From Pain to Power: My Journey with Fibromyalgia

Today I am so grateful to be where I am.  Enjoying my marriage, my children, my hobbies, my life.  Today I am able to live my life on my terms, without Fibromyalgia dictating what I can do and when, and for how long.

I wasn’t always able to do those things, and at one point I wasn’t sure if a marriage or children would be in my future.  Twenty years ago I felt an odd sensation in my right foot, like pins and needles.  That little bit of pain eventually turned into a widespread pain all over my body.  You know, the type of pain that even your hair hurts. That pain was accompanied by debilitating fatigue, to where I couldn’t even make it from room to room in my tiny one-bedroom apartment without having to lay on the floor and rest awhile.  Then along came migraines, brain fog, dizziness, nausea and other digestive issues, and severe chest pain.  Even with all of that going on for months, I thought eventually it would all pass and I would go back to normal.  It wasn’t until one night I woke up in the middle of the night shaking, sweating, crying, and frantic.  I had no idea what was happening to me.  I was able to make it to the bathroom where I laid there on the floor crying, scared, and honestly thinking I was dying.  Eventually I vomited and went back to bed.  It was then I decided I needed help.

The next morning, I began making doctor appointments.  I had x-rays of my stomach and chest, saw a neurologist, and had so many blood tests done it was ridiculous.  All to be told nothing was wrong with me, that it was all in my head, and I needed to see a therapist.  But I knew I couldn’t give up-you can’t be this sick for this long and nothing be wrong.

That’s when I met the doctor that was going to change my life.  The doctor what was going to give me the tools to start climbing out of this torture.

And then, week by week I was noticing a change.  I was noticing that a symptom was diminishing-the pain began to ease, I began to have more energy.  I was having clear thoughts and conversations.  The time between migraines was getting less and less.  And after three months, all of my symptoms were gone.

That was twenty years ago and I’ve been managing my fibromyalgia with those same tools plus some I’ve picked up along the way.  I am so grateful I was given proven tools to get my fibromyalgia under control. Otherwise I wouldn’t be running around the playground with my 6-year-old, I wouldn’t have been able to hike in the Grand Tetons, or snorkel in Hawaii, go horseback riding in Wyoming, swim in the Caribbean, dance with my preschoolers, or go jeeping with my friends.

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