Happily married to a great man, a mom to two grown kids, and Grammi to three terrific boys! I have been living with Fibromyalgia for years, even though my official diagnosis was only a year ago. I'm living with a few other medical issues as well, so I'm super thankful for all the love and support I get from family and friends. My faith as a follower of Jesus Christ gives me strength to face life's challenges and joy in all He does.

Here's my health background:

* Fibromyalgia
* Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). Myofascial Pain Syndrome is a condition characterized by chronic and, in some cases,  severe pain. It is associated with "trigger points", which are localized and sometimes extremely painful knots found in any skeletal muscle of the body. In my case, it's shown up as Chronic Pelvic Pain and I can usually feel the knots under my skin, near the appendix region.
* Femoroacetabular Impingement (CAM and Pincer - the top of the femur doesn't fit into my hip joint properly, so it's bone rubbing against bone, plus there is torn tissue in the hip joint and arthritis as well).
* Osteoarthritis in most major joints
* Tendonitis in right elbow
* Mild tear in right knee cartilage
* Reynauds
* IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome, very common for people with Fibro)
* Scar Tissue/Adhesions on my bladder and bowel which causes constant pain)
* Ophthalmic Migraines (I get the visual disturbances of a migraine, but not the headache)
* Frequent and severe hot flashes (from surgical menopause and medication I take

I've also had a number of surgeries, most of which have left scar tissue behind after "healing", which causes pain: Appendix, Uterus, Nissen Fundoplication for GERD, Left Ovary, Gallbladder, Right Ovary (these three were all within a 6 month period which was killer for my body, to have surgeries so close together), TVT (for bladder control)

And finally, here are the meds I'm on: Oxycontin, Tramadol, Tramacet, Cesamet, Cymbalta, Cyclobenzaprine and Crestor

I've been on long term disability since October 2009 because the pain and the drugs wear me out, I have zero energy (I still sleep every afternoon from 2pm to 5:30, even though I sleep well at night now as well). My short term memory is shot from the drugs and I'm not able to multi-task like I used to. I find it harder and harder to stay organized and focused as well...I definitely don't have the same top level skills as before things started going really downhill.

I've lived with the Fibro pain for most of my life and heat is definitely my friend - I do many soaks in the tub or have hot showers, but even that has become an ordeal because they trigger my hot flashes and then I become uncomfortably hot and I sweat like crazy. I've tried a few drugs and natural solutions to try and ease the symptoms, but nothing has worked so far. So, I mostly dress so that I can strip things off quickly when needed, and I use a beautiful silk hand fan to help me cool off.

I'm still seeing doctors and getting different input for treatment for all of this stuff. I don't know if a hip replacement is the only solution for the impingement or if there are things we haven't tried (I've had 2 cortisone injections into the joint already). I'm also seeing my family doctor to find out how to wean myself off of ALL the medications I take, so I can try living with this using natural treatments and therapies. I want to detox and get all these drugs out of my system...I sometimes think they do more damage than good overall.

So, that's my history as of March 16, 2012. I'll provide updates as they happen.