Living with Pain - Fibromyalgia Awareness Month
Can you imagine waking up in tears because your pain is so strong? You’re not able to move because you are so stiff, and it takes everything in you just to get up on your feet. This is the reality for so many people with Fibromyalgia.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes widespread pain across your body. It makes it difficult to sleep and causes individuals to feel tired and deal with emotional as well as mental distress. On top of that, those with the disorder may be more sensitive to pain compared to those without it. The CDC says Fibromyalgia affects about four million U.S. adults, about 2% of the adult population. Though the condition is common, most people don’t know what Fibromyalgia is. That’s why May is Fibromyalgia Awareness Month, to talk more about the disorder and what those who live with the pain go through daily.
Right at Home caregivers and nurses have seen firsthand the symptoms of those with Fibromyalgia and how it impacts their quality of life. What most people don’t realize is that their ailments from this disorder look very similar to arthritis-related illnesses. Oftentimes, people don’t even realize that they actually have Fibromyalgia.
In a search of online groups and forums, a lot of folks were questioning the existence of their illness, despite being in pain.
There were many individuals who endured long periods of pain without awareness or acknowledgment of their pain, feeling as though their suffering wasn’t worthwhile. We saw a large number of people who were labeled as "dramatic." However, after getting help from a healthcare professional, they received a legitimate diagnosis. Below are some of the comments we came across. Our intention is to validate an individual’s pain because there is no one who knows your body better than you do. Your body is signaling that something is amiss, and seeking a professional opinion is one of the most effective courses of action.
Online Forum Comments:
Fibromyalgia pain feels like your joints and bones feel when you have the flu. Like that. All the time a constant aching, burning pain. - Anonymous on an online forum
Usually, my worst is when I am lying down in bed, the pain and stiffness specially in the joints in the inferior part of my body and sometimes in my wrists, usually people say this happens because I had a long day and overdo my body so I have to try to power through the pain but it can get really bad, some days I get up from bed and cry with every step I take because the pain is really sharp, some days the numbing on my hands is intense and does not let me even hold a coffee mug. – Eulalia Tapia
I (F19) have a combination of CFS, Fibro, POTS, and EDS. I’m also suspecting that I have peripheral neuropathy. I know that a lot of people don’t believe that these illnesses are real or think that they are the result of hypochondriacs but I’m really curious as to what reasons people have not to believe that these conditions are real. – Anonymous on an online forum
One day I woke up to find that everything hurt, and I could hardly move. The captivity of pain lasted a long time. I could hardly stand to work, so I’m a photographer who should go clean something in a condominium. There’s no elevator and buckets of water must be taken up to the apt. upstairs and washed up, trash cans pulled out onto the sidewalk. So everything hurt and as time went on and the pain didn’t go away, I went to the doctor. I went to see a rheumatologist, I went to maybe 5-6 doctors, but they found no organ lesions or only rheumatic lesions at a level appropriate to my age. In the meantime, time passed, and I tried all sorts of drugs so that I could get to work. - Ilona Csécsei My Life With Fibromyalgia (fmaware.org)
Here’s a list of the main symptoms associated with Fibromyalgia:
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Widespread pain. A constant dull ache that has lasted for at least three months.
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Fatigue.
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Sleep problems.
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Emotional and mental distress like depression.
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Stiffness.
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Cognitive difficulties.