Newly diagnosed

[barchenbear]

I've only just been diagnosed with fibromyalgia & osteoarthritis so don't really understand much about any of it at the moment. I'm only taking co codamol at the present but being prescribed an anti depressant soon.

[Lou1062]

Hello and welcome to the forum, someone will come along soon I am sure to give you all the links, this is a very friendly forum so do bear with us. Lou x

[TheAuthor]

Hi barchenbear

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 have pasted below for you a link to our mother site, FMA UK which hosts loads of useful Fibro information:

fmauk.org/

I have also pasted you an excerpt from *NHS Choices and a link to their cache on Fibro treatments:

*Treating fibromyalgia

Treatment for fibromyalgia tries to ease some of your symptoms and improve quality of life, but there's currently no cure.

Your GP will play an important role in your treatment and care. They can help you decide what's best for you, depending on what you prefer and the available treatments.

In some cases, several different healthcare professionals may also be involved in your care, such as:

a rheumatologist – a specialist in conditions that affect muscles and joints

a neurologist – a specialist in conditions of the central nervous system

a psychologist – a specialist in mental health and psychological treatments

Fibromyalgia has numerous symptoms, meaning that no single treatment will work for all of them. Treatments that work for some people won't necessarily work for others.

You may need to try a variety of treatments to find a combination that suits you. This will normally be a combination of medication and lifestyle changes.

*Medication

You may need to take several different types of medicines for fibromyalgia, including painkillers and antidepressants.

nhs.uk/Conditions/Fibromyal...

I personally have a multi-medication approach and take Pregabalin and cocodamol along with Citalpram. I do have other medications but I also find that my TENS Machine does help alleviate my pain levels.

I want to genuinely and sincerely wish you all the best of luck, and please take care of yourself.

All my hopes and dreams for you

Ken

[barchenbear in reply to TheAuthor]

Thank you so much for the information, it's good to know I'm not alone.

Helen

[TheAuthor in reply to barchenbear]

[Hidden]

Hello Helen,

Welcome to our friendly group.

There must be so many things that you want to ask and there is a wealth of information out there if you have the time and energy to search for it.

I was diagonised with Fibro in 2014 by a Rheumotologist. Once I did a bit of research and found out what it was then symptoms that I had been experiencing for a long time started to make sense.

I also have osteoarthritis and have led with that for nearly 10 years. I am 'only 49' and disability was not part of my long term life plan. Maybe I was being naive.

Here are my top tips for living your new life in no particular order.

1. Be kind to yourself

2. When speaking to medical people remember that you are the expert about you

3. Have a read of the 'spoon story'. I found this useful to explain my lack of energy to others. butyoudontlooksick.com/cate...

4. Look after your mental health as well as your physical health

5. Learn to say "no"

6. Learn to pace yourself

7. Look at what support you are entitled to

8. Don't be afraid to get the support you are entitled to

9. Acceptance - some things you just can't change

10. Look at what you can do, not what you can't

I hope that the content of my post is helpful to you.

Best wishes,

Dave

[barchenbear]

Thank you for your post, there is some very helpful information for me to try to digest. I am still relatively young at 50 so it has all been a bit of a shock but I can be quite stubborn & I am determined it will not get the better of me.

Thank you again & kind regards

Helen.

[Hidden]

Welcome mate- nurse Gladys Emanuel (open all hours) speak to our Ken the administrator he,s a hive of info on what to do where to go.. I have both like you. fibro came 14 years ago OA started 3 years ago..Not sure where you live but ask your g.p if its poss to try some hydrotherapy, its absolutely wonderful, you,ll meet other sufferers meet new friends.. Good Luck, we,re all here for you..

[barchenbear in reply to Hidden]

Hi

I am trying to get booked in to see GP. One of my biggest problems is at work, it's called my supervisor, I have quite a physical job & she isn't very understanding, when I tried to explained the nature of my condition all I got back was "are you capable of doing the job". I'm going to print the easiest explanation of fybro & see if she reads it.

Thanks (sorry for the moan)

Helen

[Hidden]

Its a shame if you don,t have a union to help you. It is illegal for an employer to refuse you time to see a medic or dentist! You should report them to DWP.

[barchenbear in reply to Hidden]

Hi

They are not stopping me from seeing the doctors, I just can't get in to see the doctor for 3 weeks. My supervisor doesn't or want to understand fybro. I've been trying to see occupational health for 2 years for various reasons but to no avail. I think it's time to get tough with them now.