Many of you might know me or have seen me online. I'm 25 and i have fibro and chronic fatigue. My journey with this illness has been really rocky but Im a warrior. We all have our good and bad days. But it makes it a little easier when you have friends that understand what you are going through. It can make all the difference. Its good to have any kind of support but when you know that another person can relate and know exactly what you mean and feel is bittersweet. And i say that because i never want to see another person suffer the way i do but at the same time you know they get you more than anyone else ever will.
I cant do most things that girls my age do, nor do i have many friends that understand. I just thought this would be a great way to reach out and find others in my same age rage or someone that needs a new buddy...... i just need to be able to talk, vent, relate, and support you as much as you will be able to do the same.
Hi Teesa! I think I was about your age when I started my fibro journey...never got the dx until I was 40! It's not an easy road to have ahead of you. I was newly married and worked on a Seismic Oil and Gas Exploration Crew with my husband and chalked a lot of my pain up to the strenuous job I performed 12-14 hours a day in the summer and dawn to dusk during the winter, through the snow, through anything and everything actually. Not much that we didn't doodlebug through. I'm sure that job didn't help my pain but I think my fibro went back a lot further than that because of wicked childhood diseases and trauma suffered through.
You may be able to pinpoint what started yours and sometimes that helps in accepting that you have this debilitating disease so that you can go on with fervor with the things you love, no matter the fibro. When I hurt because of something I accomplished during the day then I know why I hurt and I get a certain satisfaction from the pain.
I have started psychotherapy recently and am able to vent,cry and get all the crapo out and get validation from a Doctor....sometimes that's a hard thing to find when it comes to fibro.
Physical Therapy helps a lot with my fibro related pain and all my pains really. Arthritis has a very good grip on me already at 59 years old. I need a new knee as well. Kinda feel like I'm falling apart in a lot of ways recently physically and emotionally. So it's nice to have an all encompassing clinic to go to that covers all my bases.
I would love to hash out things with you anytime Teesa. I'm not always "hanging out here" but I check my page daily and see what folks are talking about in the discussions. I would love to hear from you and you can always start a discussion on whats going on in your world anytime!
Be sweet to yourself Teesa and I will talk with you again soon.
you sound awesome. i would love to talk to you more. thats why i come here. to find people like you that understand me. but then again sometimes i dont come here because im the type of person that wants to help everyone and i cant. i never could help as many people as i wanted to but now im really limited to what i can do. i used to be a CNA. a nurse asst. i loved it. loved the feeling of helping and making a difference. but the pain from the hard days work was just too much to bare... today my license expires for that. i would have to go back to school because i havent worked in the last 2 years. i just cant. im lost in my own little world where no one gets me. its kinds scary too. but i will definitely give you a buzz sometimes. i need all the friends i can get. besides you seem really cool.
hi cyndrae thank you for responding. i will add you as a friend. and hopefully we can become good friends from there. im not always on here though. maybe we can email or inbox if possible
yes i remember the name SUZIE but i dont quite remember where. but i get a good feeling that it was a good encounter. good vibes. lol thanks for the hug. but dont squeeze too tight lol. good to see you here. how are you?
no i dont have much support. most of my family think that this is something that will end soon. i need more exercise, or maybe that i just need to stop thinking about it so much. someone even told me why do you feel so proud to be sick and link up with groups like its cool.... haha that was the top comment. lol
i am struggling with making a life of this. seems like in my 20s im suppose to be getting out on my own but so far everything has just been backwards. then as far as dating if you mention it they run away. or if you dont and they see that you can never do anything they run away. you cant win for losing. even friends are the same way. that why i have just about none. or ones that i keep distant because i cant keep up and they drain me and all my energy. they just dont get that im not the same person. so i stay to myself. netflix is my bff and my pillow is my boyfriend at night. lol we cuddle. as far as siblings, they arent sick. they have moved on and made families or lives and here i am. not able to even work. its stressful. im stressed. and i need some friends that arent going to judge me and what i can and cannot do. i just wanna be able to be myself. relax. and just talk about things that dont seem so weird. or why i can or cant do this or that.
ive always been different from everyone else. so that dont bother me so much. but being this sick is on a whole different level. seems like i cant catch a break.
i guess it seems like im depressed huh. well the thing is its reality that im dealing with not really depression. of course im sad, we all are, but then reality hits. nothing im saying is just a state of being depressed. its just life. my life. the life of dealing with the illness and what comes with it.
im a writer. i write. im going to write a novel about a woman who is living with fibro. im not finish with my current novel and i dont like to start things without finishing so as soon as im done i will begin it. at least something good will come from this.
Hey you got one here,this is the place to find people who are living the same none ending nightmare.Its a great releif to here others that can relate,but its very sad to here them going through it and not be able to help,very sad.
Hi Teesa. I am new this community as well. I am 45 but have had fibro for years. I can relate to what you are going through at your age. Even though I was diagnosed several years ago, I am just now reading and learning all I can about. Maybe we can learn from each other. It is definitely nice to communicate with anyone who can relate to what we go through.
Best wishes to you,
Melyn
It makes me so sad to read about people your age who have this affliction. It's certainly not fair, that's for sure. But the one saving grace is that you do have people on here who will listen and understand you better than anyone who doesn't have it.
Water therapy might be helpful to you AND might be a good place to meet other people with fibro or something else that's painful. There also may be fibro groups in your town but I'm not so sure how many people would show up.
What you may find helpful here is that there are quite a few people who are around your age and have the extra burden that you have of being young and living with fibro. In fact, there probably is also a group (go to the top of our page, click on groups) for young people with fibro. I mean, I can understand the fibro part but not the added stress that you have. I think it would be so helpful for you to meet some of them and interact with each other.
I hope your doctor comes up with some things to help you so your fibro isn't quite as bad.
Oh Tessa, that's a wonderful goal, to write a novel about a woman with fibro! I can't wait to read it when you're done with it! Good for you for coming up with such a great way of dealing with it while being creative.
I get what you mean about how reality gets to you sometimes. But how could it not? You'd have to have straw in your heart to not feel that reality sometimes. I tend to think of fibro as affecting our bodies and lives as much as MS or lupus, minus the damage done to our bodies, supposedly. I'm not sure that I believe that our bodies aren't damaged by it. So you see, it IS some reality to have to deal with. I guess we are given some mercy so we don't dwell upon it 24/7.
Please keep coming back. It's good for your spirits. I don't know that it will "cure" your depression but i think it will help. And btw, have you talked to your doctor about your depression? If you're not on an anti-depressant, maybe it might help you? Or an increase in your dose if you're already on it?
Take it easy and come to us when you feel this way and we'll listen. We understand you!
Tessa, I was an Activity Director but had to push those wheelchairs to and from Activities all day long. You're not kidding, you couldn't do CNA work anymore! I don't know how anyone can do it long-term without harming their poor bodies. But you've earned your rest, Teesa. You did a good job at a great profession. You did help to make people's lives better, so you have that knowledge to fall back upon. I hope you keep that as one of your focal points, that you were a caring professional who helped improve the lives of people living in nursing homes.
hey thanks for being there. it is much appreciated. i would love to chat sometimes. im not always online or on the board but i have my days. just send me a message sometimes. and i will definitely add you and send you a inbox when i can. i hope you are having a good day. hugs. and thanks again
Petunia you have been here a while and youre always there. you are such an awesome person. when i do post youre very helpful. thanks for being a friend. i hadnt been online in a while and i didnt know if everyone was still here. the ones i remember. but im glad to see you here. chat me sometimes or send me an inbox here and there.
Hi Teesa. I have been in the position of needing a friend to keep from feeling so alone in this illness and I was lucky to have found this terrific board full of friends. I daresay I can’t begin to know what it feels like to be only 25 and have fibro, but you can be sure to feel supported here, hon.
Hugs and see you on boards,
Laurie
I don't get the sense that she's saying she is suffering with depression per se. My interpretation of her post is that she doesn't have much support and is thus seeking out the support of those who understand, especially those in her age group.
I'm 33 and was diagnosed at 32. And I have to admit, I was once one of those misunderstanding-but-well-meaning 20 somethings who said some unintentionally insensitive things to friends, colleagues and family members who were diagnosed and dealing with different chronic illnesses. It doesn't make it all right, doesn't excuse my behavior but to echo your comment in the original post, it is certainly something you don't understand until you go through it. (side note: I've since apologized to each of those people...man was I such a mofo)
With that said, if you can, please try to be patient with those friends who don't get it. You might be surprised by who is willing to try to understand & listen and who isn't. With that said, there will be plenty of those who SAY they understand but show a different sentiment with their actions. I'm going through that lesson right now myself. I take comfort with groups like these that are filled with people who get where I'm coming from.
Anyhoo, feel free to ping me whenever. I'll send you a friend request as well. :)