I had fibromyalgia symptoms for 15 years before I was diagnosed. At that time, I took a course of physical therapy where I did the Wharton stretch method, where you put a strap around your ankle, stretch your leg, and then gently use the strap to extend the stretch for a second. This, combined with a slow, progressive walking program where I extended the length of my walk over time improved my energy and pain…
Fibromyalgia Vs Women The reasons that more women develop Fibromyalgia include, but are not limited to, the following physiologies and pathologies: The women’s pelvic girdle is more delicate than that of the men, wherein bigger bones and more massive ligaments provide a stronger platform for the upright post of the spine and a stronger tower for lifting, pushing, and pulling. Women are at greater risk for injury of the soft tissues, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and…
First of all, you haven’t changed. You’re the same person with the same condition, except now you have a label. I found that label very liberating because it showed me that I had a real disability and that I wasn’t “just making it up” or “being lazy” or such. Plus, now you can say “I have fibromyalgia” instead of “well I’m kinda really tired and, like, achy all over”, which sounds more convincing. Other stuff,…
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…
Fibromyalgia itself is still very much a mystery. Although doctors now have more information, and many doctors now accept it as a “real” issue, we still have a LOT to learn about fibro and chronic pain conditions in general. I personally agree with doctors who believe that fibro is not a condition in and of itself, but the result of other traumas or illnesses. I was diagnosed with fibro in 2002 when I was in…
I don’t know if my way is best, but I’m nearly symptom-free. I take medication and I slowly increased my exercise and activity. The worst: In the spring of 2008, my fibromyalgia (technically fibromyalgia syndrome or FMS) was destroying my life. I couldn’t move without crippling pain. I would move in small increments like going to the bathroom or switching from the bed to the couch. I needed help getting to appointments. If my ride’s car didn’t…
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…
I can tell you as someone who was diagnosed with PMR and fibro, most PMR info on the internet isn’t all that accurate. PMR usually affects elderly women, but it’s not so rare for younger folks to have it. And, most who are below the age cut off aren’t even given the blood tests needed to confirm the diagnosis because doctors just think it’s impossible to have PMR at 30, 40, 50 years of age.…
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…