Fibromyalgia as an autistic and dyspraxic male aged 22

krasen

Hello!

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia last November, one day away from my 22nd birthday. Previously I was diagnosed with ASD in 2019 and dyspraxia a year earlier.

Each day one after the other as a result is a painful, exhausting, confusing and clumsy feign at a basic life, with no job or meaningful relationships to support me apart from the care and attention of my own close family.

It seems to be more a mere existence than a life right now though. And I am now on my second arranged year's leave of absence as organised with my university (which renders me a 3rd year undergraduate), searching for ways to fix that.

I have been on eight separate medications (amytriptyline, duloxetine, sertraline, you name it) over the last year in order to try and ease the pain and subsequent depression I was in (before the diagnosis), and was most recently on a prescription of paracetamol and ibuprofen at the beginning of this one. I have now stopped taking any of these, as they had no effect.

Thus I have taken a different approach, and now - as the rheumatologist who diagnosed me recommends - I attempt to walk at least ten minutes around the block daily, use acupressure, read a few chapters of a book, and apply heat whenever necessary to cope with the pain whenever I'm too tired to move.

And of course today, after reading through just about everything to do with fibromyalgia on this site, I have made the decision to open a channel to you all and start my first ever discussion on a community forum such as this - one that I intend to actively participate in after posting.

In terms of future prospects, I have an appointment with physiotherapy in late February, that my rheumatologist has organised, as well as a Pain Management and Prevention course that they have yet to schedule. This could also result in other measure like Occupational Therapy if I'm fortunate.

I'm hopeful that I will be able to go back to Uni when the next academic year starts, and I am resolute in the face of whatever challenges await me on that road that will get me there. But I would appreciate it greatly if anyone has advice to offer.

Can't wait to chat! 😄

[Deleted User]

Hi @krasen

Welcome to the online community! I'm sorry to hear that you have had such a tricky time but you have come to the right place! We are a friendly group of people here who have a range of experiences and there is always someone on hand who will lend a listening ear or point you in the right direction of some (hopefully) helpful advice.

Well done you on writing such an open and honest first post on a platform such as this- a great start to your journey! It sounds like you have done the right thing here in trying different approaches, and it does take some time to find the right thing for you. Hold tight- you will get there, and you will get back to uni to continue with your studies when the time is right. A fantastic attitude to have!

Here is some of the Versus Arthritis information which may be of interest to you:

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

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2021/december/i-m-very-open-about-talking-about-my-fibromyalgia/

The links above contain some suggested therapies, management strategies and other treatments that could be worth looking into.

I hope you find the community to be of some help to you, keep talking, we are all here for you!

Take care,

Sarah