Fibromyalgia.. Help Please

I don't think there's any way around the fact that she won't necessarily be able to do as much as other people. But that doesn't mean doing nothing. I would advise her to take it very, very, VERY slowly (as in painfully slow to start). I know if I overdo it I'm out of action for weeks, which kind of defeats the purpose. It has also taken a long time for me to understand that. But if I work slowly at it, I can build my fitness and stamina. I found acupuncture was extremely helpful in lessening the pain, which also helps with the exercise thing.

If your friend is anything like me, FMS will also mess mightily with her mind (including depression). The only way out of that I've found is to work on my physical and mental health. It's not a linear process, and it's different for everyone - FMS or not - but it does help.

The most important thing I've figured out (and this is fairly recent) is that although it's part of me, FMS certainly isn't all of me. I let it define me and hold me back for a long time, thinking that doing just small things wasn't enough, I had to work at the same level as people without it. That's so wrong-headed; all I end up with is nothing when I think like that.

So in a nutshell: do what you can physically, don't push too hard, and keep at it. There are plenty of people on the planet without FMS who struggle with physical activity; they also have to take it one small step at a time. It isn't a death sentence, it's just a pain in the backside... and shoulders, and hips, and hands, and toes, and... lol!

I have an auto-immune disorder that causes pain and fatigue sometimes that are similar to Fibromyalgia. I would be happy to support, as well. The pain hasn't stopped me yet because I'm not going through a flare, but the fatigue is kicking my *kitten* right now. You just do your best! That's ALL that matters.

I was diagnosed with Fibro in 2010. I learned about a year or so later through my own research (and blood sugar monitoring) that it was Reactive Hypoglycemia (aka prediabetes). (And I am about 3% below the average diabetes risk according to my genetics)

PRIMAL BLUEPRINT AND MARK'S DAILY APPLE. This is the best thing I have ever done for myself - in my entire life
Body composition is 80% diet. The other 20% are a combo of genetics and exercise. Walk. That's all she has to worry about right now.

The only time my "Fibro" pain shows itself is when I've been junking on too much sugar, carbs and frankenfood. I take no pills (couldn't afford them). I eat real, whole foods. I eat plenty of healthy animal fats (and coconut oil). I don't do hellacious amounts of exercise (I do get out and "play" when I can though. My exercise regimen is life)

And drugs just treat the symptoms. The root cause in inflammation. The root cause of all chronic diseases today is inflammation.

"Oh fibromyalgia. What a sham. Some doctor pretty much gave her a lifetime excuse to be lazy and depressed. Pity."

No doubt some people will use the diagnosis as an excuse to do nothing, but just an FYI: They having been trying to figure this out (under various names) since the 1800s. It's not a sham.

And you're right, SSRI's can be helpful for some people, it's just that not all people can tolerate them.

Oh fibromyalgia. What a sham. Some doctor pretty much gave her a lifetime excuse to be lazy and depressed. Pity.




Good news is that fibromyalgia symptoms are often alleviated by the same things that alleviate depression...like SSRI's and exercise. So I have no problem cheering her on 1km at a time.

this^^

"Oh fibromyalgia. What a sham. Some doctor pretty much gave her a lifetime excuse to be lazy and depressed. Pity."

No doubt some people will use the diagnosis as an excuse to do nothing, but just an FYI: They having been trying to figure this out (under various names) since the 1800s. It's not a sham.

And you're right, SSRI's can be helpful for some people, it's just that not all people can tolerate them.

I have no doubt the symptoms are real. The sham part is in the lack of objective diagnostic procedures and the flimsy evidence around drugs like Lyrica.

I take Lyrica and have definitely seen a difference fore the good. Was in almost constant pain before being prescribed it. Unfortunately it only helps in alleviating the pain and not the chronic fatigue

As the mom of an FMS patient, I had to take a deep breath and back off the sham statement. :explode:

Diet helps, as does moderate exercise. A good day is really tempting to overdo, and sometimes our daughter pays for it the next day. As a teen, no drugs are approved, so our young lady has had to tough out the bad stuff. Her life plans have changed, but she is perservering on her new path and is headed to college this fall.

Sometimes I just want to pull her into my lap and give her a hug and there are times that a hug hurts to much to receive.

My advice, do what you can, get help with the rest. Get a good support team in your friends corner. Health care, friends, foods, etc.

I have fibromyalgia as well, and as one of the previous posters said...I had to back off and take a deep breath on the "sham" comment. The follow-ups on it do not make it better.

For those who don't know, fibromyalgia can quite literally, steal your life. Every female on my mother's side of the family has it, and it affects everyone to varying degrees. I personally was diagnosed at a VERY young age, and I can say that I don't remember what it is like not to hurt every second of every day. But to put it in perspective-- I now have a very high pain tolerance for other things, since I'm basically used to hurting. I have unexplainable muscle spasms, and I remember a whole month in high school that I went to school in a neck brace and learned from a place in the back of the classroom while lying on the floor-- I couldn't hold my head up and any kind of movement brought tears to my eyes.

There are times that people with fibromyalgia feel like one more step is LITERALLY too much. There are times I swear my body and my mind aren't connected-- or are at war with each other. Most people don't understand this, and don't have any idea what it means for a person with fibro to even get out of bed in the morning. I have tried all of the medicines, all of the "diets" and all kinds of different treatments to help...there is only one thing I've found that makes a big difference and isn't addictive while messing up other things--exercise. As hard as it is to get going, once you start moving (work up from a tiny amount slowly, and just keep increasing as you can) you will notice a HUGE difference. I can say honestly that if I skip exercising one day, I know it the next. It hurts ten times as bad. But if you can do it, and stick with it...it's totally worth it. I haven't had a flare-up in almost a year, and even my moments of "one step is too much I might pass out" have cut down to once a month or less.

Many people don't understand...and honestly, I don't expect them to. If you haven't lived with constant pain that you can't control, can't stretch out, and are completely hopeless to do anything about, I expect you to come up with some derogatory comment about how it's all in our heads, it's because we're lazy, don't want to do anything and are looking for an excuse. But you know what? I dare you to be in my body, for one day. Just one. I guarantee you can't make it more than an hour...because I'm stronger than you are. I do this every day, knowing it's coming up again tomorrow, and I STILL GET UP. I keep going...because I can.

A friend of mine likes to refer to it as "fibromyalgia: the beating without the bat". I think of it more as..."I live in spite of fibromyalgia, not with it."

If your friend decides to join MFP and hang out, please encourage her to add me as a friend. I understand...and you can't disappoint someone who refuses to be disappointed. Life with fibro is hard, but life is still worth living, even if we have to modify it a little from what most people do.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/11041-living-healthy-with-fibromyalgia

Full of understanding people who all have it. My advice. They have to learn what works and doesn't work for them cause everyone is different. But that doesn't make what they are going through less real. Surround them self with as much knowledge as they can and a great support system. Then take it one day at a time. As long as you are doing your best you are not letting anyone who really cares and loves you down. Including yourself.

Hi all, I also have Fibromyalgia. I don't have time to say much at the moment (at work). I do not take any drugs, but have found that I have more energy when I am exercising and eating healthier. I am still working on finding the happy balance between pushing myself too much and not pushing myself enough.

Anyone is welcome to add me to their friends list if they like. I am on pretty much every day and pretty supportive. I will check out the group later on.