Part 3

The verdict is…Fibromyalgia.  Yes, yet another odd health condition which I had heard almost nothing about in my 28 years of existence but in my mind I was just happy to have an answer.  I laugh about it now but I remember telling my doctor “I just want an answer.  I don’t care what it is.  You can even tell me it is cancer and I’d be okay with that.  We can make cancer seem funny in my family.  That is something I can handle, but not having any answer at all is driving me nuts!”

After poking at my body, listening to me site specific instances of problems from my long written list and looking over numerous test results it was confirmed that the only way left to prove that it wouldn’t be Fibromyalgia was to treat it as if it was.  That seemed odd to me until I went home and started researching what this was all about.  I learned that there just isn’t enough known about this in the medical community to be able to diagnosis it without trying crazy tactics such as what my doctor was suggesting.

After making the decision to become more proactive about my pursuit for answers, I decided I had nothing to lose.  If I tried the treatment and nothing changed then Fibromyalgia would be ruled out and we would be back to the drawing board.  However, if it did work then we had an answer and I could begin learning of ways to live with what I was facing.  Bless my boyfriend for being so supportive during this trial as I was an emotional and physical mess, but anyone who knows me well knows that isn’t all that different from a normal day in my life the last few years.

Almost 3 months later I can say the following: 1.) I have Fibromyalgia, 2.) Each day is a challenge as I never know what it will be like and 3.) My doctor is my hero for finally giving me my life back.  For the first time in 6 years I have days where I feel like my old self again.  It may not be every day, but I’ll take what I can get and embrace it when I can.  My bad days are getting to be fewer and farther between, but when they strike they sure are debilitating still.

I still continue to do research and I believe many of the changes I’ve learned to make in my life are contributing to the success of the treatment I’m receiving.  My boyfriend is doing his best to support and help me in every way he can.  He’s been patient with me each day as he knows that things for me can change at a moment’s notice and I may suddenly need to head home during a day of fun.  I am very lucky to have his support on this journey as I learn more about how to handle living with Fibromyalgia.  I consider myself even luckier that my family has taught me to be such a strong-willed individual as I believe that is what keeps me going each day.  Now if only everyone else understood what Fibromyalgia was and what it is like living each day with it.

To be continued…