Fibromyalgia Community

Hello and welcome.....MiMi in NC....well, to begin with....I think almost anything is possible these days...so yes...you might have met up with the wrath of the dragon, aka FM....
problem with sleeping and lying on bed....perhaps you might want to invest in a mattress topper....get a thick one...and I will tell you this much....they are not that easy to get use to....my DH hated it when we got one...but he has gotten use to it....I have to sleep in a recliner with pillows myself...but I continue to try the bed every now and then....

I do think that there are a lot more men who have FM....than what is reported....and I think this is due to a man thing....men do not want to admit that they have problems....and I do not think men go to doctors unless they are really sick....so sick that they no longer have a choice...

There are all sorts of health issues that you could have.....besides FM...but you have to actuallly see a doctor to know for sure....there are all kinds of good "tools and tips" though that you might try, if you are not able to see a doctor...that might help you cope better...

You can learn a lot about FM....and things that might work for you....the more you know...the better you cope...or this has been my case....it is a very mean and ugly illness....and very hard to deal with each and every day....having pain issues every day is not a pleasant thing for anyone....

I do hope that you will check out the info under "TIPS" AND "RESOURCES" to the right of this page....I am sure that you will find some things that perhaps you have not thought of trying...we are all different...so what works for one may or may not work for another....you should allow at least 6-8 weeks though of whatever you decide to try...before you decide as to whether or not it is helping you...there are no quick fixes that I know of...

Learning how to pace, pace and pace....might help you some....but if you are a carpenter....I do not know if this is an option for you....pushing one's self is not good for us FMers...

I am one of the FMers here who has learned how to "control my FM pain by taking vitamins and supplements"...I started out trying different kinds of medicines....but did not find anything that really helped me without causing side effects....and I did not need anything else to deal with....I do take Pristiq for depression daily....but this is the only prescription that I take....I also use other things which help me too....

I am now taking Fibro Response instead of magnesium and malate....(this is still in the early stages for me)...Vitamin D supplement, Omegas, Super B Complex and Calcium...plus others...as I do have other health issues....but these are the ones which help my FM pain the most...I also try to eat right and drink plenty of water....I think this is really very important also....(water is about 98% of water I drink)...

I take a hot shower at night using lavender bath salts which help my body to relax so that I can sleep....soaking your feet also can help....I use heating pad when needed and I also use Stopain Spray as needed...(found at walmart) ...do gentle stretching and exercises....

I hope that you will post often....and we do have a few men here who post every now and then...and we are also blessed to have Dr. P....(see upper right hand corner for more info)...he truly understands what each of us are faced with each and every day....he shares his knowledge and his humor with us...
We also have Dr. Margaret too...so we are blessed twice...

Learn all you can.....as I am sure you will find something that will help you cope better...

Take care and good luck....

MiMi

Wow, i get on a forum or 2 once in a while... Never, ever have i gotten a more personal and such descript reply!! i understand everyones time is both valuable and limited these days... I do sincerely appreciate your reply. Sometimes it is just nice for some one to take a minute to listen and do a little give and take. I am so glad this is the first thing i was welcomed with this morning. I believe your post will start this day off for me on a more"lifted" noted.,, Thank you!

I will be doing more research. I will be reading til my eyes hurt too, why not? everything else does!

I know i need more water. I know i need to quit smoking. I know my diet is crap. I might also add i am cursed by an addiction to sweet tea! A gallon of Milo's a day... minimum.... if you have never had it... it is yummy.... but a gallon a day is a bit much. 5 years now.... way too much sugar consumption. But other than that handful of things... i really dont have any bad habbits.

I hear you on the lavender bath soak at night.... it has certainly helped sooth me when i was using that. I do alot of epsom salt soaks when i cant bare it at al anymore. I find a hot tub really doesnt give me any long term relief... but immediate relief is better than none at all. i see my self getting more angry as the years go by.... i have quit going to church... i think i just dont feel likepretending that i feel ok... and no one wants to hear what i really want to say when i am asked how you been? "well, everything hurts, i really wish you would come and take care of my yard for me and some projects i started but just dont feel like finishing..." (Smile)

I go bouts where i feel really good too. I am not a doom and gloom kinda guy. I have good times too. They aree fewer and farther Between than the tuff days now tho it seems. I have to stop picturing my self in 10 years laid up in a wheel chair and writhing iin pain... But that's how i feel it will turn out most days. I amy only have a few good yrs left. I need to make some decisions and get the best out of them.

I find helping others always makes me feel better. i am guilty of using other people to make myself feel better you could say! I do get alot of satisfaction out of helping other people. i am a carpenter of 20 yrs... roofing, siding, everything home except masonry, ele, and hvac. If you need advice... holler at me. I will tell you straight, what some contractors dont dare admit.

Anyhow... Be blessed, be safe, most of all be kind to others... you never know what demon haunts them... I think most people are good... The angry ones just dont have a good friend to tell them what a butthead they are.

Hi, I know what you mean about not having insurance. I started a new job back in July and the insurance is so expensive and doesn't cover my prescriptions, so I didn't sign up for it.

You might want to try a heating pad if you haven't already. That soothes my muscles somewhat. I can't take hot baths anymore because it hurts too much to get in and out of the tub. So I'm stuck with taking showers.

Trying to sleep is the worst part, but you might want to try Benadryl or other over the counter stuff if sleeping is a problem. Benadryl does nothing for me anymore, but I have some prescriptions for pain that I've been using up my little bit of savings to buy each month. So yeah, being without insurance is the pits!

I hope you'll find a lot of useful suggestions here that will help you. I'm praying you have a good day today.

Linda

I have had fibro since 19 I am 48 now & this is what has helped me. I am also one tough cookie just like you & a women. I just refuse to let it beat me.
If you do truly have Fibromyalgia Alcohol causes flare ups not when you drink it is a residual effect within the next 24 to 48 hours. Energy drinks will make you ache also. Stretching works lots, in this case no pain no gain. Quit eating artificial ingredients, preservatives or dyes. No fatty foods this means you just took all the fast food restaurants off your plate. reduce or remove sugar. I have found allotting myself a small nap mid day helps the fog & fatigue. About 1 hour to 2 hours works. Remove the nightshade vegetables like tomatoes & peppers. go out of your way to find laughter & have fun. Upset causes flare ups just like stress.
As for the pain, I take Tramadol, I found my best treatment has come out of a community clinic. Why? because like you & so many of us, no insurance, ER s are expensive & the doctor always starts from scratch. At a community Clinic you may be very surprised by the fact the doctor will actually have heard this from other patients. Most people see an arthritis specialist, I have & been to the ER & had an internalist, a pain specialist, an arthritis specialist, family doctor, & a neurologist as well as a gynecologist who thought it was hormones. Obviously he is wrong, you are suffering & do not have problems with female hormones. My current doctor is through the community clinic here we call Fetter.

How about contacting your city or state for health care? As another was saying, a clinic can diagnose and treat you. Since you have a family history of RA, I would ask the clinic to test you for that as the symptoms can be a lot like those of FM. Do you have any swollen toes, finger joints, wrists or ankles? Red and puffy? That might point toward RA. There are some medicines for that which are older and less expensive. There are also clinical trials that give the newer medicines for free, if you qualify.

If you can get a prescription for Tramadol at the clinic, you might find it very helpful for your body aches, and a whole lot easier on your stomach than ibuprofen. It can be very affordable at the warehouse type pharmacies, without insurance. Many of us with FM find it very helpful, even at low doses a couple times a day. I take it before yard work, or errands, etc.

I appreciate your offer to advise about house repairs! We are diy'ers and sometimes get puzzled over a project, LOL.

Be careful climbing those ladders! They kill my feet. A nice hot foot soak at the end of the day might be in order. Take care, and don't push too hard, but keep on keeping on...

Hi and Welcome. the first thing I'm going to suggest is go see your mom's doctor. The one who treats her for her Fibermyalgia. Get the exam and have him do a Vit D level check at the same time. And when the results are in go from there.

I have had the fibro DX for over 30 years and and my mother surely had fibro as did her mother and her mother. So although I am a female I can tell you that if your mom has it there is the chance she has passed a predisposition of Fibermyalgia onto you. ;( Sorry to say.

I wish Jim or John ( if your on board please post a reply here ) were on the board more often as they'd be the one's you'd more than likely want to hear from and talk with. But each has been missing or on now and again for a bit of time now. And we miss um I' can tell ya that.

First of all I can tell you that I too was a pretty busy and tough girl and when I started to feel flu like, tired and achy a lot I knew I had a problem. I also had balance and hearing issues so all of them just dropped me to my knees and I went into a depression that lasted 6 months... but with help from my friends in collage I got up off the couch and just went back to my life.. changed, but still MY LIFE?

And NO ONE except maybe your mom is going to understand how you are feeling. You can't teach a blind man to see the color red and you can't explain fibermyalgia to someone who doesn't have it. And knowing that it's just easier to beg off with I've got the flu.. now that they all understand.

Hi4baron,
You are a strong man, without a doubt to go for all those years without help.
I don't know if you have fm , it sounds like it, but it also sounds like other illnesses.
My only advice is to find a free clinic since you have no insurance. Sometimes your local hospital has one.
RA runs in families as does fm.
Free clinics also provide medicine usually for those uninsured, or know who can help with getting meds.
I have fm and arthritis. It's not uncommon.
For now , make sure you eat a meal before taking the ibu. You are right in it being hard on the stomach.
Best wishes.
Mary

I havent had much time to research, but am doing my best to peek online everychance i get. There are so many illnesses that have exactly the same symptoms. Even intestinal parasites has nearly all the sympts. This is makin me nuts. I could have a billion things wrong with me!@!!! AHHHHHH!

All i can say is that chronic pain messes with your mind. Destroys your focus and makes you feel like a caged animal. Headaches started in a few days ago... this is new. I get 2 -3 a year that are worth noticing. I have had one nearly every day for several days now.

I have bouts where i feel invincible!!! Yesterday is a great example.... i cut a tree off a friends garage/ barn and this sucker was huge. I have learned what i can and cant do and ways to accomplish the same result with out all the brawn... still i had to make that ugly face and lift a few heavy logs. I was teribly stiff and cramping last night but i tell ya... it felt good.... mentally it felt good to know i wasnt down and out... not yet. there's still a little fight left in this old man. So long as God allows me to get up and do... i will continue to do my very best to suprise even him. I need you to picture Me and God quitely passing a wink back and forth.

Kneeling at the alter at church is very dear to me. It is a new thing since i have never been the type to be up front in anything. I started shortly after my wife was saved. the preacher where we go to church made available a moment to come kneel at the alter before service on day.... it has felt so natural ever since.

There is something you cant get anywhere else... No place other than your knees. yeah they hurt. That's the whole part of it for me that makes me want to do it. God, so long as i can get up and down, as long as you allow me, i will kneel and thank you, no matter the pain. Thank you God for the work that made me sore. For the chance to provide for my family. I only ask lord that you keep me in good enough shape to be able to continue to provide. Thank you Lord.

One last thing... when all else fails... life sucks and wont let up... forget it for a few hours.... it will all still be there when you get back from your half day vacation...stop everything you are doing for yourself.... and just do for others. Some simple thing, nothing too in depth, just simple and somewhat quick, or waht ever works for you... With no expectations from them... Not for money, not for thanks.... do it secretly if at all possible. If they must know about it... if they ask to repay you, refuse. if you believe in God, if you feel that God was in it (and OH How he is) tell them it is your blessing from God to be able to do for them.

In and of itself... it is a selfish act to use this to forget your own problems... but God has always Blessed me for it. Sometimes what i felt were crazy problems... just dissolved when i found the time to worry about my self again. I have yet to ask God to take my pain away. I might someday, but for now, i choose to live with it, it's a demon i can fight daily... i hate to imagine living with the hardships others face. Again... Lord, Thank you for the hardships i have, i know Lord i could have so many more... Thank You.