Hello fellow Fibromyalgia suffers,
I'm a 19, almost 20, year old student at Temple University in Philadelphia. This past year was my first year at college and it was probably the hardest thing I've ever experienced in my entire life. I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia last year after spending months upon months in the hospital suffering from everything from severe body aches to never ending diarrhea. Finally after discovering that my childhood doctor was not as amazing as I had recently thought he was I decided to upgrade to an adult gastro doctor. That doctor confirmed my beliefs that I did not actually have Crohns disease, which I was diagnosed with at 12, and instead simply had IBS. He recommended that I see a rheumatologist who then finally diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. At the time I had no idea that this disease would mean that I would continue to deteriorate as the years went on. At the time I was just happy that they had finally figured out what was really wrong with me. My first semester at college was average, I fainted in the hallway of a class hall part way through the first semester after dealing with to much stress for me to handle. I thought that college would make my life easier, be able to grow up and get away from my nagging mother, but instead it has caused my body more pain than I have ever experienced in my life. Things only seemed to get worse my second semester. Though I tried as hard as I could my grades suffered from severe Fibro Fog. I've discovered that I'm much better at essay questions on tests instead of multiple choice questions that I simply can not remember the answers to. I had to withdrawal from two classes because I found it nearly impossible to wake up and get myself out of bed in the morning. I suffer from severe pain in my back and legs and would much rather prefer to spend my life in a bed then up and about. I'm working on getting an IEP so I can bring my grades up but I fear that college just might not be for me. I am a career driven person, I'm obsessed with media and hope to one day be a media theorist. But my dreams seem to be disappearing as the pain sets in. I sit here now, typing this out, as I flinch because of the pain in my back. Does anybody out there have any advice for a desperate student? I want to go to college, I want to make something out of my life, but I fear that the pain from this disease may keep me from my dreams and I have never before allowed the pain I suffer to destroy my hopes and dreams. Thank you.
Hang in there!