glad you found this forum. it's a great place for information and support and i hope you stick around! i see others have given you some good links so for what it's worth i will try to address some of your questions... just my take on them, OK.
yes, some people can work fulltime with CMPS. it all depends on the individual, the severity of the case, nature of employment, course of tx, lots of factors
i think getting a dx can help friends and family to become more understanding. you might want to check out the invisible disabilites advocates (try google). empathy is impossible, by definition. doesn't mean they don't love you.
hard to say what to expect in terms of recovery; this is a question for you to ask your tx team in all fairness. but getting the right dx is key. it is the avenue to tx, education and all that flows from there.
i don't know any "normal" people so can't help you there
! what i can tell you is that, for me, acceptance was key. my life may not look the way i thought it was going to before my injury(zzzz), but it is full today. which is not to say i don't have TrP's and pain galore - i do.
it is what it is.
learning all you can about your dx is a good start in participating in your recovery, to my way of thinking. start asking questions, reach out for help when you need it. good doctors don't mind when their patients are well-informed in my experience; in fact, they appreciate it. same for PT's and other practitioners. knowledge is power. take your power back, now that you have a dx.
sleep meds is a question for your doc. you may not need them if you can get into a good PT protocol. even a good walking program, to start those endorphins flowing, get the proper nutrition on board, etc.
yes, sadly, it can be part of the chronic pain experience to feel disenfranchised. try not to stay there if you can. i can tell from the questions you're asking, that you already know where some of the answers lie...
one more thing and then i'll let you go.
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)
alison