BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 16 yr old girl with CF and FM

I have a 16 year old daughter who has had CF and FM for about 5 years. A previously active, high achiever who still maintains an A average at school, as the academics are the only thing left to her. She is pretty discouraged and would love to talk with other teens or young adults who have been, or are in the midst of the same stuff as her. She needs encouraging.

any links out there to other young people?

I have an 11 year old son who we found out has FM last week. He would love to have someone to correspond with who has been there too.

My 16 year old daughter has also had CFS for about 5 years. She has seen so many doctors and has just finished with a psychiatrist who tried CBT. Didn't work. She is very tired, walks slowly, cannot concentrate or remember anything so never reads. She got mostly Cs, a few Bs and one A is her last set of exams. I think without the illness she would have got mostly As and a few Bs. She's not a high achiever but this illness is having a very bad effect on her academic career. I'm now thinking about any drugs that might help. In the UK, no drugs are recommended for CFS. However, I've been in contact Peter Rowe at Johns Hopkins and he has suggested a few - beta blockers and prozac being two. I am not at all happy about her taking drugs, obviously, but I can't bear for her to go through all this for another 5 years. It seemed to come on with puberty and I hope it will go when puberty is over but there's no guarantee. The reason many doctors think CFS is just in the mind or attention seeking behaviour is that there is no test or biological marker. The only thing I can actually see with my daughter is that if she stands still for a few minutes, her feet go dark purple as all the blood pools there. This is called orthostatic intolerance where the blood does not get to the brain properly but gravity lets it fall to the feet. I'm sure this is the cause of the problem (not unhappiness or attention seeking - it's more a plumbing problem). Anyway, I'll let you know if I find out anything more

I have heard that one symptom of Fibromyalgia is "sticky Blood Platelets" - maybe this is what is happening here. I have had FIBROMYALGIA for 25 years and have found that HORMONES are certainly implicated in my case. BOWEN THERAPY & DETOXING (by my Bowen Therapist)has given me a new lease on life. I would suggest you check out Holistic Healers & Bowen Therapists in your area. I have found Endep (another name for Prozac)also helps. A doctor who is familiar with Fibromyalgia (some doctors don't even acknowledge that it exists!) should help. What your daughter has certainly sounds like Fibromyalgia.