Cured of Fibromyalgia....NOT!

[Cry Tears]

Right now we're going to a health seminar...one woman, about my age( 55) told the group that she's had Fibromyalgia for 20 years...
that her pain was ALWAYS a 15 on the pain scale 1-10...and that by eating unprocessed foods, her pain was gone within 10 magical days!
Now just hearing her "bragging" about how high her pain level was I just had to "challange" her by this.
I don't want ANYONE to discredit we who suffer this debilitating pain syndrome by saying stupid things like this.
I know sometimes it feels just about irretracktable....but NEVER that BAD!

I asked her afterwards how could she stand the pain if it was THAT bad. Honestly...I was curious and trying to be nice.

She said she has a high pain tolerance/threshold...that it was mind over matter...that she worked full time, never needed pain meds (her words, bad drugs) never missed a day because of this pain.
Now one of my "hot buttons" got pushed and I'm getting pissed....:mad:
I asked her again "how high was your pain"?...she again stated it was always a 15.:eek:

I said I thought a 10 was childbirth...and not much more pain could be tolerated without going into shock.
I'm still hiding my disguste and anger...least I hope I did.

She sticks to her story of having pain for 20+ years often a 15 on a 1-10 pain scale all from Fibromyalgia.
She again stated that she "just puts her mind to it" and can work without skipping a beat.
She's part of this program as a helper/cook, telling this story whenever up in front, while several nurses and doctors are facilitating this program.
They didn't say a thing then, but now agree was a little over the top.
I'm rolling eyes by now....but hiding my anger and disgust with these flipant statments. How utterly rediculous!
It makes us who do have valid fibro pain look like whiners and hypochondriacs.
Its no wonder the doctors roll eyes when we try to paint a picture to prove our points.
We need to be careful and tactful in what we say and the way we say it.
Otherwise we discredit anyone "behind us".

I've also had Fibro just as long....my pain was NEVER that high...yes its been bad...sometimes very bad,
but never to where I was needing to scream like I did when my son was in the birth canal!:eek:

My pain on very bad days feels like a bad case of the flu, feels like I have a high fever but don't...and always say it feels like a truck ran over me, then backed up for another run at me! LoL!:o
But never, ever a 15 or even a 10 which is at the top end of the pain scale.

And scuuuuze me.....I've been on just pure IV's for 17 days...never took a bite of ANYTHING...so no processed foods going into my body this way.
I'd just had 2 bowel resections for Crohns disease...so couldnt eat. My pain fibro pain never went away!
So wonder what she'd say about that?!?! Probably argue that I had IV glucose is processed sugar!
Even that surgery pain was "only" a 6 or 7 at most after the surgery...well there were a few gas pains that had me wanting to scream...ouch!...but only for a few moments, it WAS a 9! I did have a 8 inch opening hard wire-stapled shut.
There goes my bikin modeling career!
The last time I tried on a thong bikini, had to go have it surgically removed!

I will say one good thing about having FM....
you can have the flu, a high fever and it doesn't feel any different than daily life with FM!:o

I hate it when people stand up and say these stupid stories up in front of everyone....totally discounting pain we are forced to live with daily.

I did tell this woman, that I could no longer work because of my pain and fatigue...
that wow! "You've got a lot more stamina than I ever had, you must be wonder woman!"
OK lady.....You win! You're better than me!

Can't just argue with her sort of attitude....just have to walk away, shake your head but NEVER think that someone like that is BETTER than you, because our pain is real...it hurts....and we can't just put our minds to it and work like a normal person....just can't be done! If they claim they can...then LET THEM! THey're super human! Goody goody for them!
They're better than anyone else if they can work while experiencing mind boggling debilitating pain like that.

And ANYONE with pain that high would die from shock!
No one could ever argue with this very oversized Amazon super woman!
She's a teacher and KNOWS it ALL! Goody goody for her! (glad I'm not one of her students!)

She asked me what I did for a living....I just told her I was disabled now from pain...no longer able to work.
She just shook her head, said "If I put my mind to it I can work, no problem"!

How the heck could anyone work during last stages of child birth, too painful...thats why we scream!
But her pain WAS more than that!
Ha! She's probably thinking I'm some stupid uneducated person....has no idea I've studied geology in college for years!....
but I don't toss my rocks around!:D and I aint superwoman.
On Fibrodays...I'm "wuss-whiney-woman-55 yo pill popping crybaby"!
I shoulda driven my backfiring Uncle Buck car for her to laugh at make fun of.....see how some people think! Ugly! Sad! Make assumptions. I really drive a very cool truck.

And I tell you another thing I'm thankful for....that SHE is NOT a doctor!
If she was, she'd probably give you a rag to bite down on for open heart surgery! Barbarion!
Her form of pain managment:...a bullet, a rag and a time card!
Bite the bullet, hang onto your rag, Get your butt up, put your mind to it and get to work!

ITs all a case of mind over matter!

And no matter how much you tell your mind....it don't matter!...cuz you forgot what you're supposed to do!
All you know is you need to find a bathroom and find it RIGHT NOW...
cuz you have bad diearreah from irritable bowels! Thanks Fibro!

And wonderwoman...you wonder which sweat outfit you should wear,
IF you get out of bed today!:D
Superwoman:....I think we like super-sized clothing cuz too tight is bothersome! Give me a Moo-moo!
A polyester one that won't get wrinkled when I take a nap in it!
Be careful...you CAN get tendonitis from using the remote too much! Been there, done that!:D
Seriously tho....we need to NOT allow people to make us feel bad because we can no longer be the person we once were....or the person we could have been had we not gotten this Fibromyalgia.
We should never feel ashamed that we suffer from pain.
And if you're too fatigued to vacuum or wash the dishes...take a well deserved nap!
If you're hurting too much to function...take a very hot bath, then climb back into bed and watch a good movie.
Don't let guilt stop you. You deserve pampering and having the luxury of a good nap or time to yourself.
I do feel horrible for those who are not allowed to do these things because of either misunderstandings by "loved ones" or financial or other circumstances.

If your doctor refuses to give you pain meds that often breaks this pain cycle, find a pain clinic.
They treat this sort of pain and are usually understanding and validate your pain.
You won't get addicted like once thought.
Opiod pain meds does wonders for the pain from Fibromyalgia.
Such as Percocete, Hydrocodone, Vicodine, Oxycodone...all Opiod pain meds.
If you DON"T have insurance or a pain clinic to get these meds...you can get them off the internet.
Just google search for these type meds...can order this way although I think they ask questions for a nominal fee, then give you a perscript for them you order from them. Seems a little "scammy" to me, but it may be the only way for you to get the meds you need to stop this pain.
When I took them for just the Fibromyalgia pain...a bottle of 20 lasted me more than a year.
And please...I doubt anyone here would say they have a 15 pain level on a scale of 0-10.....10 being the worst pain possible...screaming,crying, pain as bad as childbirth or legs cut off.
Any thoughts on what this silly woman said about her pain levels?
I know sometimes I'd like to say my pain is off the charts, but would never be so silly as to say it was a 15.....only making myself look foolish.
Am I being too critical and nasty? If so...sorry...I'm having a Fibro moment!
Hugs...cheryl
The picture I'm attatching describes the pain we have at times.

[allih]

Well said.

[Aubrae]

Don't you just love it, crytears -
None of us with the fibromyalgia label wanted it or the pain or symptoms we have to deal with on a daily basis. And don't you just love it when we spend so much time trying to educate the medical community and others that, yes, this is a real disease causing physical symptoms - and then to get a bozo like that with a simple "answer" to our problems.

You know, I agree that we can do many things to improve our health. Before and now I eat organic, veg. and very healthy. But your person lost her credibility for me when she said she was able to operate on such a high pain level and still teach fulltime, without missing a day, and in the midst of fibro with all of its wonderful flares. Been there as a teacher myself - and you're right - what a sanctimonius so and so!

First, one wonders if she ever had fibro, or just similar symptoms brought on by food allergies. But even if she did actually have Fibro, the biggest mistake any of us can make is to categorize or compare ourselves to each other - especially in this shopping bag of a disease, which has been linked to trauma, injury, auto-immune, vitamin deficiency, thyroid, etc!

All we can do for each other is to share what has worked for us, with the hope it might help someone else, but with the realization that it might not.

Hang in there, crytears, and here's to better days.

[Tootsie]

This story demonstrates why I never get into discussions, with people other than those who have fibromyalgia, about pain. First of all you need to define your terms. The gold standard these days, is that 0 to 10 numerical scale.

I can feel more miserable, at a 10, but yet the pain is probably a 5. My best description of fibromyalgia is more of an ache, not pain. Descriptions like "having the flu," and "being hit by a truck," are more accurate verbal descriptions of fibromyalgia, "pain."

Being around someone like the woman who described her fibro pain as a 15, would add to my stress level, if I allowed it to. It is a proven fact, that being preoccupied with other events, can be so intense that pain signals are blocked out. This is what happens when professional athletes get their bumps and bruises during the game but don't notice them until afterwards.

There were many days while I was working that I ached so badly when I got up in the morning, I wanted to crawl back in bed. However, putting one foot in front of the other, and getting my body to work managed to keep my mind busy enough, that the achiness resolved. My job was totally absorbing and I enjoyed it. Perhaps that is what this woman was trying to express. Cheerio.

[Fayelle]

I hear you!

I often argue somewhat on the same point as the woman was talking about but it sounds pretty overblown if she is talking a 15 on the pain scale and is able to function while in that pain without taking measures to combat the problem....When in that kind of pain it is nearly impossible to focus let alone work.....If people were able to function in that kind of pain there would be no reason to have pain medications....My pain threshold is particularly high because of my life long untreated pain issues, but I would consider a 15 to be out of control....

I am one of those people who are exceptionally careful about pain meds, especially narcotics.....However the pain I can deal with I consider to be a 3 or 4 on the pain scale in daily pain, a 15 would be a much different story...Plus I just saw a recent study stating that people in chronic pain seem to have gray matter loss prematurely because of the chronic pain issue....

I understand what Tootsie is saying too, especially right now with my new strength training and soccer training I am taking part in.....In the morning the last thing I have felt like is hitting that bowflex to train my muscles but I am pushing through it in order to try to get my health and fibro symptoms more under control.....Tonight though I hit a wall in my left leg from the exercises I have been doing and needed to treat with a pain medication because it was starting to effect my mood.....After I get moving in the morning though my fatigue has been passing and the stiffness, as well as aches are passing....

To many chronic pain people I have been that woman with the pain med argument, in fact I stopped visiting the chronic pain board here because I have a different viewpoint on some of the issues surrounding narcotic usage.....However what was being said in this instance is even out there for me.....

Its good she managed to find her trigger and eliminate it, however it is not so easy as all that for everyone which even I have come to understand.....In some cases it is much more complicated than changing your diet for other people.....In a good amount of cases of fibro triggers the damage is irreversible.....

Is she a moron? Yup! She is missing the empathy gene in this instance which is unfortunate and ridiculous....Making blanket statements about everyones situation is not appropriate....If she feels like this would help others then the best bet for her is to teach nutrition and give the information for those who would like to hear what she has to say and allow them to contact her for further information and help.....

Fibro is really a different animal for everyone and no one thing will ever fix it for every patient.....

Tootise also made a good point about fibro pain....Both of those definitions of my pain have left my lips repeatedly......

Just remember people are idiots at some point in life, sometimes people are idiots more often or on a larger scale.....

But I do understand how frustrating and infuriating these instances are, I felt terrible for about 5 days after that ER visit where the doc was a jerk to me....

However luckily I have my husband and doctor who both told me they knew better, fortunately for me I finally allowed myself to listen to them and know that they are the ones who matter.....

Take it as it is, another foolish person who cannot manage to remember that her situation is not everyones situation.....

Fay