Fibermialga sickness (spelling?)

by Nowman 34 Replies latest jw friends

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  Nowman

  Hi, I was wondering if anyone on the board is familiar with this. My father in law seems to have this. Hes 57 years old and alot of the family thinks hes just a dead beat but some of us know he is really sick. Hes in pain all day, which causes him to sleep all day. He also has seen other doctors and has been told he may have depression of some sort. He gets disablity pay only, $1200 per month. The last couple of days, his immediate family has been pretty hard on him. Is there a way to help him? Can someome who has fibermialga get the necessary meds (?) to make him feel better? Hes a very stuborn man and it does appear that he thinks its everyones elses fault that he has the problems he has etc, but this could just be the sickness talking. I want to help him, I want him to have a zest for life, does anyone have advice. I appreciate your help in advance.

  Nikki
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  lovelylil

  Hi,

  I have that it is called Fibromyalgia. Very bad illness. Been disabled for 8 years. If you have any Q's, I will be glad to help. Lilly
• 

  Nowman

  Hi Lilly.

  So do you take something to make you feel better. Are you able to work? I guess I want to lead my father-in-law in the right direction. How do you cope? Any help would be apprecaited.

  Thanks again, Nikki
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  lovelylil

  By the way, the illness is caused by a chemical imbalance much the same way that depression is. Antidepressents do help a lot. The symptoms are muscle and joint pain through out the body. Ususually in many areas at once. Swelling in the joints. Migraine headaches, fatigue, blurred vision, numbness in hands and feet, balance problems. Many of these will occur at the same time. And you do get depressed from this illness too.

  He would have to see a dr. to get a diagnosis and if he has the symptoms they will do a MRI to make sure it is not MS. This is a chronic illness and there is no cure. You can have bad flare ups where you wish you were dead because of the pain but other times feel fine.

  Anti inflamatories help like alleve, ibruprophen, etc. Stress will make it worse. Some people have had good success by getting lots of rest, meditating, warm showers, and by increasing their Potassium, Magnesium and Co engzime Q10.

  I've had a hard time the last few weeks and have been home bound but before that I had a great 3 months with no symptoms at all. I think it is the stress of selling my home and moving my sister up here.
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  smellsgood

  I don't have this, but I know those that do. A great resource for information, is pro-health, who are also a great source for vitamins that have been shown to help.
  
  http://www.prohealth.com/
  
  its unfortunate that he has to be judged as a dead beat. Like anyone would choose to sleep all day and want to feign pain for a sad little excuse. Please, those who I know who have come down with this were people who were driven, on the move, type-a, and the antithesis of laziness. The fact that they are now unable to do what they used to is completely infuriating for them.
  
  smellsgood
• 

  lovelylil

  Nikki,

  I have not been able to work steady for over five years. I am a nursing assistant and only work per diem at this time. Its because I am a really unreliable employee. I never know when I will wake up in pain and not be able to get out of bed. I get migraines that last for weeks on end and the pain meds help but never take them completely away. I can't lift anything heavy due to weak muscles in my arms, I have balance problems and cannot drive far due to vertigo which is one symptom I get. This illness is slightly different from one person to the next.

  Extreme heat or cold can trigger it, also lack of sleep, stress, weather changes, among other things. Some people have been able to work but usually part time UNLESS the illness goes into remission as it sometimes does. I had a good two years in remission but it came back a few years ago.

  Also, a high protein diet, low in carbs will help too. Lilly
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  lovelylil

  By the way, It took over three years for me to be diagnosed. My regular dr. thought I had a mental illness and was pretending to be in pain. I changed Drs. and then was given the right diagnosis. I had no support in my KH at all. Many days I could not even get out of bed to care for my two kids and my hubby was a MS and insisted on being at every meeting thus leaving me alone. It was a living HELL, and I will never forget it. I really feel bad for others who are going thru it. Most people do not understand this illness because you LOOK fine on the outside and thus they think you should FEEL fine.

  If I had a dollar for every time a well meaning person said, "you look really good", I would be rich. Meanwhile I would sit and cry in the kh in pain through out my entire body.
• 

  Nowman

  Thanks so much Lilly. Your information is so appreciated. I am thinking how I can help more, this is start.

  Best to you Lilly...Nikki
• 

  Frannie Banannie

  Nikki, my daughter is diagnosed with fibromyalgia just this year. I sent her an email with the link to your post. Hopefully, she can help you with her experiences.

  There's an online pharmacy (overseas) that dispenses meds without a prescription (even though they may have it posted that a scrip is required), so if they have what he needs, you can get it for him. It's called Medicapharma. I've used it and found them to be very reliable. Just "google" Medicapharma.

  My best to you!

  Frannie
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  Forscher

  My wife was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia better than ten years ago.
  Generally it is the diagnosis given when a Rheumatologist can't neatly pigeon-hole a patient. The symptoms are common to many autoimmune disorders and in the case of the myalgiac are not specific enough for any particular disorder.
  The treatment is usually with anti-inflammatory medications and a wait and see attitude. What the Rheumatologist does is to wait and hope that something more diagnostic of something else will appear so that he/she can develope a better treatment plan. In my wife's case, the doc thought she really had Lupus Erythematosis, but the LE marker wasn't present so he fell back on the Fibromyalgia diagnosis and proceded accordingly. She decided to get on with life instead of waiting around and has picked up three Associate degrees since then and is now working on her Bachelor's.
  Yes, its been a challenge for her so far, the pain can be very debilitating as one person mentioned, but she is enjoying her life despite the problems. So there is hope for Fibromyalgiacs!
  Forscher