A detailed guide to understanding Fibromyalgia symptoms, early warning signs, and how they are diagnosed.
I frequently find myself either bitterly acting out or saying this to those around me. Apologizing to those whose lives are affected by my illness, as though it is something I did or like or want or don’t suffer horribly from myself. As hard as Fibromyalgia is to manage, the guilt on top of everything else is ridiculous! Do other chronic illness sufferers feel the same way or is this particular to our condition because…
I am sick of apologizing for being me. I am sick of apologizing for being sick and not as productive or efficient or clear-headed as I once was. I am sick of apologizing for the passion that consumes me to get Fibromyalgia out of my brain and actually doing something to better our lives. I am sick of apologizing for not going to bed early enough or keeping my house clean enough or taking the…
I attended the birthday party of a good friend last night. Just an intimate and impromptu get-together at her house, I found myself given the opportunity for the first time since I have taken up the proverbial Fibromyalgia cross to promote my condition and raise awareness, the new charge of my life. But I was at a loss as to how to explain it without launching into 20 minutes of background information to answer each…
Fibromyalgia has come a long way since I was diagnosed in 2006. The FDA approved Lyrica a year later and overnight it went from “being in your head” to a real condition…for some medical professionals. Not all jumped on the bandwagon because there is still no definitive test to confirm the diagnosis, but it was mildly legitimized. At least there was a sector that believed us, that we were hurting, throbbing, on fire inside, crushing…
At the end of July, I had 2 strokes. Old news to most, new news to a few. I was diagnosed with a treatable and reversible form of Vasculitis, put on Prednisone, and sent home to recover. Now I will utilize modern medicine for many things but prefer to go as natural as possible as much as I can. Pancreatitis, give me the drugs. Vasculitis, bring ’em on! VICD, you bet ‘cha I will crush…
Dear Alexa I was involved in a road traffic accident following which I initially suffered from a whiplash injury with pain to my neck and back. It has now been 9 months since the accident and the pain has spread so that I have pain all over my body. I am convinced that I am suffering from fibromyalgia as I seem to suffer from the majority of symptoms in addition to the widespread pain including…
Fibromyalgia and celiac disease are two debilitating conditions that prove to be extremely difficult to live with. Some symptoms of both conditions overlap and are very similar. In this blog, we look at the connections between the two conditions and how they may be related to one another. Fibromyalgia is a complex, long-term chronic condition with a multitude of different symptoms, including widespread pain all over the body, and without a single known cause.Many people…
Osteoarthritis is known to occur in those suffering with fibromyalgia, but why? Find out in this blog. Not to be confused with osteoporosis, osteoarthritis affects the cartilage in your joints and wears them down over time, causing the bones to rub together. As a condition, osteoarthritis can make it extremely hard for you to move around, leaving you feeling uncomfortable, particularly for those of you who are looking to be active in any way. Symptoms…
An illness like fibromyalgia permeates every aspect of your life – it forever alters the trajectory of your story. For this year’s Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, I wanted to reflect on how my diagnosis changed my path, both in negative and positive ways. I have written about my story before, but here I want to talk about the impact my diagnosis had. Initially, all I could see afterward was a loss in every direction, as if…
Recently published research stated that those patients with Rheumatoid arthritis had higher pain levels if they also were diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. “Fibromyalgia is associated with worsening function in rheumatoid arthritis patients”.”The researchers noted that Fibromyalgia is a debilitating syndrome characterized by widespread, non-articular pain. The condition is more common in RA patients, with a prevalence of about 20% compared with 2.5% in the general population.” A few additional facts from the study included a psychosocial…