I feel like I am 90.
I cannot hold down a job and feel like a finacial burden on my husband (our bank account is -345$ at the moment)
No health insurance, and couldnt afford it if I did.
Heck, I cant even afford to purchase anything from this program, but the article I read in Womans World made me think coming here was a good idea.

For 7 years now, my health has been on a downward spiral. I have had a constant headache since I was 16 years old that no medication, prescribed or OTC, could touch. I am in constant debilitating pain and fatigue, on top of 100 other semmingly random, yet unexplainable things.
My hands hurt so bad on a regular basis that I usually cannot grip the steering wheel and often drive with the palm of my hand.
My back and joints in general lock up so bad I cannot move.
My muscles ache so bad all over I am sometimes bedridden.
No amount of sleep is enough.
My head hurts so bad that I am too irratable to function, or think straight.
My mental capacity seems to be diminishing at a rapid pace. ( I have been an Honor student my entire school career, and won full scholarship for college. I WAS so usedto being at the top of my game, and could beat ANYONE in a battle of wits. I cant even remember my own birthday half the time anymore. I stutter and stuble over words. Its pathetic)

Because of my family history, I knew it could be something serious. Degenerative Disk Disease, Parkinsons, Lupus, you name it, we have it (not to mention both of my sisters have tumors, 1 brain, one uterus, that created similar symptoms).

For years I tried so hard to find a doctor who would take me seriously. Noone ever had because of my age (started late teens, I am now 26) they automatically wrote me off as a hypochondriac or a pill seeker, and sent me on my way with no answers.

Within the past 2 years, my problems have gotten so bad that it has deeply affected my life in so many ways. I have lost jobs, I have missed my childrens practices and games, I no longer have a social life, I am a shell of my former self. I have been self medicating with vitamins and supplements, alternating anti-inflammatory, tylenol, any OTC pain aid you could try. Nothing helps anymore.

I finally sought relief this year and almost got it. I wrote out all of my symptoms in detail and made an appointment. The young doctor did not take me seriously at first, as usual, but I pressed on, begging her to please find the rootf all this. She tested me for 22 different things and 2 weeks later, here was her diagnosis:
Fibromyalgia
Hypothyroidism
Rheumatoid Arthritis (my rheumatoid level is at 52, and should be at 14 or so)

She also thought there was a possiblity of Lupus. Because she was a general practioner, she wanted to send me to a specialist who could do further testing, and help to start me on a treatment plan for the current diagnosis.

I anxiously awaited the appointment, as my insurance was to run out 2 days after that. I knew this was my last hope. I drove for 4 hours to see Dr. Beth Jonas at the Rheumatology clinic in Chapel Hill NC. To be prepared, I kept a good account of all of my symptoms, again, and did a lot of research on possible treatment, or possible alternative diagnosis'. After extensive research, on the same sites THEY use, there were no alternatives. my day to day problems fit my Wilmington doctors opinion to a TEE...

Even though the diagnosis was clear on my chart, supposed miracle worker Dr. Jonas treated me the same as all the other doctors before. She did not believe a word of it, because of my young age of 26. She barely looked over my chart, hardly noticed my journal, and couldnt have cared less about any of my answers to her questions. In fact, she spent most of her time checking her pager(which went off nonstop), and huffing and puffing.

After a few minutes of a half attempted evaluation, she proclaimed she believed all I had was fibromyalgia at best. (even though the doctor she had examine me for 30 minutes, prior to her arrival, said everything fit perfectly) She scoffed at my tattoos, and asked how long Id had them, claiming I probably had Hepatitis... Had she been attentive in any way, she would have seen I had already been tested for everything from Hepatitis to lyme disease. She said all I needed were antidepressants and sleeping pills. When I tried to explain that antidepressants had only worsened my condition in the past (ive tried many) She got irritated, and talked over me with a loud voice. When I tried to explain that sleeping pills did not process properly in my system (giving examples) She got IRATE. She closed my chart, stating that if I wasnt going to take her meds, then she would not help me. At this point she sent me to the lab for a bloodtest to confirm her suspicion of Hep. She called of the Xrays of my hands and feet, since according to her, i do not have arthritis and did not need Xrays to prove it. But she did let me go for an xray of my neck for an issue unrelated. She said she would be in touch the following monday.

I was so distraught, i could barely breathe.

I finally called her back after waiting for over a month. She told me I did not have Hep, and that the neck Xray shows Kyphosis. She did not explain, nor did she offer any advised treatment.

Its been 2 months now, and I feel alone and helpless.

Im sure noone has read this far, but anyone who has, I would like to hear your story.

Last Edited on 23-Jan-2009 12:02 PM

If you haven't changed your diet, I would suggest that you try at least removing as much sugar as possible to see if you can realize any improvement. I will certainly let you know how it helps me. The article certainly inspired me.

There is a clinic at Duke Hospital that deals with fibro patients. They helped me come to terms with my fibro. We will always have it, but if we can make changes such as diet that would help so much, at least we could have a better quality of life. You are much younger than I (I'm 62) and have so many years with your children that you can't give up now. There is hope and we just have to keep trying.

God Bless You!

I have never considered Duke as an option, maybe because our family is nuts about the Tarheels (LOL)

I am not up to seeing anymore doctors for a while... If only HOUSE was a real doctor, we would ALL be cured! :)

Please let me know of any improvement on your end...

BARB: THanks for the info.... I will send that out tomorrow... I suggest you do the same... What is today but yesterdays tomorrow, eh?

I would never give up for the simple fact that TOO many people depend on me... Wish I could depend on someone though...

I know this may sound strange, but I was almost relieved when I was diagnosed with these things as I was tired of noone believing me... Yes, I would rather NOT have Fibro or anything else, but I can atleast find comfort in knowing there is hope and knowing its not all in my head

I am 39. All of my issues started when I was about 25-ish. Every year it would get a little worse and a little worse. My parents thought i was making things up and Dr.'s thought I was making it up. My shrink thought I was having a meltdown. You think you have it rough- try being committed to a mental ward for a week. NOT FUN. Even the hospital Dr's had a tough time with me. I got a lot of meds that week.
Now being older besides Fybro. I do have osteoarthritis, I have been diagnosed as Chronic depressive, Chronic pain syndrome and Chronic insomniac. "How wonderful for me -yes".
So, you can imagine the meds I am on and have been on for the past 10 years. I now have a narcotic tolerance higher than most and I am sure I am doing some liver damage but do not dwell on it much.

WE ALL NEED TO STICK TOGETHER.. FybroFighters!!

My family has finally come to terms with all of it especially when we all went on a family cruise and they finally realized I could NOT have as much fun with them as they wanted. I have to take naps often and had the wheelchair onboard so I could get around. It was the first time they had really "seen me as me" in the past 10 yrs.
My mom even cut out the article from Woman'sDay Mag. about this site and mailed it to me in Boston. To bad there is nothing like this "GroveApproach" in Boston (not that I would drive that far to go.)

I have included some websites above to help all of us. Enjoy.

Last Edited on 10-Feb-2009 6:42 PM

FIBRO CHIROPRACTORY