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I woke up today feeling like I got hit by a truck! I was in so much pain. So I decided to go for a massage. Of course it was last-minute, so I had to call around a few places to get an appointment. I found a new spa near my house. It was beautiful - real tranquil and calming and soothing. I laid down on the table and spent an hour there! I felt so good afterwards. I'm so glad I treated myself to this pleasure! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

Glad to hear it!

I love getting massages. You might check around the area for a massage school. We have one near us that offers full 50 min massages (by a student trying to get enough practical hours to graduate) for $25! Sometimes they'll do a "twofer" special. Show up with a friend and both of you get a 50 min student massage for a total of $25 between the two people.

I've found that you get student-level massage but for half the price, it can work as a good holdover between really GOOD massages (which have really HIGH prices, comparatively speaking.)

I went for a massage once through this guy (see side story below) who gave me some pointers on self-massage. Like put some tennis balls in a small pillow-case, tie it off, put it between your back and the wall & kind of move around so it massages different spots. There was another one with golf balls in a tube sock for your feet.

(Side story: my health insurance (Aetna) has a listing of massage people and accupuncturists and assorted other holistic things that have 'contracted' with the insurance company. They're not really doctors but by affiliating with Aetna, they're getting HUGE exposure to a client base so in return they offer discounted rates. The sock/pillow-case guy was through that and it was a damn good massage for $36 for the full 50 mins. I had to go to his house (his wife was there, perfectly safe, think "Larry Finklestein" from "Dharma & Greg") but he could've come over to my house for like $42 or something. I have five idiot dogs so there's NEVER any relaxation at my place! LOL Anyway, point is, since you have fibro issues and the massage seems to help, it may be advantageous to start checking around for cheaper, but still good quality, sources.)

Since my husband works at our gym, we now get a discount on the services they offer including massages! B. got me a much needed massage a few weeks ago. Glad you got to enjoy one, BG!

Oh how lovely BG. What a lovely way to treat yourself when feeling off colour.

I'm so jealous. I haven't had a decent massage (one not given by my husband with his heavy hands - LOL) for ages. They are so expensive in NZ. I used to have them weekly until I started paying for therapy. I might just take it up again when I quit.

Thanks for sharing. It's so neat to hear about people nurturing themselves when they feel bad.

Thanks. I really felt weird yesterday when i woke up. I was on the phone with my sister and started babbling to her something about pictures and picture frames. It was like when you wake up from anesthesia and say non-sensical things? My sister was freaked out! I must have been half-asleep! So I decided to do something for MYSELF!

We do have a massage school somewhere around here. I'll have to check it out. I'm sure they have students who know how to work with fibro patients. I'm also drinking water - the masseuse told me to do that.

I don't know when I'll go again, but I hope it will be within a month or two!

Oh, by the way, the nurse anesthesiologist who gave me the shots in my shoulder told me about the tennis ball. To use it against the wall. I have to give it a try!

I think it's awesome that you thought enough of yourself to get that massage, Bordergirl. It's just icing on the cake that it was such a pleasurable experience.

~ jr

Bordergirl, would you want to share what made the massage such a "wonderful" thing to do for yourself? So many of you find massage pleasurable that I am wondering if you would feel comfortable sharing what it is about massage that makes it worth spending money on. The idea of getting a massage scares me because I don't handle being touched very well but I have been curious about what might be good about it because so many people seem to find it beneficial.

Well, Denim, I have Fibromyalgia and am in pain most of the time. My muscles get all knotted up and they just hurt and hurt. I also don't sleep well, so between both of those things, I feel like crap a lot of the time.

So, I went to this spa place. It was all quiet and peaceful and decorated so calmly and soothing-like. The guy who did the massage - Kevin - was real laid-back and soft-spoken. I started out laying on my stomach. Instead of those massages where they just go at you, he targeted certain muscles. He could feel the knots. He slowly kneaded them out and released them. I could feel him doing it. We were talking the whole time I had the massage. But as he released each muscle, it was like he was talking to the muscle and would say "yes, that's good." Like he was "willing" each muscle to relax and release.

I've never had a massage like that. In the others, they just went at me like I was a piece of meat. Not in a bad way, but also they didn't treat my muscles like this guy did. He was very deliberate about each muscle and how it was reacting. I can cry now just thinking about it.

And also, I wasn't in pain afterwards. That's a big deal for me too. He told me to drink water. Oh, and also, towards the end of the hour, I could feel (okay, this sounds gross) - I could feel mucous coming out of my nose. He was releasing toxins from my body! It was the weirdest thing.

So this wasn't a massage where I wanted to "relax." This was where I wanted to get rid of the pain and knots in my body.

I felt very comfortable with Kevin. I had taken everything off except my panties. And I was covered the whole time. He was very caring and respectful. I would go back to him in a minute.

Oh, the other thing is I have had this pain for years! You walk around and carry around this physical pain with you. You get used to it, but it still sucks. I was so tired of feeling bad and just not feeling good. I do everything I'm supposed to do - eat well, try to sleep well (as much as I can), and do my exercises. I finally was at the end of my rope and instead of doing something negative, like curl up in bed or take pills, I decided to treat myself - treat myself well. It was a big splurge but it was well-worth it! I hope I can do it again some time. I used to feel it was selfish to do things like get massages and stuff like that, but believe me, I didn't feel selfish yesterday. I felt like I was taking care of myself. When you have doctors and therapists telling you over and over to treat yourself well - well, there's got to be some truth to that, heh?

I know there are many people who don't like other people touching them. I'm not one of them. My muscles are a mess and having them released was a blessing. When people who touch you respect you and want the best for you, then you know it's okay. And I can always tell who respects me and who doesn't. You get a feeling about it, you know? My mother hated massages, but I guess I'm a touchy-feely person. When my sister and I were babies, people were always holding us and cuddling us. So I like that. Even when I go to my foot doctor and he holds my foot, it feels so good. And I can feel how he respects me - he respects my feet (I know that sounds silly, but it's true). You just gotta learn how you can trust and who you can't - who means well for you and who doesn't.

Sorry this got to be so long. As you can see, I take it seriously and have a lot of feeling about it. But I hope I explained it okay.

I just saw this thread now. I think it's great that you went and had that massage, BG! You deserve to do nice things for yourself and I'm proud of you!

I treated myself to a massage once, but I was disappointed. It hurt! I'm very sensitive and it just didn't feel so good, except for my feet. I didn't expect having my feet massaged would feel so good, but it did!! I am ticklish, so I thought I wouldn't like it. Maybe I will go back just for a foot massage sometime.

There are places where they will just do a foot massage. I'd like to start getting pedicures maybe once a month. The only place I felt ticklish was when he massaged the front of my thighs - I was twitching all over the place. The reason this massage was so wonderful was because it was not a massage to "relax." It was a deep-tissue massage to release the knots in my muscles. And this guy knew exactly what he was doing! When I get the "relaxing" massages they do nothing for me either. Now I'm glad I know the difference.