It is soo wonderful to hear other people's stories about how they deal with getting through their FMS. My patients is very thin right now for sitting patiently to write, so I am going to keep this short and to the point. I have been dealing with FMS for a long time but just got diagnosed back in 2010. I had been getting massages at the time to help with the tightness in the muscles. My massage therapist is the one who had suggested that I had FMS and to go get it diagnosed in case it became debilitating in the future. Plus, she was not the first person to suggest it to me. I am not ever going to beat myself up for having this condition, but I do feel that the emotional trauma that I have gone through as a young adult( 3 MAJOR brokenhearts) and a childhood wrapped around a mother who was an alcoholic and a controlling father. Plus, by nature ever since I was a child, I have had anxiety and ocd tendencys which have DEFINATELY followed me into my adulthood( I am 38 now). I do feel that I could be ALOT worse if I didn't do half the things I do to keep from feeling bad. I teach aerobics for a hobby(kickboxing and cycling),get PLENTY of rest(atleast 8 to 9 hours), drink LOTS of water, massages every 2 weeks, stretch atleast once a day, massage myself as much as I possibly can with my own hands or any home device that can work( love the rolling pin-sit on it, lay on it, whatever it takes), try not let my blood sugar-level drop, and eat right w/NO alcohol, fructose, gluten, yeast, wheat, dairy, or high sugar. These are VERY bad for me, especially the alcohol, gluten, and dairy. The type of exercise classes I teach is quite vigorous and I do hurt sometimes from it, but I certainly know my limitations while I'm teaching. Plus, they are the ONLY vigorous activities I do on a weekly basis. I am slowly transitioning over to teaching water aerobics because I know that it is much safer and less strainous on the muscles. As far as meds are concerned, I have only been taking Cymbalta 60mg for almost 3 years. I have tried Lyrica, but I could not stand the way my hands and feet swelled are were HOT. I do not take any vitamins( I probably should), but I do take Melatonin so that I can sleep more soundly without waking up so much. I HIGHLY recommend massage therapy because when I went without my massage for 5 months, my low back muscles got soooo tight that they pulled my hips out of alignment which cause undue pain from hip to hip. I couldn't sleep, sit, or stand without it hurting. At that point, i had to go to the Chiro and massage therapist to give me some relief. Now I'm back on track with massages and I am feeling soooo much better. I will say though that even though all these things I do help with my pain management, I am having a terrible time with my mood swings and hormones. I'm wondering if I have PMDD or I am premenopause or bipolar. This is my bigger struggle with the fatigue, depression, and anxiety with the mood swings. Well, that's me in a nut shell. I hope the stuff I do for pain helps someone else. But if anyone has any advise on the other things I deal with that I DONT know how to deal with, please send some advice my way. Tina
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It is soo wonderful to hear other people's stories about how they deal with getting through their FMS. My patients is very thin right now for sitting patiently to write, so I am going to keep this short and to the point. I have been dealing with FMS for a long time but just got diagnosed back in 2010. I had been getting massages at the time to help with the tightness in the muscles. My massage therapist is the one who had suggested that I had FMS and to go get it diagnosed in case it became debilitating in the future. Plus, she was not the first person to suggest it to me. I am not ever going to beat myself up for having this condition, but I do feel that the emotional trauma that I have gone through as a young adult( 3 MAJOR brokenhearts) and a childhood wrapped around a mother who was an alcoholic and a controlling father. Plus, by nature ever since I was a child, I have had anxiety and ocd tendencys which have DEFINATELY followed me into my adulthood( I am 38 now). I do feel that I could be ALOT worse if I didn't do half the things I do to keep from feeling bad. I teach aerobics for a hobby(kickboxing and cycling),get PLENTY of rest(atleast 8 to 9 hours), drink LOTS of water, massages every 2 weeks, stretch atleast once a day, massage myself as much as I possibly can with my own hands or any home device that can work( love the rolling pin-sit on it, lay on it, whatever it takes), try not let my blood sugar-level drop, and eat right w/NO alcohol, fructose, gluten, yeast, wheat, dairy, or high sugar. These are VERY bad for me, especially the alcohol, gluten, and dairy. The type of exercise classes I teach is quite vigorous and I do hurt sometimes from it, but I certainly know my limitations while I'm teaching. Plus, they are the ONLY vigorous activities I do on a weekly basis. I am slowly transitioning over to teaching water aerobics because I know that it is much safer and less strainous on the muscles. As far as meds are concerned, I have only been taking Cymbalta 60mg for almost 3 years. I have tried Lyrica, but I could not stand the way my hands and feet swelled are were HOT. I do not take any vitamins( I probably should), but I do take Melatonin so that I can sleep more soundly without waking up so much. I HIGHLY recommend massage therapy because when I went without my massage for 5 months, my low back muscles got soooo tight that they pulled my hips out of alignment which cause undue pain from hip to hip. I couldn't sleep, sit, or stand without it hurting. At that point, i had to go to the Chiro and massage therapist to give me some relief. Now I'm back on track with massages and I am feeling soooo much better. I will say though that even though all these things I do help with my pain management, I am having a terrible time with my mood swings and hormones. I'm wondering if I have PMDD or I am premenopause or bipolar. This is my bigger struggle with the fatigue, depression, and anxiety with the mood swings. Well, that's me in a nut shell. I hope the stuff I do for pain helps someone else. But if anyone has any advise on the other things I deal with that I DONT know how to deal with, please send some advice my way. Tina
November 11, 2012 - 5:04pmThis Comment
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