Comments on: Fibromyalgia: A Chronic Pain Syndrome That Affects Six Million American People

By: Elle

Elle — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:51:48 +0000

I’ve just completed reading the comments from everyone. True, Bob doesn’t have a clue. I empathize with each and eveyone of you. I was diagnosed with fibro last year and attribute the onset from a demanding career, taking care of family needs (elderly parents & a son that just can’t seem to get it together), major surgery ‘06 and minor knee surgery ‘07. Throw in major depression the end of ‘06 that put me on disability and here I am today in a place I never thought I’d be. I’m the “strong one in the family” and this wasn’t supposed to happen. My dreams of doing things upon early retirement have been shattered. Instead of being able to continue in a lucrative career and save money to retire early, which would have happened in 2010, I am now on permanent disability. If there’s a side effect to a drug I will have it. I did find from reading comments on different websites that Ultram was a lifesaver for many. I checked side effects and had my reumatologist prescribe it. It has indeed helped with the pain intensity. I generally take 1-2 each morning (50 mg ea) to stop the onset of pain worsening; 10 mg Ambien at bedtime for sleep; supplements and fish oil – 2, 3x’s day, and Valium as needed. Acupuncture is helpful, but temporary. Low dose steroid injections help with neck, shoulders & back for several weeks. The heating pad is my friend. You take one day at a time, stay informed on treatments & new drugs, try & do whatever works for you, and believe that ‘this too shall pass’.

By: ruby

ruby — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 09:42:46 +0000

I have suffered more with extreme tenderness rather than pain. My Mother and brother both had the same symtoms, along with muscle spasms.Mine started after an auto accident that caused spinal cord edema. The one thing that has helped the most is adrenal gland boosters.I find the tiredness more disturbing than the pain.I do worry about becoming depressed, because I never speak of my symptoms, because when I did, everyone treated me as a hypochondriac, including my surgeon husband. So I push myself everyday, but am becoming so exhausted I can scarcely function.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:25:38 +0000

I have suffered from fibromyalgia for years without knowing what it was until recently. I too have pain every day of my life. I’ve been to many doctors who keep referring me for more tests and nothing ever shows up. I was wondering if any other women who have fibro also suffer from vulvadynia. This started for me a few years after the fibro. I have suffered with both of these diseases for the past 3 years and both have wreaked havoc on my marriage. Like many of you, I do a variety of things to help manage the pain but it never totally leaves.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:15:21 +0000

I’ve been diagnosed with fibromyalgia after I went to a massage therapist at the age of 18 and was taken to the Emergeny Room. The pain has been incredibly intense everyday for the last four years. As a pre-med student, I can say that it is as real as it gets. I don’t act like a 22 year old whatsoever… I can’t. Because of my age, many have told me it’s all in my head. (To Bob: I’m not post-menopausal and I don’t drink/use drugs ever. I’ve been an athlete my entire life with a good diet.) I’ve seen every kind of doctor, chiropractors, and done physical therapy. My rheumatologist is currently treating my condition with Nortriptyline. Voltaren Gel seems to really help, as well. I’ve tried Lyrica but it made me extremely sick. Sadly, nothing has taken the pain away completely.

To those out there with fibromyalgia, try to deal with it the best you can. Make an incentive to not miss out on spending time with your family. When you’re in constant pain, it’s not an easy task. And to those out there who think it’s merely a psychological disease, I really hope that chronic pain doesn’t affect you or the people you care about.

To those out there with fibromyalgia:

By: Rosie

Rosie — Sat, 23 May 2009 01:41:54 +0000

Hello everyone, I have suffered with fibromyalgia for 16 years now. Days that are really bad and days that I can tolerate the pain. I hate when it’s time to go to bed because I know that I won’t sleep. I, like everyone else was told that it was all in my head. I have learned to deal with it. I get up in the morning (Not wanting to) feeling like a truck hit me. I force myself to get up, go to work and do the everyday things that I have to do. I can’t afford to lay down and let it consume me. I have 10 wonderful grandchildren that I love to play with and have fun. Trust me I put on my mask and most people never know what I am going thru. It’s hard to explain to people what I go thru when they ask. No one understands. I don’t do drugs, don’t drink, no one in my family has ever had this disease I have not been in any accidents. I do have 2 hernias between the 6 and 7 vertabre on my neck. I have never tried Lyrica due to not having any insurance. When I asked how much it would be self pay I was told that the precription would cost me about 400.00. As time goes by it gets worse. I been living now in florida for 11 years. The cold, the heat, the humidity it all sucks. I have tried accupunture and that became expensive but it really didn’t do much for me. I have tried natural things and some have worked for a little while. Either way this is not going anywhere so instead of letting it rule me I have to be strong and rule it. Mind over matter. Easier said then done. I have tried everything and I am so tired of people saying this is a fictional disease. I been told (oh but you don’t even look sick, you look fine to me) Unless you are going thru it you wouldn’t know how it feels. It’s hard to want to do things with your kids, grandchildren or family and you can’t. After a while you don’t even complain anymore because everyone is tired of listening to you complain about your pain. The pain that they think is all in your head.

By: Margaret Tupper

Margaret Tupper — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:18:58 +0000

We have had the best results with Sea Mussell and Hylaronic Acid with MSM. I find that many cases start with Stress or Grief…in my Mother’s case it was grief…. but also it departed as swiftly as it came after 3 long suffering years.

By: Teri

Teri — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:00:55 +0000

I suffered for several years with debilitating fibromyalgia pain, complete with headaches, fatigue, depression, etc. About 6 months ago, I went to a NUCCA chiropractor for treatment. I am now pain free, off all medication, and feeling like living life again. The treatment is gentle, painless, with zero side effects (and nobody paid me to say that!). I hope this information helps someone else.

By: paula

paula — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:53:53 +0000

Thanks for mentioning Lyme Disease Dawn! Mine was not caught in time and now 20 yrs later after MULTIPLE treatments both Eastern and Western medicine based my symptoms are still nearly as bad as they were when first diagnosed. The fibromyalgia is devastating on many days, I’ve learned to tolerate it on the other days in order to function. And Bob? My diet is great, I barely ever drank (now, maybe a glass of wine a year), didn’t do drugs, and was an athlete. NOBODY wants this – it destroys your life. Right on Rebecca – I can’t count the number of milestone moments that have been missed in the last twenty years. Better days to all . . . cheers

By: Karin

Karin — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:53:52 +0000

Dear Bob,

I am not post menopausal, never been drug and alcohol addicted, eat very healthy, organic foods free of preservatives, and still have fibromyalgia. I was a competitive athlete for years both in the military and outside of it. I have been hit by reckless drivers three times which injured my spine, and had a serious fall on wet waxed floors which set of four major surgeries. I have had ten surgeries from the age of 32 – 42 to fix my injuries and of course, at 44 with all of the injuries I have arthritis. When they told me that I have fibromyalgia I feel like this is not surprising with all of the pain and surgeries I have had. I never even took an aspirin until I had my first injury. Ironically, when I get my blood work done, they are amazed at how healthy I am otherwise. At 44 I do not even have the start of cataracs or menopause. I believe that if I didn’t eat well and go for walks on the days that I am not in bed from too much pain that I would be way worse off. A person has to learn to work with their disabilities and try their best to get up and get moving. It’s very challenging when you ache all over and I actually have knots the size of a dime or larger in the fibromyalgia stress points. I do believe that fibromyalgia is the brains way of saying, “I’ve had enough trauma and I’m not going to let go of this pain”. A person has to reduce their stress and be good to themselves and stop putting everyone else first and allow time for activities that they enjoy. Too many of us women put all we have into raising out kids, taking care of all of the elderly sick people in our lives and before we know it, our bodies are suffering phsyically and mentally as we are worn out. I have seen many high achievers in the doctor’s offices’ that have fibromyalgia and have worked themselves in the gound until they are ill. I also worked full-time and did college full-time when my youngest was a baby. I went for years without sleep. Sometime in your life this has to catch up to you and it’s important to not give up and keep trying to find natural things that can make you feel better. I have an infra-red sauna which works great especially where I live where it rains much of the time.

By: V.B.

V.B. — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:32:31 +0000

The pain is real but the cause of the pain can be emotional, psychological. I highly suggest reading Dr. John Sarno’s book’s. He has helped millions of people become pain free.