fibromyalgia

SueD

Hi

I have fibromyalgia and also diagnosed with RA markers I did take medication for both diagnoses but have stopped taking them because they made me feel just as ill but in a different way.

Today I have come to the end of my tether I have all the usual issues at the moment feeling so down as well not feeling as if I have a life not sure how to get up and start again

Sue

YvonneH

Oh @SueD you poor soul.

It is so hard to work out what the best thing to do is when you are diagnosed with new conditions. You have fibromyalgia and also rheumatoid arthritis and you have been given medication for both. I'm guessing you had some pretty awful side effects and they stopped you continuing with the treatments.

Lets see if we can help you feel a little better straight away. First you are not alone, lots of people have done the same as you in the past and I'm sure there will be others too. You might now be having some withdrawl symptoms from the meds you have stopped, some meds shouldn't be stopped suddenly. Anyway you will now have the diseases themselves reariing their ugly heads to make you feel awful.

If you are taking nothing and you are in pain taking regular pain meds like paracetamol or co-codamol will help somewhat. Your GP can give you a prescription for stronger pain relief if you need it. There are other things you can do to help too - here is our booklet on managing your symptoms

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/

A diagnosis of RA can be life changing, and that can lead you to wonder what you are going to do now, this is normal, we want our life back, our plans and dreams. Now we have to choose which plans and dreams are most important to us and work out how to achieve them. Most can still work with tweaks along the way. Talking is so important - tell us how it is and let us help you.

You need to get back in touch with your health team, if you have a rheumatology nurse they are a great place to start. Most meds will have side effects, most side effects lessen with time, when they don't there are other meds to try so don't give up on getting control of this disease. You can do it, together with your health team.

Keep posting, please, let us help you over this tricky time

Take care

Yvonne x

helpline_team

Hi @SueD 

I am sorry you are feeling so low and stuck. Thank you for posting on the forum.

Given what you have been experiencing, it is entirely understandable that you feel this way. Reaching out for support, as you have done here, is a good first step. You now have the support of the online community and the helpline team at Versus Arthritis.  We are here for you Sue.

At the moment you don’t feel you have any quality of life. The most important thing to recognise at this stage Sue, is that you are currently in a difficult phase: although you have a diagnosis, your conditions are currently not well-controlled.  Getting onto the right treatment and self-care plan for you is very important and can make a massive difference to your current and future quality of life.

As Yvonne says, you do need to contact your rheumatology nurse to discuss your treatment options and request a medication review.  This is where the helpline team can help. We can explore your situation, help to better understand both conditions, talk you through the treatment options and support you with questions to ask. This should, hopefully, empower you to have a more informed discussion about your personal treatment plan.  

You are most welcome to call us on our freephone helpline: 0800 5200 520.

In the meantime, I hope you find the information on the link Yvonne gave to managing symptoms helpful. You can also read more condition-specific information on the links below.

I hope this is helpful.

Best wishes

Mags

Helpline Team

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/fibromyalgia/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/