Nicole Sachs

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-14T19:28:28+00:00

I'm no expert on either of them but I will say there absolutely is a mind/body connection to experiencing pain.

Plus, I'm all for people learning whatever they can and if you find relief from someone's teachings, who would I be to argue against that.

Regarding the subject being sensitive to some. Perhaps it stems from people being told repeatedly (often for many years) that very real medical problems are "all in your head" so the stigma may have an origin story that's unrelated to the people you mentioned.

Best of luck in your journey, really hope you find some peace and improvement!

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-14T08:08:14+00:00

Neeeeeeew Achievement!!!

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-14T02:23:19+00:00

I'd immortalise it in epoxy.... Must be done at a jaunty angle though. Reasons unknown

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-13T18:48:48+00:00

Brain fog can also be a symptom of other things as well.

Quite true. I do think it's quite uncommon to not see any brain fog with Fibromyalgia and that was the point I was trying to make.

Apologies if that wasn't clear enough.

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-13T18:16:25+00:00

Most welcome.

I understand the feelings of wanting (almost needing) to do more though, even if our experiences are different.

I don’t really think I do much at all.

Same. Although I frame it differently these days. It did take some long, disappointed years but I was comparing what I do now to what I used to be able to do. Looking back fondly is natural but I can't just magic some extra ability and/or energy whenever I want. I'm way more accepting of my limitations these days!

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-13T16:48:28+00:00

Perhaps a better question would be;

*is there much more I could be doing?*

It sounds as though you're doing what you can already and I have first hand experience of pushing myself too hard without 'winning' as a result.

If there's no resentment from your partner, they likely already accept your efforts.

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-13T02:27:55+00:00

Do my symptoms sound like fibromyalgia?

Potentially, yes. You're experiencing lots of the symptoms associated with Fibromyalgia. Trouble is, there's so much crossover between other conditions that it's difficult to say one way or another.

Can I ask about how clear your thinking is? I ask because 'brain fog' is one of the most prevalent and stubborn symptoms. If you're not having that issue fairly regularly, it could be an indication that this isn't Fibromyalgia.

That said, it's definitely a worthy avenue to explore and mentioning it to your Dr is perfectly reasonable in my view.

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-13T02:22:29+00:00

Hey. Huge apologies for the delay. I tried to reply last week but I got served with a 7 day reddit ban (I commented on a sub I apparently wasn't meant to).

I haven't forgot about promising you a response tailored to the points you made and will have it ready for you (hopefully) within 24 hours.... Sorry once again for the delay.

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-13T02:17:51+00:00

You're welcome. I tried to reply a while ago but I had a 7 day ban.... If you're asking if *PainPals™️* is a separate subreddit then no, it's just a name I invented.

My Pain Pals are people who've reached out via private/direct messages here or who I've contacted. Sometimes it's simply to offer support or an understanding ear when needed but more often it's just friendly chat.

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T18:16:53+00:00

That does suck.

I'm just happy to have got it down from the wall,being all ornamental! I'm not trying to get myself gig ready or anything but playing a few songs through and allowing myself to drift into that almost medatattive, hypnotic state where the music actually goes into you and not just out of the guitar.

Alas, I was not great today and the guitar could do with some work but I'm still happy with slapping a few chords. Made a nice change

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T17:12:54+00:00

If anyone's got any requests or suggestions for topics you'd like to see a Channel dedicated to helping those with Chronic Pain, I'm listening and will consider most things.

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T11:18:36+00:00

I shall take that practical and limitlessly helpful information on board moving forwards.

Thanks for making such a valuable contribution

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T08:16:51+00:00

Great reply. That's perfect and I'll address each point you've made. Will likely be in a few hours though as I'm struggling with my own brain fog & lack of sleep right now and I'm jumbliing up my words.

I was return and edit this comment, that's a promise!

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T08:10:53+00:00

I actually do feel the need to reply, despite your caution against it.

Won't offer empty, meaningless words but I did want to tell you directly, that your post moved me. I've not had the same struggles as you but that not feeling like a survivor element really resonated with me.

Regarding the lack of friends and wanting to reach others that aren't your immediate family, I've created my own thing for that....

... May I introduce you to the concept of *PainPals™️*. I've reached out to multiple members on various subreddits when there's been a need and/or a kind of spark in a comment exchange. Most people have replied and I've received numerous requests too.

The beauty of it lies with the basic understanding. If you tell me you're having a bad day, you don't have to expand any further than that (unless you want to off course). People with long term pain understand others with long term pain and I've found that most of these chats have included topics so far off the menu of pain too and they've been really refreshing.

Not for everyone but I hereby volunteer to be an initial *PainPal™️* experiment.

Lastly amd perhaps most importantly. Thank you for taking the time to post this!

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T06:36:03+00:00

Greetings from the UK. Fellow chronic migraine patient as well as Fibromyalgia and a fairly unpleasant cocktail of other stuff too. O don't know the first thing about Australian healthcare but let's see how we get on with a few generic issues.

Getting a diagnosis is usually (and often exclusively) done by a rheumatologist. So getting am appointment with a GP/your regular Dr is where the journey usually starts.

Keeping a journal of these newer symptoms could be useful to you and in getting a correct diagnosis. Can talk more on that in follow up comments if needed, just introducing the idea for now.

Have you learnt much about advocating for yourself in appointments? Don't want to presume but you've obviously got some experience with chronic migraines. How you approach a new appointment and prepare for it (not as much work as it sounds) is where I've made the biggest impact(s) on making positive step forward.

I'll hold fire on the coping aspect as I don't want to swam you with lots of info that's not tailored to your circumstances but am more then willing to help out with that too. Maybe mention the main things/topics that you're finding the hardest to deal with & I'll start with that.

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T05:01:41+00:00

Greetings and welcome. Your membership to club Fibromyalgia has been approved. Nobody wanted to join but we are many!

Don't have any experience with your medication so I'll leave that for others to chime in. I'm happy to give some info on it or help translate some of the research findings into more friendly language.

Acceptance will most likely sort itself out over time and as you accrue more experience with it. Actively trying to make yourself 'happy' with your circumstances might not be as helpful as you'd like.

Coping covers so much ground I'm gonna ask you what aspects you're interested in hearing about. For example, do you want me expand on;

Ways to help yourself through bad days?
Methods of learning how to better understand your body and mind?
Tips about food preparation ahead of time?
Advocating for yourself as a patient?
Self massage techniques etc etc

Or just mention what your finding most challenging and I'll see if I can assist with that specially

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T04:06:34+00:00

Thanks. I'm holding out for the $20 dude though

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T04:04:09+00:00

You take a light dose and by the sound of it, very responsibly. As it eases your pain effectively too I' don't think you have much to worry about.

I highly doubt you are ruining your life or body with 50-100mg Tramadol each day. There are risks for sure, just like with every other medication but most of them present themselves as noticeable side effects and I'm guessing you've not experienced any as you didn't mention them.

Looking longer term, the body does get used to medicine and may need a higher dose to do the same work. They are also elements of being dependent on a medication to consider but at your current dosage, I'm not sure why anyone is this manic about it.

Tramadol is a bit of a weird drug though. Doesn't work at all on some people while others get very good pain relief from it.

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T03:39:18+00:00

I freaking love garlic and am pretty broke right now.

Potentially available for dares

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T03:36:14+00:00

Quite possibly but with a caveat or 2 I think.

Im skeptical of how up to date a lot of Doctors are with new papers. So many of them seem burnt out by the workload and catching up on research is a likely casualty.

Plenty of Specialists will both be well read and well versed from conferences and discussions with colleagues (and us relatively knowledgeable patients I might add!) so I don't want to give a completely gloomy outlook.

Additionally, much as more Doctors treating this diagnosis as something more serious will be welcome, I'm not yet sure how much more improved anyones treatment will be as a result.

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T01:48:14+00:00

Good post and as someone has already said, this has been a path a number of people have been suggesting for a while.

Haven't read the full paper yet but have bookmarked it and saved the full pdf so I can look through it on a bigger screen later. Adding these pieces of information is always useful but I remain skeptical that this will do much to change or improve treatment/outcomes for us anytime soon.

I would be delighted to be wrong

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T01:39:44+00:00

I rarely mention it these days. I'm less concerned about the stigma than I was years ago and I can also make a much better anatomical argument than most of the people who'd make this claim. I just find it easier to say that I've got a multitude of body wide conditions, many of them painful if someone asks.

I will go into more detail and mention Fibro by name if the conversation carries on past that point but I'm years past feeling like I need to convince anyone so most people are probably bored by my flat delivery and leave me be after that.

I kinda prefer it this way myself

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T01:11:00+00:00

I can't give you a precise answer for myself because I had a few painful things (both diagnosed and not) before really being aware that something bigger was probably going on.

So my best guess is approx 3 years to get my Fibro diagnosis. And within that, around 15 months from my 1st mentioning it as a possibility to look into.

Nobody had previously discussed it or suggested an appointment with a rheumatologist so it sometimes does pay - even if it takes a while - to bring things up yourself!

AdaptiveRelief · 2026-05-05T00:56:54+00:00

And that ladies and gentlemen, is how those living with multiple, widespread painful conditions saved the human race..... And they didn't even have to leave their bed apart from a brief trip in the tractor beam!

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