Meet, FMS Disability Advocate, Don Powell: Part II
very nicely with their lives. Another chunk can get by with moderate exercise, prescription anti-inflammatories, and some mild anti-depressants, and scrape by the skin of their teeth. Then we come to those of us for whom a good day is a slow walk of 20 or 30 minutes...followed by half a medicine cabinet in the morning and a whole medicine cabinet at night with no help in sight.
I have no magic pill or treatment. I can do everything right and go into a flare, or do everything wrong and feel great. I have had this now for about 8 years, and just passed my 7th anniversary of being out of work, and I still don't know what my supposed "limits" are. I try to stay informed and inform others. I get support from my wife mostly, my shrink, and online friends. I get little if any from docs, family, or friends I had pre-Fibro.
I have tried all sorts of pills in every category...I have tried some herbs and teas. I am not a believer in Chiropractic or any pseudoscience. I can't afford physical therapy, and my coverage doesn't cover it enough for me to bother with it. I do what I can and it gets me through so far. Not very encouraging, but then this isn't a fun disease to have at this level.
In what area do you believe the most important breakthrough, in the treatment of fibromyalgia, will occur and why?
I feel that the most important breakthrough in Fibro will be "all in our heads." I think that within a few years, a combination of Epilepsy/Parkinson's Meds will be a virtual cure for many of us. I believe that the upwards of 80% with mild cases will be almost completely symptom free on the treatment, and the rest of us may reach a point where we only have to deal with the mild symptoms of those lucky people. It's just a matter of finding the right combination of drugs. It seems to be beyond doubt that this is a brain disorder that affects the same part of the brain as Epilepsy, Parkinsons, and Myathenia Gravis...among others.
Thanks to Don for providing us with insight into the world of men with fibro and disability.
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