Morning everyone. I was diagnosed with fibro over 20 years ago now after a serious car accident I was extremely lucky in that I had a great doctor who immediately sent me to a rheumatologist who in turn sent me to a fibro specialist on Vancouver island. Considering these were the dark days of fibro when it was at best considerd a myth and at worst, well you've all been there I'm sure. I became a bit of a test patient and test case as everything with my situation was pretty classic. I had all the tender points and there were days that were so bad I just wanted to curl up and disappear. I eventually had to give up my career. There were long hours, long days and lots of travel. All of which conspired to make it impossible to function. It took years to come to terms with not being able to work and further years to finally reach a happy medium with daily pain. I haven't had a pain free day in 20 years but that doesn't mean I don't have good days. Since I've joined this site I have been able to increase my walking from 400 metres up to 7 kilometres. I've done it slowly, rested between days and I've been able to increase without deleterious affect. I'm so thrilled with that. I still have to bite my tongue al,ost every day when someone, quite well meaning, says but you look great there can't really be anything wrong with you! Argh that irritates me, walk a mile in my shoes. Then say that. I very seldom talk about it and almost never refer to it, so it is wonderful to find a group within a site from which I have already received so much support. Thanks so much for getting this up and going. Cheers to all of us.

I was diagnosed with Fibro about 3-4 years ago and stayed in denial until last year when I finally had to stop working. I had a lower back fusion in 2006 and have been in pain ever since. I kept insisting that my pain had to do with the surgery but as it's spread throughout my body I finally had to concede. I've always believed in conquering one's dragons so this has been an extremely difficult adjustment for me, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I've been working real hard trying to balance the three, but boy is it a continuous work in progress. It's been quite a roller coaster ride and I try to keep in positive spirits about what this next new adventure will bring, but dang those lows are dark. lol. I just turned 50 last November and I am convinced this new decade is going to ROCK!....but probably with more comfortable shoes. giggle.

Thank you for this site, it sure helps to know I'm not alone when it comes to struggling with finding the right doctors, meds, physical exercise, diets, work, etc.

Same here. I can only walk about 15 minutes but can do a bit longer in the pool so calorie restriction is what will help me the most. Hang in there. I enjoy this site because watching my calories is something I can have control over as I learn to manage pain. My motto is now "baby steps."

Hi, I'm Stacey, 32, from Alabama, and while I have not been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, I believe that I have it. My mom was diagnosed about five years ago, and she thinks I have it, too. I have that awful achy/tired/cold feeling most of the time that I can only describe as "flu-like", which makes most physical activity (cleaning, exercising, etc) very difficult. I also have trouble sleeping, and cannot sleep through the night without some sort of sleep aid. Anyway, this being the first of the year and all, I have decided that I am sick and tired of being sick and tired, so I have been trying to exercise more and eat a little better (not like a single guy... pizza, frozen burritos, etc). I am starting kinda small and am using my Wii Fit about 20 minutes a day, which is about all I can handle right now. I find if I do the yoga/stretching exercises first, it makes the cardio exercises easier. (I know, duh.) So, that's me. I'm glad that there are groups on MFP for Fibro sufferers, because it helps me feel not so alone.

Take care, all.

Hi all. Its really nice to see a FM group that is not full of self pity but full of positive attitude and determination. I'm very pleased to be a part of such a group. I have FM and ME and some days can be like fighting my way through treacle with fatigue, with little men inside my body pulling at all my joints and muscles...BUT... I'm in a very happy place in my life right now, having finally found Mr right and living happy ever after, and there is NO WAY I am going to let FM/ME control me, or affect the lives of those important around me. I work full-time and we have 5 kids (4 being teens) between us and its organised chaos most days but I wouldn't want it any other way. I have put on a while dress size recently, one because the new mr right is a chef and is always producing wonderful experiments in the kitchen and two because of fatigue i find it harder to find the energy to exercise so joined mfp for some motivation to get back my jeans .
Looking forward to good times and making some new friends

Hey, everyone. I'm Alex, 29, diagnosed with ME/CFS about 15 years ago. One of the things I find most frustrating is knowing my limits and not going over them. It's very easy to push too hard and make myself ill for a few weeks, especially when people around me are encouraging me to do more. I've just gotten over a three month bad patch and noticed my weight is creeping up quite a lot. I want to do something about that, so here I am. Hoping for plenty of support and lots of new friends.

Hello. I am somewhat new to the MFP community. I have been diagnosed with Fibro for about 3 years now. I have lots of other medical problems as well. I'm really glad to have found this group!

Hello.

Is this still and active group?