I'm new here!
Hi, my name is OrangeCatzMama. I'm here because I am one who was born with fibromyalgia. I also have full body arthritis in every joint, this was found at 43. My pain level was bad at that time, but I just kept pushing on. It took me blowing out 3 cervical disks at once to bring the Fibro to the top. That's when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but the doctor soon figured out that I had had it all along. All my weird "quirks" weren't me seeking attention, but were things that I actually felt. Duh? Now, I'm a widow, I was not able to conceive due to endometriosis, so we had no children, nor did I have siblings. My parents passed in 2010. My husband in 2023 from Alzheimer's. He had 3 children, but only one has really kept in touch, with me regularly since he died. My husband's sibs have not made any contact with me since his funeral. There's no attempt to understand my pain issues. The oldest daughter (& son hasn't spoken to me since he left the cemetery in 2023) accuses me of not trying to be with her, always being late or cancelling out, blah, blah. Okay, we all know how cold weather, holidays, anxiety affects our Fibromyalgia. To top it off, I have to drive over an hour, heavy traffic (panic attacks) to get to the Thanksgiving meal at Noon. I went out on disability in 2008 for the Fibromyalgia, nerve damage, inability to work. Also, the family that I am going to spend the holidays with is my late husband's ex-wife's HUGE FAMILY!!!🙀🙀 I only know like 4 of the sisters, but have NO IDEA WHO the others are! We were married 34 yrs. They were married 11 yrs. We were not always friendly, but after their last daughter became an adult, things got better. After my husband died, they opened their arms to me to come to their meals. I also suffer from paralyzing anxiety when I am in closed-in crowds, like in a house or small room with a bunch of strangers. As long as I had my Daddy, then my husband to be with, I could control the panic. Now, both of them are gone and the anxiety keeps me home a lot. I'm realizing how bad my anxiety has gotten again just recently. Sorry, I just needed to vent my frustration with my step kids not caring or trying to reach out to me. But I am told by them that I am supposed to be making the effort to do their plans, without regards to my "convenient & not so bad" pain. The oldest daughter has some strange ideas about illnesses, self healing through diet, positive thinking would make my "pain" disappear, she's very diabetic but refuses to see a doctor or take meds for her condition. She got into this weird thinking during Covid. It's just getting more bizarre, but she won't listen to anyone else. She's right and we are all wrong! 🤬🤬🤬 Sorry this is so long.
#MightyTogether #Fibromyalgia #Anxiety #Depression #Grief #PTSD #Migraine