MissMichi
New member
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2017
- Messages
- 1
- Reason
- Other
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- JP
- State
- Ishikawa
Hi everyone,
I am new here. I have not been officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but my mother has. I have most of the same symptoms as she does and like it did for her, I think it will take a long time for me to figure out why I feel so terrible all the time. I think it is likely that I have fibromyalgia or something else that causes widespread pain, severe fatigue and brain fog. I'm 28 and have been experiencing these symptoms since I was a young teen.
At the moment I live in Japan and teach English to junior high kids (I'm American). Thankfully I have a relatively easy job (I am only an assistant and not required to discipline, sometimes I don't even plan the lessons!), but some of the social expectations at my job are a bit challenging. In Japan, being to places early (and not looking like a slob when you show up!) is important. Greeting your coworkers with lots of attention and concern/energy is also important. Of course, I want to be more social and involved at work, but I often find it very hard. Speaking Japanese and obeying a lot of the cultural norms, being at work early when I hardly get enough sleep and acting energetic in class can be a real challenge. I do try my best, but sometimes I just don't have it in me. I usually do my very best to act energetic in class, but then later I just do not have it in me to enthusiastically engage with coworkers (don't get me wrong, they're nice people! I just think that due to the cultural norms here they might think I don't care to interact with them when it's really just that I am ready to collapse on my desk every single day, even if all I've done is teach two classes and make a lesson at my desk!).
I'm quite "sensitive" and often feel like I am acting like a hypochondriac, but I really do experience negative effects from certain things. Bright lights give me a headache, too much noise does as well (I work at a junior high, come on. Also teachers do not have their own offices/classrooms here, it's just one gigantic office with all the desks shoved next to one another and constant noise. Kids stay in the same class all day and teachers move from place to place). I have lots of random reactions to food (mostly upset stomach, nausea etc).
Work starts at 8:15. I'm frequently late by about ten minutes, which looks really bad here. As I mentioned, I have lots of problems sleeping, so I wake up and feel very foggy/slow motion. I usually need plenty of coffee and a b vitamin drink just to be able to act energetic in class. By the end of my day all I want to do is lay in bed for the rest of the night. However, I didn't come to Japan to just lay around all day! I also want to get better at Japanese and so I go to a private tutor for lessons. I want to enjoy my life here as much as possible, not lounge around in my apartment.
Whether or not I actually have fibro, I do know that many of you guys on here probably have various coping strategies for dealing with stuff like early mornings, fatigue at work (those of you who can work), sleep issues, muscle/joint pain, being out of breath etc.
I would ask my mother, but she has actually stopped working (sadly the state refuses to give her disability, though she really can't work. She is currently living off retirement savings, though she isn't retirement age!). She is also on medication for her pain, has had some physical therapy etc. For those of you who don't do meds, or complement you medication with other treatments and coping strategies, what do you do? I really do not expect to get a diagnosis in this country. The health insurance is good here, but invisible illnesses are *very* invisible. Whatever is going on, isn't something that can be ruled out by blood tests, x-rays, EKGs and so on. I can't continue to expect that coffee will keep me alive all day, if I drink it after 2 pm it makes my insomnia much worse, and if I drink too much it gives me anxiety/weird increases in my pulse etc.
As a side note I do try to eat healthy, don't have much added sugar or salt in my diet, try to go to bed at a regular time, have installed f.lux on my laptop to reduce blue light exposure, go on regular walks and take hot showers for muscle pain (often ends up with me sitting on the shower floor, standing up for a long time after work just kills my knees). I drink chamomile or valarian tea to help me relax before bed. All other suggestions are welcome, I will try whatever I can to get a little pain relief and maybe some of my energy back.
Sorry for the long post and thank you in advance!
I am new here. I have not been officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but my mother has. I have most of the same symptoms as she does and like it did for her, I think it will take a long time for me to figure out why I feel so terrible all the time. I think it is likely that I have fibromyalgia or something else that causes widespread pain, severe fatigue and brain fog. I'm 28 and have been experiencing these symptoms since I was a young teen.
At the moment I live in Japan and teach English to junior high kids (I'm American). Thankfully I have a relatively easy job (I am only an assistant and not required to discipline, sometimes I don't even plan the lessons!), but some of the social expectations at my job are a bit challenging. In Japan, being to places early (and not looking like a slob when you show up!) is important. Greeting your coworkers with lots of attention and concern/energy is also important. Of course, I want to be more social and involved at work, but I often find it very hard. Speaking Japanese and obeying a lot of the cultural norms, being at work early when I hardly get enough sleep and acting energetic in class can be a real challenge. I do try my best, but sometimes I just don't have it in me. I usually do my very best to act energetic in class, but then later I just do not have it in me to enthusiastically engage with coworkers (don't get me wrong, they're nice people! I just think that due to the cultural norms here they might think I don't care to interact with them when it's really just that I am ready to collapse on my desk every single day, even if all I've done is teach two classes and make a lesson at my desk!).
I'm quite "sensitive" and often feel like I am acting like a hypochondriac, but I really do experience negative effects from certain things. Bright lights give me a headache, too much noise does as well (I work at a junior high, come on. Also teachers do not have their own offices/classrooms here, it's just one gigantic office with all the desks shoved next to one another and constant noise. Kids stay in the same class all day and teachers move from place to place). I have lots of random reactions to food (mostly upset stomach, nausea etc).
Work starts at 8:15. I'm frequently late by about ten minutes, which looks really bad here. As I mentioned, I have lots of problems sleeping, so I wake up and feel very foggy/slow motion. I usually need plenty of coffee and a b vitamin drink just to be able to act energetic in class. By the end of my day all I want to do is lay in bed for the rest of the night. However, I didn't come to Japan to just lay around all day! I also want to get better at Japanese and so I go to a private tutor for lessons. I want to enjoy my life here as much as possible, not lounge around in my apartment.
Whether or not I actually have fibro, I do know that many of you guys on here probably have various coping strategies for dealing with stuff like early mornings, fatigue at work (those of you who can work), sleep issues, muscle/joint pain, being out of breath etc.
I would ask my mother, but she has actually stopped working (sadly the state refuses to give her disability, though she really can't work. She is currently living off retirement savings, though she isn't retirement age!). She is also on medication for her pain, has had some physical therapy etc. For those of you who don't do meds, or complement you medication with other treatments and coping strategies, what do you do? I really do not expect to get a diagnosis in this country. The health insurance is good here, but invisible illnesses are *very* invisible. Whatever is going on, isn't something that can be ruled out by blood tests, x-rays, EKGs and so on. I can't continue to expect that coffee will keep me alive all day, if I drink it after 2 pm it makes my insomnia much worse, and if I drink too much it gives me anxiety/weird increases in my pulse etc.
As a side note I do try to eat healthy, don't have much added sugar or salt in my diet, try to go to bed at a regular time, have installed f.lux on my laptop to reduce blue light exposure, go on regular walks and take hot showers for muscle pain (often ends up with me sitting on the shower floor, standing up for a long time after work just kills my knees). I drink chamomile or valarian tea to help me relax before bed. All other suggestions are welcome, I will try whatever I can to get a little pain relief and maybe some of my energy back.
Sorry for the long post and thank you in advance!