Fibromyalgia Support Group

I lost the ability to hold down a job partly because of pain and partly due to the exhaustion.

I lost my confidence and became scared to leave the house because of pain

I have lost the abilty to have a nice soak in the bath I get stuck!

Have lost the understanding of family they think I am imagining it

I can no longer take the long walks with my dog in the forest. I really miss that!

Dont think I can keep going getting a bit down thinking of this!

I lost a job I really loved [nursing]lost friends. Lost the ability to hold an inteligent conversation. I lost the ability to clean my house and cook and care for my family, which makes me feel useless and a bad mother. I dont go any where, not unless its to the doctor. I dont even go shopping. I dont do any hobbies I use to do. I use to have dreams and goals but they went out the door. I cant plan anything cause I never know how Im gonna feel. No one understands, except you guys. I am thankful for my family and that we have a house and food to eat.

I'm only 24, and realize that I lost a lot of my independence. I hate relying on others to do things. I'm always tired, when I do exercise I hurt for days afterward. I am severely limited at jobs. I hate when i can't express myself (loss of words, slurred speech). I have no one, everyone turns tail and run when they realize I have fibro, because they don't understand it, and don't attempt to try.

The biggest thing I have lost is my ability to labor as much as I would like. I have always liked physical labor. Building gardening, home arts. Don't tell hubby but I'm really glad I can't work any more. I miss the kids and teaching but not the stress of special education. I've lost friends that don't understand. Today I am totally frustrated. My grandkids are coming and I have so much to do and I don't know how it will all get done. I still work around here but I have to take breaks and it takes forever to do anything. I am dependent on my family to do heavy lifting and such and I know it irritates them because I have always done everything myself. Right now I just want to scream!!!!

Fibromyalgia has impacted my life 100%. I can't keep up with the housework, I've lost a few friends because I just can't go out and do the things I used to be able to do. My husband and I fight all the time because I know I'm holding resentment against him because he just doesn't understand how I'm feeling most of the time. It sucks.

I struggle ever day not to let Fibro define my life. I am a stay at home Mom of two active children, so I have to be present for them no matter how I feel. I will not let this pain steal their childhood.

I have a caring, wonderful husband and if I have a choice of spending 15 minutes with him, or 15 minutes on the heating pad, I choose to spend it with him. He deserves my love and attention just as he gives me his.

I spend much more time dealing with pain then I ever thought possible, but I still get the house clean, the shopping done, baths, homework and everything that comes with daily life. And sometimes I pay for it at the end of the day.

There are no easy solutions with Fibro. I just will not let it ruin my life.
I have had to slow down, give up some things I loved doing, but I still get to all the really important things in life.

fibro has taken away a lot from everyone it touches.

with me...

-it's taken away my social life (rely on places like DS for social interaction now.)
-it's taken away my ability to keep my house clean
-it's taken away my ability to form a normal sentance on most days... typing is much easier, i can leave it and come back mentally instead of trying to speak a sentance and lose what I was saying
-it's taken away my ability to be active. when I was young I played basketball, volley ball, and ran track. I loved trekking through the woods, tracking deer, and biking. I can do none of that now.
-it's made me gain weight. Especially now that I'm taking Lyrica.
-I now look much older than I am. Dark circles under my eyes, even after a good nights sleep, ragged appearance... unfortunately I just don't have my looks anymore.
-it's made keeping a normal job almost impossible. everyday is a struggle at work, and I come home exhausted only to spend my freetime trying to recouperate from work just to go back and do it again.

I hate focusing on the negative, but I could keep up this list for a long time. mental fuzziness, loss of short and long term memory, inability to concentrate, somnolence, pain, inability to just function normally, let alone the depression that came *after* the fibro. *sigh*

I pray every day for a cure, or even a plausable treatment. Not this crap that robs as much of my life as my fibro does, it's like a double whammy.

I've lost alot of things.My career that i loved,friends,I gained weight but now thankfully in the last year took some off.I used to be a hyper,hard working tough woman.Now I need help with things which use to be so hard on my pride.Its not so bad anymore .I went through a grieving process of the loss of my old self and sometimes I still do but it gets easier to accept my limitations and just try and be the best new me I can.I can relate to dakotarose about having a stronger spirituality.And also learning about what really is important in life.Having my sister and mom close to me is wonderful.I lived to far away from my family for years.I worked to hard for so many years that I didn't get to stop and smell the roses.Now this condition has forced me to slow down and re-evaluate my values and learn other ways to feel self worth.This site has inriched the quality of my life!When I get up in a fog and am limping around waiting for my meds to kick in(sometimes they don't)Someone always makes me smile with morning musings and its so nice not to be alone in this!Hugs,tori

well i have had FMS since dx'd in may 05. i had to quit my job oct '06 due to the pain and fatigue and the meds. besides losing my job, i've lost sense of well being. feel so useless not being able to do for myself and having to depend on others for money. i've lost the feeling of having no pain and doing what i wanted too..now it takes all i got just to wash clothes. i could use to clean the whole house and do clothes and still up too going out to dinner or etc. lost the sex drive i was had. feel like i have lost my mind on some, most days. i have been trough alot in my 32 years and this beats all. my mother has fibro, and she you will get use to it or be able to tolerate it in time. i dont think i can. this is the rest of my life. having ddd in my neck and back and possibly having to have surgery down the road, i dont think i will ever get use to this horrible pain and fatigue. love to all of you. we all have lost so much in our lives. best wishes to all. hugs, kevin

I DON'T REPLY TO ANYTHING MUCH ON THE BOARD, BUT AS I READ ALL THESE POST I JUST STARTED CRYING. IT BREAKS MY HEART TO SEE SO MANY VITAL WONDERFUL PEOPLE ON HERE GO THROUGH SO MUCH. I HAVE HAD FIBRO SINCE 2004, AND I STILL CAN'T GET MY FAMILY TO EVEN TAKE THIS SERIOUS. I HAVE BEEN IN SO MUCH PAIN TODAY THAT I CAN'T HARDLY SIT DOWN.
I DON'T GET OUT OF THE HOUSE UNLESS IT'S AN EMERGENCY.
I CAN'T KEEP MY HOUSE CLEAN LIKE I USE TO.
MY HUSBAND IS ON DIALYSIS, AND I CAN'T TAKE CARE OF HIM. SO I FEEL LIKE I AM FAILING HIM.
I MAKE MYSELF GO TO CHURCH BUT I WIGGLE AND TWIST AND I'M MISERABLE.
I HAVE A 9 YR OLD DAUGHTER, I CAN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING WITH HER MUCH AT ALL.
I FEEL LONELY ALL THE TIME.
I HAVE SO MANY FRIENDS ON HERE THAT I THANK GOD FOR.
YOU KNOW, IT HAS TAKEN ALOT AWAY FROM ME. BUT IF IT WASN'T FOR THIS WEB SITE AND ALL MY FRIENDS THAT GIVE ME SO MUCH I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO.
MY FAMILY NEEDS ME, BUT I FEEL LIKE I'M FOREVER LOST.
I WORK PART TIME BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN GO. IT'S TAKEN THINGS AWAY FROM EACH AND EVERYONE OF US. WE NEED TO HOLD ONE ANOTHER UP, AND GIVE SUPPORT AND PRAY FOR EACH OTHER. LIKE I SAID I'M SO THANKFUL TO HAVE THIS SITE AND ALL MY FRIENDS.