Happily Ever After Fibromyalgia; Or, Here's to Your Serendipity!

    This is not a fairy tale, even though it turns out happily ever after.  This story is about how I, an ordinary 44 year old Palisades wife and mother, conquered a big, scary, monster (fibromyalgia), and am now living painlessly and happily ever after in our sunny beach town.

    My story begins in 1979 when I was twelve and first developed symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Fibromyalgia.  The symptoms were undiagnosed despite being taken to a slew of knee doctors.  The pain in my knees kept me awake at night, crying in my bed.  Nothing helped. I had to quit everything that I did that was physical; ballet classes, and touch football with my family.  I could not take PE at school.  I could no longer swim, run, or ride my bike.

    From that point so many years ago, until this past February 2011, I lived my life in pain, which spread to many other parts of my body.

    In the summer of 2008, I was closing my beloved store, worried about landlords and what was becoming of my charming Village, when the pain became the most unbearable and relentless it had ever been up to that point.  I saw more and more specialists and after several months of testing and living with debilitating pain, I was told I had Fibromyalgia.  I began to see a rheumatologist once a month and started to take Lyrica, Savella, Tramadol, Flexeril, Mobic, 4x a day, at the highest dose allowed.  I knew eventually, if things kept progressing badly, I was going to tell my doctor that I thought I needed Morphine and/or a wheel chair.

    So as not to make this any longer then it already is, I’ll just say that because of serendipity, and Viviane Oberhand, I AM ALL BETTER.  I have no more pain and take no more prescription drugs.  For 32 years, from 1979 until this past February, I lived in a bubble of my own pain.  No more.

    I heard a quote from Oprah recently saying that if you help one person move towards healing you are helping the world.  Because my prayers were answered I feel an obligation to share what helped me with others who are suffering right now.

    If you are reading this and your life is affected by this disease, this is your serendipity.

Love,

Marni