I want to say hello and introduce myself. I am 44 years old and have two children, a daughter 20 living in Montana and a son 24 living in Mississippi where I live. He just got out of the Air Force, is married and lives ten minutes from my home. I love having my son near me, it's wonderful and we have a great relationship. He and I have been cut out of my daughter's life by her choice but we love her nonetheless.
I have had health issues my entire life, in childhood I was diagnosed with IBS. I always seemed to be sick with something and usually the rare stuff throughout my life. In my teens I had a witch of a gyn doctor bluntly tell me there was something wrong with me and I would never bear children yet not tell me what was wrong. So the fact that I did have two children is a blessing. In my twenties I had mental health issues manifest greatly, depression and anxiety for the most part and always had the exhaustion and felt in pain all the time but tried to do the best I could as a single mom raising two children and going to college. At 20 I was told I was hypoglycemic and had to change my diet completely. At 22 I had gotten strep throat and was given penicillin and ended up having a bad reaction causing something called erythema nodosum which was huge painful sores on my legs and had to be on my back with my legs in bandages and lifted higher than my heart for many weeks, it was a very painful ordeal. At 25 I had a hysterectomy due to endometriosis and I had to have my appendix removed at that time due to it as well. The illnesses began to just pile up on me.
By the time I was 34 I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder, Anxiety, Insomnia, Parasomnias, Fibromyalgia (although I think I had this way before I was ever told about it) IBS, GERD, Asthma, and I just seemed to be sick all the time. I was approved for disability and have been on it ever since. I basically had no family so my girlfriend was the one person I had for support.
Now I'm 44 and the list continues with a few more diagnoses and the new doctor I am seeing is doing blood tests, 9 of them currently to determine what is truly going on with me. I went into the office last week with a list of symptoms that I have and asked her to find out if this is just Fibromyalgia or is something else going on with me. One of the tests is for my thyroid and another is for lyme disease, I had a tick on me for over 5 days last April and I have been very ill and in much more pain than usual and it's been rough for me for quite some time now, even walking is hard. Medicines I have been on have made me gain over 50 lbs and I don't like it, I want to be back at my normal weight and it seems like I am fighting a losing battle. I have self esteem issues when it comes to my weight and I am very self conscious about it. I have been in the same relationship for the past 12 years and my girlfriend has accepted the fact that I am basically always sick. She copes with it better now than she did for a long time. It's hard on a person who is not chronically ill to understand what someone goes through who is. I recently was in the hospital for 6 days as my lower lungs paralyzed and I had both viral and bacterial bronchitis. That was a scary time for me as I did not realize how sick I really was.
Trying to plan anything is very hard for me, I have to take naps and be well rested and not try to push too many things together. I take my life one day at a time although I try to plan things spaced out over days so that I don't get overwhelmed. I am still learning about all of this even though I thought I knew what it was that was wrong with me when they said Fibromyalgia. I still think I am learning to be honest.
Feel free to chat with me anytime you see me on, I would love to talk to other people and get support and better understanding of this illness. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
I love to read other peoples stories. My son and daughter live on the property with me and I see 3 of my 4 grandchildren daily and they keep me going. I see the oldest granddaughter weekly and she is wonderful. It is wonderful that your girlfriend is there I very seldom go to chat because I have satellite internet and it is slow so it is hard to keep up with the conversations you can email me any time I look forward to getting to no you
Hi poohgurl, WELCOME
Thank you for sharing with us !!
Everyone here is so warm , understanding & supportive
look foreword to getting to know you better
Hugs & blessing
dee B
Hello and welcome. I am also a new member. I also have alot of the conditions you stated. I was diagnosed with IBS, hypoglycemia, asthmatic allergies, EBV, anxiety depression, mild OCD when I was in my late 20's. As I got older and my daughters were grown (I also divorced at this time), I developed hypothyroidism and then a couple of years ago I was diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease and Fibromyalgia. It really stinks having all these medical conditions. I don't have a great support system, my daughters don't really understand and my fiance tries to understand but he sometimes blows me off which makes me really upset. My parents and brother are no support for me at all.
I am the same way poohgurl, I have to plan one thing at a time during the day, if I do more than that then I pay for it at night with extreme pain. I don't sleep well at night and wake up exhausted. I lost my job this year due to all these medical conditions and have applied for SSD.
I take one day at a time and try to enjoy whatever I can. Life is too short!
Thanks for writing to me, I just got home as last night I finally had my achilles heel looked at, they are calling it a sprain but I am not so sure I agree, I got anti-inflammatories and pain medicine and I am supposed to keep it elevated and alternate heat and ice, I haven't started that yet. I probably should. lol. My gf asked to have lunch with me so I went and did that after I got both flu and pneumonia vaccines. Hopefully they won't make me sick. How are you today?
Hi Mimi, thanks for the chat yesterday it was really nice being able to talk to you and know that you understand what I am going through. This can be a hard illness to deal with and right now I really need the support and knowledge that I know is out there. I think my gf is going to end up with a fibromyalgia diagnosis, I'm not 100% sure but nearly sure. She exhibits the same symptoms as I do and is feeling terrible lately. This will be hard on both of us as we go through her journey of discovery but it's something she has promised to do soon. I hope so! Looking forward to talking to you again. Hope you are well.
Thank you for writing to me, I am so glad I found this site as I really need support right now. At times I honestly think I am a hypochondriac, how can one person have so much wrong with them all at once. That's what I tell myself. But it's good to hear other people's stories and know I am not alone. That is the most important thing. Hope you are well.
We live 30 mins south of Jackson, MS so even though our house is literally in the middle of the woods we are a ten minute drive from all the towns around us in every direction and there are many. Sounds like you need a friend as much as I do and I am more than happy to chat with you any time. I tend to keep this open a lot when I am online. I went to the ER last night as I couldn't feel my foot, the pain in my achilles heel was terrible and I could not put weight on it. They said the xrays were fine, I sprained it and therefore wrapped it in an ace bandage, told me to keep it elevated, for the swelling, ice and alternate with heat and take meds. Oh lovely, more meds. Just what I wanted lol. Anyway I finally got my meds, I finally got my flu and pneumonia shots today, sore arms now a bit and got home after having a wonderful lunch with my hunny, she called me up to ask if I was available. It's a rare treat as she works 30 mins from the house but I was nearby. If I am here just start a chat with me and I will be happy to chat with you. Thanks
Thanks for writing to me, you are not alone in this and sometimes the best support comes not from family but people you meet who have the conditions you mentioned and know what you are going through. I know for me someone who knows nothing about fibromyalgia can't comprehend what it is like. My gf I think has it and soon I hope for her sake we can get her to the dr and get her diagnosed and on treatment for this as she is in so much pain she can't stand it and she said I think I do have this, and I used to say you were sick all the time, now I think I have a better understanding of it and I'm sorry. I do feel sick all the time, but I just do the best I can each day and that's all I can ask for. Today I got my flu shot and my pneumonia shots and now my arms are starting to get sore, I am going to rest a while, my achilles heel is sprained and I am supposed to elevate it and use heat and ice and take meds so I guess I should follow the dr's advice. Hope you are well.
I am so close to losing my job.. it scares me.. I wonder if I should just quit.. so I wouldn't be so stressed about it... I got written up for a mistake I made a couple of weeks ago... it really used to upset me... and now I say.. Oh Well.. and that upsets me.. to think that way... oh my.. what do I do... I meet with my PCP tomorrow.. and she doesnt understand.... what I am going thru with all these conditions.... soooo frustrating.... two doctors in the last few years have said I am eligible for disability.. im just too scared to try.. I have to keep insurance at work.... I couldnt imagine the health costs without it.. especially my prescriptions....
I, myself have learned to take one day at a time.. if my friends or family don't understand... I can't help it.. I am me and that is what is important...lol
Enough of me.... prayers to everyone who shares our trials and tribulations..
I know it's hard knowing what the right choice is, working or disability, for me there was no choice, I was disabled, could not hold down a job due to mental illness and the physical illnesses didn't help. So I am grateful for being on disability, in MS it's not that bad you can see your primary care physician as much as you want and then if you need to be referred to a specialist once you get in you can go as much as they need to see you. As far as my medicines are concerned I am on a lot and they only pay for 6 of them so I have to pay out of pocket for the rest which was a total of $65. I don't know what your income to bill ratio is but that is something you need to consider, I only qualified for SSI because I had not worked enough and my income is a total of $710 a month and that's tough to live on but I manage barely thankfully my gf helps me when need be. I hope I can help if you need someone to talk to, nice to meet you.
wow.. just $710 a month... I am amazed you are able to do that.... are you able to get help from the state for food and shelter?? If I had to pay out of pocket for my meds.. it would be over $3,000 a month.... it is awful.. that is why I'm trying to hang on.. to see if this Obamacare.. can help in my situation or not....
My bills are minimal because my gf owns the house and land and she pays those bills for us. I also receive food stamps so that helps as well. I am paying for a used car right now and comprehensive insurance, my cell phone, my netflix, and a few other bills plus medicine. I hope your situation improves for you. I wish there was more I could tell you.
I totally understand being a couch lady for I too can be called a couch lady. I spend most of my time on the couch watching movies, being online, knitting etc... I think once I get my test results back and my dr can give me some answers I will at least be mentally relieved cuz right now I am a wreck waiting for the answers to my blood work. I think not knowing right now is harder than knowing. I'm tired all the time and no matter how many naps, no matter how much sleep I get at night I am always tired. It really sucks. I wish there was something to give me energy a magic pill perhaps? I doubt there is. Oh well..... its a nice dream anyways
Welcome to the group! Thanks for sharing your story with us, so sorry you have suffered for so very long. I hope you can now put some of this illness behind you, and grow stronger each and every day! We;re glad to have you here with us!
