Learn how Fibromyalgia is diagnosed, including key symptoms, diagnostic criteria, and the tests used to rule out other conditions.
A wonderful database of patients who have accomplished a remission from Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has been created by Chronic-illness Community has video-interviewed several survivors and he has made these available for review. The stories he presents and the stories I have heard from patients contain similar reports of survivorship, and it is exactly the healing journeys of these survivors that point to the causes and the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.…
My fibromyalgia is considered to be at the severe end of the scale. When one has a disease/illness/condition where we frequently get the “but you don’t look sick” cry from the healthy unknowing masses, it is a foreign concept for outsiders (for lack of a better term) to understand the concept of widespread chronic pain. The first thing we need you to know is that we aren’t suffering from something that will eventually just go…
I’m not sure what it is like for other people, but I suspect I have had Fibromyalgia my entire life. As a child, I was always hurting, but I was told it was just “growth spurts“. Things that didn’t seem to hurt other children (rough playing) were excruciating to me. I didn’t have a lot of energy, even when most kids were busy running and playing. I was very sensitive to weather changes and preferred…
Fibromyalgia was first described in the early 1800s. It was considered a psychiatric ailment for decades. It wasn’t until a study done in 1980 that doctors were able to identify it scientifically. I got sick with it in 1989, a very stressful time in my life. The problem was that even though the year 2000 many, if not most, doctors continued to refer their patients to a mental health professional. Doctors refused to believe it…
Tips for the Warrior Caring for someone with CFS or FM can be a stressful experience. You may take on extra responsibilities, experience financial strain, feel frustrated and resentful at times, lose companionship, face uncertainty about the future, and experience both reduced socializing and sexual difficulties. Even with all the challenges brought by serious illness, there are many ways to take care of yourself. Here are nine to consider. Maintain Your Health This is the…
Improving Communication The stresses brought by serious illness can make good communication difficult. To complicate matters, CFS and FM create the additional challenge of cognitive problems. Here are seven ideas for how to improve communication if you or your partner have CFS or FM. Pick a Good Time and Setting If you have something important to discuss with a significant person in your life, select a time when both of you will be at your…
Fibromyalgia and CFS put couples under stress. This chapter offers strategies for addressing three problems faced by couples: sexual difficulties, strained communication, and caregiver burnout. Improving Intimacy When CFS or fibromyalgia enters a marriage, one casualty can be intimacy between the partners. Pain, reduced energy, reduced interest, health problems of the partner, and increased responsibilities for the healthy spouse can all affect a couple’s sex life, but, like other aspects of long-term illness, intimacy problems…
Every color in the color wheel has effects on us both physically and emotionally are very important in our lives as they directly influence our well-being and mood. We often hear people say that they are red hot mad, tickled pink, green with envy or ask someone why so blue? (sad). There have been so many studies showing the positive and the negative effects color can have on us. Red color Red reminds me of heat…
Relationships can be difficult for healthy individuals. They are even harder when you add the complications of being in constant pain, severe fatigue, anxiety/depression and cognitive impairment. There are many types of interpersonal relationships. Some of the various types are friendship, family, and work. Fibromyalgia has changed all of my relationships. I have little energy to do the things that I used to do. I loved to go out and socialize. Now, I prefer to…
Alarm rings at 5 a.m. I jump out of bed to start making fresh blueberry muffins and the evening’s crock-pot dinner. Out the door by 6 a.m. for a full day (up to 10 hours) of work followed by whatever after school activity my kiddo had for the night. The night ends making sure our daughter’s homework is done, bath & bed, leaving me a few hours to pick up the house, play on the…