Hi. Cant believe I have found some support :-)

[EandA]

Hi. This is my first post. Someone from fibroaction suggested this site and so I joined it 2 mins ago, so please forgive me if I do this wrong.

I have been diagnosed with fibro and to say that it has turned my life upside down is the understatement of the decade.

I was a successful teacher. I left my life as a florist and took off to uni to train. It was great. I taught year 4 in a great school in london. I loved my job, the kids and even the ridiculous long hours. I was in my element every day.

Then on march 26 2013 I fell down a flight of concrete steps snapping my knee cap in half.

From the day I entered the hosp it was a catalogue of disasters. From wrong meds to physiotherapists giving incorrect advice. Letter to and fro my GP to hosp taking 16 weeks. The who experience was horrendous. During this my knee healed but my brain and body took a drastically different direction. Nobody seemed to understand and I felt like a hypochondriac, constantly complaining of pain in all other areas of my body.

I lost my job, my career, my wages, and my mind.

it was over a year later when a very clever physiotherapist told me I had fibro.

Never heard of it.

From that day I have searched for help. I have been told by all the medical profession that I just have to find a way of dealing with it, and thats ok I suppose but I wanted support. Information. Help!!

My partner and mum have turned themselves inside out trying to help me but they can only do so much.

I dont sleep anymore. I have depression, anxiety, and a whole load of indescribable pain.

This week I found fibroaction on twitter and they directed me here.

I know I have gone on and on but I guess it is because I am so pleased I may have found a little support. People who my understand. People I can chat to every now and then. So Hi. My name is Emma.

[bren876]

Hi Emma and welcome to our family of support advice and a whole lot more...

Like most of us here we have all had careers that we have loved and find it very difficult to understand why our lives have been turned upside down by fibro..

I Still cant get my head around the person i was and the person i am now, its difficult for us to understand but its impossible to explain to our loved ones or family and friends...

There is always some-one here to offer advice or add some humor to the fibro so dont be worried about any questions you may have, some one will have good advice and our Ken is brilliant with websites that will help you...

Welcome again..

Gentle hugs

viv xxx

[lou60]

Hello Emma, you have come to the right place for help and advice. I would suggest reading through the posts here, some very good advice can be found and knowing you are not alone with this is a huge relief. Most of us at some point have been made to feel that it's all in our heads let me assure you it isn't, I for one know that the illness causes the depression not the other way round. I hope you get all the assistance you need with this. xxLou

[Mdaisy]

Hello EandA,

Welcome to the FibroAction community.

I'm glad you managed to join OK as we discussed on Twitter. I am happy to say that I think you've found a very informative & supportive community here. Any of our members will help advice and if you need help any of our FibroAction volunteer administrators will help, I'm sure they'll be along in a while to introduce themselves.

I am so sorry you've had such a rough time of it but here we understand as we all live with Fibro including the HU volunteers too. Fibro is a difficult condition to manage but some can achieve a better quality of life using a combined approach of recommended medications, complementary therapies, relaxation, coping mechanisms (stress reduction, CBT etc), outside support, stretching & gentle exercise etc. The difficulty can lie when you have other conditions that are affecting Fibro symptoms too.

It sounds like I think I would consider addressing your health and trying to reduce your symptom experience to help you to cope better with outside stressors. If you want to find out more evidenced based information you can from our website. The factsheets you can download & print to take to your Doctor's appointments, here's the link;

fibroaction-public.sharepoi...

I wondered have you seen a Rhuematologist? Or been referred to a Pain Clinic? Information on pain clinics here>

healthunlocked.com/fibroact...

Please know we will always try to point you in the right direction for help & always be here to listen.

Any other question please do ask.

Best Wishes

Emma

FibroAction Administrator

[Shadows-walker]

Hi hope your ok today welcome this site ,it's is a brilliant .in my humble opinion it keeps me sane , have you seen a rheumatologist yet , if not ask GP for referral keep your chin up xx

[Shazzzy]

Hi emma, welcome to the site. I would think all of us have a similar past, the only difference being the trigger that startes the fibro, in my case 2 car crashes in 12 months ( i was hit by a police car). It is wonderful to talk to people who understand you, it stops you from feeling such a freak, with all these strange symptoms. I know so much more now than when i joined, which is empowering. Hope you enjoy it as much as i do, wishing you all the best

[Hidden]

Hi Emma and welcome.

Lots of hugs sue xx

[caninecrazy]

hello emma,

I am so pleased that you've joined this wonderful site, I have made many wonderful friends on here. I have been given very helpful and honest advice which is great. I no longer feel alone fighting FM. I read people blogs daily and if I can offer advice or just a hug I do so. we are a lovely "fibro family" x

[rosewine]

Hallo Emma welcome to the site you will find lovely, supportive people on here and masses of useful information. It is terrible that just one event can turn our lives completely around. I can empathise with the job being lost as I had to give up a job i adored and had done for years as i could not concetrate with the continual pain. Hopefully you will find that this site will help decrease the feelings of isolation that we all sometimes getx

[TheAuthor]

Hi EandA

I sincerely hope that you are feeling as well as you possibly can be today? Welcome to the forum, and it is wonderful to make your acquaintance. I genuinely hope that you find the forum useful, informative and loads of fun!

I think that you will find that many of the members will be able to relate to your story, and your to theirs? I genuinely hope that you are getting all the necessary medications and physiotherapy that could help ease your pain?

I genuinely look forward to bumping into you around the forum.

All my hopes and dreams for you

Ken x

[mindful579]

Hi Emma I am very glad that Tweeter directed you too our lovely site full of helpful people, who would try their best to help you in anyway we can. Im sorry you have lost everything to your mind but you haven't, because we will help you to get the right benefits and help that you may need, and maybe the right meds for you to ask for from your Doctor. So "Hello. Is it HealthUnlocked, Your Looking For?" Gentle hugs emma Your welcome here. :-)x

[sophie22]

Hi Emma,

welcome to our lovely support group, hope you find it as much a life line as I have. I too had a good career as a Probation Officer, I loved it, spent 10 years at University to get the job, I was devastated when I could no longer do it, still am grieving 6 years later, don't think I will ever fully get over it. But every cloud has a silver lining, I now have 5 reasons to drag my painful body out of bed in the morning, two little girls and three little boys (grandchildren). I am currently starting to make dolls and teddies new outfits for Christmas, thet have all done drawings and given me instructions as to what they want, as I can only sew for a little at a time they will be lucky if I finish in time, I made them all rag dolls last Christmas, finished two days before, started in August. The point is new opportunities will come into your life and it is possible to work around your bodies tantrums and still enjoy life, just on the slow side. Gentle hugs!

[ShellyWelly]

Welcome Emma.

Your experience sounds utterly awful and extremely distressing. There is no wonder you are suffering with (amongst) other things depression.

My diagnosis of fibro is still relatively new, so there are other people far more experienced than myself here, able to offer support and advice, but I just wanted to welcome you.

I really do hope you receive the support you need from the medical profession In order to improve your wellbeing and quality of life.

Shell x

[fenbadger]

hi Emma, (the new one.) well both.

Welcome indeed. Take it slowly and enjoy the support from this site. Even if the advice lacks there's no shortage of moral support and sympathy.

Good luck

[mitziblue]

Welcome Sweetheart!!! This is an awesome site. I'm sorry you have been having a bad time of it but as you know it's a lifetime of limitation's and struggles. When it gets unbearable please go to a pain clinic as they are very helpful and as we grow older it only gets worse plus so many related other things that pop up that's associated with the fibro. Hang in there sweetheart and if you need anything just ask!!! xxx Mitzi

[Angel2]

Hi Emma, Welcome to this fab group there are lots of wonderful peeps on here with lots of great advice and great humour! I am in a very similar boat have worked in the same job in the civil service for nearly 20 years and am just been put forward for Ihr have tried and tried to cope but I'm getting worse not better, nhs gp not helpful and work have not been great, I am very stubborn and thought I cld fight this.. But I can't and having to face up to this is extremely hard I am not really hopeful for Ihr but am going to give it my best shot... Just wanted you to know that I and everyone else in this brilliant group understand what you've been through and are going through, so never feel alone

Sending you huge big hugs xxxx