Two Days

Two days is all I have left for health care insurance. I saw my 26th birthday two days ago. And Friday is the last day of August. The last day my mom's employers can legally cover my insurance.
I have visited one doctor or another approximately forty times in the last six months. I have fifteen pills prescribed per day, but two aerosol inhalers and one nasal allergy medicine.
I don't even want to imagine how much all that would cost me without insurance. I'm already spending about $200 every month in copays alone.
And I have a pre-existing condition.. Who would want to cover me? Except Cobra, which is going to charge me $600 a month, plus copays. I barely make $600 a month (well, I did just pick up a second job, which means I make a little more. But even with those two paychecks combined, I couldn't afford insurance, rent, utilities, food.)
I went to Human Services yesterday to apply for Medi-Cal. There's something about that place is that very 4th floor Pawnee City Hall. People step inside and are automatically in "bitch" mode. Or in some cases "white trash" mode. Honestly, I think I was the only Causasian person there who doesn't live in a motor home. I'm not saying that to be mean. There were really only about three or four Caucasians there, and they all looked like they'd just stepped off the set of My Name Is Earl.
It was an interesting experience.
I've never been this stressed out before. I'm including moving to Hawaii without a single friend within 2000 miles, flying to Thailand by myself with no way to contact anyone and without speaking a word of the language, and defending my Master's thesis.
I am trying really hard to not let me freak me out too much. There really isn't anything else I can do. I'm 26 and the insurance cannot cover me. I've applied for multiple full time positions, and it's possible I will soon have a full time job with benefits, but who knows, with this economy? I've appealed to Kaiser, but no word from them. And I've applied for Medi-Cal. So I have dozens of lines cast in the sea, but no fish are biting.
I guess I've gotta find a juicier worm.

Day 1 - Diagnosis

I don't know what it feels like to not be in pain.

I know that sounds dramatic, but it's true. Every second of every day (at least during the hours I'm awake) there is at least one spot on my body that hurts. A headache, stomach cramps, tendonitis (I've been diagnosed with and treated for tendonitis in my rotator cuff, my Achille's tendon, both wrists, plus I had surgery for carpul tunnel syndrome at age 19.)

For over 2 decades, I have suffered in solitude. Nobody understood what I was going through. At least, that's what I thought. So I went to dozens of doctors, underwent unnecessary procedures (see the aforementioned carpul tunnel surgery, as well as a colonoscopy), been prescribed hundreds of medications, and melted several chunks of ice.

Until a few years ago, when I first heard the word "fibromyalgia". At the time, it was just another of those really long Greek words with some silly commercials with women on swing sets and hiking in a canyon. The word stuck in my head, but it didn't really mean anything to me.

After graduating with a double Master's (with distinction, too: see you can be in pain and still get straight A's!) and moving back into my parents' house, my mom got tired of me complaining about back aches and arm aches and head aches and leg aches and stomach aches. In March, she told me to go my doctor and tell her everything that was wrong with me.

I got home later that day and told my mom "I have fibromyalgia". "I thought you might", she said.

There is no definite diagnosis for fibromyalgia (often called "FM" or "fibro" for short). To diagnose it, doctors need to rule out any other possibilities. There is also the pressure point test. There are 18 pressure points (check them out here: http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/guide/fibromyalgia-tender-points-trigger-points*) associated with fibro. If a patient feels tenderness or pain on at least 11 of the pressure points when touched, the patient is (generally) diagnosed with fibro.

I felt pain in all 18 pressure points.

It has been almost 3 months since my diagnosis. I have researched many websites and read several books. My parents have also done research for me. I have adopted several lifestyle changes (including eating a gluten-free diet, but I was also diagnosed at gluten-intolerant, so that kills two birds with one diet.) I have been prescribed several new medications. On a day to day basis, I have noticed slight improvement. But on the whole? Not much yet has changed.

And this is why I started this blog. I want to write about my path to healing. I want to share my story with other people who have recently been diagnosed with chronic pain, and people who have been "fighting" this for years. I want to share stories and tips. I want to start a dialogue with the Internet community of those with fibro. I will document my new diet and exercise regime. I will share statistics and research. I want to hear other people's ideas and information. This blog is not just to help myself heal, but to help others heal too. And not just heal physically. It is as important to heal mentally.

So please join me in this dialogue! Tell your friends. Even if they don't have fibro, this can help. Any chronic condition, such as chronic back pain, arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and more.

Let's start on our path to healing!

*I am not in any way affiliated with WebMD, or any other medical website. I enjoy their services and advice, but I cannot confirm the accuracy of any information.