by Carol Van Drie

Created on: March 02, 2007   Last Updated: May 13, 2007

I wanted to share something very personal that I hope will help others when they deal with life's daily trials.

I am 49, four months shy of 50 years old, but unfortunately these days, I feel probably close to twice my age. For over a year now, a re-occurrence of chronic pain has plagued me daily. Sometimes it is through the night. I've had testing for Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and other such maladies. I have been finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

I do not remember a single day in over a year that I have not woken either in discomfort at best, terrible pain at its worst.

I can no longer grip a single jar in the house without asking for help to open it. Sometimes just holding the steering wheel in the car is difficult.

If I have to get up in the middle of the night, sometimes I literally risk falling to my knees the pain is so sharp in my feet.

I also suffer from chronic numerous types of headaches. I attribute many of these headaches to allergies (I have too many to list) but lately, I don't know what the causes of these daily headaches are as I have been taking serum therapy (allergy injections) and it appears to be working well. I have gone from five to eight prescribed allergy medications a day to one or two at most two a day.

In addition, I suffer from frequent debilitating migraines and in the last three months I've been having an average of four or five a week. A migraine sufferer once described a migraine as a fire on one side of your head that someone is trying to put out with a pick-axe. I would add that any movement causes this guy with the pick-axe to swing harder.

Please believe me when I write this to you, I am not trying to elicit sympathy or pity. I know there are people out there that suffer from far worse pain and physical trials than I can even dream of. I'm sharing this to describe a way to lift your mood and break a feeling of despair if you too face a trial.

The other morning, I woke up to my alarm. I had to take a fasting blood test so that meant no breakfast. I can skip any meal; I don't even need to snack if I've had a good breakfast. I eat a full healthy breakfast every morning, so a water-only breakfast wasn't exactly a thrill that day.

I had a headache. It was the squeezing kind I often get but it was mild and I didn't think I was able to take anything for it because I had to fast for eight hours and was told "nothing except water" for those eight hours.

Despite that, I was able to get the kitchen cleaned up, feed the dogs and cat, do

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