Lilylight

Health Interests

Fibromyalgia,  Trigeminal Neuralgia,  Migraines,  Sleep Apnea,  Chronic Fatigue,  Degenerative TMJ Disease,  Arthritis,  Weight Gain,  PTSD,  Memory Problems,  Depression,  .

Drugs I am Taking

Topamax,  Gabapentin,  Cymbalta,  Lorazapam,  Amitriptyline,  Ambien,  Tramadol,  Hydrocodone,  Relpax,  Methocarbamol

About Me

Well, OUCH! And where did this extra 30 pounds come from? Yes, I try to be light hearted about this mess, my mess. It's either laugh or cry. I have done plenty of the latter. Today I think I will laugh. My ex-husband has decided to become a girl. Oh...so, I haven't lost a husband, I just gained a girlfriend! From what I have read, Fibromyalgia can be triggered by stress or some kind of intense emotional crisis. For me it was more like a domino effect. Physically I have had to deal with some kind of chronic pain since childhood. Most everything went undiagnosed until I left home and moved to Seattle. In my early 20's I was diagnosed with severe TMJ. After seeing a dentist for filling, I was told that I needed to see a specialist right away or expect to be in a lot of pain in about four years. It was recommended that I have a total reconstruction of my jaw along with braces and splint therapy. I had no money or insurance at the time and, as we all know, 90% of the insurance companies in this country see any TMJ related work as dental or cosmetic would not have paid for it anyway. So, I waited and dealt with the problem on my own pretty much for the next 12 years. Splint therapy, anti-inflammatories and anti-acids were my friends. Then one morning while I was munching on a nice pecan waffle. I turned my head to the right and POP, POP, POP! I had literally sprained my jaw joints. Six weeks later, once the swelling had gone down, my bite was permanently damaged. Talk about trauma! All the muscles on and through my head, face neck and shoulders were in spasm! It was clear that I would have to go through with the jaw surgery. The ramifications of this were devastating. Both my husband and I were working and going to school. I quit school to work full-time plus any over-time I could pick-up to pay for the surgery. My husband quit school to look for more work. While I was successful at my goal of coming up with the money I needed, my husband turned out to be less than helpful. He spent hours at home watching TV or puttering in the kitchen. Now our marriage was in trouble. We had been talking about having children. Now we would have to wait till after everything was done with my jaw work. With the braces that would mean that we could not start trying for kids until I was 38 years old. We tried several years and several inexpensive ways to get pregnant but were, sadly, never successful. After the surgery and the braces, my left jaw joint was worse than ever and became degenerative and arthritic. I had also started having trouble, concentrating and staying awake at work in the mornings. That's all for now. I will finish this later. Hugs, Lily