Saturday, April 24, 2004
Fibromyalgia "anniversary"....
Four years ago today, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. At that point, I had been sick for a little over three years and had been told everything from MS to lupus to psychosomatic illness. I had seen neurologists and shrinks, but none of them ever suspected fibromyalgia. Even the primary care doc who sent me to the rheumatologist was stumped.
When the rheumatologist came into the room during my first appointment with him, he did the tender point test right away. Wouldn't you know I had all 18 of the derned things, and the area at the base of my collar bone was so sensitive that it hurt for two weeks after he pressed it. I had to ask him what fibromyalgia was, and I got a very vague answer in reply. I asked what I could do about it and the answer was, "very little". He prescribed Trazodone and an anti-inflammatory (which didn't work), handed me a small pamphlet from the Arthritis Foundation, and sent me on my merry way.
What a difference four years makes! Now I probably know almost as much as a rheumatologist does. There is so much more to this illness than was contained in that little pamphlet, which focused mainly on attitude, exercise and anti-depressants. I had no interest in researching chronic illness before I got sick....now I am surrounded by books on managing fibromyalgia, and my web browser has dozens of health and medical links bookmarked. Since diagnosis, I have lost over 50 pounds, have learned to eat and take supplements for maximum nutrition, have made great strides in improving my sleep troubles, have learned not to stress over unimportant things, and have even found an emergency pain medication that I can tolerate. Best of all, I can give and receive encouragement, both in person at my local support group and online at Fibrougs.com.
I am trying to remind myself lately that I HAVE made progress, no matter how awful I feel right now. Such things help in times when it feels like I am swimming against the tide. I don't ALWAYS dog-paddle in circles.
Pain level: 5
Fatigue level: 9
When the rheumatologist came into the room during my first appointment with him, he did the tender point test right away. Wouldn't you know I had all 18 of the derned things, and the area at the base of my collar bone was so sensitive that it hurt for two weeks after he pressed it. I had to ask him what fibromyalgia was, and I got a very vague answer in reply. I asked what I could do about it and the answer was, "very little". He prescribed Trazodone and an anti-inflammatory (which didn't work), handed me a small pamphlet from the Arthritis Foundation, and sent me on my merry way.
What a difference four years makes! Now I probably know almost as much as a rheumatologist does. There is so much more to this illness than was contained in that little pamphlet, which focused mainly on attitude, exercise and anti-depressants. I had no interest in researching chronic illness before I got sick....now I am surrounded by books on managing fibromyalgia, and my web browser has dozens of health and medical links bookmarked. Since diagnosis, I have lost over 50 pounds, have learned to eat and take supplements for maximum nutrition, have made great strides in improving my sleep troubles, have learned not to stress over unimportant things, and have even found an emergency pain medication that I can tolerate. Best of all, I can give and receive encouragement, both in person at my local support group and online at Fibrougs.com.
I am trying to remind myself lately that I HAVE made progress, no matter how awful I feel right now. Such things help in times when it feels like I am swimming against the tide. I don't ALWAYS dog-paddle in circles.
Pain level: 5
Fatigue level: 9
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