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"&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Question:&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;em&amp;gt;&amp;amp;#34;I was just diagnosed with fibromyalgia and I&amp;amp;#39;m overwhelmed. I don&amp;amp;#39;t understand what this illness is or what I&amp;amp;#39;m supposed to do next. My life has been a mess for months while doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with me, and now that I know what&amp;amp;#39;s wrong, I don&amp;amp;#39;t know what to do about it. Where do I start?&amp;amp;#34;&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Answer:&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;It&amp;amp;#39;s normal to feel this way when you&amp;amp;#39;ve been diagnosed with a chronic illness. Even if getting the diagnosis was, in some ways, a relief, it&amp;amp;#39;s a huge blow and a really scary time.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The good news is that now you &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;do&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; know what is wrong and can start figuring out what that means and how to manage it. While there&amp;amp;#39;s no known cure for this illness and you may always have some symptoms, with proper treatment and management, you can start to feel better and regain your quality of life.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Getting a Handle on Your Illness&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;One of the first things you&amp;amp;#39;ll want to do is gain an understanding of what&amp;amp;#39;s going on in your body. Then you can start making informed decisions about what direction to take next.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;These articles can help:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/a-simple-explanation-of-fibromyalgia-716142&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;A Simple Explanation of Fibromyalgia&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/fibromyalgia-symptoms-716139&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Fibromyalgia Symptoms List&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/what-causes-fibromyalgia-716101&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;3&amp;quot;&amp;gt;What Causes Fibromyalgia?&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;I&amp;amp;#39;m sure you&amp;amp;#39;re anxious to start exploring treatments and feeling better. Each case of fibromyalgia is different, so you&amp;amp;#39;ll likely need to try a lot of things before finding some that work. It&amp;amp;#39;s important to know that you&amp;amp;#39;ll likely face set backs. Also, some treatments may only help a little. That&amp;amp;#39;s ok -- the key is to look for several that all help some; no single treatment will take away all of your symptoms.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/fibromyalgia-pain-relief-716035&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;4&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Fibromyalgia Treatment Options&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;While you and your doctor are searching for effective treatments, there&amp;amp;#39;s plenty you can do on your own. Most of us need to make changes to our lifestyles and daily habits in order to make real improvements. It&amp;amp;#39;s normal to resist these changes. Change is always hard, and unwelcome, unasked-for change is especially difficult.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;However, if you can identify and change things that make your illness more severe, the benefits are worthwhile.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/lifestyle-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-715754&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;5&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Lifestyle Changes&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/daily-fibromyalgia-management-715744&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;6&amp;quot;&amp;gt;5 Things You Should Do Every Day&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Emotionally, this is probably going to be a difficult adjustment to make. It&amp;amp;#39;s completely normal to go through a range of emotions and to have ups and downs. Most of us go through a type of grieving process and have to reach a place of acceptance.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-fibromyalgia-grieving-715719&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Grieving for Your Pre-Illness Life&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/acceptance-fibromyalgia-715717&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;8&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Accepting Your Illness&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;If you feel like you&amp;amp;#39;re &amp;amp;#34;stuck,&amp;amp;#34; at any step of this process, remember that your doctor is an important resource. He or she may be able to offer solutions or, if needed, refer you to a mental-health specialist. That&amp;amp;#39;s something a lot of people with chronic illnesses need -- not because their illness is psychological, but because living with illness is hard.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Beyond the Basics&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Once you&amp;amp;#39;ve gotten past the initial steps of adjusting to your diagnosis, you&amp;amp;#39;re likely to need information and guidance about all kinds of things.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;For that, be sure to explore the many articles on the following topics:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt; &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/what-is-fibromyalgia-716143&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;9&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Symptoms&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;: You could be dealing with any combination of 70-some symptoms, and some of them could seem really strange. Get in-depth information on what they are, what causes them, and how to treat and cope with them.&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt; &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/fibromyalgia-treatment-options-716058&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;10&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Treatment&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;: Get a deeper look at treatment options, including prescription drugs, supplements, side effects, and complementary and alternative treatments.&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt; &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/lifestyle-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-715754&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;11&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Daily Life&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;: Learn about all aspects of daily life with fibromyalgia, from work issues to diet and exercise to things like laundry and cooking. Get ideas from people who&amp;amp;#39;ve been there so you don&amp;amp;#39;t have to learn it all the hard way!&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ul&amp;gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<https://www.verywell.com/just-diagnosed-with-fibromyalgia-now-what-715812>