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Long before I was accurately diagnosed with a type of arthritis, my doctor said I had fibromyalgia.
It's still hard to tell where fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, and menopause overlap. And then there's the ANA count which is more a lupus thing or rheumatort arthritis symptom than psoriatic arthritis.
Nevertheless, I will prevail! If God is for us, who can be against us, after all? Neither death nore life nor angels nor old age nor IBS...but I paraphrase. I truly believe that my relationship with God enables me to tackle health problems with a sense of perspective and humor.
Beside God in my arsenel, there is my wonderful family, my nice job, and a smart, empathetic doctor.
My wonderful Dr. Maklouf has me taking salazine, a sulpha drug that really helps with the bowel problems. She also would like me on Plaquenil, but I have let my eye exams lapse. (There's a risk of detached retina.) It did really help, but also gave me hives after a 6-month buildup.
Every night, I take two benedryl. This helps with the difficulty sleeping. Magnesium and calcium supplements relieve pain, and vitamin B complex seems to boost my energy. (I sometimes get anemic.)
Moderate exercise seems to help, but it's easy to hurt myself, even with 1-pound weights or water aerobics. This is a real drawback in the weight control arena!
I will update here frequently, but I would love to hear strategies from others who are managing their fibromyalgia well.
The biggest change in the last five years has been the successful reduction of brain fog. For awhile, I couldn't remember a dang thing unless I wrote it down.
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