How to make family understand?

February 22, 2008

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone had any good ideas as to how to make

family members understand exactly what we are going through. My

husband says that he belives there is " something " wrong with me even

after my many attempts to explain to him that I have been diagnosed

both by my family physician and rheumatologist. I still believe that

he thinks it's " all in my head " and doesn't realize what a struggle

it is to get through the day with our 6 month old daughter who I

can't sit on the floor with for more than 5 minutes as well as our 9

year old son. My doctor has just prescribed amitriptilyne? and I

haven't started taking it yet because I am scared that I will be too

tired to look after the baby and I don't want that to happen. To

those of you who are on this drug, how does it make you feel? do you

feel sleepy all the time? and does it help with the pain or just the

sleep? I have been suffering with this for 6 years and am longing

for just 1 day without pain, hopefully that will be possible. I told

my husband to just let me beat him everywhere with a baseball bat

before he goes to bed so that he might have an idea of how I feel all

the time and he just laughs, I don't think he realized that I wasn't

joking when i told him that's exactly how I feel. Anyways sorry for

rambling I just need him to understand somehow. Thanks for listening

February 23, 2008

Hi Charlotte, I took ampitriptiylene for several years. My Doc

prescriped to be taken at night before bed, it can make you groggy

in the morning but you can do like my husband did(he was prescribed

it for chronic headaches) and take it a couple hours before bed.

That seemed to make a difference for him but I never had much of a

problem with it.

When you go to the rhuemy just let him know how you physically

feel and what the other doc said about fibro. He should do a tender

point test on you, pressing different areas of your body that should

cause more pain to you then it would a healthy person. I hope you

get a good doc but I'll warn you that sometimes some docs aren't

that believing. If you get a good doc I would reccomend that you

take your husband to appts with you, there is a lot of info on the

web that you could print off for him to read also.

Good Luck, I hope that you get the treatment you deserve and that

will make your life easier for you. Hugs, .

>

> Hi,

> I was just wondering if anyone had any good ideas as to how to

make

> family members understand exactly what we are going through. My

> husband says that he belives there is " something " wrong with me

even

> after my many attempts to explain to him that I have been

diagnosed

> both by my family physician and rheumatologist. I still believe

that

> he thinks it's " all in my head " and doesn't realize what a

struggle

> it is to get through the day with our 6 month old daughter who I

> can't sit on the floor with for more than 5 minutes as well as our

9

> year old son. My doctor has just prescribed amitriptilyne? and I

> haven't started taking it yet because I am scared that I will be

too

> tired to look after the baby and I don't want that to happen. To

> those of you who are on this drug, how does it make you feel? do

you

> feel sleepy all the time? and does it help with the pain or just

the

> sleep? I have been suffering with this for 6 years and am longing

> for just 1 day without pain, hopefully that will be possible. I

told

> my husband to just let me beat him everywhere with a baseball bat

> before he goes to bed so that he might have an idea of how I feel

all

> the time and he just laughs, I don't think he realized that I

wasn't

> joking when i told him that's exactly how I feel. Anyways sorry

for

> rambling I just need him to understand somehow. Thanks for

listening

>

February 23, 2008

Tell him to stay awake 24/7 for 4days and do constand phsicalwork and then

wright out the monthly bills and write the grocery list and from memory all the

family members and close friends birthdays and what you should get for them and

what sizes thet wear. Oh yeah don't forget to add the clothes pins on the

fingers. I think that might be a starter. Maybe he could do the heavey spring

cleaning and clean the yard and plan a new pay area for the kids. Yes I have

thought about it. I usually remind them when they are sick as dogs that that is

how I feel on a good day.

Sorry for enjoying that happy moment of inflicting fibro on the

nonunderstanding.

JudyMer

---- austin_mom_2000 wrote:

> Hi,

> I was just wondering if anyone had any good ideas as to how to make

> family members understand exactly what we are going through. My

> husband says that he belives there is " something " wrong with me even

> after my many attempts to explain to him that I have been diagnosed

> both by my family physician and rheumatologist. I still believe that

> he thinks it's " all in my head " and doesn't realize what a struggle

> it is to get through the day with our 6 month old daughter who I

> can't sit on the floor with for more than 5 minutes as well as our 9

> year old son. My doctor has just prescribed amitriptilyne? and I

> haven't started taking it yet because I am scared that I will be too

> tired to look after the baby and I don't want that to happen. To

> those of you who are on this drug, how does it make you feel? do you

> feel sleepy all the time? and does it help with the pain or just the

> sleep? I have been suffering with this for 6 years and am longing

> for just 1 day without pain, hopefully that will be possible. I told

> my husband to just let me beat him everywhere with a baseball bat

> before he goes to bed so that he might have an idea of how I feel all

> the time and he just laughs, I don't think he realized that I wasn't

> joking when i told him that's exactly how I feel. Anyways sorry for

> rambling I just need him to understand somehow. Thanks for listening

>

February 24, 2008

Charlotte, I think Judy has the right idea. It seems so unbelievable to others

that we can feel this bad all the time. It does feel like someone has beaten

us. It feels like bruises that are trying heal. (or fresh bruises). On top of

that it feels like we have not slept in a week even after a night of " sleep " . A

night of sleep to us does no good. It refreshes normal people and they wake up

with some energy. We wake up just as drained as we were before going to bed.

Actually, I feel worse after I have slept all night. The pain is worse in the

mornings just from the pressure of the bed on my body all night.

I have been in a constant state of fog lately. It feels as if I am not really

here. Kind of like some dream state half between sleep and reality. It is not

always just pain that does this. I don't have to be in pain to be exhausted.

(of course the pain gets worse with the exhaustion). For a very few hours of

the day once in a while I feel almost " normal " . I take hydrocodone for pain.

NO it does not drug me up. Most would think so. It does the opposite to me and

relieves some of the pain and fatigue for a short while.

Amitriptyline is not usually much relief for most of us. This med does make

most people very sleepy and tired. It may help you, I don't know. Try it. But

it is in my thoughts just a poor attempt at relief. I have heard that it is of

some help for nerve pain.

hugs,

Debra V. (R.N.)

loveit1@... wrote:

Tell him to stay awake 24/7 for 4days and do constand phsicalwork and

then wright out the monthly bills and write the grocery list and from memory all

the family members and close friends birthdays and what you should get for them

and what sizes thet wear. Oh yeah don't forget to add the clothes pins on the