New member, and Fibro info

[Guest guest]

Hello Everyone! I am new here and my name is Dr. Craft, I have

had CFS, Fibro, and auto immune disease from about 15, I am now just

about to turn 29. At various times of my life I have been completely

disabled by these diseases, and was bed ridden and could not complete

basic functions on my own. For a few years I was in a wheelchair, for

longer on a cane. In all these years, I have yet to find a doc that

can give me any real answers, give me treatments for the problem not

the symptoms, or treat everything as a whole and not just little

pieces of the puzzle here and there. Unfortunatly, to respond to the

Fibro topic, as in many chronic illness, there is a GREAT deal of

pain, and treatment most often includes the treatment of the symptoms

themselves since if there was a real treatment for the disease,

millions of us would have our lives back. Chronic pain becomes a

quality of life issue, and anyone who is in medicine who does not

want to ease daily suffering that they can not cure needs to find a

new job!! You are going to need some form of help for you symptoms

and I would hope you can find a doc that can look at the big picture

are try to help you manage this disease as best as possable. Pain

management is huge part of any plan for a painfull chronic illness

that there really is no real " treatment " for. This is a very real

disease, as anyone who suffers with it can tell you. What I find from

talking to others over the years is that it really seems like a piece

of a larger puzzle as in it seems like it is a form of " symptom " in a

way of another chronic auto immune disease. Almost everyone I know

that has Lupus or a rheumatiod condition or CFS has Fibro too, and

alot of people are now being diagnosed with Fibro first it seems,

since it can be easier to diagnose than some other auto immune

diseases seem to be. There is still a big question mark as to what I

really have - Lupus, Lyme, Rheumatiod Arthritis - I have been at

various times positive for all and then negative and then postive and

all over the place as far as some of the testing used to make a

diagnosis, but there are so many false negatives and false positives

and other factors that make it soooo hard to get real answers to why

we are going through what we have. Its clear I have something very

wrong with me, and have Fibro and CFS and right now the diagnosis of

the month is back to Lupus (LOL), that all I know is how I feel, and

at least I have a doc that has managed my case for years now that

even though he cant tell me what I have, and why, he works real hard

to make my quality of life as good as possable, and get me

functioning as highly as possable, and work to keep the flares down

as best we can. I am lucky, I hope you can find someone who

understand who real this is, and give you the respect and empathy you

deserve! I find in my case I have done the best when I found a

balance between regular western medical care, and holistic care. I

became a holistic practitioner because of how much it helped me. But

the balance is key - theres good and bad out there, and you want what

is best for you, and we are all different in what will help us and

what wont. Make sure you look for a doc that has experiance with

Fibro people and understands. Good luck, and keep us all posted!! I

am so glad to be a member here and really need the support as my

energy level has been a real issue lately, and my pain level up, and

its hard to find a place where you can be understood. Sometimes I

feel very alone. Sorry this is so long. I remember what it was

like when I was first diagnosed and just want to tell you I know what

its like, you are not alone, and I am lucky to be a member here!

Blessings Everyone!!

Dr. C