what is fibromyalga?

[cmetryme]

FM is in short nerve pain. Plain n simple.
Our nervous system is our bodies message path.
All messages go to the brain through the nervous system.
When the messages go through the nerves it causes pain and
Burning knife pains. Pain causes us to not sleep. Not sleeping
Causes us to get fatigue. Fatigue causes muscle spasms and
Brain fog. Brain fog causes us to lose memory motor functions.
As the muscles is what tells the brain to send pain. It uses the nerves
To send that message to the brain.

They give us meds like gabby, lryica, cymbalta which
Are nerve blockers. Less messages, less use of nervous
System = less pain.
There is no cure and you see the only treatment for it.

You can't see fibro , like you can't see a headache.

Family and friends can't imagine your pain. So they say things like get over it or man up. Mine said walk it off. Because they couldn't see it. They could see the pain in my face,so they knew I had pain.
I used the clothes pin to show them my pain.
I had each take a clothes pin and place it on their body. Told them you can't take it off.

Most couldn't take the pain more than one minute. Said it hurt to much to keep it on.
I told them that's the pain I have day and night and I can't take the clothes pins off like you did.

I can't get over it or walk it off or man up. All I can do is take the meds the doctors offer me.
The drugs are dangerous. So I chose wisely.

I hope this helps folks understand about fibro and what it does to people with it.

If I missed anything here please add your comments.

Thanks for reading and supporting us here in the forum!

 

[Forgetmenot]

I liked that a lot will deffo try the cloth peg with family

 

[cmetryme]

one of our friends here in the forum here did some research id like to pass on you all.

Research from the Fibromyalgia Research Foundation reveals deficient thyroid hormone regulation (DTHR) as an underlying cause of Fibromyalgia (FM). Poor diet, poor physical fitness and metabolism slowing drugs are primary contributors to symptoms as do additional hormonal imbalances of cortisol, estrogen and progesterone.
or
Another study, by Dr. John Lowe, Diplomat of the American Academy of Pain Management and Director of Research at the Fibromyalgia Research Foundation in the UK claims “indisputable proof” that the primary cause of fibromyalgia (FM) are with the pituitary gland or the hypothalamus.
or
A team led by Dr. Frank Rice, a neuroscientist and president of Intidyn, as well as pain specialist Dr. Charles Argoff, a neurologist at Albany Medical Center in New York, found an enormous increase in the number of sensory nerve fibers within the blood vessels of the skin on the palms of fibromyalgia patients' hands.

 

[cmetryme]

another way to evplain firbo

the nerves are like train tracks running all over our body. the muscles are the trains(signals) running on that track to all the stations within the nervous system. the brain or the part of the brain (hypothalamus) is the control station. when the track is loose or a spike(fiber) comes out ,the track is damaged. so when the train crosses that spot it begins to shake and spark.(burning under the skin). the more times the train(signals) go over that spot, the more it gets damaged and the more pain we get. we dont know why that track or spike got loose. nor do we have trainman to go fix it.

 

[cmetryme]

Janetl posted this. I thought it helpful.
Here's a list of all the major and common Fibromyalgia symptoms (third from the bottom is "electric shock" symptoms):
Acute pain
Anxiety
Depression
Fatigue
Sleeplessness
Balance problems
Nausea
Dizziness
Electric shock sensations
Pins and needle sensation in hands and feet
Short-term memory loss

The feelings and causes of the shock sensations can be described like this:
Shocks feel like pins and needles but way more painful, common and continuing
Shocks feel like electricity traveling through your whole body, sometimes accompanied by a strange feeling of falling
The pains come on often and out of nowhere, feeling like flashes of hot light and painful tingling
Your muscles and body parts will sometimes jerk uncontrollably, arms, joints, legs, toes, fingers, etc

 

[Sueskool]

Do people with fibromyalgia get different levels of pain? I have recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, will I have to expect the pain to get worse as time goes by? Sorry for being naive about it. Sue

 

[cmetryme]

Sue, we all handle pain differently. Pain levels are experience at different levels. Some folks at level 3 is crying pain and others it just not to bad,even livable.
We have our good days and bad days. Low pain and high pain. I'm not sure if its the pain getting higher or our tolerance getting lower. I'm on day 46 of for me high pain.
I'm sore and the knifes are getting sharper. Just take it day by day and keep going.

 

[Ruralchick]

Some say they live well, with FM now under a lot of control, others say it got worse as time went on. The hardest part for me is I have to be very pro-active ; research, LOTS of research, spending money trying new vitamins/herbs; reading, talking, asking questions of docs, adjusting diet... All this when I feel like --well, you all know! Seems every week I hear of a new idea about what the cause is. Every book out there has their own theory; helps some. BUT NO ONE REALLY KNOWS what it is and how to treat it. Then they put up huge barriers, laws, even prejudice after all this time. Think I'll probably die of "fed-up disease".

ONLY because the Lord loves me and is with me in this can I go on.

 

[cmetryme]

there is no cause to why we have this muscle and nerve pain. we just know that these are affected and they call it fibro.

if we knew the cause we would all be out on the streets yelling dont do this and dont do that. we would be maniacs and getting arrested.

we would have our own talk shows and movies just about us and how we live.

when there is a cause im be the first crazy nut running around the hood screaming and being arrested.

 

[Loftpat]

Do people with fibromyalgia get different levels of pain? I have recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, will I have to expect the pain to get worse as time goes by? Sorry for being naive about it. Sue

Sue,

Fibro impacts people in many different ways. Some people continue their lives without medications, others with supplements and meds, and still others take some pretty hefty pain meds. Some of the fibro research points to a disconnect in the way fibro brains process pain. Our brains are as unique as we are. Other research showed that some fibro folks had high levels of substance P in their spinal fluid (the expressway to the brain) while others did not. This suggests that fibro might be more of a constellation of syndromes rather than just one, which would explain to some degree why fibro is experienced in different ways.

Do all that you can to stay healthy--eat well (avoid processed foods), sleep well, gentle exercise. All these things are what we should do anyway! You do not have to expect the pain to get worse as time goes by. My personal opinion is that the more we embrace a healthy lifestyle, the better our odds at keeping pain and other symptoms at bay. Whether this is a genuine decrease in pain or a better way of coping with the pain, I don't know.

I know it's hard when you are first diagnosed...relief at finally knowing what you have been experiencing is REAL and frustration at realizing there is no cure...no one thing that will make fibro go away.

These three focus in slightly different directions, so you may find something that works for you. Since docs are typically science focused, it can help with conversations about treatment in the short and longer terms.

Take care and hugs.

Links Not Allowed!

 

[Sueskool]

Thanks for your advice, I will just take each day as it comes. Do you find the pain is less with warm weather, only I live in Nothern England and at the moment it's very cold and was hoping in the summer it might be more bearable. So sorry about your high level of pain. Sue.

 

[cmetryme]

Sue, thanks for caring! i was talking just last night, with a friend that mentioned his sister has greater pain in the cold. for me i see no difference. pain is pain hot or cold. others i hope will reply as they dont have lupus too. sometimes it hard to tell whats FM pain and whats Lupus pain. I just keep trying to learn from these nice folks. keep reading the post and friend me. you can always ask private questions to the folks you friend if you need that.

Also i found it helpful, that if you click on quicklinks on the top of the page then click on whos online. it will show you everyone even guests.
i have found many older posts that the guests are reading.

stay well my friend!

 

[cmetryme]

still lots of good info out there. please feel free to add your comments to help folks learn about fibro.

 

[LovelyChantel]

Thanks for saying this all. The clothespin example is a great way to help people understand. Sorry you're in such pain all the time. Supporting you.

 

[cmetryme]

thanks for your support.