[Brian37]

my wife who is 33 has both Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome....anyone have any tips for helping both me and her cope.....I have trouble offering support .....

Supporting someone with Fibrom... must be difficult... I am so sorry that your wife has it at such a young age...

and the combo of Fibrom and CFS must be very painful for her....

I have Fibrom.... and... so can only look at it from my standpoint.. and with the people that love me...

For my son who is 23... I think that the hardest thing for him is understanding that Fibrom... actually exists - he is not being insenistive - fibrom.. isn't like a broken arm that you can see.. and be reminded of... it isn't visual to the supporting person...

So... I remind him from time to time.. that I cannot do all that I used to do before the fibrom.... so perhaps... it will help for you and her to be reminded that fibrom is there... and that taking things in life at a slower pace.. with frequent rest breaks... helps.....

Lowering any stress levels... in your life... will greatly help your wife because... it just makes the fibrom worse - to flare....

I have simplified my life.... to take advantage of all the energy that I have... I have cut out things that really do not matter..

I have found ways to make doing common things easier to do... so conserving the energy that I do have for the things that I want to do...verses the everyday things in life that have to be done..

My doctor.. tried lycria... on me.. and that didn't work... for some people it is very successful....

Massage has helped with the pain of the fibrom....

My best friend... still struggles with supporting me... with the fibrom... she and her hubby have been friends for 27 years...

She has finally accepted.. that my energy level... wanes... sometimes...

So sorry... that is all the insight that I have now... not very helpful...

(((hugs)))

[Rhapsody]

Hello..... Brian

I am so sorry you and your wife are both having to go thru such a hard time in life with your wife's failing health...... I too have been Dx with Fibro & RA - and I have to say the best thing my family members ever did for me was to acknowledge that my pains were indeed real and to relize that I cannot always do normal day to day events - Like: shopping, walking, driving, cooking, ect.

The best thing I did for my self was to locate a good Rheumatologist that helped me with the right medicine(s) to take in order to decrease the inflammation and pain as best as we could...... and last but not least - to REST / SLEEP as NEEDED.

I have been dealing with Fibro & RA for 10 years now.

[Brian37]

do you do any form of exercise?.....swimming, yoga, ???......

[Rhapsody]

I have used the Body Flex Program....... have your wife check it out - little to no stress on the body, just a lot of deep breathing.

http://www.bodyflex.com/