I'm sure most of us know of the fibro cognitive fog, and the various body pains that come with the *joyous* experience of fibromyalgia.

What I'm curious about is if any one else has a body fog- for lack of better term- kinda a fuzzy feeling, I guess a bit like the fuzzys after waking up or at first signs of flue. Right now it is in my shoulders, they are slightly sore, but not *really* hurting. More of a tired fuzzy weight.

The rest of my is only mildly hurting at most, and I am fully alert. It is annoying,as it will still put a major dent in my productivity/energy, and is something that seems so *small*, especially when I have had full body, half body and other Major Pain Flares.

if anyone else has this, could you share coping skills?

feedback would be great,thanks!

hello, I've mostly lurked here lately (the last time I was really active here I think I was still using my old account, Weazul, before I abandoned it to lose an ex-friend who wouldn't go away) but I really could use a little support and suggestions right now.

I've been working at my current job for almost 5 years. it's a pretty easy job and I'm allowed to use a wheelchair on the job as needed because of my pain levels (for some reason corporate wouldn't okay the use of a stool as needed but a wheelchair is perfectly okay). when I was hired on they were ready to agree to all the reasonable accommodations I needed and there were no issues. they were even great about accommodating me after I nearly died from food poisoning so I was expecting no issues on anything medical related. unfortunately things seem to have changed.

suddenly instead of following my no more than three days in a row limit they're working me four, even five, days in a row. on the most recent schedule they have me the last five days on it and I have no idea yet if I'm going to have to work the first day on the one after yet. after mentioning it to three people the last week they finally got back to me on it.

after all this time they tell me a consecutive days limit is NOT covered under their reasonable accommodations policy. they then tell me that my only option to get it covered so I don't have to work more than three days in a row is a modified leave of absence, of which I don't average enough hours per week to qualify for, or take a personal leave of absence for a set period of time, which would be not working at all for a while and may cost me my job. after all this time, while they treated it as if it was an acceptable reasonable accommodations (seriously, I've had my schedule altered in the past if I mentioned I was put up for more than three days in a row) they tell me this.

it seems like a crock of shit to me. how could it not me considered a reasonable accommodation? people with disabilities have limits and this is just one of them, one someone with any number of conditions could have. I can't afford to lose my job and it seems my options are greatly limited and I can't afford to quit. I mean, I work at Sam's Club and I know both Sam's and Wal-mart are on a hiring freeze so I can't see any chance of getting work elsewhere in town now seeing as these are two of the better off places of employment in Michigan. I could see trying to get my accommodations changed to no more than five days of work per week to only four, but I'd lose out on pay then. I could try to contact corporate and address this flaw in their policy but that may not work and even if it does it could take a long time to implement. I could see about adjusting my medications, but I can't afford to get lyrica anymore since it's not covered by my insurance anymore (I'm on gabapentin now, but it's only about half as effective as lyrica was for me) and I really don't think going to work while on vicodin or some other narcotic is a good idea.

I'm flaring up already and I've only had one five day stretch so far so I really have no idea how I'm going to survive more. this really gets to me, I like my job and I get to interact with a lot of nice people among both coworkers and customers (excuse me, I mean members, Sam's Club has members, not customers, nevermind it's a same difference case) and it forces me to cope positively with my social anxiety disorder rather than get all reclusive like I use to. this all has me so frustrated I've been crying because of it. I just have no idea how this is going to work out.

I think I am starting to get the hang of how to get things done during a flare.

Because of the weekend I had and being so sick, I am flare-tastic right now. My sister is coming to town for Thanksgiving and it will be the first time she will be seeing the new apartment. On top of things I have gotten behind on the cleaning because I do it all myself. Monday I was freaking out, how to get everything done and clean while in so much pain, getting less sleep (I get up at 6 to drive hubby to work at 6:30 am) and the anxiety that I get in general when my sister is coming into town. I am already amping up to confront her when she starts in on her opinion that I do not have fibro, I just have depression... "they can look the same, you know." Yes, Heather, we all know that you know more then my doctor and 3 specialists.

I started by sitting down, in the relaxed setting of our "smoking lounge" on the back porch, and having a frank discussion with my husband that he needed to help me more. We have had an understanding since he was not working so much of the past year, that whoever is not working is in charge of the house. This is fine, generally. I pointed out to him that when I was working, he was not, I still helped out by doing my own laundry, doing the dishes once or twice a week and generally cleaning up around the house. He does NOTHING anymore. Because we no longer have our own washer/dryer I got to the laundrymat, where I wash, dry, fold and put away BOTH of our laundry. I told him not that I wanted help, but needed it. I reminded him that I was only home because I could not physically work. He agreed to help me. The word "need" makes a big difference to his understanding
I started by making a "to do" list. Hubby & I divided up the list into the things we each do better. I tried to do a little bit through-out the day so that I did wear out what little energy I had. It was my goal to get it done yesterday so that I can rest today so that I can feel able to function on Thanksgiving. I did most of the straightening up, hubby did most of the heavy work like vacuuming, mopping and doing garbage related things. I still get stuck with the dishes which are so hard for me because I frequently cant feel my hands and cant stand bent over the sink for very long.
We got it handled! The only thing that did get finished was the bedroom was not vacuumed and I didnt clean out the water plant we have. There is still some shopping to do, soup to make, more dishes to wash. But it is all so much more manageable. Thanks to some of the things ya'll have talked about here (and an understanding husband) I was able to figure out a way to make cleaning the house during a flare! Thanks!

I'm wondering how valid my behavior is here. Mark brought some people over here to do the laundry. I went to my group this morning in absolutely horrendous pain. I could barely understand what people were saying; I had my eyes closed. When I came home, Mark was gone and all I could really do was lie down. I was going in and out of sleep all afternoon. When I woke up, Mark and the people who were helping them were sorting through clothes. Mark immediately gave me a chore to do. I told him I was in a really bad fibro flare (a huge amount of pain), and I'd probably be more help to him tomorrow and Thanksgiving if he just let me rest today. He said that was okay, he didn't want me bitching the whole time and making it harder for the other people and that if I was hurting, I should just put my feet up or whatever it was that would help me feel better. I am just taking it easy, but I feel guilty - like I'm not doing my share. I did dishes yesterday (a lot) and it made the flare worse.
Mark said something about how this was going to be an all-day deal the next couple days getting this place ready for guests, and I said, "Mark, if you don't want me to work, don't lecture me," and he said, "I'm not lecturing you; I'm just telling you that if you need to rest today, there'll be plenty to do tomorrow."
I still feel guilty? Should I be doing something today? He's already telling me everything he wants to do tomorrow (clean my room, go to the Farmer's Market, etc.) What if I'm still having a flare tomorrow? Should I be working now? He sure wants me to work tomorrow, that's for damn sure. What if I'm still in a flare tomorrow? Seriously, I know you guys gave me a lot of advice on how to do chores in a small but consistent way, but how the hell do I deal with the holidays, when my old man turns into a slave driver and all these people are around? How do I protect myself and not make the flare worse. Is there anything I can do to make a flare less intense for a couple of days?

As expected, my blood sugar, triglycerides, and cholesterol levels were elevated...but only slightly. Doctor wanted me to go on Crestor, but of course insurance doesn't cover that. I don't think I need it, but whatever. I am apparently quite Vitamin D deficient. I'm supposed to take calcium supplements and sit in the sunlight for 30 min. a day. NOOOOOOOO. I'm a vampire! Not the trendy kind that sparkles in the sunshine either. I hissssss at that terrible light. It gives me headaches and burns my skin. Hehe. Anyhow. My TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was really high, so I got the dosage upped. I took my hubby to the appointment and the doctor was much friendlier, go figure. I guess we'll see how things go.

Hello. I went to my first neurologist appointment today for the chronic migraines I am experiencing. As expected, it was stated that I am on too many medications that trigger this reaction and worsen my fibro and depression. He correlated my headaches with Savella, and would like me to be weened of them. I am to be instructed by my rheumatologist and given some other medication. I am unsure of how many of the members here take Savella - but for those who had to be taken off of it... what was the withdrawal like? Anything I should look out for? I really appreciate having a support system here, so thank you in advance ^_^

Hello! I need some dental advice regarding an ongoing situation I'm having with a tooth.

Near the end of last month I had to have a wisdom tooth removed and the two back teeth beside it filled, as they had cavities (I was avoiding the dentist for a few years, since the scraping hurt like hell; not something I'll be doing again). After the filling, one of the filled back teeth started to ache. It was manageable at first but eventually got to the point where codeine couldn't kill it, I couldn't sleep at all from the pain, and I was about to rip it out myself. I was pretty sure that it was the tooth itself and not pain from the extraction. My dentist took out the (enamel) filling and put in a new temporary one that had a pain killer in it. This helped for a few days but the pain came back and I went back to see him the following week. He could find nothing wrong with the tooth, but decided to do a root canal to get me out of pain.

That? was not a pleasant experience. Despite five initial needles-full of anaesthetic I could still feel everything he was doing. Once he got to the pulp, he had to numb the nerves directly with another needle-full, and oh boy, did I feel that. He could see nothing wrong with the nerves, but went ahead and took the nerves out, filled the tooth with a painkiller and a temporary plaster filling, and told me to come back in a week to get the permanent filling and such. I expected a little pain from the tooth, as the surrounding tissues had been traumatized, and with fibromyalgia, everything is amplified. The first two days were hell, but it started to get a little better, and I was experiencing that feeling where I want to chew on something (like teething!). Now the pain is starting to creep back. My appointment to get the tooth finished and filled is next friday.

Now I'm wondering if I could just cut my losses and get the tooth pulled, if I should wait to have the (costly) finishing procedure and play it by ear from there, or if this has all been a symptom of my fibromyalgia and I shouldn't have gotten the root canal in the first place.

Is this severe level of pain common? My searches online said my tooth shouldn't be hurting after a root canal, as there's no nerves left to hurt. I thought maybe it was "phantom pain", but it doesn't seem to fit. If I go ahead with the filling, should I expect months of pain until everything settles down?

I'm sorry this is all over the place. This is my first experience with severe pain after dental procedures and I'm starting to wonder if I'm just being a baby.

Is this a common fibromyalgia experience? What have been your experiences with tooth pain and dental surgery?

The 'fibro fog' is lasting weeks... over a month, now, instead of days. I feel so disconnected, so incapable of thinking critically. I sort of just take things at face value, and try to get through life. ( Read more... )

I bought it at our local rite aid for $10. I seen this online for over $30 but yeah im too cheap for that haha.
It just has a gel inside the kitty that you can either put it in the freezer or put it in the microwave.

if you see that white hook at the end of the paw - you wrap it around the mouse so it can stay on your neck! :)

Other people have mentioned this, so I know it's not just me. Can the moderator(s) change the mood icon please? The star jumps around for many moods and is very distracting; it even triggers seizures for some. Thank you!