Hello,
I am a 20 yr old female, I am diagnosed with POTs and Fibromyalgia as of this year. I deal with some fun mental health issues due to how I grew up. I have little to no motivation most days so I'm doing my best to take care of myself and help manage my symptoms. I have been going to the doctors since I was 12-13, I have done so much blood work and tests I'm surprised I still have blood to begin with. I have always told doctors when it comes to my pain that it is all over, but mainly in my knees, ankles, hips and lower back. I go to the chiropractor regularly and it helps. Because of my parents financial status and religious beliefs, it wasn't until I turned 18 and I had a job that I started really looking into why I'm in so much pain as a young adult. I saw a naturopathic doctor, because of said religious family, and he didn't really find answers, just gave me supplements. Cool. I stopped seeing him about a year ago, due to no answers and insurance wasn't covering and it was almost 150 per visit. I had moved out around that time and couldn't afford it. It took me another year to find courage in addressing my symptoms again, I found an amazing doctor who helped refer me to find out why I was passing out, but also was the first to listen to me and I got my fibro diagnosis. I highly suspected it based on my research but it was a relief because it didn't feel like it was all in my head. Of course I will probably deal with this for the rest of my life but now I have a course of action.
I started on Cymbalta, an antidepressant, which I know for certain I would not have been able to take while living with my parents, and I was doing pretty well. I started on 30mg and was feeling pretty good, a month later my doctor increased the dosage to 60mg. I had a bad reaction and had to drop back down to 30mg. Another 3 weeks go by and my anxiety went through the roof and it wasn't worth it to keep going. I consulted my doctor again and he prescribed my Lyrica. It's been almost 2 weeks off of Cymbalta and my pain has returned. We're starting slow at 25mg just to see how my body tolerates it then increase the dosage if I am doing good. Although the process is frustrating and mentally draining, I'm just glad that I'm able to make decisions for myself about my health. I know working out and stretches can help with management so I'm starting this week with just an hour on the cycle machine, followed up by some stretching. I'm gonna do my very best to keep the momentum.