Older adults and worsening symptoms

I was diagnosed in my early sixties and have have good and bad days , even weeks being alright….I am now 79 and since last year I have been really bad with fibro and recently diagnosed with ME as well. I feel really ill and only get the odd day when I am feeling a bit better.
My life seems to have come to a standstill and I can’t see a way forward just now. Even writing this is taking a lot of effort, somI reall sympathise with you……Hope you feel some relief soon…….
 
Yes please let’s stay in touch……Does anyone find they can go to bed at night feeling reasonably OK, then wake up after having a very restless night and feel like they have the bad flu like symptoms . It is so difficult to plan anything, in fact I don’t anymore…..I find I am getting more and more depressed …..Life has stood still with this dreadful disease…..
 
Gracey said:
I was diagnosed at age 52. I’m now 77. Are there any members out there who are over 70? My symptoms seem to be getting worse but no research that I’ve found supports that possibility. I’m wondering if symptoms are worse because of natural degeneration with age.
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Yes, I'm 75 years old, and was diagnosed in my early 40's. I have had years of remission at a time, but the symptoms have all been getting progressively worse the last few years, with no "remissions" in between. I imagine any chronic pain condition just naturally is amplified as we age.....sorry to say. I recommend getting a micronutrient panel lab test done, to check for any vitamin/mineral deficiencies. Also, please be checked for parathyroid disease (NOT thyroid disease) - all the symptoms of hyperparathyroidism overlap with fibromyalgia "checklist symptoms". Also, have an overnight sleep study done - I've now been diagnosed with PLMD, which causes severe sleep deprivation.....which I've had for many years. "Getting older is not for sissies", as Betty Davis once said on the Johnny Carson show. You're in my prayers.
 
Thank you Mary I will look into that……my fibromyalgia was diagnosed in my early sixties and I am now 79 and this year is the worst I have ever been….. I desperately want to get out to see my family in Dubai in October or November but am getting increasingly depressed because how can I possibly make a date to go. My son pays and I know he would get his money back if I had to cancel last minute, but I just don’t see any end to this last flare up….. He keeps saying book a day Mum it will give you something to look forward to……
 
Gracey said:
I think there’s a misconception, even after all this time, that fibro sufferers are just a bit uncomfortable…not really in pain.
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I agree. People who have not had actual chronic pain do not have any context to understand it. It's not their fault, but they just don't get it. Which is OK with me, as long as they don't try, as many do, to tell me what I "should" be doing that would make it all better, but which I am already doing or have tried without success. Or tell me I am exaggerating it or refuse to believe me.

It's similar to men's reaction to women who have extreme cramp pain with their menstrual periods. They have no context and think that women are just being "weak" or can't handle pain, or are being sissies or exaggerating. (No offense to the men reading this who are not like this!....not all men act like this.)

With both of those things there have been times when I wished I could, just for ONE HOUR, give someone else the pain I was feeling and let them find out what it is like. Not out of meanness on my part, but so they would know I am not a hypochondriac.
 
Birdlady10 said:
Thank you Mary I will look into that……my fibromyalgia was diagnosed in my early sixties and I am now 79 and this year is the worst I have ever been….. I desperately want to get out to see my family in Dubai in October or November but am getting increasingly depressed because how can I possibly make a date to go. My son pays and I know he would get his money back if I had to cancel last minute, but I just don’t see any end to this last flare up….. He keeps saying book a day Mum it will give you something to look forward to……
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I want to encourage you to book the trip, especially as your son wouldn't lose money on it if you had to cancel.
I fully understand the hesitation, because I feel the very same way. But the thing is, it's unpredictable. If you can't go, then book a different time. One of those times you will be able to make it.

I have had a tendency to put things on hold, but if I do that for too long I am putting my life on hold. And there's only so much time we get. In my opinion, for me, I need to try my best to do the things that I want to do even if it means risking disappointment if I can't do it. I'm not saying things should work the same for you as they do for me. But for me, it would be far more depressing to assume I cannot do something than it would be to get to the time to go and be disappointed because I couldn't go at that time, and then just make a new plan. So I just want to encourage you to give this some thought and see what your heart tells you.
I wish you the very best of luck.
 
I’d like to hop on here. I too was diagnosed after menopause 52 and I’m now 76. My symptoms are running my life unfortunately. My husband was diagnosed with dementia early stage which put me into a real spin emotionally. I have dropped out of all activities and just pick and choose a few. I have degenerative disc disease, including a nerve injury, so I take low-dose oxy which really helps. Keep me up. Still dealing with so much fatigue and brain fog. I use trazodone for sleep and am on a CPAP. I talked my pain management doctor into letting me try low-dose naltrexone. She started me on a very low-dose, which gave me immense pain,. Then I cut it in half, still having immense pain. Has anyone had a chance to try LDN?
 
dorlanski said:
I talked my pain management doctor into letting me try low-dose naltrexone. She started me on a very low-dose, which gave me immense pain,. Then I cut it in half, still having immense pain. Has anyone had a chance to try LDN?
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If the medication is giving you pain, I suggest that you stop taking it. Everyone is different, and even if it works for some people that doesn't mean it will work for all.
 
Gracey said:
I was diagnosed at age 52. I’m now 77. Are there any members out there who are over 70? My symptoms seem to be getting worse but no research that I’ve found supports that possibility. I’m wondering if symptoms are worse because of natural degeneration with age.
Click to expand...
I was diagnosed at my peak aged 32. I'm now 61. I have felt age 95 for the last 10 years to which the electronics agree that I am physically 95. I have wasted away. Grown Fat! Had an ugly attitude until I met a Jehovah's Witness. Since then I realised it's all my fault. Moving forward I found God Jehovah was my only salvation. Thanks to God I'm still here doing his work. There is an out!
 

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