How long does it take to really come to terms with having Fibromyalgia?

I read that it can take upto 10 years to accept this condition and it doesn't help due to the fluctuations, a form of grief through loss, where stages are passed through. After three years I am still nowhere near acceptance and can get very confused by it with the ME also. My survival instinct tells me it will go away. Lack of acceptance brings on extra problems.

[MrsValentine]

3 down 7 to go for me then.....I keep thinking like you as well....its going its going then WHAM back in bed again and cant do anything.

Am truly thankful for having just recently discovered this site..

I'd be intrested to know where you got ur info from sounds like a good read.

Take care for know

[11rooky54]

They say that this illness is caused by an event in your life. Mine started 16 years ago when I lost my mother, one of my daughters, my grandchild and then I had a motorbike accident. I was told I had a brain tumor, heart problems, arthritis, it was all in my head, tendonitis etc etc. Then last October a Doctor told me I had FM. It was like a light bulb going off in my head, but I still couldn't accept that this was never going to end. Then the other day I thought right I can go on in denial or I can take the bull by the horns. I decided on the 2nd option & now I have accepted that FM will be here but I am not going to let it control me. Hopefully you'll feel the same one day.

[ladymoth]

I feel the same as you rooky.

i was diagnosed thirteen years ago, but looking back I think i have had fibro for the best part of thirty years. I make the best of the good days, and there is a stack of things I keep in reserve for bad days, like sleeping, reading good books, or just pottering.

Life is different, but not so very bad. Getting adequate pain relief sorted out is the major step toward readjustment, the you have something to build on! Stay hopeful!

Moffy x

[LindseyMid]

I don't think you can set a time limit. Some people accept it well and easily, others take a lot longer. How it impacts on your life, and the quality of the treatment you can receive really helps.

It doesn't help that many doctors still have the attitude that there is nothing to be done about Fibro so you might as well get used to it. When actually, there are many treatment options and the goal of treatment should be to minimise the impact the condition has on your quality of life. How well it may be controlled often depends on other factors, such as whether you have other conditions, but symptom control is possible, even if it is a chronic condition.

There is a difference between truly accepting that you have Fibro and its not going away, but being very proactive abut treatment, medical care for other issues, etc and sitting back thinking "I can't do anything about this". If you have Fibro it won't just disappear, but that doesn't mean it has to be as bad as it is forever.

[Mdaisy in reply to LindseyMid]

LIKE button needed !

[carella in reply to LindseyMid]

Hiya Lindsey, would love to hear about any treatments that are available for ME/fibro as I have painkillers and that's it! not been given any information from doc apart from 'come back if the pain gets worse'! I have asked my gp but they tend to look a bit annoyed as if i'm really moaning about nothing and why don't I go away and stop bothering them - grrrrr!

i'm open to homeopathic remedies, space age remedies and even crack pot remedies as life is both boring and upsetting and frustrating. I've just bought more colloidal silver as this helps me but again, it's only ever for a few days before my body resists and i'm back to square one. I find that sunshine helps me tremendously and feel more like my old self when in a hot climate but can't afford holidays all the time as can't even get a job! the prospect of never recovering is dire!

[fibro]

I was reading your post the other way around….. how long does it take others including doctors/consultants to accept you have Fibro!

For me, it meant nothing to be told I had it, it was just a name given to the pain I had been in for 20 yrs previous and I had been taking the meds the Rheumy prescribed already for about 10 yrs. I feel I lost my life years ago before i knew what Fibro was, so I guess I have neither accepted it or not accepted it. I think thats why when I saw you post I read it the wrong way….sorry wasn't meant like that, but I think I have a point, Its not just doctors, it hard trying to prove to others that you have a invisible condition that renders you practically useless !! xxx (((hugs)))

[Fibroman]

Its been 9 years for me , but i think it started earlier but it was during a very stressful time of my life i developed flu like symptoms that didn't go away. Started with pain at back of my skull/neck and has moved around my entire body over time. You never get used to it , I am constantly trying different ways of beating this and some days i think its working. Then something happen's in my life and Ia m back at square one.

The day i come to terms with my condition is when people who know me and the government acknowledge my condition prevents me from getting and holding full time job.

So never !