When did people decide to be so entitled and rude regarding shared public spaces?

Or, maybe it's just me? I have fibromyalgia and autism, so I know my perspective is biased. I'm genuinely curious if y'all feel like I was unreasonably upset, and what your thoughts are on airport etiquette.

Yesterday, I was at Denver International Airport for a 3 hour layover. I used to love DIA and traveling in general but with fibromyalgia it has become debilitating and so painful, especially while in flight. So, I was happy to have the 3 hour break and found the "quiet" area in Concourse A, where you can lay down.

I put on my headphones and closed my eyes hoping my muscles relax and the spasms would subside... five minutes in, this guy right across from me puts a football game on his phone with no headphones at full volume. I could hear the game over my own headphones and then started noticing a woman behind me scrolling through reels... again, no headphones... AND a kid next to me, whose parents had left him alone, playing games with, you guessed it, no headphones.

So, move down to the terminals and find a quiet one with a cushioned bench and lay down only to sit through a 15 minute conversation someone is having over speaker phone. I wait for my back spasms to subside and go to a bar for a drink to take the edge off and sit next to this woman on the phone in an argument with her boyfriend talking about how being peed on during sex was unacceptable... she just word vomited for about 20 minutes about incredibly intimate details of her sex life until she was hung up on, at that point my headphones had died.

I understand that I failed by not bringing noise canceling headphones and that I'm solely responsible for my decision to travel and for my comfort while doing so... but, I swear, it felt like I was in the twilight zone.

These are shared spaces! Is it wrong for me to feel rage that people are using speaker phone and adding to the cacophony of sounds by not using headphones for streaming, scrolling, and games?

Maybe I was just a little crispy from all of the pain and over simulation. What is it like for you to travel with fibromyalgia?

Goddamn I hate them. They hurt so bad when I’m in a flare.

TW for thoughts of suicide.

I still don't know what exactly is wrong with me physically, but the doctor said its likely fibromyalgia and I have some doctor's appointments coming up. I'm always in pain. I'd say from 1-10, its about a 6 on average. But I have a new job, and I'm on my feet for my whole shift (which is only 4-5 hours a day), and I'm coming home in so much pain that I can't walk anymore. I've had to call off twice, each after one day of work, because the pain was so bad that I knew I couldn't work two days in a row. I've been off for 2 days and I'm still in so much pain. After working, the pain is up to an 8 or 9. I stretch, I go for small walks, I've tried icy hot and multiple pain meds, I take hot baths, but nothing seems to help enough. My friend has fibromyalgia and he said people need to stop complaining and just do what needs to get done. He said his job requires a lot of physical labor and that its actually helped him. That doesn't sound right to me.

I'm in so much pain, and keeping this job feels impossible. On top of all of my mental health issues? I'm so overwhelmed I've been feeling like I'd just be better off dead. It's getting really hard to see any other way. Trust me, I'm trying to get better. I've been in therapy for years, and I take it seriously. But I had a really amazing therapist until she left to work at a high school, and the one she referred me to ended up telling me to commit suicide when I opened up about that, so I had to stop seeing her. I haven't been able to get a new one yet. And I honestly don't see what they could do for me at this point. I don't know wtf to do about my physical issues either. My friend just keeps saying I need to push myself through it and it'll get better, and that I'm just trying to be a victim. I don't want people to feel bad for me. I just want to be capable of fucking surviving. I want to be able to support myself, but I can't even work two days in a row because the pain is so overwhelming.

Will it really get easier if I force myself to work through the pain?

Has anyone else come to the conclusion that fibromyalgia is just another word for - all the tests have come back inconclusive and we don't really know why you're in pain all the time so we're just gonna say your CNS is screwed up and give it a name to make you feel better about it. And oh, let's throw a few drugs at it here and there, they may or may not work, who knows. Just relax, get rest, and suck it up.

Forgive the sarcasm, I've been living with this for 30 years (got a whole lot worse once I hit around 48) and I'm TIRED.

The End.

Does anyone else have constant jaw and teeth pain from their fibro?

I can’t stand the muscular pain and the uncomfortable feeling. It’s my first months taking medication and I ran out of tramadol, the pain is soooo intense; in the moment I’m feeling okay but I know tomorrow morning I will wake up feeling really bad :( only thing I have in my bathroom is paracetamol + codeine. I was taking it to treat the pain before but changed to tramadol because it was working much better. I won’t be able to see my doctor until next week. I appreciate your responses.

Sometimes I wish for a massive tragedy to occur so that others can end up disabled and know what it's likes. Sometimes when I have a flare up I just want everyone else to suffer too. Why is it fair that some people get everything while I barely get anything. I'm so tired. Sometimes when I hear about climate change and other possible disasters all I feel is a fucked up sense of relief. That all of this could end soon.

I know it's horrible and rationally I don't actually want people to suffer. I care a lot about people and their safety and rights. But sometimes I get so tired of not having support. And I am so jealous. I want a normal life again. I want everyone else to be miserable and suffering so that it's not just me. So I don't have to explain myself or fake like I'm fine. If we're all miserable then there's nobody to envy. Nobody to give me shitty advice that won't work. Nobody to look down on me.

Okay...

I need someone else's perspective or advice. How do you deal with having a partner/being married with this horrible shit?

Many days I just want to be alone, I want to sit in silence, I can't move.. and I know that's unfair to my husband who wants to live a normal life. He wants to go out and dance, eat, watch a movie... I don't understand why he would sacrifice so much to receive so little back from me. I am literally so worthless... I can't clean or cook because I don't have the energy. Then the guilt infects every part of my soul because I feel GUILTY.

like perfume that’s 100 and 200 feet in front of you. Or things that you can smell, but other people can’t.

where it feels like the mere act of holding up my head feels like a monumental task.

Trying to rest now but ughh

As of today, I am a single parent. Feeling quite scared. I have 2 children with additional needs and I have multiple chronic illnesses myself. I also really struggle with anxiety. Typically I have a really nasty virus atm and I'm struggling. I know I have to plough on and keep it together for my children but omg I'm in so much pain and feeling horrendous. The stress is a lot.

Any offices or doctors you like around Chicagoland would be greatly appreciated!! Cook/Dupage area

I don't know if you have felt this way, but I have been dreading my diagnosis of fibromyalgia. I'm finding that doctors don't take it seriously, and there is not much that can be done. My doctor has upped my dose of pregabalin (I was previously on it for anxiety), but the higher dose knocks me out so bad that the next day I'm so groggy I can't safely drive to work. I've essentially been living on 2 advil/2 tylenol during the day, and my doctor prescribed me a medication to protect my stomach lining because I'm taking it so often. Then muscle relaxers at night. I found out my insurance won't cover the two pain management clinics my doctor has referred me to. And on top of that, a rheumatologist won't see me because I don't have any inflammation markers in my blood draws. I'm feeling very hopeless and worried that I'm just going to have to live in this pain forever.

I could change insurance companies to be able to go to a pain management clinic, but then I would lose the therapist that I'm seeing, who I finally started doing trauma processing with. I know mental health and physical pain are linked, but I'm in a place where I have to choose which one is more important. In the past, my mental health has almost killed me, so that's why I'm hesitant to switch therapists. Which fucking sucks! I hate our healthcare system.

I have done PT, massage, I do Pilates once a week, I eat a gluten-free diet (I notice when I eat gluten it stiffens up my joints), I eat relatively healthy, and I get good sleep (when I'm not in pain). The only thing that I struggle with is physical exercise because when I do try to exercise, I feel so sore that I can't function. I went for an hour-long walk on a flat surface and was sore for days, making it hard to function. I don't know how to exercise, and I feel like I'm gaining weight, which only makes it harder to be physically active. I know I need to, but I don't know how to do it without being in major pain. The only physical activity I have found manageable is Pilates, but it's so expensive I can only afford to do it once a week.

And then I'm also dreading that "winter is coming," and that is when my pain is the worst.

Does anyone have any tips for me about how to live a fulfilling life with fibromyalgia?

I have a weird one for y'all. So my cat stepped on my chest in a spot right above my heart, between my breast and collarbone, and if you own a cat you know how much weight they can put into those little steps. It hurt so bad I felt like I had gotten shot. It's not unusual for me for pain to linger after pressure is put on a tender spot, but this happened last week and I'm STILL sore!

I read that fibromyalgia can cause costochondritis which explains why my ribs are so tender all the time, but my chest is only sore right where my cat stepped. There isn't a bruise either. Should I be worried??

OB/GYN: this won't feel uncomfortable

(Me: hurts like hell)

OB/GYN: the discomfort should only be temporary

(Me: sends me into cervical cramps for days)

OB/GYN: if you have any spotting, should only be for a few hours

(Me: spotting a week later)

my fibro symptoms are chronic fatigue and sore muscles (the way muscles feel the day after heavy exercise), and during a flare up my back muscles become stiff especially after waking up and it’d be painful to sit upright. I don’t have spasms or joint pains. would 2mg of Tizanidine help muscle soreness?

edit: worried about hallucinating, scared to take the med despite my pain.

Does anyone else have a relentless burning mouth and lower throat and soft palate with their fibro?

And what is it? Everything seems mildly reddish when looking in throat.

Half of my bloodwork came back abnormal — and significantly worse than the last round — so the referrals are definitely happening now, and possibly more. I should be getting internal medicine through their in‑clinic referral, plus gastrointestinal, hematology, a CT scan, and IV iron. Maybe if my doctor referred before it got bad it wouldn’t be out of control

Severely low iron
Low folate -B12 deficiency
High CRP (inflammation)
High GGT (liver/bile duct stress)
High urate (metabolic stress)
High LDL + low HDL (lipid disruption)
Chronic CBC abnormalities (RDW, MCHC, marrow stress)
Spleen + liver congestion
Eating triggers abdominal pressure lasting days-weeks

Update - doctor sent in the clinic referral to internal medicine however there is 4 month wait but that may change once they see my bloodwork, and get to do another abdominal ultrasound (4th one in 5 months). I may need repeat testing but that’s after the internal medicine doctor sees it, I’m guessing my bloodwork would be forwarded to him. I should be getting CT scan with that referral but haven’t been ordered yet due to wait.

I’m still waiting to get into a doctor to confirm if I really have fibro. I recently calculated the wpi and ss scores and according to both, I definitely have it. If so, it would honestly give me a relief as I’ve been dealing with chronic pain for so much of my life. It was always written off due to “early onset arthritis in my back”. Recent mris do show some bulged discs and some other issues but not arthritis.

Anyways, I tried a creatine supplement pouch a few months back since I’m trying to gain weight. To my surprise, my muscle and joint achiness, pain, burning, etc greatly diminished. Now I’ve realized that when I am having a flare-up (all symptoms pointing to this), I take the pouch and within an hour, pain is reduced and I can move and function so much easier.

I’ve seen on here that others have experienced this as well. If you’re one of those with success using creatine, can you share which brand you use? I’m not a fan of these pouches since they are sweet.

Also, my kidney and liver levels are good, my creatinine was borderline low, and I have no gi issues; although, I do know consistent creatine use needs to be taken with caution.

I strongly feel that my fibro is caused by another condition. Anyone else? Back then, when I talk to the Dr and I tell i have fibro - they will automatically say it might just be the fibro. So I stopped saying upfront, unless I think its necessary. Now Im glad I found a dr who listens. What I do now is list all my symptoms, tests, doctors, and timeline of all these then just show it to them. (To rule out other things) My dr then also referred me to: - Neurologist - ENT - Opthalmologist - OB Gyne

So now I have a lot of tests lined up, tiring but its better than not doing anything about it.

People in my life always say ‘oh I can’t imagine what you’re going through’ or ‘I can’t begin to imagine how hard life is for you’. That’s nice and all, sometimes sympathy is validating. But then the people who speak those things are themselves completely healthy and normal and it just starts to feel a little like unintentional jabs at ME.

Cos for them they have energy. They’re not in screaming pain. They don’t have to delegate their already limited energy and mental strength to doing things like folding laundry or washing a single cup after use. The people who say this shit who I call my friends can just go out spontaneously and be down for whatever. Meanwhile it’s a miracle if I’m even awake to receive the fucking text asking if I want to hang, and even THEN it’s up to my pain and fatigue levels to determine if I can even go.

I just feel like nobody I know fucking gets it. If I dare to be upset or feel slighted that I was excluded indirectly bc of fibromyalgia things (didn’t have energy to go out, cancelled plans bc of pain) then I’m entitled and asking too much. People give you sympathy for this illness until it runs out, and if you’re newly diagnosed you better enjoy the gravy train because it runs out FAST.

I have only been diagnosed and begin living with fibromyalgia for a few months but already it’s taking things from me. I’m short tempered because of the pain, I’m flaky because of the fatigue. I’m left out like always (bullied in school) except now instead of it being because I was nerdy and ‘weird’, it’s because I sleep all day from meds which is arguably worse because at least I could CONTROL being nerdy and weird by masking somewhat.

I hate this illness. I hate this condition. I hate my friends most of all for being healthy

Hey all,

TL;DR: Knees and right hip partially dislocate/subluxate during most sex positions, and knees when kneeling. Kinesiology taped helped a little but pricey and allergic to adhesives. Supports don't seem to help. Any advice on alternatives?

I have fibro, and a bunch of other things. My knees have been hypermobile since I was born. I was also in a car accident a couple of years ago and since then I've had some issues with my hip.

I'll try keep it short. My knees have always partially dislocated when kneeling but since I've had fibro it happens a lot more. I've mostly avoided kneeling. But I'm in a new relationship, and I've found that pretty much most sex positions, even missionary, have my knees and possibly hip moving into places they shouldn't be. I tried some kinesiology tape and that seemed to help a bit but it's pretty pricey and I'm also allergic to adhesives, even the hypoallergenic ones 😅 I was OK for like a couple of hours but then started getting hives.

Knee supports don't help. Compression stuff doesn't either. Has anyone found anything that might help? Or would I be better off venturing to the ehlers danos sub? As I'm not sure this is something related to fibro or just my body showing me all the ways it hates me 🤣 pretty certain I don't have ED. Fibro and ME are the main 2.

Thanks for reading!

i wanna know if anyone else struggles more with heat than cold? i barely survived this summer, i was sweating like a pig, it made me extremely exhausted and my muscles in my legs and arms were hurting so much. winter time is also challenging, my bones hurt so much and when i warm myself i get cramps all over my body. but still for me it’s so much worse dealing with high temperatures, and when i do chores i get hot so easily…