kraypm

Hi all!

I'm not new to Healthboards or fibro, but I haven't posted here yet. I didn't realize there was a fibro chat going on! I looked just last week....of course, I could have my head in a cloud that day. : )

I am 37 and was diagnosed in March w/ fibro. Of course, that was after what seems like 100 tests and doctors. I'm in Houston, and finally found a rhuemy in my health plan at Kelsy Seybold who even knew what FM was! The first one I saw, injected my back w/ steroids to "numb me up", and that lasted about 12 hours! Anyhow, I know now what's up, and am taking positive steps to move on.

I've been reading the posts, and already feel a part of things. It's amazing how some of us can be so much worse than others, and the broad range of pain & symptoms is astounding. Mine is mostly upper back, and I have the tingling and burning, throbbing leg thing. However....I have been off all meds for 2 months now. I take a lot of herbs, and am doing the low carb eating plan. My energy soared after changing my eating habits. I'm a health nut, and tend to overindulge on exercise....well, used to! I still walk as often as possible, but the weight lifting is dwindling. I don't think I'm the only one here who has found that upper body strength starts to wain...

A lot of the things you all are going through sound so familiar. I found that pain med only made me drowsy, or did nothing at all. I seem to be doing a lot better. I still work 4 days a week, and have a bad night occasionally. Usually after a hard or stressful day. In the onset, I didn't leave my couch for a long time, and had my family on the edge of insanity along with me! Oh sure, I have the daily aches and pains, but I have chosen not to give in to this fibromonster. I have slowed my life way down, putting family and pleasure first.....anything else can wait for an energetic moment!

My rheumy says that FM can come and go. sort of like remission periods, if you will. He feels there is hope, w/ all the research being done. We all are soooo different. He said, "Try to get up each day and act like you don't have FM, and see how it goes." That was sort of hard to swallow coming from a non FMS person, but now I realize he was trying to say, 'mind over matter.' I choose to be happy, and I choose to be in charge of the fibromonster, not the other way around!

I'm excited that I've found this post, and I hope to hear from and share with you all.

Hugs from Houston,
Karen