Hey F4 Tribe!!!! May 12th was Fibromyalgia Awareness Day!!! It was also Mother’s Day! I have waited to post because I didn’t want to mix the days plus I wanted to just celebrate her day without anything else. I have seen a lot of post on Instagram where people are posting pictures comparing a “fibro day” and a “typical face the world day”. I realized I don’t have any of those. I don’t capture those days because for me they are UGALY!! Yes, I meant to spell it that way. While thinking about what else I could do I decided to do a question and answer post. I ask my social media profiles if they had any questions they wanted answered regarding Fibromyalgia. I should have restricted it to only Fibro and not my Fibro because some of the questions were down right rude. I’ll answer a few of them. So here goes……
- How long have you had Fibro? First sign of pain 2/10/17
- Who is your doctor? I am now seeing Dr. Chen
- What gives you relief? Rest, heating pad, pain reliever and muscle relaxers (mixed)
- Did you go to Dr. Dick? Yes I was a patient of his. I had NO issues with him.
- Why do you need attention? There are several other things I could do to get attention without being in pain. I blog about it because there are others that are going through this too.
- How do you still teach Zumba if you’re hurting? I can push through almost anything. I have a very high pain tolerance level BUT I will cancel if need be. I have also learned to not do high impact the entire class and to listen to my body.
- Has Fibro affected your life? I posted about this earlier. I never would have imagined all of the different areas that having Fibro would have
- Does weather affect your pain? Cold weather an d rain make me pretty miserable
- Have you had hair loss? Yes
- How did you know that you had Fibro? This was my very first post. Please go back and read it for a more thorough answer. Short version: I didn’t know. I had pain, muscle spasms that lasted 45+ min. They did all kinds of testing to rule out other diseases. They settled on FIBRO. At first I was apprehensive because I felt like it was an “I don t know what’s wrong with you so I’m going to just say you have Fibro. I had nerve testing done an various other test.
- Cold hands and feet? YES!!! It’s very annoying. Sometimes I can be working out and dripping in sweat and my fingertips will be white and freezing or my hands will be glowing pink.
- Do you get tired easily? Yes! Sometimes walking to the kitchen from my room is difficult and I have to sit and rest.
- What keeps you going? People depend on me every day. I am one of those people. I can’t stop because someone else will suffer or my dreams will. That is not an option!
- Does barometric pressure bother you? Yes, Please see my last post “Baro Who”. The rain typically zaps my energy and increases my pain
- What are your symptoms? Pain all over and in various places, blurry vision, muscle fatigue, muscle cramps, exhaustion, sweat at random times, brittle nails, dry hair, random fevers, skin sensitive to touch, brain fog
- What does it feel like? Like I just ran a thousand miles and i’m dehydrated and exhausted.
- Do you have children? Did it make it worse during pregnancy? I do not have children yet. I pray not!! I have heard stories of it getting better during pregnancy.
- Does it make you feel like you’re letting your family down? I do sometimes feel like this. I use to feel bad all the time but I am working on allowing family and friends in and let them know what’s going on.
- Do you wear special shoes? Um no. lol. Sometimes I wear tennis shoes to keep my feet warm because they ache when they are cold. I do wear leggings a lot because pants with seams hurt my skin sometimes.
- Does it ever make your eyes go cross? Cross? No! Blurry, foggy and black sometimes though
- Have you tried weed or CBD oil? If so did it help? I did and yes it does! Probably the last time I was pain free!! If they legalize it I won’t be in pain anymore!!!
- Have you tired holistic treatment? I have. As well as a cleanse to detox my blood. It was hard but I think if I had stayed on it I would have seen more results.
- I think it’s fake. This is a REAL statement not a question
- How do you cope with stress? Does stressing make your pain worse? Stress makes it all worse!! I PRAY, read inspirational messages, try and keep a positive mindset and stay away from people who disturb my peace and bring back negative thoughts or feelings
- Do you have lumps on your hands or feet or any joints? No sometimes they get hot or swell
- When you got the shots did they help? YES!!!!!!! If you can stand to get them then they are worth it. I did learn to relax and take it easy all day on the day I get the shot. It definitely helped!!
- What helps your pain? Sleep, ibuprofen and muscle relaxers. I take way too much a day but It keeps the pain at bay without being admitted to the hospital
- Do you have skin problems? Random outbreaks and sensitivity but nothing major. I have had sensitive skin all of my life
- Are you in pain every day? Yes! Ev-ery-sin-gle day! Some days are far more bearable than others
- What is the thing you feel like you lost or miss most? Ok so I will try not to get all “holy” BUT I am going to say that I feel like I didn’t lose because I feel everything happens for a reason and I God is going to restore whatever I lost. Now, with that being said obviously there are things I miss doing or feeling like: running on the treadmill, having energy all day, not being in pain or having to think about what I wear, losing weight when I am trying. But I think the thing
I miss the most is trusting my body! I don’t know where the pain is going to come from or when it will hit. I have to now prepare for leg pain (crutches in my trunk) pain reliever (constantly in my purse, work bag and gym bag) eyes drops and heating pad on hand. - Do you try rubs or any ointment over the counter? I try various muscle relaxers and OTC pain patches
- Do you have anxiety? Is it related to Fibro? Yes and Yes. Although I realize it is more when the pain is high and my emotional threshold is low
- How do you feel? tired
- Do you ever just want to not get out of the bed? Constantly lol. But most of the time I feel worse lying down.
- Why do you say “I’m Ok” knowing you aren’t? Well, I feel it’s easier to just say that and let people go on vs telling them and they have to fee l bad for me. Talking about it doesn’t help.
- How has it affected your emotions? I will say that I am less empathetic to people who complain about the slightest thing. I am working on it though.
- Did you have to stop working? No, I am still working full time and teaching Zumba.
Whew!!!!! That was a lot. Thank you guys for responding to my post. I truly hope that you have gained some type of insight. I feel so exposed lol! Below are a few memes that represent what I or others may feel at times.
I will do another post like this maybe at the end of summer! Thank you guys again for following me, standing with me in prayer and sending kind messages I truly appreciate it!
Hello my F4 Tribe!!!
So I received 4 cortisone shots varying in dosage and needle size. Two in my TMJ and two in the bursas close to my sciatic nerve.
The engagement was amazing! Seeing her face was priceless and so worth the drive. I’m at home in the bed. I have to return to work tomorrow.
Fit For Fighting Fibro 