I've been told twice this week that I will be in pain for th

letsdothis2010

First by my primary doctor who diagnosed me with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for the widespread and various pains in my body....

Then today by my orthopedic surgeon who said (long story short) that my painful knees will be messed up for the rest of my life and there's no real way to fix them...

I refuse to accept this.

I understand this sounds unrealistic, but I refuse to allow pain to control me or my life. I've been through a lot and lately the blows just keep coming...but that's okay. I believe in the power of positive thinking, and no one can help me like I can help myself. No one really gave me any real advice to treat myself or what I can expect, but I want to look into alternative treatments, etc (first and foremost losing weight, although the weight didn't cause the knee problems...that's complicated). I'm not allowing myself to think about quite a few things...such as the fact that even if I treat my body like a temple...my knees will probably continue to get progressively worse as I age.

I'm not really sure why I'm posting this...I just kind of need to hear from other people and this is my only real outlet to put stuff out there.

Thanks for any input (and for anyone that has seen the other posts of mine about and listened to me whine, I apologize haha)

nancymmorris

I just want to say that I have a great doctor. He had me cut out all soda and yeast to get rid of the pain in my joints and it worked. I have had no yeast or soda fro 3 months and my knees fell great!! Something to think about Good luck!!

janemartin02

That sucks!Why can`t they do anything to help you.That just doesn`t seem right.I was just told today,i should be positive about things,tend to go the other way.Things worse than they are.
Whine all you want.This is the place to vent.It`s better to talk about it then eat about it.
Wish I had some words of wisdom.I can just listen.
take care
jane:flowerforyou:

peanutrenee

Its good that ur staying pos, thats hard. loosing weight wont fix it but will help out some take some pressure. just try low impact work outs and when your body says stop listen to it.. there is a line between a good hurt and an omg hurt. try swimming or something like that

SMJohnson27

I want to tell you that you are making the best decision, trying to find alternative ways to deal with your pains. I had injured my knees in 2006 and was told that there wasn't really anything they could do but give me pain killers and told me to limit activity. I did take the medicine for a few months. Then I was diagnosed in 2009 with Multiple Sclerosis. I have random pain throughout my body and fatigue. When I expressed concern about being tired, they gave me a steroid, told me to rest alot and limit exhausting activities. And from then on, whenever I mentioned another symptom, another med. I finally became fed up with it. They never once mentioned being 40 pounds overweight, eating extremely unhealthy, and a very inactive lifestyle might have something to do with it. I started looking into how my body works and what foods work best with my body and actually getting alot of exercise. And 20 pounds down, I feel amazing. I rarely have knee aches (maybe once a month and is very minimal), and have not had one symptom of my MS in a month. I would be taking 10 meds and still in constant pain. I think you just have to find out what works best for you and go with it. You know yourself better than any doctor.

eandskp

Hi sweets, first- sorry to hear about your diagnosis but what a great attitude you have about it and that will do you more good than anything else. Second- I would start taking an Omega-3 supplement (Cod liver oil, krill oil, fish oil, etc.). Just make sure that it is a high quality one. Also, I've found that taking MSM along with Vitamin C Ascorbate (purchased from RichDistributing.com) has done wonders for my overall health but especially joints and fatigue. Gluten can cause joint pain so maybe get rid of all grains for a bit to see how that goes. Also, check out these two articles relating to Chronic Fatigue: http://www.draxe.com/asthma-heart-disease-can-begin-in-your-neck/ ; http://www.draxe.com/your-chiropractor-could-be-your-newest-antioxidant/ . I completely feel that many things can be fixed naturally. Take care and give us an update!

Levedi

You absolutely have the right attitude! New research on CFS and pain management is coming out all the time. One of the things people are finding is that attitude helps immensely. People who address their fears and depression, who cultivate a positive outlook do feel less pain and see more progress. Definitely look into alternative treatments and the latests research that your doctor might not be aware of. Your life is not over! This is a set back, not an ending.

Wraiythe

Whine all you want to! We are here to listen! I wish there was something that I could say that would help you but all I can do is listen. But you'd think they'd at least try to help you find a way to deal with it or something! Doctors....meh

knittnponder

That's a bummer to hear! I have fibromyalgia and got to a place of depression over thinking my whole life would be characterized by it so I understand the CF. I personally have found green smoothies to be a life saver and try to have at least one a day. Eating a lot of raw food, getting plenty of Vit. D and magnesium are important for me too. I believe that given the right nutrition, rest and exercise the body can do amazing things to heal itself.

On the knees, I'm waiting for an order for a pair of knee braces I just bought and am ridiculously excited about them! They're Cho-Pat Dual Strap Knee braces (I think that's the name or something very close anyway. If you go to their website they have several different items.) These were recommended by a guy on the Beachbody.com forum when someone was complaining about sore knees. I did a little research into them and have found oodles of people who have had positive experiences with them. I'm really hoping they live up to the hype! I do know the company has a very good reputation and insurance will often cover the prescription of their devices so that says something to me about their effectiveness. Many sports medicine doctors instruct their patients to use them.

I don't know if anything like that would help you but I thought I'd throw it out there.

wanitalilly

Hey there! Sorry to hear about your diagnosis! I wanted to mention Glucosamine Chondroitin. I started taking this suppliment after 2 severe knee injuries because my vet reccommended it for my aging cats! I could tell the difference in my kittys right away. They started playing and going up and down stairs. One cat would not even use the litter box because his joints hurt. After the Glucosamine Chondroitin he had NO problems! My doctor NEVER reccomended the suppliment. Just pain meds...go figure. I have been taking it off and on for a few years now and I highly reccommend it! I have heard some people say that there is no "proof" that it works for joint pain and I am sure there are article to support both sides of the argument but I swear by it!! Here is a link to better understand exactly what it is! Good Luck!!

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/glucosamine/NS_patient-glucosamine

letsdothis2010

Thanks so much for the encouraging words everyone! Really made me feel a lot better

I've been taking my supplements (Fish oil, multivitamin, glucosamine +chrondrine, vitamin D, and CoQ10), as well as continuing to eat well and exercising as often as I can. I'm seeing a slight improvement in my energy and I've been doing research on what/if any extra guidelines should be added to my diet/nutrition (gluten free, lower carb, etc). Just wanted to give an update and see if anyone has any nutritional advice for CFS and/or joint pain.

Thanks everyone!