I'm New! Hello Everybody!!

Welcome Dee, This is a great group, hope you enjoy it here. I have fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrom and arthritis too. I thought I was going crazy before I finally found out what was wrong. How do you tell someone, even a doctor, all the things that are wrong without sounding like a hypocondriac? There is a lot of info online now about these diseases now that wasn't available 5 years ago. Winter is tough - some days I wake up feeling like someone beat me with a baseball bat. I ended up retiring early as I had trouble sitting at a desk all day. Ugggh. I do enjoy doing my crafts though.

Take care, Shana

Welcome aboard Dee!

Hugs & God bless, Dennis & Gail

Man, you nailed that in a nutshell, Shana! That is exactly how it feels! And I felt the same way about trying to tell my doctor... that I was sounding like a hypochondriac with all my many aches and pains. For a long time he was treating me for tendonitis... until I *happened* on a Fibromyalgia site when looking up the osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease that he told me I have. I printed the page up on Fibromyalgia, highlighted all the symptoms I had (Whew, that looked like a lot, and I was still sure he would think I was a hypochondriac.) and brought it to him at my next appointment. He looked it over, tested me for all the tender points, etc, and sure enough... that's what had been wrong with me over all those years. He admitted that he hadn't really had to deal with it much before me, so he never thought to look for that in me. I was very glad that he had known me for so many years and knew that I wasn't one to run to the doctor with every little ache and pain... in fact there have been times throughout my life (before it got this painful) when I *should* have gone to a doctor, and instead just put up with the pain until it was really unbearable.

I hadn't really heard of Fibromyalgia before I was diagnosed with it... but since then, I am really surprised at how many people I have met who have it too.

And that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome... isn't that fun too? People tend to think of you as being lazy, because you don't have the energy (or ambition) to do much a lot of times.

Gemini

"craftydragon1951" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

Thank you all for such a great welcome! :-)

I really want to respond to each of you .... but I'm not having a very good day... hopefully I can soon. Just wanted to make sure I thanked you all for such a great response to my thread ... such a friendly group! *smile*

As soon as I'm able, I'll upload the pictures of the characters I completed .... still working on finishing a few.

Aren't the japanese Amigurumi just adorable?

Talk soon! Hugs, Dee

Something similar happened to me. I was reading an article in USAToday about a woman whose drug was taken off the market. She talked a little about her symptoms and that she had fibrom. and I thought it sounded a lot like me. I did the same, printed out something from the web and took it to my doctor. I'm on meds that help some but there are still bad days.

For the CFS, have you tried adjusting your diet? For me, I've eliminated most sugar (including all citrus fruit) and that has helped a lot. Occasionally, I will get a craving for chocolate but I know I will pay for it.

LOL, Shana

Welcome DEE ,,, too bad you carry all this illnesses , let hope you learn to take each day seperately , enjoy the good one`s and know the bad one will pass ,,, mirjam

Welcome Jean . no i don`t recall you introducing yourself before ,, mirjam

Hi Dee,

I'm relatively new myself, but I found the people here before me are terrific. They are incredibly talented and very sharing of their work and techniques. Hope you feel better soon. I don't know anyone with either the fibro thing or chronic fatigue, but they sound like a real drag.

How adorable! They sound fast to do and like someone else said, like anime figures.

Leah

Leah... I can't remember if I welcomed you to the RCTY Family or not. If not, Welcome! ;o) If I did, then just ignore this and chalk it up to

Gemini

Oh definitely still bad days, regardless if you take your medication regularly or not.

It's odd about the CFS and Insomnia that I have.. they seem to be taking turns back and forth for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks at a time. I can go through waves of not getting anywhere near enough sleep (like only about 3 hours a night if I'm lucky), to sleeping almost all the time... and even when I'm not sleeping, just plain dragging like it's body tireness rather than sleepiness. I do find that chocolate seems to make me sleepier (so does turkey and I love both), but it also gives me the acid reflux.

Some foods I love (or used to love) make me sick to my stomach too... and I

Gemini

I have 2 online now .... if you'd like to peek:

Thanks Dennis & Gail :-)

Hugs, Dee

GM Mirjam,

Thanks for the welcome :-)

Yes, I do have to take one day at a time ... have no choice .. it does make you appreciate the good ones much more. :-)

Great to meet you all! Dee

Hiya Leah,

Great to be here too. :-)

Yes the fibro and cfs can be a drag ... so can all the other fun things that bug me .. but I try very hard not to give into them ..or let them keep me down, at least not for TOO long. LOL ..

I have 2 of my little guys online if you'd like to peek:

Hi Shana,

Well, it's good to know I'm not the only one who feels this bad some days. :-)

Not that I'd wish this on anybody mind you ... but at least I don't feel all alone. *HUGS*

To make things worse ... I have Menier's disease (loosing hearing in both ears slowly) and MVPS, which makes my heart skip, jump and go out of rythmn, whenever it wants ... what fun! Oh joy!

LOL ...

Gotta laugh ... or you cry ... and well, I've cried my share ... but sometimes ya just gotta laugh, ya know? :-)

Great to be here, it does seem like a wonderful group .. don't find too many online these days anymore.

Hugs, Dee

Gemini,

You have it too? Bless your heart!!! *BIG HUGS* ... ah .. but GENTLE hugs. :-)

Yes, my husband is the hardest one to get to understand me and how I feel .... then second is my sister and then friends. Husband and I are separated, but still see each other .... and he just doesn't get why I can't do what I use to. *sigh* ... oh well.

Oh those POINTS! OUCH!!! They HURT ... especially certain ones in my legs and hips!!

Talk soon, Hugs, Dee

Boy, isn't THAT the truth!!! My Mom used to say "If I can't laugh, I might as well be dead!" Well I have no desire to leave this life for as long as possible... so, I laugh! ;o)

I do my best to smile and laugh through the pain... but when I am totally alone in the house and it really gets to me... you have to let loose sometimes and just give in to the tears as a release valve. It sure doesn't help that you *look* healthy as a horse sometimes, because people tend to look at you like you are just over-exaggerating about the pain you feel.

Gemini