Post traumatic stress cause of fiberm... - Fibromyalgia Acti...

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Post traumatic stress cause of fibermyalgia ?

Sue1463 profile image
20 Replies

Hello everyone

My family were racially abused by local people for a period of four year, there was over 20 police incidents and to date we have been to court as witnesses over 15 times.

The last incident was a year past September where five people forced there way into our home and brutality attacked us in front of our three screaming children.

That was breaking point for us we couldn't take anymore so we left our dream home, business family and friends and moved 30 miles to another area. We have found the "system" in our country to be appalling, and we were yet again victimised for having our own property and business when trying to apply for benefits.

During the attack two people had hold if my head and were repeatingly banging it off a radiator, I was left with severe neck and shoulder pain as well as my face badly bruised and swollen.

This pain in my neck and shoulder wouldn't budge, I was given tramadol, imbrufen, codamol, and put on fluoxetine.

The pains started spreading through my body and the doctor kept saying it was all stress related, after visiting a therapist they confirmed I had PTS.

I'm unsure of when the pain "settled" in my legs, feet and hands, but it has made it's self at home and lives there 24/7.

Some days are worse than others but the nights are never ending and I feel so desperate and frustrated when no pills can take the pain away. I'm now on pregabin and duculoxine, since being di agonised with fibermyalgia at the pain clinic.

My consultant said there is no medical evidence that it has been caused with the PTS but she has willingly gave evidence in court that she blames the attack on my condition now.

My life has been snatched away from me and I'm finding it very difficult to cope with this new painful, constantly tired existence.

My legs get so painful and hot and feels like someone is sticking a thousand pins into them, my feet are sore and weak and sometimes moving my toes can be horrendous same with my hands and fingers.

Most days I just want to stay under the duvet and in the time we've been living here I only go out to see to my children and hospital and doctor appointments.

After a battle and having to go through two traumatic appeal tribunals. " I get so angry that I'm being judged and questioned over this condition and having to constantly convice others that the pain does excist". I am on ESA work group ( but only been called to one interview the guy said he could see my head was all over the place, as we still have court cases to attend, that last thing on my mind was looking for a job) I have also been awarded standard rate pip daily living.

I have pain clinic this week so here's hoping the have found a magic potion to give me my life back.

Sorry if I've downloaded to much information but once I start I can't stop, there is so much went on in my life that it would be a best seller should I write a book.

My three year old daughter is the best medicine for me most days and in truly blessed that i have her to keep me going.

So just wondered if anyone else developed fibermyalgia through a trauma in there lives.

Thank you for listening and I wish you's all a pain and stress free 2016.

Kind regards

Sue

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Sue1463
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20 Replies
Greenpeace profile image
Greenpeace

Hi Sue 1463,

I am truly saddened by your story and all that you and your family have endured. I sincerely hope that 2016 will be a more stable and safe year for you all.

There is not any one particular reason why someone gets Fibro, but statistics show that any kind of Trauma can bring it on. So in your case, you have had more than your share of that.

If you go to fmauk.org which is our mother site, and there you can find lots of information about Fibromyalgia, along with how to apply for Benefits.

I'm so happy that you have your little daughter to give you a reason to get up in the morning, and I hope and pray that things will start to come right for you, and that you get the help you need, and that you can get the right combination of painkillers to give you relief from your constant pain.

Kind regards.

GP.

Sue1463 profile image
Sue1463 in reply to Greenpeace

Thank you for your kind words, I have a lot to deal with this up comming year so please do pray I get the strength to overcome the bad times.

My other two children are 12 and 13 and after after 4 miscarriages we never thought we would have another baby.

Just after the trouble started I fell pregnant, I do believe she was a god send to help us all through this traumatic time.

She is constant reminder of dosent matter how bad it may get or how much pain I am in, I'm still totally blessed to have three great kids.

Thank you once again

Suzanne

roselavenders profile image
roselavenders

I am really sorry to hear your story, you have gone through so much and you are so strong. As the person above said, fibro can be triggered by many different things and I think stress and pts is one of them. I remember reading that fibro is also linked to cases of abuse and trauma in some cases, which may be the case for me too. I am glad that you are now receiving ESA and PIP, and I do really hope the pain management clinic will help you :)

Sue1463 profile image
Sue1463 in reply to roselavenders

Thank you for your kind words.

Suec

Sorebones profile image
Sorebones

What a sad tale you have to tell. It must have been a horrific experience for both you and your family. I personally feel that it is disgusting in this day and age.

There is a train of thought that trauma can start Fibro symptoms. There are also several other causes under debate too. Nobody has come up with a definitive answer, yet.

I believe that it's not the trauma or PTSD itself that is the major factor, but that it has a knock on effect that causes a change somewhere in the body that starts signs of Fibro. But that is a personal belief, I'm sure that Drs have their own theories. We are not experts, as in medically qualified, just experts through our own experiences.

I hope that you find some peace soon 🐸

meloha profile image
meloha

I am so sorry about your trauma and the nasty people!! I have read that the brain gets stuck in "fight or flight" due to various life circumstances, such as trauma, car accidents, deaths of loved ones, etc. Getting stuck there means that you are constantly vigilant and cannot relax = stressed, you no longer feel safe anywhere. This is not a sustainable state for your body or mind. It is well-known among fibro sufferers that any of these traumatic circumstances can bring on fibro. If you can get yourself to relax and rest, it is one of the best therapies going. Try anything -- relaxation recordings, meditation, yoga -- whatever might work. I have some (very old) tapes with recordings of mellow music and subliminal messages of relaxation and good sleep that I find subtle but effective. I wish you peace and much healing!!

Scottish-piglet profile image
Scottish-piglet

Hi

What a truly horrendous experience you have suffered for years, I wish you and your family every blessing for a much better future. Shame you still have so much court to go through, it's those type of imbeciles that give others a bad name.

Wishing you all the happiness in the world and a relief for your pain xx

Sue1463 profile image
Sue1463

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts.

Regnofibro1 profile image
Regnofibro1

Sorry to hear about your problems. As I am having a very foggy day I just wanted to let you know that as a person dealing with PTSD. It does get a little easier. You learn what your triggers are and you will also start to feel a episode coming on and you learn to deal with them a little better over time. Hugs

TheAuthor profile image
TheAuthor

I have read your post with so much pain and sorrow for what you have endured and continue to endure, and I want to genuinely and sincerely wish you all the best of luck. I can never truly understand why and how people can treat others like this? And I truly feel for your entire families suffering. Please take care of yourself.

All my hopes and dreams for you and your family

Ken

Sue1463 profile image
Sue1463 in reply to TheAuthor

Thank you Ken.

These people who did this to us, did it because they could and it a game to them they have nothing to lose. We had our dream home and a small business which we had built from scratch and worked damn hard for 16 years together to do that for our children. The system and services involved in our case have let us down and the justice system is a dirty dark place I would not wish on anyone. These people no how to manipulate the system and get away with it. We have tried endlessly to get support to fight back for justice but every door you go to closes quick when you mention racism. Sorry I'm rattling on here but I'm overwhelmed with the kind words from "my new fibro friends".

Karma keeps me going and my beautiful children.

Once court cases are finished and hopefully I can manage my pain better, then we will start to build a life for our children again.

Bless you and thank you for your caring thoughts

TheAuthor profile image
TheAuthor in reply to Sue1463

Good luck and I sincerely hope that you can rebuild your life.

Katherineanne profile image
Katherineanne

I'm saddened for you to hear about all the troubles that you and your family have encountered through others direct poor treatment. The PTSD, alone, can be enough to be overwhelming and exhausting but with children,court and severe pain..your plate is quite full. I'm glad you are able to find bits of joy through your daughter. Your doing the next right thing by reaching out fir support...as all of us here have...because being heard and understood is a priceless comfort. Take care today, enjoy the small joys through your day,rest as you can... Keep checking in. My thoughts are with you in your time of medical evaluation, assessment and all your grand life stressors that seem to be relentless.

Katherine

caninecrazy profile image
caninecrazy

I read your post with great sadness, sorry to hear you had to change your whole life for despicable people. I hope you now feel safe in your new home. I personally believe that something triggers FM. wishing you strength to fight the complex system of our courts. hugs x

Dusky profile image
Dusky

Hello Sue, I was so moved when i read your post. All I want to do is give you a gentle hug and reassure you that things will get better in time xxx

Petitepam profile image
Petitepam

Hi Sue, hope you have had a good day. I read your post and was horrified at what your family are suffering. Ido think that stress can play a part as it lowers your immune system. I have similar pain in my head and shoulder but it was due to couple of car incidentsand going through a very stressful time. I do use most of the same pain medication as you and i also have a good massage therapist and i am very lucky to have an amazing chiropractor who is always putting me back together. You are such a strong and brave person and i bet you keep your worries inside to protect your family (which makes the pain worse).I dont have a magic wand i can only tell you what has help me to live with my pain. I try to practice mindfulness and can only suggest that you taking a short time out of your day to focus on yourself is a good thing. I dont understand why we have a society run by people without empathy as you and your family should be given all the support throughout this time. Take care of youself.p

Have you seen this?  dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

Sue1463 profile image
Sue1463

Thank you very much for bringing this to my attention. My head was repeatedly banged of a radiator and I suffer every one of those symtoms.

I will take this article to my consultant, my father died at a early age of fifty from a brain tumour and I thought they would have sent me for a MRI, but they never. 

I will update in my findings.

Thank you once again and I wish you health and happiness. 

in reply to Sue1463

Your more than welcome.  When you said about the abuse and banging your head I immediately thought about this article. I too have many of the symptoms that you have. My hands are quite painful to the point I find typing hard . Sorry if this is brief but I really feel for you and you should insist on proper brain scans and tests. I got the MRI and it appears that deficiencies in b12 , carnitine and coenzyme q10 are the root cause of my health declining. Take care of yourself Sue and keep me posted on how you get on x

Ps sorry I just realised I missed out a sentence above. Although my MRI didn't show anything significant, blood tests (NHS and private) revealed a few deficiencies. The testing system isn't particularly accurate for b12 so lucky that showed in an NHS test. If your scans are clear it's worth thinking about gut health and nutritional deficiencies.  All the best x

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