Now you're probably thinking ‘well that really sucks,’ two cars totaled and the Highlander with damage and no one to take the blame. The police never found the driver of the hit and run.

 

I had some soreness over the next few days, which was to be expected, but that went away and I moved on with my life…but as we were prepping and planning for our wedding through the coming months and our travels afterwards I began to feel tired and weak often and I was starting to have issues walking up and down the stairs. 

There was no time to give it too much thought though as I was back to work in March as busy season at my job was approaching. I had been working as a personnel manager at a pool management company, overseeing about 300 employees, usually between the ages of 15 and 24. This was my 9th year at the company and I had always envisioned working there forever. I had no plans to leave.

As the work got busier, the stress increased and more symptoms began to emerge. With only one day off per month I wasn't able to cope. I had trouble sleeping, I was aching in my muscles and joints consistently. My neck and back pain grew by the day and even a monthly massage did not ease any of the pain. I knew something was not right with my body. At the age of 27 I should not be in pain, and especially not every day. I knew something had to change.

Sometime in late June I had seen a commercial for a medicine that treated Fibromyalgia. The person in the commercial moved a certain way when reacting to pain and it just caught my attention. It sounded like what was happening to me. So I started researching. I went to the doctor on June 22nd. Dr. Lemen, my normal physician, was out on maternity leave so I saw someone new. I told the doctor about all of my current symptoms and that I had done research on Fibromyalgia because I was concerned that it could be my issue. She tested me for Rheumatoid Arthritis and said if the test is negative you probably do have Fibromyalgia. I left the appointment feeling like I didn't know anything new. Tests for Rheumatoid came back negative and there was no follow up communication from the doctor after.

I continued to try to deal with all of the symptoms, while the list of what was wrong seemed to grow by the week. I called off from work and tried to work from home but that didn't seem to help. I was mentally breaking down every day; I would start crying randomly and wouldn't be able to control my emotions. I decided that morning, with the blessing of my truly amazing husband, that I could no longer put my job before myself. I walked in and told the owner I just couldn't do it anymore. I felt guilty and knew I was leaving them high and dry, especially before the July 4th holiday weekend. I just couldn't make it through even the rest of the day. I was not me.

After leaving my job, I had to get new insurance settled and wait for Dr. Lemen to return to the office. I then procrastinated on making an appointment for some reason. I think I was just worried what I would find out. It is very scary when your body is making you feel terrible and you don't know why.

I went to see Dr. Lemen on Thursday September 8th. This appointment made me feel positive. I was to have blood work done, x-rays taken, and make an appointment with a Rheumatologist. The next day I had the blood work and x-rays taken. The bloodwork results are not available yet, but the x-rays showed two areas of degenerative changes. The neck degeneration is almost certainly from the car accident. Fibromyalgia is usually triggered by a trauma to the body of some sort. From what I know so far there is no way to know for sure if the accident triggered the Fibromyalgia (if indeed that is what I have). Once Oct. 3rd arrives I will know a lot more.

I feel positive with the doctor and facility I chose. I am feeling hopeful that this will bring me to a course of treatment and I can feel normal at some point again.