Back in May, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It started out with what I believed was a strange reaction to a tick bite. Aches, pains, chills… I went to the doctor fully believing I had Lyme disease, and the doctor did, too! He drew a bunch of blood, but also started me on three weeks worth of antibiotics. My blood work came back weird. He sent me to the rheumatologist.
She basically diagnosed me with fibro in about 10 min. I explained my “princess and the pea” syndrome, easy bruising, pain resulting from very minor things and lasting a lot longer than it should, etc. She drew TONS of blood. When I went back for the results, I had a few abnormalities, but no lupus or RA. She hypothesized that the bite triggered a response from my body that threw me into a flare. It took lots of tests to find out it was not the bite making me sick… apparently, I had many of the symptoms for a long time (migraines, interstitial cystitis), but since then…I have experienced new pain every day, fatigue like I have never known, swallowing issues, my eyesight is deteriorating, memory loss, trouble finding the right word, and my left heel…it feels as if I am walking on broken glass all the time.
I tried Cymbalta, and it was great, but then the sweating began. It became so severe I had to stop the med. The rheumatologist released me to my primary care doctor who has since put me on Neurontin. I haven’t noticed any relief, and I am really not sure how long I am to wait.
I am very surly about the whole thing. I bought a journal, but refuse to use it. It is almost as if I will give life to it if I admit I have it. I know I have it, but I don’t want it. My first step was to “come out” on Facebook about my fibro. I had only told my very close tribe… when I shared it so publically, it was my hope to encourage others. It worked. Many of my friends, who had never shared before, shared…and it was beautiful!
I am a wife, mother, grandmother. I teach at a mortuary college, and I am a grief counselor. I have many cats, a dog, and a chicken. I am a vegetarian… I love yoga (but most of the time it is so painful). I love to be supportive and positive.
Thank you for allowing me to be here and share with you.