RE: New to group/Welcome Anne

April 14, 2004

Hi Anne

Welcome to the group. I have been a member of the group for almost a year

now and it has been a life saver. My problems are

Fibromyalgia,Osteoarthritis,probable Rheumatoid Arthritis,Neuropathy damage

to my upper legs and Bipolar Disorder.

I am 48 and have been living with Fibromyalgia since I was 11 years old.The

symptoms began shortly after I had an untreated case of Scarlet Fever. I

didn't tell my mom that I couldn't swallow etc because I didn't want to miss

school. I finally told her after I broke out and the skin between my fingers

began to peel away. There wasn't a name for it then but my doctor was kind

and considerate. He always encouraged me to rest and literally put me on

bedrest for a week when I was 16. I was officially diagnosed about 10 years

ago and find that three main things that help are adequate sleep, light

exercise in a warm swimming pool and soaking in a hot tub. The jets in the

hot tub help with the neck and back pain.

The medications I take overlap and help with all of my problems. I take

Ibuprofen,Seroquel,Neurontin,Lamictal,Tegretol,Hydrocodone and Vistaril. The

medications help but leave me with a very fuzzy brain. I had to quit driving

2 years ago because I was having episodes of vertigo and the mental

fuzziness. I have been considering magnesium supplements but haven't made up

my mind.

Many of us have Fibromyalgia so you are not alone. I haven't read the books

you mentioned but it sounds interesting.

Kaylene

>Hello,

>My name is Anne, I am 41 years old and live in the suburban

>Philadelphia area. Although I have suffered from considerable pain,

>fatigue and various other symptoms since my teens I was not

>diagnosed with Fibromyaglia until 4 years ago.

>Anne

>

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April 19, 2004

Hi Kaylene,

I'm sorry I didn't get right back to you but I haven't been feeling well and

didn't get a chance to get online for a while. Thank you for welcoming me

to the group. I also have other health problems including heart disease

(had triple bypass when I was 36 in 1998), high blood pressure,

hypothyroidism and suffer from depression. After thinking back I realized

that I can trace my fibromyalgia symptoms to when I was about 14. I used to

wake up in the morning with horrible back spasms. When I went to the doctor

he told my mother I had " gymitis " ! I loved gym class, climbing the ropes

(and getting yelled at for twisting upside down while at the top), the

rings, horse and was quite active on the softball team. He made me so

angry. I also take a lot of meds; Toprol, Zocor, Lisinpril, Norvasc,

Synthroid, Effexor, Ultram and aspirin. My doctor just gave me Skelaxin but

it didn't help at all, the muscle relaxers usually don't work for me. I've

tried Flexeril before and that didn't work either. At one point my

rheumatologist gave me Klonopin but unfortunately at that time I was already

under a great deal of stress and the Klonopin ended up making me suicidal

and I spent a week in the hospital recovering.

I have also been considering magnesium but I have to check with my doctor

first to make sure it won't interfere with my other meds. After my ordeal

with the Klonopin I'm extremely careful about what I take now. Although

Effexor has been found to cause suicidal tendencies in some people it really

works well for me, and keeps me from being cranky all the time. The doctors

amaze me, they want to know why I get depressed. I simply looked them

straight in the eyes and said look dumba** if you were in pain 24/7 you'd

get depressed too!

While I wouldn't wish Fibromyalgia on anyone, it is good to know that I'm

not alone. It really helps to talk to others who understand what it's like.

Thank you for responding

Anne

April 19, 2004