All of this was for NOTHING!!

LEslie, Take one day at a time, Enjoy this moment.This is really all we have. Ypu are in my prayers and hopefully you RA andMS will slow down. Be positive and I know it is hard but your body will fight the illnesses better if not stress. Please keep us posted and know we care and appreciate how bothersome this problem is BIG Huges Dolores

Thank you so much for the support. The concern and love I have received from my friends on this site has truly been a welcome blessing. I thank you for your friendship.

Leslie: First, your new pic looks amazing! I will pray for your well-being. My best friend has debilitating RA and is on SSDisability. She is always in lots of pain, however, her faith keeps her positive. I also have Fibromyalgia. It was so bad a year ago (at 318 pounds) that I used a walker, showerchair, and pottychair. My weightloss has greatly improved the pain, but........... it didnt go away. There are still days (and sleepless nights) where I cry and writhe in pain. I have found (after NOT believing it to be true) that warm water aquatic therapy helps me IMMENSELY. With fibro, my rheumatologist says the worse thing to do is NOTHING. I also found doing pilates exercises at home (on my bed) helped too. My PT gave me a list. I hope you can find some relief. I empathize with your pain b/c it seems there is little help that works. I will keep praying for you. Leslie Lee 312/186/170?

Thanks Leslie. I sometimes feel so helpless against the pain. It's frustrating and never ending. But you're right - I know that things would be much worse if I hadn't lost the weight.

Dear Leslie, I am more of a lurker than a poster on this website. Having just read your post, I am truly sorry that you are going through this pain. I can not imagine your situation, but my heart goes out to you. As a recommendation to use in conjunction with your physician supervised treatments, has anyone mentioned massage therapy? I am a massage therapist and have worked on a number of clients who have osteoarthritis (although they are using a successful drug treatment that has slowed the progress of their disease) and fibromyalgia. Massage can be particularly successful for those with fibromyalgia. I would recommend you speak with your physician about this before you receive a massage - and you'll probably need a letter of permission before you could receive one. If you and your doctor think it could be beneficial, you'll need to look for someone that is Nationally Certified and licensed in your state (if they license in your state) and probably someone who's been in practice for a few years. If you have any other questions about massage therapy, please feel free to contact me. In the mean time, I have you in my prayers. Have a good Sunday, Tracey

HI Tracey, Thanks for the well wishes. I'm sorry it took me so long to reply - I've had a rough few days. My mother is a certified massage therapist and a Registered Nurse. She has tried massage therapy on me, and I cry in pain. It hurts SOOO bad. I have had some limited relief with cranial sancral and myofacial release. It can release the spasm, but it doesn't work for very long - a day at the most. And then everything spasms up again. Thanks for the info and prayers! Leslie

Hi Leslie, I am sorry to hear about all the problems you have been having. I can totally understand what you have been going through! 8 weeks after my RNY, I was diagnosed with MS. Suddenly, I was dizzy, off balance, had vertigo, nausea, double vision, blurred vision, i had to have physical therapy to help me walk and be able to turn my head from side to side without falling....could not even drive for about 6 weeks. It was a nightmare. After spending a week in the hospital, I got a confirmed diagnosis of MS. I was devistated. I needed IV steroids immediately...and was only 8 weeks postop. That really worried me. I grieved for a brief period of time, but then I decided to have a positive attitude and do the best I could under the cir****tances. I have lost 120 lbs and have not had another exacerbation, thank God! I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers, that God will sustain us, give us peace of mind, and be merciful. Love, "L"

L, Glad to meet another MSer! (especially who's post op) I had my grieving time with MS many years ago. I adopted the positive attitude and it helped me through so many trials over the last 8 years. My neuro says that my MS is not active. I still have problems with muscle spasms, dizziness, and bladder problems. . .but I have no new active lesions on my brain (which is a good thing). In fact, my neuro is the one who started testing me for other illnesses too. I don't think I've had the time or ability to grieve these new conditions. And I think grieving them is an important step learning to live with them. I think a HUGE part of me is still in disbelief. Several years ago, I was having a colonoscopy (I had IBS), but my doctor was worried about pre-cancerous condition in the colon. I wasn't worried at all b/c I just KNEW tha you could only have one serious disease in life - period. I couldn't have colon cancer (or pre-cancer) b/c I already had MS. But now, I know that's not true. Anyway, thanks for the well wishes. It's nice to meet anther MSer!