Hi Belinda;

I read your thread with much interest because it could have been me writing it a few years ago. I was in constant pain, I was angry my career was ruined and all the plans my husband and I made for the future were gone. I was 49 years old, scared, stressed out, depressed and sick of doctors telling me there was nothing they could do for me. My husband was the only one who believed in me and that was because he has his own neurological issues. Besides the neuropathy, I also have fibromyalgia and I think that even he had problems with the fibro at first.

One of the things I did for myself was to get into counseling. It has been a slow road on the way to acceptance but progress has been made. My neurologist was thrilled I had taken this step so quickly because the stress does make the pain worse, I've felt it happen.

My husband got me into a Pain Management Clinic as soon as I was diagnosed. I was also afraid to take narcotics but the pain was so severe, I was desperate for some relief. I've been on the same meds for 4 years and while narcotics don't even take the pain completely away, it made life tolerable 75% of the time. The other 25% is spent off my feet (with ice, that's what helps my feet cool off) as I'm unable to walk. That's life, the cards I've been dealt.

Slowly my family started to understand as much as they are able to. I gave them Bob's letter and other medical information. My sisters are great but live too far away. E-mails keep us close. I thru caution to the wind this summer and started to travel again. The feeling of being free again far outweighed the extra pain, so I will continue to push myself to go places and see people. However, if I need to be down and off my feet the plans for that day must wait. So be it, that's the best I can do.

So honey, please give yourself permission to do whatever you need to do to have a better quality of life. It's better for you to stop worrying about what others think and concentrate 100% on you. Eventually, they will come around. Everything takes time.

Love,
Nancy-H