Hi my name is Janet and I have had fibromyalgia since 1996 after a car accident. Another car accident in 1998 just made the neck, shoulder and back pain worse. I now have arthritis in my lower spine and other parts of my body.

Also, I have severe migraines that can last from one day to a week. When I have these migraines I just have to go to bed because I can not stand light, sound or even smells.

I have diabetes and diabetic neuropathy in both feet up to my ankles. I have a few other problems including depression, acid reflux, thyroid disease, asthma, essential tremors, IBS and I am B-12 deficient.

I am lucky to be able to live with my parents and my Mother is able to help take care of me when I am at my worse. Althrough, my Mother at first had a hard time understanding fibromyalgia, she came to understand what I was going through after she worked with a lady that had fibro part-time and saw what she was going through. I also have a 23 year old daughter that lives with us.

I have not been able to work since Sept 2006. I had worked for the largest hospital system in our area for over 20 years. I loved my job as a Pharmaceutical Contract Specialist. At one time or another I have purchased anything and everything that is used in a hospital. In 1999 I was given the opportunity to create a team to negotiate pharmaceutical contracts for the whole hospital system that included 16 hospitals and 4 public health clinics. This was a very stressful job that had a lot of pressure that went along with it. I already had fibromyalgia and my migraines were getting a lot worse. From 1999 to 2006 my health deteriorated so much that I had to leave the job that I loved so much.

My fibro fog has gotten so bad that I have trouble remembering words and sentences that I want to say during a conversation. My fibromyalgia, arthritis and tremors have gotten so bad in my hands that I can bearly write my own name. I can not walk or stand for very long and do walk with a cane now.

I have been denied disability twice now and I will now have to go before a judge to see if I can be awarded disability. Since I live in NC which is one of the worst states for getting disability benefits, I have been told that it could be up to 2 years before I get a date to go before the judge.

I have no income since I have used up all of my savings and 401K money. I am lucky that I get to see a doctor at a free clinic and also get my medicine through there. I am now taking Cymbalta and Etodolac for my fibromyalgia. Along with about 22 other medications that I take on a daily basis for all of my other health problems.

I love being able to use a computer since I can not write much anymore. I don't get out of the house much anymore except to go to the doctor. So the computer is my life line to the outside world.

I am happy to have found The Disability Digest in hopes that it can give me some information that maybe helpful. Also, I am happy to have found the Fibromyalgia Group so that I can communicate with people that understand what I am going through with the fibro. I believe that it is hard for people who don't have fibro to understand what we deal with on a daily basis.

I look forward to hearing from other members. Thank you for taking the time to listen to my story.

Janet