Hope is a powerful force. It fuels the search for answers, keeps spirits high during flare-ups, and motivates patients to try yet another treatment. But for those battling fibromyalgia, hope can sometimes backfire. The phrase…
Fibromyalgia Diagnosis
Learn how Fibromyalgia is diagnosed, including key symptoms, diagnostic criteria, and the tests used to rule out other conditions.
Diagnosed Too Soon: The Truth About Getting a Fibromyalgia Diagnosis Young and Why It’s Not ‘Easier’
When I was asked if getting my fibromyalgia diagnosis young was easier, I paused. There was no clear way to respond to that question without unpacking the weight of what it really means to be…
Lessons From Both Sides: What This Nurse With Fibromyalgia Learned From Her Patients
There’s a unique intersection where compassion meets personal struggle. As a nurse diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I found myself standing on both sides of the hospital bed. I had always believed in healing through understanding, but…
Young But Real: I Am 18 and Fibromyalgia Ill, and My Pain Is Just as Valid
Being eighteen is often described as a time of new beginnings, independence, and endless possibility. For many, it marks the start of adult life with dreams waiting to unfold. But for some of us, eighteen…
7 Honest Truths About My Preferred Pain Scale as Someone With Fibromyalgia
My Preferred Pain Scale as Someone With Fibromyalgia Living with fibromyalgia is a lesson in endurance, adaptation, and radical honesty with yourself. Over the years, I’ve learned that standard pain scales just don’t capture the…
Alone in the Ache: What It Really Means to Not Have a Support System When You’re Fibromyalgia Ill
Fibromyalgia is more than a diagnosis. It is a constant companion of pain, fatigue, and fog that weaves itself into every corner of your life. But while managing the symptoms is a challenge on its…
The Pain Beneath the Pain: When Trauma Leaves You With Fibromyalgia Illness
Trauma has a way of settling deep in the body. For some, it leaves scars that are visible and understood. For others, it weaves itself into the nervous system, slowly reshaping how the body responds…
Infection is Root Cause by Fibromyalgia: Exploring the Link Between Chronic Illness and Pathogens
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive dysfunction (brain fog). Despite decades of research, the exact cause of fibromyalgia remains unknown. However, one emerging theory suggests…
Denied and Dismissed: When a Doctor Turned Down My Fibromyalgia Referral and Said I’m ‘Not Sick Enough’
I walked into that appointment with hope. It had taken weeks to build up the courage to ask for a referral to a specialist, and even longer to convince myself that my symptoms were valid.…
Beyond the Pain: I Have Fibromyalgia and Yes, I’m Disabled—Here’s What That Really Means
I have fibromyalgia, and yes, I’m disabled. That sentence often surprises people. There’s an uncomfortable pause, a moment of disbelief, and then the all-too-common response: But you don’t look disabled. This reaction cuts deeper than…