answer:I was dx’d in 2001. I agree with you about Lyrica – I feel like I lost a year of my life to that drug, despite constantly working with the rheumatologist on dosages. For the most part, I live relatively drug free, with exceptions of tramadol for pain occassionally. That’s mostly my choice, after trying many, many things. I do take monthly b12 shots, low thyroid meds & iron. Sleep meds occassionally, but they don’t work well for me on a daily basis. I look at the energy I’m given each day as marbles in a bowl. Each day I’m only given so many. When they’re gone, they’re gone. So I have to use them wisely. I live alone, so I can’t say my three grown children have been greatly affected. But there are things I can’t do. I can’t run a vacuum cleaner, for instance. Big grocery shopping trips aren’t possible without help. Etc etc. I don’t have help w the housework, but I have done things to reduce what needs to be done. Clearing clutter was vital, for instance. I haven’t cleaned a bathroom from top to bottom in years. But I can wipe down the bathroom sink and tub daily. Do things in little steps rather than one big job. It’s great you have help coming in! Exercise spent cleaning house or grocery shopping is “bad” exercise, according to my doctor. Good exercise is yoga (a lot of modified classes are being offered now for people with issued like arthritis etc.) For me, just getting out & walking my dog 3 times a day is good exercise. Riding a recumbent bike is good too. The more “good” exercise I get, the better. That’s hard to talk myself into sometimes. When I hurt, I want to not move. But after a few years I had to admit the dr. is right. The more I can get, the better I feel. I have notes to help fight the fibro fog when it’s bad. I’m switching more & more to working from home bc the flexible schedule is better for me. I’ve also had to adjust to less income. It really has been a matter of learning how to live simply. Find things that make you feel good about yourself. I enjoy knitting. The funny thing about that is my hands hurt all the time. But knitting (for me) is relaxing and when I’m relaxed and enjoying myself it’s easier to put the pain in the background. I also enjoy the volunteer work I do for the Rape Crisis Center. It’s not physically taxing but when I’m thinking about others I think about my pain less. Needless to say, it’s only some things that work for me. In some ways I’ve chosen to live with the pain and find other ways to cope rather than take meds that seemed to cause me more problems than it fixed.