pitterpat

My Fibromyalgia was diagnosed about 2 years after I found out I had Rheumatoid arthritis. In between then I learned I had Sjogrens Syndrome and Hypothyroidism too. I had a little pity party and then jumped in to be my best advocate, learning as much as I could about all of the conditions that I had thrust upon me. I’ve learned how to have a lot of patience, and this was after already being a very patient person. I’ve grown to trust my gut instinct and question doctors when I feel it is neccessary.  I always bring a list of questions and the names of new medications with me to appointments. Because of what I’ve learned I’ve become more self confident and not afraid to ask the doctor just about anything. If you’re struggling with these same issues I hope you find the answers you’re looking for and the added confidence that comes from becoming your own best advocate.

October 31, 2007

In this day and age there is so much information available on the internet for diagnosis and treatment options for all kinds of disease’s and illness’s. Over the years it seems as if I’ve searched them for any and all new options to treat my Fibromyalgia. These are the best 2 sites I feel have helped me the most. I don’t rely on potions or 1 little pill taken daily to treat this widespread syndrome.

http://www.fmaware.org/site/PageServer

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079

For me, one of the things that bothers me the most about this syndrome is that to the casual observer fibromyalgia patients don’t look sick. It’s hard to tell if they are in pain or having a “foggy” day. Patients who have had this syndrome for a long time have gotten good at masking their daily pain, and some, like me, are uncomfortable showing the pain they are in to their friends or sometimes even to their family. It isn’t that I want to shut them out, it’s more that it’s such a daily constant issue that I have to learn to deal with by myself, and it’s actually easier to have some fun instead of always giving in to the symptoms. . A lot of the time I can “push the pain down” out of my mind enough to have some fun for awhile. Finally there reaches a point where I MUST exit the scene and lay down. I can usually tell I need to do this not only from the increase in my pain, but also because I start to get foggy, and I can’t focus on anything else except what my body is telling me. When that happens I know I have a limited time before it gets out of control and I gather all my aids such as my cold pack or heating pad, my hand held massager (I actually have several kinds) and my ever trusting TENS unit, which has been a constant helpful companion for more years than I can actually count. I would be lost with out it.

The TENS unit or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator  is an electronic device that produces electrical signals used to stimulate nerves through unbroken skin. The unit is usually used by connecting the 4 electrodes to the skin and surrounding the area that is causing the pain. The TENS unit has multiple settings and different strengths of electrical signals. The idea is to increase the signals that are surrounding the pain higher than the actual pain levels you are feeling. One theory is that the nerves can not listen to 2 pain signals at once. I was skeptical at first and was a little frightened to try the TENS unit out, and now I LOVE this machine. I can run through the different settings and increase or decrease the stimulation depending on my current level of pain. It has saved my day more than once and I highly recommend you give it a try. I was offered the use of the small hand held kind while getting treatment with a physical therapist. I then found out you can obtain one for your own with a letter of recomendation from your physical therapist to your doctor, who then writes a prescription for one. It is best to check with your own doctor on the actual steps you need to go through to obtain one as I’ve had mine for many years and things may have changed. It is safe for me to say that this device has helped me cope with my Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis more than anything, with the exception of strong drug therapy programs.