Decisions, decisions. I can either make a pineapple upside down cake and have soup and sandwiches for dinner - or make a regular dinner and just have sherbet for dessert. I'm quickly running out of spoons!

so my main issue I'm finding out, since the chronic pain hit (it's no longer exactly fibro, but that's another post) I find that I am paralysed by the lack of stability in my own body.

with autism, I'm very rigid and freak out when plans change or I can't control things. with chronic pain, I never know when my body is going to crap out or flare or I'm going to get a migraine. this happens, I have to change my plans and I am useless for often days after this.

this has come to a head this week because we have a houseguest and while I was doing great on vacation last week, this week my body (and subsequently emotions) is just flipping out all over the place and I've been in bed and only seen my guest once this week. it then falls on to my SO to do the heavy lifting and while he's come to expect it,I hate it and it's no way to live - to expect to fail constantly. 

i see that a couple of you comment on both groups (fibro and adult aspergers) and wonder if you have any advice or suggestions?

thanks.

Does anyone else just see red when the Lyrica commercials come on?? "For several weeks, I had this deep, unexplained pain." How about *years*? How about decades?? "I saw my doctor and he prescribed Lyrica." How about after seeing several doctors who don't believe you? Doctors who think fibro is a figment of your imagination or who think you just want drugs? And then the fact that it makes people think Lyrica is a magic cure for fibro. It can work for some people, heck, it worked for me. What I'm on now is better, but it did help me at one time. But I can't even tell you guys how many people, upon finding out I have fibro, ask me if I've tried Lyrica.

Anyway. These commercials just make me rage and I don't know anyone in real life who gets it, so I had to rant a bit.

Also, mods, if this isn't ok, I'll delete it!

Okay, I'm on two fibromyalgia boards, and one woman commented on someone's post that when she has flares, she has all these symptoms, too, like heat and cold sensitivities, hearing sensitivities, various things. I have a lot of that anyway, but here is today's situation. I'm definitely flaring in my back hips, my back, and my left foot. I sleep on my back and not on the best mattress in the world, so it's hard to sleep in the bed when my back's bad because guess where it hurts when my back hurts and I can only get comfortable at all on my back. Figured you'd get that one.
Now, the other stuff. I seem to be having allergies too, with a lot of post-nasal drip. I can't find the jar I drink out of when I'm in bed, and this glass I have I need to keep refilling. I'm going hot and cold with sweat. Okay, and I'm irritable and can't lie still and my husband is crashed out on the couch this afternoon which is where he sleeps and all I want to do is rest and I can''t even rest much less take a nap.
I'm in too much discomfort to sit here? Does anyone else notice that the associated symptoms of fibro (not the pain) get worse during a flare? I'm going to try for the fifth or sixth time to lie down.

Yesterday, I had neurology tests on my lower back, legs and feet. Today, Fibro is raging with pain I haven't had in years.

Has anyone else experienced a bad flare after neuro testing?

Hi,
My name is Astrid, and I am new to this community. I do not have fibro as far as I know, bu t I have many similar symptoms. My symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, pain all over the body (sort of as if I've been behind the computer too long), cognitive and sensory overload, fogginess/feeling unreal, balance problems, headaches, and GI problems. My doctor said, when looking at a list of my symptoms that the nurse gave her, that it is almost all probably stress. Now what? I have mental health problems and reside in an institution for that, but that isn't a reason to straight out dismiss someone is it? Now I know for stuff like fibro there is no specific treatment either, and it's pretty mcuh antidepressants and painkillers. I already take an antidepressant for anxiety, and today I tried a Tylenol (the only OTC pain med my staff have in their cupboard) for my pain. Don't know if it worked. I also have vitamin B12 deficiency, which the B12 deficiency foundation in my country says can explain almost all of my symptoms, but doctor didn't say it's that either.

The thing is, I have absolutely no way to lower my stress. I get too little help day-to-day (I am also blind and autistic), but this can't be changed due to the way my government handles health care in this financial time. It sucks that if this is truly "just stress", it can't be changed.

Yesterday I saw Dr. Boomershine in Franklin, TN. He specializes in fibro & CFS. My pain doc had referred me for my fibro. I'd already been diagnosed with fibro & chronic myofascial pain. I came in with the five page form filled out and he came in and did the usual owowowowowowow poke & prod. Then he asked some questions and proceeded to tell me I had a severe case of fibro (which I hadn't realized but evidently I'm up to 11 out of 18 ick!) and I have CFS as well (gee, good thing I went to see him, yeah?). The upshot of it was since I'm on topomax & lamictal (I also have bipolar disorder) I'm going off of the lamictal and he's put me on ritalin which I've never taken. Whew. So, second day of half dose of lamictal and first day of ritalin. I did manage to lug myself out of bed earlier but I feel just as dead as I normally do after a doc visit and I'm trying to feel positive. Oh! He also gave me a yellow band to work with. I've never worked with a band that low before. I use a recumbent bike for my bionic knees & I walk, both at least five days a week.

Hello all!  I had asked this community a few years ago about having surgery (specifically a tonsillectomy) with fibro and received some great information.  I finally found a great doc and went and had the surgery earlier today.  I just wanted to post my brief summary of my surgery in case it can help anyone else in the future!  I will probably continue to blog my recover in my personal journal (this entry is mostly cross-posted).  I tend to be lazy with tags but I will be sure to tag them with tonsillectomy so they can be found.

( Have gone and had my tonsils out earlier today (12 noon on May 4th) and am doing okay. )

Hi all,

Do any of you have experience working while receiving Social Security Disability or SSI? I've been fortunate to receive SS Supplemental Income for a few years due to fibro. (I got sick as a teenager and hadn't worked enough to get disability). However, ideally, I'd like to eventually make my own income and not need government help anymore.

It seems a lot more options for working at home are opening up now with the internet explosion. I'm doing research on a couple of them, including opening an Etsy shop. I don't know how much money, if any, it would provide, but I'm curious how difficult something like that would be while receiving SSI. I'd hate to put all the work into something just for them to take it all out of my benefits and not see any profit, especially when I don't have that many spoons to begin with!

Have any of you had any experience with this? Thanks!