Fibromyalgia IS Real

Back in 2009, I began to suffer from chronic pain that simply never went away. I went to the doctor and I was told it was due to herniated discs I have in my lower back. While my back did hurt a lot, this was something more…horribly more. It was like a constant throbbing ache that started inside my core and radiated throughout my entire body. Some days, it was all I could do to get up out of bed and get my children off to school. I went to a few different doctors and was always told the same thing. “It’s stemming from you back. The pain has triggered depression and you think you hurt all over, but you really don’t.”

I was put on narcotic pain killers. I was put on an anti-depressant. All these medications did was keep me knocked out so much that I slept through the pain. When the meds wore off, the pain returned. I decided I was not going to live my life as a zombie, so I stopped taking the medications and began to research my symptoms.

Everything I could read told me that I might possibly have a condition called Fibromyalgia. I had friends and family members who suffered from this disease so I talked to them about it. They all agreed that the symptoms I had were very similar to the symptoms they had. So, even though I knew not to diagnose myself, I thought I had discovered the answer. I made an appointment with my doctor and I thought that if I told the doctor what I had found out that maybe I could be prescribed a medication specifically for Fibromyalgia that would give me some relief.

So much for thinking that. The doctor told me that most physicians believed Fibro was all in the patient’s head. It simply did not exist. I went to other doctors who told me basically the same thing. Every doctor I saw wanted to keep treating me with narcotics and anti-depressants. No one believed me. But even though the pain was nearly unbearable at times, I refused to ever take narcotics again. Instead, I suffered through by taking prescription strength Ibuprofen and a mild anti-depressant.

Finally, in 2012, the pain had gotten so bad that is was affecting nearly every aspect in my life. I would lay and cry in bed because I was not able to do the things I had done all my life. I was not the person I used to be and it was killing me inside.

I decided to go to a new doctor. I was desperate to find someone who would believe me, someone who would do the tender point test on me to determine if I had been right all this time. I found this doctor at a small clinic in the county next to the one I had lived in for many years.

I told her everything and she believed me. She REALLY believed me! She did the tender point test right away and every spot she put pressure on sent sharp, stabbing pain through me that went from the outside in. She agreed that yes I did have Fibromyalgia and yes there were medications that could help.

She prescribed me a medication that has helped. I have been on it for the last 4 years and I could not possibly function without it. But, it is NOT a narcotic. It does NOT turn me into a zombie. And, it has helped me.

Now mind you, I still have bad days. But, I am me again. I have accepted the fact that I simply am not physically capable of doing many of the things I used to. I’m no longer able to work outside my home. I cannot commit to a work schedule because I do not know from day to day how I am going to feel. So, I work from home so I can take a nap if I am suddenly hit unexpectedly with the chronic pain or fatigue that goes along with this horrible disease.

However, I feel like I am a better Mom, a better wife and a better person than I was when I could not find a doctor who believed my pain was real. I am so thankful that I finally found a doctor who knew Fibro is real even when other doctors brushed it aside like it was nothing. I am also thankful that I was able to stop taking narcotics before I became addicted. I hate to think what i might be by now if I had kept taking them.

Life is not perfect by any means now. But, it is better and it is very worth the pain I went through to finally get some relief.