Misc reponses

[Guest guest]

Hi, All.

I sent my reponses to the wrong list. So, you may be seeing this again. Sorry

about that.

As for mattress toppers, I bought two 4-inch memory foam toppers from Overstock

and laid it on a wood platform. It works pretty good as a mattress for me. I

think I may get one more, though. My hip bones still need a little more

cushion. I am 5 foot 6 and weigh 190 pounds, but all my fat is unfortunately

around my waist, so I have no natural cushion around my pointy areas.

I take Oxycontin 2 times a day and hydrocodone for break-through pain. My doc

upped my Oxy to 60 mg twice a day and I think we've hit the right dose for now.

I started this dose on Wednesday and I have only had 1 hydro instead of the

usual 6. I asked my doctor if he could recommend a psycologist. I wanted to

talk to one to see if they could suggest some better " tools " for dealing with

all the different aspects of this disease. He set me up with one for next week

and also set me up with an appointment to the new pain clinic. I will be going

there for my first 2 hour session on April 7th. He was pretty surprised that

anyone would ask for psycological help for dealing with pain. I figured the

more help I can get, the better since this is a condition that I will be living

with for the rest of my life. I'm really looking forward to these sessions.

It's hard to convince people that you are sick. It really hurts when people

close to you don't believe you. My mother was probably the worst. She died

before I was officially diagnosed. She was positive I was being a slacker and

looking for any excuse to not do things for her, even though I took care of her

for several months doing heavy lifting etc. She pretty much caused the worst

damage to my spine and all she could do was tell my step-dad and brother that I

was stupid and useless...She used those words, too. Nobody needs that kind of

treatment. My brother and my step-dad don't really understand fibro but they

are pretty sympathetic. My " friends " don't believe that my fibro pain is all

that bad because they only see me on my better days. It's the " Yuppie flu " ,

don't you know? I have 2 real friends who are supportive and that's all I need.

My husband is a saint. He does all he can to help me out.

It's really hard to accept this diagnosis. It took me about 8 months before I

decided to believe what my doctor was telling me. I have done a ton of research

and finally accepted that this is what I have and I am going to deal with it and

fight as hard as I can to keep my quality of life as good as I can. It's not

easy to say no to social activities. It's not easy to ask for help when you are

used to doing everything for yourself. At first I was depressed and then I got

angry. Why me? Then I got to the point of acceptence. Now I don't feel sorry

for myself...I figure it could be worse...I could have cancer or heart disease.

I am done fighting with myself and now I'm researching as much as I can to get

the help and tools I need to deal with it and get on with my life, no matter

where it leads me.

Well, take care, All. My you be as well as you can be today.

J in East Northcentral Minnesota

http://sisypheanranch.blogspot.com/

'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.'