Pain

This is not the temporary pain of a stubbed toe. It is not the longer lasting pain of a headache.

This is a pain the grips your entire body. Muscles in your body ache. This isn't the ache of a hard tennis game that affects a few muscles. This ache extends to every muscle. When you walk, you resemble Frankenstein with his stiff legs; it is too painful to properly bend your legs. It's the pain you feel when you have the flu, only this pain never ends.

Maybe you used to be an excellent typist, but now you make lots of errors because your fingers hurt when you try to reach all of the keys. You take shallow breaths; it hurts too much to take normal ones. This pain doesn't last for hours or days or weeks or months. It lasts for years and years; sometimes you hope for death because that would finally end the pain.

You grow tired of hearing that the medicine you take is normally given to terminal cancer patients. There are days when the pain is so bad that you take the special medicine for breakthrough pain. Then you curl up in a ball in bed because the medicine doesn't stop the pain and you're afraid to take any more.

This is the pain I live with every day. This is fibromyalgia. This is my life. Why do i live this way? Because i love life. I want to experience it all, in spite of the pain. As a friend of mine would say, "Execute your dreams or execute your dreams." And I'm not ready to kill mine.

Comments: 13

Mary McCartt Oct 17, 2007, 10:40pm EDT

Yes, its been with me now for 25 years. Day in and day out. I understand. You can rise above it because you have a beautiful spirit.

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Member Photog Oct 17, 2007, 11:55pm EDT

I feel for you and have a few other women friends who live with this.....makes me wonder why it is so prevalent,or am I just hearing about it more?.....what brings it on?...more women than men suffer from it?.....does nutrition,herbs,or vitamins n' minerals provide any relief?....wish I could offer you something other than my best wishes .....thx for comments on my content...always great to hear from you!

cheers,gayle

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Marilyn M. Oct 18, 2007, 1:48am EDT

Bless your heart. From one sufferer to another. I feel your pain. I just wrote in my Daily Whine and Shine that I hurt all the time, but I'm even worse trying to get in and out of bed. I avoid going to bed because I know I'm about to put myself though torture. And yet I'm tired. Grrr.

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Cindy R. Oct 18, 2007, 2:42am EDT

Mo,
Sounds like a bad flare. You know you have my sympathy. I remember those days, just curled up in a ball in the bed, too fatigued to turn over or even make pain noises.
Soft hugs,
XenCindy

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Jae F. Oct 18, 2007, 8:33am EDT

I had a co-worker with this. I don't know how he made it into work. What is sad, the flight surgeon came back and said he could not work taking the medication he did. He tried coming off the medication and life got so much worse for him. It was very sad.

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William Dotani Oct 18, 2007, 9:28am EDT

I have friends who have this and they have both good and bad days. Although the science has yet to detect the main cause, there is a theory that a host of minor inflammations act throughout your body, but the reason for this is unknown. Some have found relief with a product known as reversitol. I have no idea where to buy it. I'm not even sure if I'm saying its name right. I know several people who swear Aloe Vera juice helps reduce a whole host of pains. I've been drinking it for a year and it works for me. If I hear anything, I'll let you know.
You might want to check garynull.com or Debra Raye's website.

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William Dotani Oct 19, 2007, 10:12am EDT

I talked to a friend who has your problem plus Lupus. I am amazed at her activity level. She told me she drinks lots of wine and plays tennis as often as she can. She's 56. She also told me she likes to take hot baths, but somethings the hot water feels like flames, so she can't always do this.

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William Dotani Oct 19, 2007, 6:48pm EDT

I hope you are feeling better.

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Elsie Duggan Oct 21, 2007, 8:10pm EDT

I am so sorry you have this condition Maureen, I think I am bad with spinal arthritis, but I am able to navigate okay with my arthritic strength tylenol, but last night , went to bed as usual about 4 Am, I know I am messed up, and woke at 8, unusal for me and was in pain all over and got up and went to the bathroom, if I wake up I must, lol, and still had pain but tried to get back to sleep and I did for a bit, but when I picked up my little pill container I bring in her on my computer at night I saw I had not taken the tylenol or my xanax I take for many other reasons besides pain, but not taking that causes a tightening of everything because I am addicted to it for so long, so much in my life in the past ten or more years the dr. won't take me off it, so my pain is because I was stupid last night. I wish your pain could be so easily remedied. I am sorry I can't give you a magic pill or I would, with so many suffereing with this condition you would think there would be a lot of research going on to find a cure or at least something to keep you more comfortable, you have my prayers and my best wishes.

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