Hi I'm new here

[Killyraw]

I'm a 52 year old housewife, or I was until 2years ago fibromyalgia took over now I struggle to move ever day. I was always active and now it hurts to even think! I keep myself sane by spinning wool and various wool crafts.

[Flyby7]

Hi and welcome to the fourm we all go through different things it's a pity your partner didn't understand your condition if it wasn't for my wife i would go nuts I suffer from bad fibromyalgia I know what it's like to over take your life is get so bad but at least you are keeping yourself occupied all the best and once again welcome we are all friendly here if you need any help just ask

[Newtali]

Welcome to the forum!

A few tips on pain management

Heat pads

Deep heat

Linnex (available on the internet, only use a tiny amount as its very intense but I find it very good.)

Osteopath, chiropractor or massage

Gentle stretches.

Are you under pain management? What meds are you on? Have you been referred to physio for advice, exercises etc?

Below is a post I put on a few weeks ago regarding the Lightning Process which has greatly helped my daughter. She continues to improve. Maybe this could help you?

A few weeks ago I posted asking if anyone had heard of the lightening process (LP). I had several replies advising caution. I read some links someone posted which were all very negative and calling it a scam, waste of money etc. However a friend of a friend with ME had done it with great success and my osteopath put me in touch with another ME person who had done it and it had transformed her life. However neither had had Fibromyalgia but the lady advised me to join the LP FB group and ask if there was anyone with fibromyalgia who had done this. I got lots of replies from people who were now living full pain free lives! Clearly you are only going to get people in the group who had success with this but even so I was impressed.

After 3 years of trying to find relief for 19'year old Abby with her having been under pain management for 2 years, spending up to 20 hours a day in bed using heat pads to relieve the pain, my giving her 1.5 to 2 hours massage every night, she was only able to attend school for a couple of hours once or twice a week, had almost no social life and us spending a fortune on food supplements, allergy testing, magnetic mattress, osteopath treatment once a week etc etc we decided to give it a go. There is little we haven't already tried and this was a last resort to find a solution.

So with some nervousness we enrolled my daughter onto the course. Due to her difficulty travelling which would increase her pain we decided to pay extra for one to one to give maximum chance of success. Abby had to do an online training of 4 hours and then a phone assessment to ensure she was fully on board. You have to fully commit to it for it to work.

It works on the principle that brain pathways can be changed. It uses techniques similar to NLP, mindfulness, hypnosis ( but you are not at any time actually hypnotised). In essence it is quite simple to learn the technique but the training covers a lot of theory, much of which is similar to what they teach you in pain management.

The course was 11 hrs in total over 3 consecutive days. I wondered if she would even cope with focusing for 4 hours at a time as after 3 hours of being out of bed she is normally climbing the walls with pain and exhausted.

After day one there was already significant progress. She walked the dog for 15 minutes with no ill effects. She has not walked the dog for about 2 years and walking more than 5 minutes normally causes increased leg pain which can last days or weeks afterwards. She only had a short nap and did some work on her lap top with no,ill effects.

The progress continued after days 2 and 3. She is needing less sleep, is reducing her reliance on heat pads, and we have reduced the length of massage I give her. Now 2 weeks on she is still doing really well. We have just come back from a 3 day theatre fest, travelling to London on the train, seeing 3 shows, doing lots of walking, including spending 3 hrs walking round shops with just a couple of breaks! Today she has had some additional pain in one of her legs, but probably no more than you would expect from having not walked for more than 5 minutes for at least a year!

She is reducing down her medication gradually. She is not pain free yet but we are hopeful that this will happen over time, but even if it doesn't her quality of life is so much better. She can now start to think about her career and is no longer facing a life on benefits.

I cannot tell you what a relief this is for us as a family. If you are able to afford it, I would strongly recommend trying this. No doubt it does not work for everyone and it will not cure structural damage but I still believe it can help with managing pain caused by arthritis etc. if your life is dominated by pain it has to be worth trying. If you cannot afford the course (it is expensive) there are several books available. The one Abby's trainer recommended was "Get the life you love now" by Phil Parker. It is better to do the course, but the book covers everything in the course and is inexpensive.

The process can also be used for depression, anxiety etc.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who does decide to do this and how they get on. Feel free to contact me for more info.

Congratulations if you have managed to read this entire post!!!!

Best wishes to you all from a very happy mum!

[Sue1955]

Hi Killyraw welcome to the forum, I've had fibro for about 30 yrs, I'm 62 now and slowly got worse over the years, my advice would be find a balance of use it or lose it as I call it lol. Sorry that may sound confusing what I mean is do as much as you can each day without overdoing it to the stage of totally exhausted and desperate pain state. It's all about acceptance in the early stages you might have been suffering for a long time before diagnosis. Oh and finding different ways of doing things. I used to be a bit OCD ish about housework it gets me down but I have accepted now I really can't do it to that standard, oh and hubby does the hoovering (not always willingly I might add) lol. I have found crochet and loving it since I had to take early retirement a few years ago keeps my mind active and occupied I think that's what sparked me to reply your interest in wool crafts. I wish you well and if I can help in any way please message me. Oh and I know exactly what you mean it hurts to think. Lol keep smiling xx

[Dizzytwo]

Hi there, let me wish you a very warm welcome to our group. I am sure you will find a great deal of friendly support/advice and hopefully make some new friends along the way.

You may wish to take a peek at our mother site. It has a wealth of information which you may find useful. fmauk.org

Mo xx

[Pat9]

welcome to the forum no wise words of wisdom Im afraid but many here suffer the same way as you and keep themselves occupied with craft work me among them so nice to meet you xx

[JacquiRo]

Welcome welcome and sorry you have this condition and find yourself here but welcome!!

I love crafting or can only on days hands allow...

Healing blessings x

[DanielleGemma]

Good Morning Hun,

Welcome to our lovely fibro family

I'm so sorry that you are suffering with this illness, I know how awful it can be! I'm glad that you can keep yourself sane with some hobbies that is really important!

Hope you are having a good day today hun xxxx

[Dinkie]

Welcome to the club not one of us really wants to be in. We are a friendly supportive bunch. No question to silly to ask but we also enjoy a joke and some friendly banter. Some very helpful folk on here who probably have more insight than the medics into what goes on in our fibro bodies. Hobbies definitely help keep the brain active. If it is one piece of advice I would give it would be to learn the art of pacing yourself. Easier said than done and I still battle with it and think I probably always will because on good days I want to "get up and at it" As fibro is so different for all of use it's a case of trial and error to find what works for you. For me it's no processed foods, refined sugars or gluten. Hypnotherapy, chiropractor, gentle exercise and my saviour epsom salt baths. Medication prescribed by the medics proved to have too many side effects for me but they work for others so don't be put off, as I say trial and error.

[Killyraw]

Thank you all for such a warm welcome, it's so good to chat to people who understand this condition, for along time I did think I was going insane!