constant side effects from meds AND STRESS

I HAVE TRYED LYRICA, CYMBALTA, EFFEXOR, TRAMADOL, AND THE NEWEST ONE IS SOMETHING STARTING WITH AN M.  i AM SO FRUSTRATED BECAUSE I END UP HAVING BAD SIDE EFFECTS TO ALL OF THEM.  IS THIS A PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE FIBRO.  hONESTLY I WAS ALWAYS THINKING THAT AS SOON AS I HAD A NAME FOR WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME I'D FEEL BETTER, I'D KNOW IT WASN'T JUST IN MY HEAD OR MY WEIGHT.  NOW THAT I HAVE THAT, I FELT A LITTLE RELIEF AT FIRST, BUT NOW ITS HARD TO EXCEPT.  I'M 36 YEARS OLD AND HAVE 3 KIDS.  I FEEL SO USELESS TO THEM AT TIMES.  I DON'T HAVE THE ENERGY OTHER MOMS HAVE, ITS HARD FOR ME TO GO TO PLACES I HAVE TO WALK ALOT AT.  THEN IN THE SUMMER I CAN'T HANDLE BEING IN THE SUN LONG.  I THOUGHT I'D BE ABLE TO TAKE MEDICATION AND I'D FEEL BETTER.  NOW MY DR. SAYS THERES NOTHING ELSE TO TRY FOR THE FIBRO.  HE PUT ME ON FLEXEREL AT NIGHT AND THAT HELPS A LITTLE AND I HAVEN'T HAD A MAJOR SIDE EFFECT FROM IT.  I JUST FEEL OLD BEFORE MY TIME.  WHEN I GO SHOPPING I HAVE TO GET IN A WHEELCHAIR, EVEN THEN WHEN I GET HOME I'M WORN OUT.  I GET THE KIDS OFF TO SCHOOL AND MY 2 NIECES AND THAT WEARS ME OUT.  IT DRIVES ME CRAZY.  I KNOW I SHOULDN'T FEEL SORRY FOR MYSELF BUT SOME DAYS ARE JUST HARD.  i HAVE A 19 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WHO IS IN A BAD RELATIONSHIP, HAS MOVED OUT, IS PREGNANT, AND HAS QUIT COLLEGE.  I HAVE A 13 YEAR OLD I ADOPTED AT AGE 4 WHO HAS SEVERE ADHD, ODD, AND POSSABLE BIPOLAR, MY HUSBAND HAS BIPOLAR, AND I HAVE AN 8 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER I ADOPTED AS WELL.  I FEEL LIKE I'M UNDER COSTANT STRESS.  MY SISTER AND HER HUSBAND ARE HAVING FINANCIAL PROBLEMS SO I'VE BEEN WATCHING MY 2 NEICES BEFORE SCHOOL.  MY SLEEP SCHEDULE IS CRAZY!  I HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING TO SLEEP AND STAYING TO SLEEP.  MOST NIGHTS ITS 2 OR 3 AM BEFORE I EVEN GET TO SLEEP, THEN I HAVE TO BE UP AT 4:30 TO GET MY NIECES, THEN I LAY BACK DOWN AND TRY TO CLOSE MY EYES UNTIL I HAVE TO WAKE MY HUBBY UP FOR WORK AT 5:30, THEN I TRY TO CLOSE MY EYES AGAIN UNTIL 6:00AM WHEN I HAVE TO GET ALL THE KIDS UP FOR SCHOOL.  I TAKE MY 13 YEAR OLD TO A SCHOOL OUT OF TOWN, THEN DROP OFF MY 8 YR OLD AND 1 NIECE AT THIER SCHOOL, THEN TAKE MY OTHER NIECE TO PRESCHOOL.  I THEN GO HOME TRY TO GET A COUPLE HOUR SLEEP BEFORE I HAVE TO PICK UP MY NIECE AT PRESCHOOL AT 10:30AM THEN EAT LUNCH AND THEN TRY FOR ANOTHER NAP UNTIL 2:30 PM WHEN I HAVE TO GO GET MY DAUGHTER AND NIECE FROM THIER SCHOOL AND MY 13 YEAR OLD FROM HER SCHOOL.  BY THE END OF ALL OF THIS I FEEL COMPLETELY DRAINED.  MY DR. SAYS THAT I NEED TO HAVE GOOD SLEEP, AND TRY TO DESTRESS MY LIFE BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW.  I'M SORRY THAT I'M RAMBLING ON about MY SCHEDULE ITS JUST CRAZY.  MY SLEEP IS SO LITTLE AND SO BROKEN.  THANKS FOR LETTING ME VENT.  SORRY

Hi Domanique, sounds like you have alot going on with your family and then add 2 neices. I don't understand why you are getting up at 4:30 for them (none of my business, I know) and honestly I would let hubby get up on his own. That is another 1 1/2 hour of sleep until you really need to get up with all the kids. All of that laying back down and getting up would stress me out to the max.

I had a sleep study 2 nights ago and took 2 benadryl and slept like a baby. Some people can also take melatonin to help with sleep BUT you have to make sure nothing interacts with your meds.

Cymbalta and Lyrica are very well known for possible side effects and if you took tramadol at the same time there are other side effects. Usually most of us have to try a few different meds until we find the right one.

Good Luck

I think the others are right. You need to start saying "no" to some of your responsibilities. Take some time for yourself. Even 20 minutes of quite time shutting everyone out and practicing deep breathing during the day helps me. I close my office door, lay down on a yoga pad and focus on deep breathing. You can use a kitchen timer.

Thanks to GSDgirl for the benadril tip, that might help my alergies too. Good luck. Try to lighten your load a bit or balance it a bit. I'm sorry you are so stressed and have so much on your plate. Remember to "eat the elephant one bite at a time". Don't think about the whole thing. That helps me.

If you feel guilty, look at it this way... You spend a little time for yourself and that makes you feel better which in turn gives you more energy to do more for your family. If you don't, you are going to get run down and you wont be able to do anything for anybody. That always took the guilt away for me. You need to spend time for yourself. I am glad that you have somebody else helping you now. That is going to make a huge difference for you.

Take care of you...

Hugs, Karen

Domanique,

Wow you have your hands full!! You need to do something quick or you'll be down and out completely and then you won't do anyone anygood!!

Coming to terms with fibro and relearning what you can and can't do and what you HAVE to do to survive is frustrating, hard, impossible, unfair, blah blah blah... Point is, you HAVE to make a change.

As for your sister and their financial trouble, can she get any kind of assisstance for the child care? Or is it because of the hours she works and that she HAS to work that she needs a family member to help out?? Where I live they have "daycare" available all hours of the night but there's NO way I could do that to my little girl. Put her in daycare to go to bed?? No thank you.

Why are you getting up with your husband?? I like to get up with mine but believe me, if I am in the need of extra rest, NO WAY do I get up. Also, I'm starting to learn that I have more energy in the evenings than I do all day long. So I find myself taking care of as many things the night before as I can so that in the morning when I am in an utter pain filled stuper, I have less to do. This includes getting the coffee pot ready, mugs out and spoon in, lunches packed, clothes ready, laundry folded, dishes done. I've even cooked things that I can just nuke for a few for breakfast. This is REALLY sad but when my daughter was in daycare, I've even dressed her in clothes at night that she could wear in the morning to daycare (usually if I had a REALLY early day), made a PB&J sandwich the night before which she ate in the car on the way to school, had the sippy cup ready in the fridge so she could grab it herself. I'd get her out of bed, change her diaper, run a comb through her hair, grabbed the PB&J, sippy, and out the door we'd go. I've gotten her out of bed and been out the door in 15 minutes .

Right now I am getting ready to go back to work for the first time in over a year and I am SOOO scared. So, I am trying to do everything I can in my power to help me succeed. My daughter is going to a private school so I've eliminated the need to "decide" what to wear. I bought a weeks+ worth of clothes at the salvation army ($1.00/piece!!) for her so that I don't run out during the week while I have to go to work incase I don't have the energy to do laundry, I have a weeks worth of scrubs for myself ready to go. I bought a bunch of groceries that are EASY and quick to prepare in a pinch. I make 3 days worth of salad at a time so that I can keep eating healthy... blah blah blah.

Anyway, keep brainstorming in your "spare" time on how you can make things easier for yourself. I'm slowly learning that what is wrong with me is real, it's not my fault, I'm not going to be 100% like most other stay at home moms because I don't have 100% of my health. Some days I can give 110% and somedays I don't give into anything except my bed. I'll add you to my prayers.

Oh, and have a TERRIBLE time sleeping. I tried the sleepy time tea again and it helped this time. I tried it before and it didn't seem to do a thing. Maybe give it a try. I had that along with my ambien and soma. Yah, I take all that and still have trouble sleeping. Lucky me. Lucky us!

Thanks for all the advice, My sister has to work those hours and her hubby is a truck driver so hes gone alot. There is no daycare in our area that opens that early. As far as me getting up with my hubby, I just wake him because he doesn't seem to hear the alarm. I wish he did. I also do alot in the evenings to get ready for the next day. I get alot of things ready on Sundays for the week ahead, like getting my girls outfits out and cleaning. I try to be as organized as I can. I even have my sister bring down her girl's clothes on Sunday for the week and I keep them in thier own cube organizer. I try all the time to come up with new ways of making things easier. I was homeschooling my 13 year old because of all the problems she was having in school. That was not easy because some days, alot of days, I can't focus or concentrating. I told her I would put her in a charter school which is a little stricter, they try to not let the kids become destracted so they wear uniforms, I thought it would be better for her. Theres no bus pickup so I have to drive her about 15 miles there. Shes starting to have the same problems in this school as before. I'm starting to think that I'm going to have to resort back to the homeschooling again. I've tryed everything, shes on a gluten and dairy free diet which helps her so much, shes on meds. Its just not enough. I'm dreading the homeschooling again but I'm not sure what else to do. Thanks again and I'll keep thinking of things I can do.