It was 1995 and I was having horrible bouts of pain and tenderness along with stiffness upon waking to the point, I could hardly get out of bed.  I went to see my Rheumatologist and he did some tests and diagnosed me with this disease!  I have been living with it ever since.

Always, feeling worn out, and not able to sleep is a vicious circle that our bodies cannot seem to escape from when battling Fibro.  The fog that our brains get with it, also known as Fibro Fog, is unsettling and hard to describe.  Its like being off balance in a way.  I have found that Amitriptyline has helped with the sleep them most.  It allows me to get into a deeper sleep so my muscles can recover.  I also take Meloxicam and that is for the arthritis that I have and the inflammation.  Over the last couple of years I am becoming more and more prone to flairs and I am sure it has to do with stress!

 Mom had this disease as well, and I seem to mirror her medically so far.  It is depressing to always been in pain, and tired and feeling like you can barely move.  This has led to being sedentary and that has created a whole host of other issues.  I am not going to let this disease beat me!  I am just not, I have to try and be as positive as I can, and that is hard.  People around you do not understand, and no matter how hard you try to explain it, they just think you are complaining.  

There are so many out there suffering with this in silence, and I have met quite a few.  I hope one day they will have a better understanding of why our nerves seem to over fire.  This is what tends to cause the intense pain.  I cannot handle simple touches on my arms and upper back sometimes.  Crazy?  I know, LOL

I have had a flare going on now for about 6 days, and it has been hard to get up and move around much.  I have to force myself to do better, because not moving is making me very very weak.  Losing tons of muscle tone and so on.

So if someone, you love has this, please go easy on them.  Try not to judge and if possible give them all the support you can, as that will help tremendously.  Lady Gaga came out about her battle with it and how it has effected her life, as well as other famous folks.  It knows no boundaries, although it effects women far more than men it seems.

Fibromyalgia will not beat me, I will not let it!

Kristin