#2 Fibromyalgia - Before “It” had a Name

As I continue sharing with you, looking back upon my life I can see how I have suffered with Fibromyalgia for most of my life. Let me explain the next part of my journey.

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By now I am married and a mother, we were living in California. I had Ashley when I was 20 years old, a good-sized baby at 8 lbs 3 oz, I had no problem nursing and she was a great sleeper. I bounced back pretty quick, fitting into most of my very tailored clothes. I was a swimmer and that really help me get back into shape.

Christi, with my sister Lisa, and Ashley - 1985

After having two miscarriages, I was seeking answers. I went to the Dr where he found that I had cysts on my ovaries, a condition my Mother suffered with, but with her, the outcome was having to have a full Hysterectomy at the age of 27.

So facing the possibility of not being able to have any more children, I remember Donny and I saying “at least we have Ashley”. When I went to schedule my surgery to remove the cysts I found out that I was pregnant. So here came Alissa, at the hefty weight of 9 lbs 4 oz, she was not very long, so we called her our “butterball”. She too nursed great, but seemed to sleep less than her sister did. Again getting back to my old self wasn’t too hard. Swimming once again was what helped me, plus I was in the sun getting a great tan at the same time.

After Alissa I suffered another miscarriage, (this one happened at Girls Camp) I was brought down from the mountains to the Dr. Because I have a negative RH (I have O- blood) I have to receive a RhoGam shot after the birth of any baby with a positive RH or after any miscarriage. I returned to Girls Camp a day later, I felt I needed to show the girls that I was all right and that this was apart of life.

Shortly after that experience I found that was expecting again. This time, like the others, I got huge and carried this baby to my exact due date. Kristen came to our family; weighting in at 9 lb s 5 oz she nursed great, but would never slept! We called her our “Night Owl”. I have to admit I did not like the way things were going. (Bigger babies and less sleep)

After Kristen was born, Donny and I started on a faith promoting, testimony-building project of building our own home. I mean we did 80% of the work ourselves. But during this time I also started to experience more symptoms of Fatigue, Pain, Sensitivity to the Sun/Light and to Sound I was also having skin problems. I went to the Dr again seeking help this time they thought I had Lupus. But when all my blood work came back normal, I was then told everything was in “my head” and that I needed more sleep.

This was very hard on me; I was in pain and suffering everyday. I went forward to the best of my ability. I must add at this point, that there had been many prayers on my behalf and many blessings given to me.

I had been told once that if I just had more “Faith” I would get better, I said it has NOTHING to do with not having enough Faith.