My mom was just diagnosed with Fibromyalgia the other day...
jenangel - Oct 19th, 2006 11:07 PM
[ Original Post ]

Hello all. I am not sure how to go about this. My mom has been in pain for years and finally the other day got the answer that it was fibromyalgia. I have been researching a million things trying to find out anything that I can do to understand and possibly help her but doesn't seem like there is anything at all that anyone can do. She is always in SOOO Much pain and isn't able to sleep much due to the excessive pain. I never really knew what to say to her before because I would always tell her that she needs to discuss in detail what she was feeling with her doctor but he didn't ever really seem to have any answers. I was always at a loss trying to figure out what was wrong.
She has rhumatoid (?spelling?) arthritis really bad too and has had that for years. That was bad enough.
A few years ago she found out that she is also diabetic so that was #2.
Now this....and I feel so bad for her.

Is there anything that a family member can do to help make things better?

Is there anything to help manage the pain?

Has anyone found a way to be able to actually get a lil sleep ??

If anyone has any answers, please let me know. I would love to hear anything. I never knew what this disease was until just trying to research now that it is effecting my mom.

Thank You - Jen Angel

Comment


 

TERESA - Oct 24th, 2006 12:38 AM

Jen Angel, I have not been to this fourm till now & I see that noone has answered you. Sorry!! There are many things that you can do for her. I don't know your age or if you live at home, but if you do & you're old enough you can help her by trying to doing whatever you can to keep her stress level low. Stress makes the pain worse! Do the dishes for her, take on some extra housework, cook some of the suppers for the week. If you have younger sibblings, explain to them what she is going through & how they can help. The more chores that you do, means that she doesn't have to exert herself phycially or mentally. It will also make her feel better by making her happy & that helps raise the endrophine levels (the happy hormones). As far as the sleep goes, that will probably have to be taken care of by medications. You should also go to the General Discussion fourm on this site & read what others have been writing. It really helps to see how others are managing this dreadful diagnosis. Also just be there to hear her!! One of the biggest things we have to deal with is people not listening to us & our compaints!! If you listen to what she says & trust that what she says is true (even if you don't understand) this will help her more than you know! Hope this helps!


Virg - Oct 27th, 2006 10:50 AM

Jen Angel, Teresa is right on the button and covers the situation. If you find yourself being a bit overwhelmed , keep logging on and asking anything.


carm - Oct 27th, 2006 4:08 PM

Just try to keep her stress level down if you can and help her around the house like teresa said. Also, the doctor needs to coralate all her drugs for all her different medical problems and then find something that will allow her to sleep. Sorry to hear about your mom but she sounds like she has a very caring daughter.


Robin1237 - Sep 20th, 2007 5:41 AM

I know what's going on. We have Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that inflames our nerves and soft tissues. Usually acquired by being bitten by an infected tick, but can also come from other insect bites as well as human transmission. Please go study it at www.lymenet.org/FlashDiscussion/MedicalQuestions. People there can help you find a doctor who can test and treat you for it.