PatientsLikeMe ™

My husband & I have been married for 17+ years, he is an amazing man, a true gift from God.  He is so supportive and nurturing, and is always willing to do whatever I need or can't do when I'm ill, which is most of the time.  We battled infertility twice, but both times were blessed with healthy children; our son is almost 11 and our daughter is 4 1/2.  I recently had to "medically retire" due to the severity of the conditions I have, and continue to develop.  I homeschool my son, and this fall will be starting preschool with our daughter.  I love being a wife and mom, it is the most satisfying job I have ever had, and the most rewarding.  I love my husband more every day, and my kids take sare of me as good as their dad does! 

I was officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 10/07, but I began having symptoms of it shortly following the birth of our son.  My health just slowly went down hill, and everytime I would have surgery or hurt in some way or really sick, it would take longer & longer to bounce back, if I was able to at all.  In Aug 06, I had a bout of kidney stone that began the spiral out of control.  I kept getting sicker & more run down & depresseed, etc  My husband & I began searching online for what could be an underlying problem or disease, we just wanted some answers.  Everything we found kept pointing to fibromyalgia, and when we went to my dr with the info we found, he checked through my file & said he couldn't believe we didn't catch this sooner.  I began seeing a rheumotologist, and my husband insisted I go see a natural health dr, as well.  The tests he performed were much different that the medical dr, but they both were able to find things the other would have missed.  Not only did they confirm the fibromyalgia, but they found that I was extremely protein deficient, I had malabsorbtion, an aluminum toxicity, Sjogren's Syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, supressed immune system, depression & anxiety/panic attacks, and have a positive lupus test, all on top of the chronic migraines, insomnia, and endometriosis that I had been suffering from since my early teens.  One huge obstacle for me & my drs is that I have no tolerance or threshold for pain at all, but I'm a 'heavyweight' when it comes to medication...I don't respond to morphine, I always have to have the stronger antibiotics, ambien doesn't help my insomnia, etc.  I'm on more medicine than I ever thought I would need to take, ever.  I have to spend so much time in bed, I hate it.  It makes me feel like a bad mom and a bad wife, even though I know that I'm not bad.  I have never dealt with depression like this, brain fog like this, lack of energy. 

I have a warped sense of humor, I am an avid reader, and I like to do crafts & play computer games.  I have become addicted to tru tv & cop shows.  I love Post Its, yep, te sticky notes.  We are a comic book family, we love superheros, and dream of one day opening a cool comic book store...not a smoky, stinky, cramped comic shop with a mean guy behind the counter, but a family friendly but not cheesy comic store.  My husband and I love zombie movies and books, and we really want to live by the beach someday.