New symptoms

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Rara56

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Hello everybody. I am not new to FM but have recently had new symptoms creeping up on me. I guess they could be related to something other than FM but it is always my first assumption. I have recently started having knee pain. That in itself is not really new but usually it just lasts a few days. This time it has lasted for weeks. Now I am noticing my hands/fingers hurting. I have thought about trying paraffin wax to ease the pain. Has anyone tried that? I know I probably need to talk with my doctor but it is hard to make myself go to the dr with every new pain I experience. However I am getting ready to start a new job and I hate the thought of knee and hand pain going in. I am also noticing it is worse with rain. That is also new. And I think the hot summer has made it worse too. I have had some flares with extreme cold before. There are just so many unknowns with this FM. Just when I think I'm doing well coping with it new stuff happens. This past year nausea started as a new symptom. I have continued working full-time through it all but some days it is tough as I'm sure you all know.
 
knee and hands - yeah, could be fibro related, could be something else - possibly arthritis? only way to know for sure is to get it checked out.

i have not tried the paraffin wax thing for pain - have heard about it, but never tried it.
 
Hello everybody. I am not new to FM but have recently had new symptoms creeping up on me. I guess they could be related to something other than FM but it is always my first assumption.
Hi Rara, I would like to suggest that assuming now symptoms are FM related is not the best idea because if it is something else you really need to find out. It might be something easily treatable, or if left untreated could get a lot worse, and so on. Each new thing needs to be checked out. I know it's a drag to go to the doctor for a new symptom but it really is best to do so.

I have tried the paraffin thing and while it felt nice it really didn't do anything for my hands or feet that was any different from anything else warm. In other words, the paraffin itself does nothing. Putting a heating pad on a low setting around my hands or doing a warm foot soak or using those bags full of flax seed that you heat in a microwave brings the same results and is easier and less messy.
 
Thank you so much for the responses! I do realize it isn't the best idea to assume everything is fibro related. However when you don't have good insurance it is pretty much impossible to go to the doctor for every new thing. I will probably break down and go though before I start my new job. Good to know your experience with the paraffin too. Thanks again
 
Thank you so much for the responses! I do realize it isn't the best idea to assume everything is fibro related. However when you don't have good insurance it is pretty much impossible to go to the doctor for every new thing. I will probably break down and go though before I start my new job. Good to know your experience with the paraffin too. Thanks again
I have been where you are; in fact all my adult life I nev er had a lick of insurance. But I always managed to find a free or sliding scale clinic to go to, or else a state or county plan that allowed low income people to see a doctor at reduced rates if you qualified. Of course, that doesn't exist everywhere. But unless you are certain there's no such thing where you are, a bit of searching might find you something. Of course those clinics aren't necessarily the best, but you never know. If it is staffed by volunteers, some of the doctors may be great.
 
I have been there as well - technically, i guess i still am, being on the state aid health insurance program.

the St Vincent de Paul here has a free clinic staffed by local docs - only open two days a month, but something is better than nothing, and I have availed myself of their services more than once over the years. One time i thought i just had a bad cold.. turned out i had pneumonia. :oops:

We also have a couple of "self pay" clinics that are much more reasonable in cost - mostly because we have a rather large Amish population, and generally speaking, they do not have health insurance, either.

Might take a little poking around, but I am sure you can find something.
 
What I have found in my life is that if you don't have money you need to be very resourceful. I have always managed to get what I really needed and get medical attention when that was needed and so on just by being completely persistent and not ever taking "no" for an answer. This takes time and dedication and energy, which is very hard to manage if you don't feel well. Been there. But even if I could only make two phone calls in a day, I would make those, and I would just keep at it until someone told me how to get what I needed.
 
you need to be very resourceful
I fully agree. I learnt a lot from workarounds of having no money till about 10 years ago.
Not easy though, not for everyone - strong self-motivation, or strengthening it, is a mainstay.
Then getting any other brakes like anxiety and depression under control....
 
I have always managed to get what I really needed and get medical attention when that was needed and so on just by being completely persistent and not ever taking "no" for an answer. This takes time and dedication and energy, which is very hard to manage if you don't feel well. Been there. But even if I could only make two phone calls in a day, I would make those, and I would just keep at it until someone told me how to get what I needed.
I wish this worked for me sunkacola 😕 I usually get a persistent NO or an OK... I will pass that on to...
Which ends up getting nowhere!

Maybe it's where I live, maybe it's me, maybe it's the world we now live in ... I'm not sure. (probably a mixture) But getting what you need sadly just seems to be getting harder. 🥺
 
But getting what you need sadly just seems to be getting harder.
yeah, unfortunately i would have to agree

I usually get a persistent NO or an OK... I will pass that on to...
Which ends up getting nowhere!
and the ones that say they will pass it on to... do you ever call them back? ask if the message did in fact get passed on? and if not, why not?
(this is the persistent part) Keep hounding them.. as the old saying goes.. the squeaky wheel gets the grease...
and if quiet squeaking doesnt work, squeak louder!
 
and the ones that say they will pass it on to... do you ever call them back? ask if the message did in fact get passed on? and if not, why not?
(this is the persistent part) Keep hounding them
Believe me, I have tried this approach and sometimes it does pay off. However, as I have anxiety I'm not comfortable with confrontation and so for me this approach is a tough one.

It would be nice to be an assertive persistent person who can carry this off easily, but unfortunately I've been this way since childhood and always will be.

I guess this is another area that we are all different - some find it easier than others. 😎

And sadly, with the rise in mental health issues, this approach is not easy for many others either.
 
It would be nice to be an assertive persistent person who can carry this off easily,
boy have i got everyone fooled, LOL 🤣

I will be very honest.. i do not like doing it one bit, and have to psyche myself up to get it done more often than not. Yes, i have anxiety and suffer with shyness as well, but at the same time, I can sometimes be a bulldog when I want or need something and I am not getting any cooperation.

I also tend to avoid confrontations.. there was too much of that in my childhood (parent/stepparent/other relatives), and i usually just wanted to crawl in a hole and hide. but like i have said elsewhere.. driving a truck for a living, i HAD to over come that or I would not have survived.
I have been out of trucking since the end of 2009, and have kind of reverted back to my former self in many respects. I am basically a walking contradiction, I can be tough and assertive when i have to be, but that does not mean it is easy.
 
boy have i got everyone fooled, LOL 🤣
It's okay cookiebaker, I wasn't specifically referring to you, just in a general. 😉

I guess some people just find it easier than others for a million different reasons - for some being persistent just isn't part of their personality - it's as simple as that.

Don't get me wrong - I can also squeak louder when I need to 🥳 (but thinking about it now...it's more often than not to stand up for others than myself) - and it's hard going. But then that sparks the fibro and vice versa.

Good on you though for overcoming the confrontation thing to get yourself through the truck driving - that must have been tough going.

It's hard talking about mental health - even though it's supposed to be easier in todays day and age. Talking about anxiety/depression can often be much harder than being persistent. As I say, I've accepted it now - just like the fibro - to me it's a reminder of how strong I've been through my life, and talking / helping others with the same issues helps me through. 🧡
 
I wish this worked for me sunkacola 😕 I usually get a persistent NO or an OK... I will pass that on to...
Which ends up getting nowhere!

Maybe it's where I live, maybe it's me, maybe it's the world we now live in ... I'm not sure. (probably a mixture) But getting what you need sadly just seems to be getting harder. 🥺
I always got lots of NOs too.

I also hate the asking repeatedly and also have a very hard time doing it. But you do what you have to do.

Don't get me wrong - I can also squeak louder when I need to
This is a time when you need to, because your health and your quality of life are at stake.

It is VERY HARD, and we shouldn't have to do it at all - healthcare should be available to everyone!


What I always have done and still do is every time I get another NO I thank the person for their time and ask them if they can think of any place at all where I might request what I am looking for. Usually they will give me another place to call. I call them and they give me another place to call. And I just keep going. Like I said, it takes energy but I simply refuse to stop trying until I get an answer I like better than NO.

An example: I had a companion animal who was my soul mate. Medication and supplies for a condition that he had were more than I could possibly afford at the vet. (online was not any better ). So I started calling. Every single pharmacy in the nearby city. Every single vet office, and so on. It took weeks. But eventually I found out that I could get this part here and that part over there and it was all completely affordable. But without all those phone calls, I never could possibly have found the most important business in town that saved me the most money, because it was an obscure business and not a place that advertised or was even in phone listings.

I agree that it is probably harder these days because everything is; my story was 12 years ago. But put into the same position or a similar one for my own medications or supplies or seeing a doctor, or for one of my animals, I would do all the same.

All I am saying is that it can really pay off to be persistent in the face of a dozen NOs. The 13th one or the 20th one may say yes.

If you are in the USA you can find a clinic somewhere not too far away where you can see a doctor if you keep looking.
Or if you are rural, there may be a travelling doctor. Or you may be able to see someone remotely, which is pretty common these days.
 
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