Debbie's Story

My whole journey began back in October of 2005.........I was working in a career I loved and with a company I loved and had been working nonstop for months. For over 15 years though working in Benefits and Employee Relations, all the confidentiality can really take a toll on ones body.......even though I did not read my bodies clue very well at ALL!!!....But this particular year was extremely brutal.....we had horrible changes in our benefits I did not agree with and I was doing presentations for our 24 hour facility to make sure everyone knew and the person who was suppose to be backing me up....well they fail to do so outright.....but being one who has to perfect.......I just went on and smiled and thought I could do it all............

I could feel a change in my body thinking back, I had a bit of a problem each day walking to my car. Standing each day to do the presentations got harder. By the end of those days, it felt like I was crawling to the car, just dragging myself.

After my presentations were complete, I drove home and went to bed and woke up the next day and my life was forever changed........I could not get out of bed. The crushing fatigue was unlike anything I had experience at that time, my muscles hurt and ached to pain I cannot begin to describe and I think I discovered muscles I never knew I had but they hurt and ached......My joints were aching, swollen, red and hurt to the bone. I had been staying with my mother as she had emergency surgery a few months prior and needed help with her recovery and than I my son was great for her recovery and when I needed to work very odd hours and long hours it worked out for that period so I consider it very lucky. I tried with any energy I had and called to her and she tried to help me.

I went to see my primary doctor I knew quite well and they did every blood test in the world and my results cames back with being positive for Lupus and they thought I had rheumatoid arthritis, since I have a very strong family history and they threw in oh and some fibromyalgia, but do not worry about it. I was referred to a rheumatologist............

When I was retested, my ANA was negative, but did test positive for Epstein Barr, which again was just dismissed. I had extremely bad psoriasis when I was a teenager that went away with treatment of a special soap and vaseline, but it stayed in my scalp. I had no idea there was an arthritis connected to psoriasis. When I was pregnant with my son, I had horrible bain pain. It was so bad I could barely walk, but it was in my butt bone, but every doctor dismissed it as sciatiac, but when I got sick it was the same back, spine pain.......no one would take me serious.......I even had a doctor after my son was born, who started me on a short dose on NSAID's and I felt 100% better.....when I stopped it was like being hit by a truck......He told me oh I must have some sort of arthritis in my body but I was way too young to even worry about.....I was a single mom and truly worried about taking care of my son......I was not sick yet, but hindsight is so 20/20...........

Even though I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, I also have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and the combination is one that is extremely frustrating. I still do not understand why all the doctors I see say "oh yeah.....and then you have fibro" Like it is a small condition that is nothing.

I have radio frequency nerve ablation on my lower back, too many SI injections to count, same with neck and shoulder injections, also had injections in fingers, wrists, hands......they have not worked for me, just compunded the pain........

Some of the meds I am taking for Fibro, methadone, topamax, cymbalta, lovaza, mobic

I have taken Lyrica before and had am allergic reaction to it. I was just extremely dizzy. My doctor tried cutting back the dose but I was so sick, could not tolerate no matter what.

I am very optimistic for the future.