
That kind of freaks me out to think of going to court.

You could always go to court and say your disability prevented you from going and you expected it to be on time. Bring a Dr note if you need to expalining how the fatigue impairs you. Did you really think when you closed the door that day "darn its expired but i'll park here anyway" or did you forget about it in the moment just worred about going to class. If you forgot about at that moment then its not a lie to say so. We do have memory issues as part of our illness. I may know something but when I really need to know it I forget completely

IMHO it was only a few days off and any reasonable officer would consider that the plate was probably late since with most government services things tend to get delayed ( at least here in US). We have on meter maid in our town that actually waits for our toddler library moms to get out because she knows most will be a minute or too late and she can ticket them! you can see she gets great joy from this. Thats just WRONG We also have an officer I have watched wait and look around to see if somone was retruning to their car. He trys to be fair. Intent is often consisered in these matters. Remember the law is nuances. Dont lie but dont sell yourself out because of guilt either. They will not think you are a good person because you paid the fine and they will not think you are a bad person because you contested it. I have a great deal of trouble doing this for myself but great luck for others. What would you do for a client? Do that for yourself. Which is more stressful a $300 fine or court? One thing about court the less you talk the better. My husband testifies in court (yuck) and tells other to just answere the question as breifly, honestly and in the best light you can. Stick to yes/no as much as possible.

Also here in the US if the officer does not show up the fine is dropped and many times fines are dropped. For example here in Pa you can go to court and say you want a speeding ticket off your record because you have a good driving record. If you dont have a ticket in the past two years your ticket will be thrown out minus court costs. Many states here have this if you dont have a record of fines. you may want to check this out. Hang in there

 

[toocherie]

Toocheri: have you recovered form your not so magical trip yet?

Yes, and I'm sorry I haven't been posting. If I've told you all this, please forgive me for repeating--but one of my two best friends in the world--died on November 22nd from H1N1/pneumonia complicated by asthma. She was a poster here on Disboards and I met her on the ladies only thread. Her screen name was fairykin--she was only 45. It has been quite a shock for me--luckily, we had spent a lot of time together this past year on Disneyland trips with just us and sometimes her Mom and other friends. She and her husband came and spent Fourth of July with my family. We had a trip planned to DLR next weekend too--I canceled the hotel plans and am still meeting up with some of our other friends one evening but otherwise my heart just wasn't in it. So if I haven't been around much--that is why.

...

So does anyone else suffer from the muscle spasms and how have you handled/and or medicated it? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Looks like Christmas is gonna be really low key this year and I am grateful my kids are older and understand. Thanks for letting me moan and groan, Diane.

I get muscle spasms in my hands. It's like they go into a cramp and they become all deformed. Then the muscle relaxes and goes back to normal. I can't predict when it is going to happen or what triggers for it. Wish I had answers for you too.

You could always go to court and say your disability prevented you from going and you expected it to be on time. Bring a Dr note if you need to expalining how the fatigue impairs you. Did you really think when you closed the door that day "darn its expired but i'll park here anyway" or did you forget about it in the moment just worred about going to class. If you forgot about at that moment then its not a lie to say so. We do have memory issues as part of our illness. I may know something but when I really need to know it I forget completely

Are you allowed to contest in writing? I can understand being afraid to go to court, but maybe there's a way to contest it by letter given your health situation and the additional stress (and potential flare) it could cause. You might call and ask. Of course, I would just go to court--but then I'm a lawyer!

As for me, it's finally raining here in So. California (yes, it does rain!) and so for the past two days I've had a flare--usually when it starts raining heavy then the pain goes away and that's pretty much what happened again. But the couple of days before the rain actually starts I'm pretty much worthless. I've been having a lot of back and hip pain too which has made it hard to get started in the mornings. Other than that--I can't complain. I will be leaving in a week or so for Texas to go to my friend's memorial--I HATE little planes and have to take a little plane for about an hour. Yuck. But I'll do it for her!

Cheryl

 

[tiggspring]

Yes, and I'm sorry I haven't been posting. If I've told you all this, please forgive me for repeating--but one of my two best friends in the world--died on November 22nd from H1N1/pneumonia complicated by asthma. She was a poster here on Disboards and I met her on the ladies only thread. Her screen name was fairykin--she was only 45.

Cheryl

I'm so sorry about your friend. Its great you have so many wonderful memories with her but what a terrible loss. I'll be thinking of you.

 

[_Athena_]

This is kinda long, sorry!

Hello all! I am Athena and I'm happily married to Dave who has been diagnosed this summer with fibro. It's been a long and very hard battle for my DH. He is in the Army and it was a whole year until his dr gave in for the referral and he had the pressure point test done. He reacted to all but 2 points. We suspect the trauma of breaking his arm/rotator cuff in basic training 4 years ago triggered his fibro. We were very lucky- he almost got sent overseas- imagine living in the desert with 50 lbs of body armor with fibro!

He's currently taking a cocktail of drugs- Mobic, Neurontin, Cymbalta, Zanaflex and Tramadol. He has been tested for MS and CMT and only after the MRI and nerve tests did the Dr finally allow him to go to a civilian Dr. Being a soldier has been very hard- DH has no choice but to get up at 4:30am and either walk 5 miles or do situps and other muscle 'failure' exercises. By 4pm he's exhausted and falls asleep (could be the cymbalta?).

We are coming up on our honeymoon and staying at Ft. Wilderness- I rented a golf cart so he does not have to walk at the campground. I'm just worried that he will over do it with all the walking. I just need to keep him on his medicine routine, plan for nap/breaks and watch him for signs of pain.

The Army still has my husband on what's called a 'medical holdover'. He's done his 4 years but they are going to re-do his shoulder surgery and maybe knee surgery. After that if I'm lucky he will get to come home for good! I'm looking forward to having him home. Because of his Army obligation we have been married for 4 years but have never lived with each other for longer than 20 days! I can't wait to get him to the pool for some water aerobics to help him stretch out! Thanks to this thread I plan on picking up a heated mattress pad and trying to sneak in a gluten free (and fried food free!) diet.

Thanks all for listening! I hope I can learn more about fibro here and how to help DH.

 

[EDuke98080]

Hi Athena! Welcome, hope we can help

 

[brighteyes]

Yes, and I'm sorry I haven't been posting. If I've told you all this, please forgive me for repeating--but one of my two best friends in the world--died on November 22nd from H1N1/pneumonia complicated by asthma. She was a poster here on Disboards and I met her on the ladies only thread. Her screen name was fairykin--she was only 45. It has been quite a shock for me--luckily, we had spent a lot of time together this past year on Disneyland trips with just us and sometimes her Mom and other friends. She and her husband came and spent Fourth of July with my family. We had a trip planned to DLR next weekend too--I canceled the hotel plans and am still meeting up with some of our other friends one evening but otherwise my heart just wasn't in it. So if I haven't been around much--that is why.

Toocherie,

I am soo sorry for your loss. H1N1 is a nasty disease! I had so many arguements with a classmate who has MS told our class, "Oh, don't worry, I had H1N1 and it's not bad." I was like, What The Heck did you just say????

I said in class, "I bet those with loved ones who died didn't think it was nothing." As I am sure you don't. I am soo sorry you lost your friend. I am glad you had wonderful memories of her. We are here for you if you need us.

Stephanie

 

[EDuke98080]

Toocehrie - I am so sorry about your friend and sad for you. I hope the memories comfort you and with time th epain is healed.

 

[tiggspring]

Freezing here in PA 15 below with the wind brr brrr! really effecting my pain and my vision but DH home so my heart is warm. Makes me glad I dont live in Canada brighteyes dont know how you do it. Looking forward to these weeks with him out of school and not teaching just his regular day job. He's already doing the dishes. lucky me!

Wishing pain free vibes and pixie dust to all!

 

[chell]

Goodness that is very cold. For some reason I can't handle the cold anymore. I'm freezing a lot now. I used to always be the hot one. Don't know how this has happened. One girl at work said maybe it's because my body isn't fighting all of the gluten anymore.

This week I got contaminated and boy can I feel it. With this blast of cold weather I'm in a ton of pain right now. Thankfully my stomach & belly have calmed back down.

I have a question that I hope is okay to ask. Do you all have much interference with your intimate time with your spouse because of your pain & such? I'm not trying to be too personal or anything or cross any discussion lines. But while I'm starting to feel better I want more intimate time with my hubby but my whole body just doesn't feel like it. It is very frustrating for me. I figured I could ask here and you all would understand. How do you deal with it?

 

[tiggspring]

Goodness that is very cold. For some reason I can't handle the cold anymore. I'm freezing a lot now. I used to always be the hot one. Don't know how this has happened. One girl at work said maybe it's because my body isn't fighting all of the gluten anymore.

This week I got contaminated and boy can I feel it. With this blast of cold weather I'm in a ton of pain right now. Thankfully my stomach & belly have calmed back down.

I have a question that I hope is okay to ask. Do you all have much interference with your intimate time with your spouse because of your pain & such? I'm not trying to be too personal or anything or cross any discussion lines. But while I'm starting to feel better I want more intimate time with my hubby but my whole body just doesn't feel like it. It is very frustrating for me. I figured I could ask here and you all would understand. How do you deal with it?

Michelle,

I completely understand. DH and I were in our mid 20's and married just 6months when I completely blew out. Being bedriiden for two years does a number in this area. After the first year we did find a way around it and are happier now than any of our friends.

Most of our FMS friend here are nurses, Social workers and Lawyers hardly a shy group of people. That being said there are teenagers roaming these pages and some sensitive adults so I'm going to PM you the rest. It wont be particulary racy but I still need to be spacific so..... Anyone who wants to know what I said just PM me.

PS if you are online right now sometimes these things take me some time to write since my brain can be slow


Pain free vibes and Pixie dust to all

 

[chell]

Thank you for your help!

 

[EDuke98080]

How is everybody doing with the holidays so quickly approaching? I havn't been around the boards as we had family visiting from out of town for the weekend. I was very lucky that my Aunt baked me gluten free treats - blueberry pie, cheesecake and spritz cookies. They are delicious and I have been eating way too much! We are 12 days out from our WDW trip but I can't even think about it yet as I still have Christmas shopping and wrapping etc to do first.

I am curious about the suggestions for the "intimate" department. We've been married for 24 years have just given up on that due to my health issues. My hubby would appreciate if whatever you suggest works so PM me if you have a chance.

Happy Holiday Pain Free Pixie to All!

Erika

 

[toocherie]

Toocherie,



I said in class, "I bet those with loved ones who died didn't think it was nothing." As I am sure you don't. I am soo sorry you lost your friend. I am glad you had wonderful memories of her. We are here for you if you need us.

Stephanie

I think that's what is so bad about H1N1--I had it (at least my doctor thinks I did--I wasn't tested) and it WASN'T bad. But it is not that way for everyone--and you just don't know.

LOL on the "intimate" discussion--I broke up with my DBF about a year ago so that hasn't been on my radar in a while!

 

[brighteyes]

I think that's what is so bad about H1N1--I had it (at least my doctor thinks I did--I wasn't tested) and it WASN'T bad. But it is not that way for everyone--and you just don't know.

LOL on the "intimate" discussion--I broke up with my DBF about a year ago so that hasn't been on my radar in a while!

I know, I do not like when people generalize. It is bad for some and not for others. I think my DS had this over Thanksgiving, but you just don't know.

Me too, on the intimate question. Can't really answer that one either. No bf in sight since I've been in school. Too tired, don't have time. If I did have one, I am sure I would still be too tired, etc. LOL NOW, on the other hand, if I DID have a BF that took care of me, and the house, then maybe I wouldn't be so tired.

I am officially free today!!! Now, to just start my Christmas shopping, put up my tree, look for a car, and I will be all set. Clean my house, I mean (sleep all day) OOPS did I say that??! LOL That is what I wish I could do, maybe Saturday I will have a jammie day! I am still fighting off a major painful flare that I have been on the verge now for at least a week.

Hugs, best wishes and Pixie Dust to all!!

Stephanie

 

[Momelie]

Whew!

Just hit the button uploading my last grades! And danged if I didn't have students arguing with me till the last second - "what do you mean I had to speak in class to get a passing participation grade? Isn't my gorgeous smile and fantabulous presence enough?" GRRRR!

I did pass the Italian exam - barely! But it was only pass/fail, so its all good!

Now on to Christmas! The Osborne lights were gorgeous this weekend, I think we're going back over tomorrow to see them, it always puts me back in a holiday spirit!

Now, I think I need a nap.....

 

[brighteyes]

Whew!

Just hit the button uploading my last grades! And danged if I didn't have students arguing with me till the last second - "what do you mean I had to speak in class to get a passing participation grade? Isn't my gorgeous smile and fantabulous presence enough?" GRRRR!

I did pass the Italian exam - barely! But it was only pass/fail, so its all good!

Now on to Christmas! The Osborne lights were gorgeous this weekend, I think we're going back over tomorrow to see them, it always puts me back in a holiday spirit!

Now, I think I need a nap.....

YAY!!!!! We can celebrate that we made it through!

Lucky you! I LOVE the Osbourne Lights! That was THE most awesome thing I have ever seen. I loved those lights!! That is my computer screen saver is a pic in front of the Osbourne Lights. I am really reminiscing about our trip last Christmas. This time last year we were there. SIGH