[teeituptom]

Grace
FM might actually be a problem for some. But not all.

I was at triage last night and my first 6 pts all stated they had FM. No wonder we tend to frown on it. Here it seems to be a fashionable thing to have like Adult ADD.

[veetach]

Originally Posted by teeituptom

Grace
FM might actually be a problem for some. But not all.

I was at triage last night and my first 6 pts all stated they had FM. No wonder we tend to frown on it. Here it seems to be a fashionable thing to have like Adult ADD.

here too, Tom..... hey! last week I triaged a patient with FM AND RSD! what kind of hell is that???? I am sorry for her, its not really funny, but its kind of like being allergic to sneezing and living in a pepper factory!

[teeituptom]

Had a pt with a history of FM
on allergies he stated
Police Pepper Spray

wonder how he found that one out

[sherichance]

My dad's girlfriend was diagnosed with fibro. I honestly think its in her head, meaning depression. She will wake up at 10am, get up enough to take a shower and eat and be back in bed by noon, sleeps till 4pm, then gets up and goes back to bed at 10pm. She is on prozac, valium and so on. She does not work and she spends the majority of her days inside doing nothing. Maybe if she got up and went for a walk or to the gym she would feel better. I suffer from depression. If I stay inside too long, i get a terrible migraine and i start to think and my depression gets worse. As soon as I get out and take a walk or even go shopping, I feel alot better. My muscles ache everyday and I am tired alot but I wasnt diagnosed with fibro. I am a typical 24 year old mother of a 2 year old, with a husband in the navy and I go to school fulltime. I dont know. Thats my 2 cents. I just think she should get out of the house and take a walk and do something healthy for herself and not sit around the house feeling bad about themselves, like my dad's girlfriend.

[missmercy]

Originally Posted by Grace Oz

As someone who has suffered, literally, for the past 7-8 years with Fibromyalgia, may I please join this debate, and hopefully, enlighten some of you folk who appear to be EXTREMELY sceptical. *note: I use Australian spelling*! LOL

Firstly; "Never judge another man/woman, until you walk a mile in their shoes"!

Secondly; FMS, (Fibromyalgia Syndrome), and CFS, (Chronic Fatigue syndrome), are two entirely DIFFERENT syndromes. While FMS and CFS do have similar symptoms, and indeed, some of them overlap, the two conditions are definately NOT one & the same.

May I draw your attention to the following in the hope it may either help, enlighten, educate, inform.......

http://www.fms-help.com/tips.htm
http://www.fmnetnews.com
http://www.sover.net/~devstar/fmsdef.htm

While I have no intention of defending my own personal situation to anyone, I will tell you that self help can & does, ensure a sufferer is able to live with this insidious condition. There's not really a lot that cures it, but it can be alleviated & made bearable, (sort of!).

Exposure to highly toxic chemicals several years ago has been identified as the root cause of my contracting this condition. It IS real, it DOES exist, and research, (here in Australia anyway), is finding substantive causes, linked to the brain.

I wish all those who suffer with this condition the very best in your quest for a pain free existence. Hang in there, don't give up, and do all in your power to remain positive. Push past the pain, if you can, keep active.

To those of you who are judge & jury......as stated above......

"NEVER JUDGE ANOTHER MAN/WOMAN UNTIL YOU'VE WALKED A MILE IN THEIR SHOES"!

I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO RESEARCH THIS CONDITION before making ill-informed comments/ judgements.

Without Prejudice,

Best Wishes from "down Under",
Grace

THANK YOU!! Well said!

[vwgirl]

Originally Posted by sherichance

My dad's girlfriend was diagnosed with fibro. I honestly think its in her head, meaning depression. She will wake up at 10am, get up enough to take a shower and eat and be back in bed by noon, sleeps till 4pm, then gets up and goes back to bed at 10pm. She is on prozac, valium and so on. She does not work and she spends the majority of her days inside doing nothing. Maybe if she got up and went for a walk or to the gym she would feel better. I suffer from depression. If I stay inside too long, i get a terrible migraine and i start to think and my depression gets worse. As soon as I get out and take a walk or even go shopping, I feel alot better. My muscles ache everyday and I am tired alot but I wasnt diagnosed with fibro. I am a typical 24 year old mother of a 2 year old, with a husband in the navy and I go to school fulltime. I dont know. Thats my 2 cents. I just think these people with fibro should get out of the house and take a walk and do something healthy for themselves and not sit around the house feeling bad about themselves like my dad's girlfriend.

I can only speak from my experience through my friendship with someone who suffers from FM, but yes, there are days when she feels well and can function normally, can care for her kids and home, can exercise within her limitations. But there are other days when here symptoms make it impossible, and to say that she (or anyone else with FM) should just get over it and get going is really pretty misguided. Just because we cannot "see" what causes pain does not mean the pain is fake; no one can see what PMS does, but I know a whole lot of women (including myself!) who will vouch for is authenticity!

[sherichance]

I never was trying to say that it was a fake illness. I was trying to say that my dad's girlfriend was diagnosed with it and she is just feeling sorry for herself. All she does is sit around. Seriously, she only leaves her home if its for a doctors appointment. I am not passing judgement on people and I dont appreciate someone saying that. My mother had MS for over 20. Her whole body ached and she was in so much pain. The doctors thought most of it was in her head from the depression. But when she would have an attack, her legs would become so stiff, just like a board. But yet the doctors still think it was in her mind. Nobody felt what she felt or seen what my family seen when she was in pain. If you are sick, then I say just dont sit indoors waiting for your time to come. My mother did that. The doctors encouraged her to excercise and it would help her with her muscles but never did that. She rather have us take her to the ER and scream and yell until someone gave her some pain killers and admitt her so she could have some steroid treatments. That happened every 3 months. Just dont tell someone they dont understand because alot of us have been there and seen some of the effects of fibro and or other illnesses like that.

[nursedaisy]

"I just think these people with fibro should get out of the house and take a walk and do something healthy for themselves and not sit around the house feeling bad about themselves like my dad's girlfriend."

Sorry, but that sounds like passing judgement to me.

[cbarnett2]

Originally Posted by RNCENCCRNNREMTP

I love these "fashionable" diagnoses

Fibromyalgia

Chronic fatigue (Epstein Roseanne barr)

Hypoglycemia (not diabetes)

Mitral valve prolapse

I knew I was in trouble in the ER when a young woman came in and listed ALL of these as her past history.

Aaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!

It is so sad to hear "health professionals" take these types of views of their patients...

There will always be Hypochondriacs and Drug Abusers among us and unfortunately they do misuse the health system in many cases. They were here before fibromyalgia and they will certainly be around in years to come.

But to discount a person whom you just made first contact with because they are suffering from a condition that is commonly used as a means to an end by hypochondriacs and/or drug abusers is IMHO beyond unprofessional and to me sounds very similar to discriminations of the past... like assuming everyone with HIV/AIDS is or was a heroin user, a homosexual, or a prostitute.

I am starting to wonder how many here slept through their "Medical Ethics" class in nursing school.

I take personal offense to the above quoted comment as hypoglycemia is very common in my family. My newborn daughter was kept in the hospital because she was hypoglycemic on delivery and took more than 24 hrs to maintain a normal blood sugar. She is 3 yrs old and still has symptoms from time to time. I am no endochronologist but I do know that hypoglycemia is widely acknowledged by DRs as closely related to diabetes and or a precursor to diabetes and IS a real condition that myself, my sister, my mother, and brother have dealt with for years.

As for FM I was diagnosed at 19 by a rheumatologist who based his DX on the pressure point test. I have never accepted narcotics, antidepressants, or sleep aids for my problem, although I think that these can be helpful to some with correct supervison (as with any condition requiring pain management). I prefer to work on keeping my weight and stress under control and stay active...but you know weight, stress, and inactivity are a common cause of a long list of medical problems people have...

I know with great certainty that I would be very critical of anyone's ability to care for me if I arrived in their ER and got the old eye roll when I mention that I have a history of FM and hypoglycemia...I believe that I would have a valid reason to question their ability to care for me properly because of their ignorance...

BTW I do not apologize for rambling...

[SmilingBluEyes]

WOAH I best stay out some people's ERs then cause I am hypoglycemic and have FM ---so I am told by my doctors.

Now, I use neither as an excuse or crutch to get by or get "good drugs" but DAAYYUUMMMM--------------------
some of you are hard cases. I know what to expect I guess IF I mention these things to my ER nurse IF I have to go in..... sigh. I will look away from the rolling eyes when I leave, not letting the automatic door hit me in the butt as I go.