Hi All

New to Carers Connect
1

Hi All,

I have joined this forum because sometimes I need to chat, rant, cry whatever and reading the posts so far everyone knows what I mean or feels the same!

I care for my wife, 8 years ago she was diagnosed with severe Restless Leg Syndrome and more recently fibromyalgia, not long ago she was checked in for an Iron Transfusion which was supposed to help the RLS but half way through she started fitting and they had to stop, she took this very hard and attempted suicide by walking into the sea at 6am one morning, luckily the cold water snapped her out of it but a few weeks later, brought on by a lack of sleep she swallowed a load of tablets, luckily I got to her and called an ambulance and she pulled through.

I have my own business and staff so I don’t always need to be on site but when I am I worry what might be happening when I’m not there, although, she has assured me nothing like that will ever happen again.

We had tears not so long back when I let her know that finding her after she had taken the pills still haunts me, it’s not something I ever seem to get out of my head.

Now with the Fibro she can sleep for nearly 3 days at a time, she can go to sleep, wake up for 30/40 mins and go back to sleep for hours and is mainly awake through the night while I am asleep then is out for the count again when I wake up, when it’s like this I feel very alone and helpless.

So in a nutshell that’s me and my story, I’ll probably just lurk and read what everyone else writes but from time to time might have to just offload onto here, hope thats ok :slight_smile:

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Hi Jason,
welcome to the forum.

What a worrying time for you.

I know several people with fibromyalgia. I think it is one of those conditions that the more you understand it, the better it can be managed. A hospital in our area runs courses for those who are newly diagnosed (no doubt on Zoom at the moment) - and I know that has made a massive difference to a friend of ours. Another friend says taking a low dose of amitriptyline before bed, ensures a decent and relaxed nights sleep and therefore better functioning through the day. This has enabled her to continue to ride her horse, walk the dog and work! It took time and experimenting to get the timing and dosage of the med right. I hope your wife finds a way that works for her. I don’t know much about restless leg syndrome.

Moving forward for you though, would you consider counselling to help you cope with memories of finding your wife? Would your finances stretch to a cleaner/gardener popping in to do tasks (and check on your wife) on the days you are at work? Or could a neighbour/family/friend pop in to see her? Just ideas.

Melly1