Thanks Frannie! Wonderful.
I really appreciate it.
Nikki
Fibermialga sickness (spelling?)
by Nowman 34 Replies latest jw friends
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damselfly
Gentle exercise helps to keep the flareups away. Very important to follow an anti-inflammatory diet. Also get extensive allergy testing done.
I would be very wary about ordering meds over the internet WITHOUT a presciption. you need to work with his MD to make sure he gets what HE needs not what worked for someone else. Plus think of any possible interactions between any medication he is on now.
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Nowman
Hi Forscher,
I appreciate your comments. Sounds like your wife has a positive attitude. As for my father in law....
See, hes kind of created and bed for himself and he has to sleep in it too. Married my mom in law, got divorced. Remarried a 2nd time, got divorced. Then he moved up by us and now lives as a roomate with my mom in law. He started dating a woman, they have now broken up after a year because he thinks hes a dead beat. Well, perhaps he expects that she help him with money...maybe thats wrong. In his mind, he thinks its acceptable. Now, his dad and several people in the family are involved. Its gotten to be this scandelous thing. Yet, for me, I just want him to feel better, and perhaps if he did, he would have a new zest for life. But, he does not seem to listen to anyone, yet I have never really told him what to do or given him advice (well, if he asks, I will give him my opinion) on this sickness. Hes in bed all day, and wakes up around 3-4:00. My husband and I are on a bowling league with him. The others in the family think, well why does he feel OK to bowl every Tues night? Yet, he is pain alot when he bowls but hes trys to be dependable because its a commitment, they do not understand that. So, if my husband and I treat him respect, there are people in the family that can't stand this. Yet, others just continue to make him feel bad about himself, and I do not think thats going to help him.
My father in law is a good man but hes never really had direction. Somehow I am going to try to help him out with or without the other support from his actual children. Maybe it will make a difference, maybe it won't. We will see.
Thanks again everyone...Nikki
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BrendaCloutier
I have FibroMyalgia. FMS for short. many have probably also heard of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - this is the flip side of the illness. That always tired, sometimes the brain is fine and the body is a lump that had a difficult time moving because of muscle fatigue. Sometimes the body is fine but the brain wont function. A real pain in the arse and everywhere else! I was diagnosed 10 years ago after dealing with what others have said: Oh you're just depressed - well duh!, it's in your head! There's nothing wrong with you. etc.
I just won my Social Security Disability last October - what a relief! I couldn't even handle 15 hours a week of sitting as a secretary!
I've also been on just about everything out there except narcotic pain meds. the narcotic pain meds can help periodically, but the are highly addictive and easy to build up a tollerance to - that is why so many people with FMS end up on Morphine!
THE two drugs that have helped me the most are Effexor XR - a time released antidepressand (seratonin reuptake and ephinephren reuptake inhibitors) and Klonapin for the restlessness and body jumpies I get at night that preclude a good night's sleep. But I have built up a tolerance to the Klonapin(relative of valium).
I am also on the Medical Marijuana program in Oregon where it's medically legal. I have had the MOST relieve with the least side effects from MMJ than any other drug or potion I've taken. It works with seratonin and dopamine. Some of the canabanoids are highly anti-inflamatory. Others work as muscle relaxers.
I have clinical proof that MMJ is working for me: a year ago I had my annual blood work done, and I still had elevated platelet count, elevated sed rate and a couple other elevated chemicals... all pointing toward inflamation that my Rheumatologist and I could not locate. I've had these elevations in my blood work since 1996! 10 years of information.
This year, my blood work was normal across the board! No inflamation showing up at all! And over the years I had been on Nsaids (Non-steroidal antiinflamtories) like Relafen, Naproxen, Celebrex, etc., with minimal results. Even steroids, with no results.
MMJ is NOT a cureall majik bullet. But it has provided me with the most relief for my symptoms.
I take 3 activated capsules of herb at night when I go to bed. Then I inhale some for immediate relaxation in bed (I use a vaporizor so the material never burns). I seldom take any during the day unless I'm in a a lot of pain and I'm not going anywhere. Even out and about I'll take a couple drops of extract which will ameliorate the pain without the stoney side effects.
I have to grow my own and I make my own capsules and extracts.
And MJ is NOT deadly. Viagra has more deaths associated with it than MJ does! (2,290 to 0)
NOW besides the points above, I do not recommend breaking the laws in your area. If you live in an MMJ state, get legal. If you do not live in an MMJ state, make it legal!
<putting away soapbox>
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BrendaCloutier
Oh, and FMS is not just a chemical imblance. The pain center in the brain is out of whack and sends out pain signals that don't exist. It's similar in many ways to phantom limb pain syndrome in amputees where they still fee pain in a limb that doesn't exist.
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daniel-p
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.
This is because fibromyalgia and CFS resemble in many cases somatoform disorders, which are psychiatric in nature. Mis-diagnoses are common between these disorders. However, I seen several people over the years diagnose themselves and run into a lot of problems by subconsiously avoiding treatment that would have helped them, thinking that if it is not entirely physical, it must not be legitimate.
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Nowman
Brenda and everyone else, thanks again and again.
We are in Illinois so its not legal here yet but my dad in law smokes everyday and he also says it makes him feel the best. Yet, he has smoked regularly all his life.
I am collecting all this information, I have learned so much already...
Nikki
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lovelylil
Brenda,
I have the chronic fatigue also. I have a hard time working too but thank goodness my hubby makes a really great income. I don't want to go on disability because if something happened to my hubby I will inherit a lot of money. And I already checked into it that if I get this money, the disability agency will require me to give it away or pay some to them. You can only have a limited amount of money in the bank also. This will make a problem for us so since I don't really need it anyway, I just leave it alone so someone who does need the support can use it.
I was very healthy until I started getting strange pain symptoms in different areas of my body. Prior to that, about a year, I had an illness I could not get rid of. The Dr. said it was the Epstein Barr Virus. I had a cough and fever and felt "achy" for about 2 months then it went away. Within a few months, the fms symptoms started. Did you have anything like this?
Vitamins helps me and rest. Right now I am in a bad spell but know it will pass sooon, it always does. I will never be able to work like I did in the past anymore though because it is a life-long illness. I know some who have less symptoms then I do, some have more. Everyone is different.
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meems1000
Nikki, I also have it. it took years and years and many tests to figure out what was wrong with me. i agree with the moderate exercise and vitamins. very very necessary. i have a sports massage person who i see once a month to help with the pain. that is a relief for a while after seeing him. i would recommend the massage for anyone who has it, however, make sure it's someone who like my guy, is a sports therapist and believes this condition exists. many doctors don't acknowledge fibromyalgia. unfortunately, i have to work full time as i am a single mom of two sons. there are days i can barely get to my office. anti-depressants do also help. there are some books that help deal with this problem. diet is a very big factor in treating this also.
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BrendaCloutier
I was very healthy until I started getting strange pain symptoms in different areas of my body. Prior to that, about a year, I had an illness I could not get rid of. The Dr. said it was the Epstein Barr Virus. I had a cough and fever and felt "achy" for about 2 months then it went away. Within a few months, the fms symptoms started. Did you have anything like this?
Yes! I was tired for years. Then I had a bout of migrating symptoms bronchitis, sore throat, sinisitis, aches and pains, swelling, low grade fever, etc., for 2 or 3 months. Common with all of this was extreme fatigue. The doc-in-a-box was stumped until I asked if I might have Mono (Epstien Barr). They concured it probably was after looking it up in their medical manuals.... never had a blood test to check for sure. That was the start for me. I doubt it was my first case of Mono, probably a flareup of the virus. That was fall 1992. I got better but was still always fatigued. In Feb 1996 I collapsed and couldn't get out of bed. I don't recall pain, I just recall being sooooo tired that I couldn't function.
Nowman, I understand your fa-in-law feeling like a ne'r-do-well because he can't work. I had a lot of issues to address and get over when I was no longer able to work. Our society hangs a lot of our self-esteem by our careers and our income. And since I developed my career in computers after being a H.S. pull-out (1973 time to pioneer), I was really proud of myself and my accomplishments. I was still young and it was extremely frustrating to no longer have the energy and the thinking capacity that I used to have!
It's similar to a person who dedicated themselves to their work and retire and suddenly find themselves without the esteem of the career, and without interests or hobbies outside of work.