A little information on what Fibromyalgia is

[kris]

It is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tenderness in localized areas. Fibromyalgia is the most common musculoskeletal condition after osteoarthritis. Still, it is often misdiagnosed and misunderstood. Its characteristics include widespread muscle and joint pain and fatigue as well as other symptoms. Fibromyalgia can lead to depression and social isolation. This is just a little background on what it is for people who are interested.

 

[Janet L]

Kris, that's a good definition, I've always liked the following as a descriptor, which breaks do the word "fibromyalgia":

• fibro meaning fiber-like
• mya meaning muscle
• algia meaning pain

 

[kris]

That's a pretty neat way to think about it. Thanks Janet.

 

[twiztc]

I've been diagnosed with it but still not sure I totally believe in it.
There are so very many of us with similar symptoms and yet also so different.
Is it that we've all been pigeon- holed under a blanket label because the scientific theories are just not there yet to break it down further.
Is the medical profession just as baffled as the rest of us by this vague debilitating condition?
Have we other underlying conditions so far undiagnosed because of the disguise of fibro?
How does it all start?
For some it's a physical trauma like a car accident
Others mental or emotional trauma, a death of someone very close or some kind of temporary mental breakdown.
For me I have no idea.
I think I was born with it that lay dormant most of the time, occasionally poking it's head up long enough to give me distress but not long enough that it couldn't be explained away as something else, like growing pain or a virus.
For me it has gradually got worse over time even though I read somewhere that it was not a degenerative condition.
I'm now coming up on 45 years old and getting to the point some days I can hardly walk.
I eat well, take vitamins and exercise as regularly as I can. I never miss my swimming day every Wednesday.
I feel I do all the things the experts say to do to keep mobile but still I get worse.
I DO tend to still over do it when I have the increasingly rare good days.
It is a condition that, if you let it, can make you totally miserable and your nearest and dearest try to understand but can't. How can they possibly when we don't fully understand either and we tend to be a stubborn bunch and don't let on how we feel for fear of being treated as an invalid and losing our independence which we grip onto fervently.
oh my, do forgive me for rambling on when I only came in to say hi!

 

[Janet L]

Twiztc I'm so sorry to read all of that, it sounds like you're having such a hard time. You really have to keep trying, and keeping trying to find ways to make yourself a bit better, or at the very least, have a few good days more often than you do now.

Have you been to the doctor lately? If they're not helping, perhaps it's time for a new more understanding doctor?

 

[kris]

Twiztc I am sorry as well. I know it is hard to grasp at first. Just keep your head up and take one day at a time.

 

[twiztc]

Don't get me wrong.. reading my post back it sound a bit desparate. But I have come to terms with how I am ...the poor doctors have tried just about everything available to them but I'm just an awkward case where not much works.
I'm Happy with my life just like you say I take each day for what it is. I refuse to be an invalid and while I can still do, I will do.
This time of year makes everyone a bit grotty
I could do with some warm sunshine.

the trick is to stay as positive as possible

 

[kris]

Being optimistic is the best way to go. I am proud of you.

 

[aydensmom]

Kris, that's a good definition, I've always liked the following as a descriptor, which breaks do the word "fibromyalgia":

• fibro meaning fiber-like
• mya meaning muscle
• algia meaning pain

This is a good way to break it down. Thank you for this. I probably never would have thought of it this way but now that you have pointed it out, it actually makes sense.

 

[dorothymoreno]

Thanks to all of you for explaining this in simple terms.

 

[1sweed]

Hey there Kris, thanks for the info. I think it is hard to explain when we don't even understand it. I have good days and bad ones but I have learned to take it in stride. Just grit my teeth and try to think positive. Another way to handle it is by disconnecting from your pain, this is a way to deal with pain problems, in a natural way by doing it without thinking about it. Have you ever watch a movie and be so absorbed in the movie you lost all track of time? Or have you driven home from work and could not remember the route you took home. That is a way of disconnecting from your surrounding. You are still alert enough to do the task at hand, but it is a way to put aside the pain in your body, and still be aware of what your doing. How can I do this you might ask? By using your hobbies to excape. Knitting and crochet are good examples, both of these are hobbies you must pay attention to so you don't make a mistake. Do you paint or sew, collect stamps or make jewelry. Maybe walking in the woods to watch birds, or doing photography or building models, or just doing jigsaw puzzles will take your mind off your troubles and worrys and pain for a few hours a day. I can get lost searching the web for interesting facts or pictures and find the time has flown by and I had not noticed my pain. Try it and see if hobbies will work for you.

 

[Cynder]

twiztc I agree with you. I think there's something going on that the doctors just don't understand yet. I have some other conditions and I wonder if they are all related somehow. I have MVP, IC, and Keratoconus too. Also really bad PMS. Gotta be something behind all this.

 

[Janet L]

I agree, it seems like things get worse with cancer rates also, all these strange things happening to our bodies. Increases in ADD, increases in Autism. I'm no doctor but I wonder if it's not pollution, new polymers, plastics, and similar new and strange things that weren't around a hundred years ago.

 

[Talicokim]

I agree with you Janet L.. I remember growing up (I'm almost 50) that I never heard of autism, or ADD.. we had *hyper* kids but they prescribed more activity to wear them out.. Not drugs.. I hear stories from women I work with how they take the kid to the dr. and they throw pills at them. I also agree on pollution and new polymers as a very possible cause for these newer ailments

 

[Janet L]

I have a friends' son that fell into the ADD trap. He may very well have it, but to be prescribed Ritalin from the age of 11, and to continue taking it until the age of 18 or 19, he's never really been the same. I've heard him say that going off Ritalin has left him feeling disconnected. He's gone on to have alcohol abuse problems, marijuana dependency, and other dependencies like drinking ten plus cups of coffee a day. I know this could be from anything, but having been on such a strong drug from such an early age has to have had some negative impact, I know he believes it to be true.

So between drugs, medications, pollutants, new polymers in our bodies... nobody can really give us the statistics of what's harmful and what's not. Not to mention that everyone's body is a bit different and will react a bit differently.