what in the world has happened to me?

[nikki]

Hello there! my name is Nikki and I am brand new to this site. I was diagnosed with Fibro in April. In October I noticed this spot on my arm that turned into a hive and spread all of the way down my arm and turned into this huge bubble at my wrist. it was horrifying! I was diagnosed and treated for shingle though I believe I never had shingles... it wasn't painful at all! But, then came the body aches, the light sensitivity, the ear ringing, the confusion, sleepless nights and sleeping all day, weakness, tremors, and this feeling like my bones were buzzing.. I know that's nuts, but that's exactly what it felt like! after a complete blood work up, mri, testing for lupus, RA, etc... The doctors finally diagnosed me with Fibro.. it's been 8 months now and not a OUNCE easier to deal with. I find that the heating pad is my friend.. I stay on top of my pain meds, and love my lavender Epsom salt baths. I try to exercise the best of my ability.. it hurts to exercise but hurts worse NOT to... feeling very lonely and frustrated. I have two boys and one who has Autism... Fighting a serious balance here! any advice?

 

[1sweed]

Nikki, First off welcome to the forum. The best advice I can give you is to read through this forum and learn coping skills and ways other folks deal with their symptoms. Fibro has so many different symptoms and most of them are weird off the wall stuff that are hard for anyone to understand let alone explain to others. Some people will think your faking, others will think your lazy, but with any luck most will be supportive and believe you. That is what makes this forum so special. We are all going through the same things and thus can offer support and understanding, and answers to most any question you need to ask.

So start posting your questions and get to know others on the forum. I hope the hints and ideas you find here will help you physically and mentally, to deal with your fibro. See you around the forum.

 

[nikki]

Thank you so much for acknowledging my post I appreciated it this morning! I am kind of "technically challenged" so this site is interesting for me to figure out.. lol! i'm going to ask about pain management. there are so many people out there that are not using the BIG GUN medications and i'm not sure how they are functioning.. I ask because I am prescribed some pretty heavy duty meds such as Percocet / Oxycodone.. YUCK! i'm sure my liver and kidneys are just loving every minute of it! But, hey! you do what you gotta do... I just am focusing on as many holistic forms of pain intervention that I can possibly come up with... Please do offer your advice for sure in that department Also, the past few days I have FINALLY started to cry about it.. I never ever cry! Clearly, it needs to come out.... how did you finally receive your diagnosis?

 

[MassageGnome]

Nikki, this is my first day on here too. Those are all coping things for me as well. You are lucky. My doctors gave me tramadol for pain and it did nothing so I asked for an alternative, they gave me gabapentin which also did nothing so now I get nothing. Well nothing but burning pain that runs up and down my legs at night. It is always worse if I have been exercising that day or on my feet a lot. It also makes it hard for me to think after a lot of exercise. That is when Fibrofog is at its worst. I have a 6 year old with 11 food allergies and he gets pneumonia and lung sicknesses chronic. My 11 year old helps out a lot and I feel that it puts stress on her that most kids don't have to deal with and my husband is very understanding. Good luck to you. I never used to cry either but now I can't seem to stop. I cry over the dumbest things even tv shows.

 

[1sweed]

There is a section here on the forum that relates with alternative healthcare choices. I have used ginger root capsules which help some in relieving pain. Another thing you can try is getting a fiber or feather mattress pad that lays on top of your regular mattress. The 3 inch thick ones are the best. They come in all sizes for different beds. What is great about them is they cushion your body and you will feel like your sleeping on a cloud. This improves your sleep pattern and helps your body to relax. More and better sleep improves the symptoms of fibro.

Other people have talked about other things in the alternate treatments that I have not done on a regular basis and so can not say if it works or not. Soaking in a tub of warm water with epson salts dissolved in it helps relax muscles. Trying to cut down on your daily stress is also good.
Try reading a good book or hobbies, talking with friends or watching movies. Don't try to be the best of everything, just try and relax as much as possible. Do things on good days and rest on the days that are painful.

If you read more here you will find lots of good ideas. Hope this helps you.

 

[nikki]

So nice to hear from you I feel so bad for you that your doctor will not consider other forms of medical treatment for your pain! Like I said, I absolutely CRINGE taking pain meds.. I do NOT want to do it long term, I just haven't found another medication or combination of medicines that truly give me relief. My lavender baths, relaxation. acupressure, physical therapy are all things that do help with the pain, but definitely don't give me the relief that I need to properly function. There are other medications prescribed to help such as Cymbalta, Lyrica or Savella.. Look into those meds! A lot of people RAVE about how much their lives have changed from it!

 

[nikki]

Ginger root capsules! who knew! that is really interesting and something that i'm definitely going to look into! thank you.... I have a big mattress topper and it is my best friend (besides my heating pad)! it does make all of the difference in the world! I don't think I mentioned my acupressure mat I bought on amazon.. it's called bed of nails and it is every bit of AMAZING! check it out! was a little uncomfortable to get used to, but worth every red cent to purchase it!

 

[1sweed]

Glad to hear you have a mattress topper. I think it was the best money I ever spent since getting fibro. From your list I see you and I share a lot of the same home remidies. I take over the counter medication that works for me as I am allergic to the ones you mentioned. But when I was able to cut the amount of stress in my life to less than half of what it used to be, many symptoms improved. Take time to read the sections I mentioned and hope you feel better soon.