.....Welcome to Mems.....

But now I live in a different state (After being my first husband died in 1990 I finally found someone willing to put up with me and remarried in 2001)

Fibromyalgia has created many problems for me in the past few years. Its a problem that I have suffered from since I was a teenager..could it have been caused by the wreck when my parents died? Thats a question that I don't have the answer to, but it is a possable. How can I describe FMS? Well if you want more information on FMS you can find links to pages on the Links Page. But I can sure tell you what I have gone thru!

Since a teen I have suffered from severe back, neck and leg problems. And as I have gotten older it seems to have gotten worse. Now, everyday my back will ache..not just your normal ache..but one that is so severe there are times that its all I can do to move or walk. Even sitting can hurt! Times that it will bring tears to my eyes when I have to move.

Doctors that I went to for help and answers would tell me that I had simply pulled a muscle, or that I needed to learn to lift things properly. The worst of these was when the Doctor would tell me that it was all in my head. That since xrays and checkups could find nothing, then there was nothing to find! Do you know what it feels like to know that your in pain and be told by the doctor that its nothing!! I remember feeling stupid, childish, like all I did was complain. One Doctor even told me that I was doing it just to get some attention and that I actually needed to see a head doctor, and that he could give me the name of a good one that could help me!! That was one of the lowest points of my life. In fact it was several years before I went to a doctor again cuz of the pain.

Finally though I found a Doctor who would listen, take me at my word, and not say that I was crazy! The funny part of it is that I had actually taken my son in to see if we could find out why his back always hurt and his neck was stiff. During the exam of my son, the Dr. was talking to me and asking what I might have noticed in relation to my son hurting. I told him that it seemed the pain was very localized in certain areas. That seemed to be all the Dr. needed to hear as he began to check certain points on my sons back, neck, hips, legs, and arms. As he was poking my son, the spots all seemed famailiar to me..as they were basically the same spots that hurt on me. I must have made a comment to that effect as the next thing I knew the Dr was poking at my back and neck and hips and legs and arms. I can remember moving away as he would poke certain areas cuz it hurt..especailly when I realized that the Dr was smiling (actually I thought about poking him back at one point *evil grin*)

After the exam is when I finally found out what was going on. The Dr said that my son had Fibromyalgia! What ever that was!! He also said that I had the same thing. I must have looked shocked as he then explained to me that FMS was similar to arthritis but yet different. To determine if someone had it, there were like 18 points of tenderness that could be checked..and then he said that "Mem, you have 17 of the 18 and your son has 16 of the 18" I remember thinking.."wow, I'm not crazy" I guess that I said it out loud without realizing it, cuz he laughed and said "well at least not about the pain that your in...though beyond that we can't be sure" (At that time I was a foster parent and I had three foster girls-all of them teenagers! Plus my own 2 kids)

Can you imagine what its like to have been told for years that something was all in your head and then in just 30 minutes to learn that it isn't? Though I soon learned that there is no cure for FMS there are things that a person can do to control it somewhat. Ibuprofen helps with the inflammation, and moderate exercise also helps. I have also found that when I start hurting heat can help, and one of the most important things is the proper pillow to support the neck and back!

Maybe my story will help some one else..and like I said you can find a link to more information on the Links page. But something that is just as important is that you need to believe in yourself and never stop looking for the answers.

Of course I also take the time to relaxe, and my favorite way of doing something that is just for me is chatting! My favorite is in the MADD Chat boards, and on ICQ. Since I've made friends from so many different places, I don't want to try to name them all and accidently leave someone out! So I will just say that they know who they are!! To each and everyone of them I say a special hello and thank you! They have been there when I've needed them and miles are no barrier!!