Hi my fellow fibro warriors. It’s been a long time. Too long. But I’ve had many days in the year 2022 , that I cried, stared at the walls, cried more, and never felt more alone. There has been some family conflict. My wonderful dog died. But I have a new little 5 pound cutie named Joey that was rescued from Tulsa OK. and took a very long trip to Minnesota. I’ve been taking care of my mom who died last month. In my heart, I believe her death could have been prevented. I’ve been to Mayo Clinic twice. More about that later. And continuing my fight for disability rights… I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome at Mayo along with my Fibromyalgia. I have more to write about and hope it won’t be months but days before I return again. Many hugs, Freedom 
Hi Freedom! - Thanks so much for your update!
Wishing you strength for all your challenges.
Hope Joey helps soothe all that’s sore.
(I can imagine that I also have CFS of some kind. At least “fatigue” is my strongest and least influenceable symptom. An official diagnosis wouldn’t help me much. But with adaptation and workarounds I’m managing to make quite a lot out of it, along with improved control of other symptoms like sleep.)
Hi Freedom, it’s been a long time for me too. Glad to hear from you. Sounds like you’ve had a rough year. I hope you’re getting support and I’m hoping 2023 will be a better year for all of us who suffer from this fibromyalgia diagnosis. I think CFS pretty much sums it up for a lot of us. So hard to get moving every day. I never thought I’d be taking a nap every day at 72 but can barely function without it.
Hang in there!
Hey Freedom , sorry to hear about your Moms and your pets passing. That’s a rough year. I was sent to Mayos by my PCP. They reconfirmed the chronic fatigue syndrome or CME and fibromyalgia that my doctor suspected. The clinic they provide for CME is unlike any other in the United States ; I hope you had a good experience and received the information and care you needed. Glad you have a new companion 
for the new year!
I had a wonderful experience at Mayo Clinic’s Fibromyalgia Program. It really has taught me the extreme importance of pacing and not sleeping too much but resting is completely ok. Plus they taught me how to cope with chronic pain and chronic fatigue. We have to live our lives completely different than the “ norm.” And they helped me understand that living a different life compared to others is ok.
That sounds like brilliant pain management techniques to me, despite the futile wish for miracle pills some of us have… 
