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Living with Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a chronic and painful condition that is extremely
hard to diagnose. The main symptoms are constant pain and stiffness in the musculoskeletal
parts of the body, soft tissue tenderness and sleep disturbances leading to extreme tiredness.
The pain is mostly felt in the neck, back, pelvic girdle and hands, though any
other parts of the body may be affected.
This
disease is very hard to diagnose because so many of the symptoms are similar to
other problems like chronic fatigue, rheumatism and arthritis. Doctors must rely a
great deal on their patients’ description of symptoms.
Diagnosis:
Fibromyalgia Test
There
is a manual standardized test that can be given to discover if there is pain at
specified points of the body. If 11 out of 18 of these specified points are
tender, and the patient has had pain in all four quadrants of the body for at
least three months then Fibromyalgia is certainly suspected.
A
compounding problem is that these symptoms can come and go from week to week.
Numbness, tingling and burning may also be present and the pain can be affected
by emotional stress, trauma and also by weather
conditions such as humidity and cold. Too little or too much activity can also
play a part in the amount of pain experienced.
Sometimes
fibromyalgia can be triggered by an illness or
injury, but it is also thought to be genetic. New research has shown that it
may be caused by an interpretive defect of the central nervous system that
causes abnormal pain perception.
Treating
Fibromyalgia Symptoms
Once
the condition has been diagnosed, there is much the patient can do to relieve
the symptoms. Certainly the advice of a medical health-care provider should be
sought and followed, but there are many alternative treatments that offer
relief from the symptoms and most doctors agree that sufferers of fibromyalgia should put into place a multi-faceted
treatment regimen that includes nutrition, exercise, dietary supplements,
acupuncture, aroma-therapy, relaxation techniques and even the use of hot-cold
therapies and humor to aid in pain relief.
Over
the counter pain relief medication such as ibuprofen can be used, while low
doses of anti-depressants from the doctor can certainly help the sufferer to get better sleep. Lidocaine injections into tender
pain points may also be needed for relief. Gentle exercise and stretching will
prevent the muscles from wasting away and is also beneficial in reducing pain and stiffness
Fibromyalgia Help
and Support
Because
living with a chronic illness such as FM can be so debilitating, sufferers need
emotional support as well as physical. Joining a fibromyalgia support group can provide helpful
insights into the disease, while counselling sessions with a trained
professional can open communication with friends and family who often cannot
understand the extensive disabilities caused by fibromyalgia.
If you
are a fibromyalgia sufferer, it is important to keep a hopeful attitude even in
the face of debilitating pain, because this disease does tend to improve over
time and there are always new and different treatments being discovered.
The Difficulties of Living with
Fibromyalgia
It's
not easy to live with fibromyalgia. It
is not easy due to the fact that, like myself, you have no knowledge about how
you are going to feel when you wake up in the morning. One day there's pain beyond belief and the
next you can feel as if you are walking on clouds, no pain and a day full of
activity.
My day
normally starts with about 20 minutes of trying to stretch out my muscles and
have them functioning normally again.
Then I have to pick up my little girl from her bed, and that can be a
painful experience. After that it's time
to change her diaper, and that is also a huge problem for me as my fingers
normally are not working properly.
Fortunately, my daughter has learned already to be patient with me. After about half an hour it's time to try
out clothes and see if it's going to be a good day or a bad one. A bad day is a no tight clothes day. Then it's breakfast time but normally I can't
eat breakfast due to stomach problems also caused by my fibromyalgia.
Then
the day goes on. If I have the strength,
I will try to go out and do the shopping and also take out my kids. The worse thing about fibromyalgia is that
one gets so tired. The pain can be so
hard that nothing works and even if you have had a good night's sleep, you can
wake up feeling as if you have never slept at all. It takes control over every little thing you
like to do. One day I have all the
strength I can ever use and the next day I have no strength at all.
Fibromyalgia
takes all the good in you, and makes you feel horrible if you do more than your
body can take. I remember once I was at
a dance, felt pretty good that evening and had no pain whatsoever. The day after the dance I could not get out
of bed, I had to call for help. I have
also had to have home assistant, and help with almost everything for some
periods of my illness. It's been so bad
that I haven't even been able to take my kids out to play.
The
weather is also a big problem for almost everyone with fibromyalgia. For me
that means that when the temperature is between 0-15 degrees Celsius, I'm in
severe pain. Those days, I can do hardly
anything, and that means for me about 6 months a year. There are a few things that you, who don't
have this illness can do:
1. Remember that even if someone has
fibromyalgia, it doesn't mean you can see it.
We have no evidence on our bodies that prove our illness and too often
we get to hear that we are lazy, and "How can you be ill, it doesn't
show". Those words hurt. Because we have often had to fight a battle
with our doctors to make them realize that we have fibromyalgia and prove it to
far too many people.
2. Also think about the fact that sometimes
even a soft touch can hurt, so don't pat us on the back saying "you'll get
better!". It's an illness that is
there for life.
3. Don't make demands on us, because what we
can do today, we might not be able to do tomorrow.
This is
just a little about fibromyalgia and I will probably write much more about it.
Watch
this video - Living with
Fibromyalgia - Fibromyalgia ruined my life...how I manage
Living with Fibromyalgia - Where to
Find Special Fibromyalgia Support Groups
When
dealing with something like fibromyalgia, it is important to have a support
system of some sort in place. Finding support for a unique condition like that,
though, is sometimes difficult. If you know where to look, though, and you know
how to research the organizations, you soon discover where to find special
fibromyalgia support groups. Here are a few tips that may help you in your
search so that you can share your experience, share the experience of others,
and learn how to get support through supporting others.
A great
place to start your search for where to find special fibromyalgia support
groups is online. The internet is a wealth of knowledge and many of these
support groups add to that by having their own websites. The best way to find
them is to start with a search engine.
Finding
a fibromyalgia support group is really no different than finding anything else
online. Start by searching for fibromyalgia and a location. You will, in most
every case, get back several responses that fit your search. So, your next step
then would be to make a decision on which support group best works for you.
The
internet will not only tell you where to find special fibromyalgia support
groups, but also how to get in contact with them. Once you have found a group
online that seems to fit your need and schedule, you should contact them.
Talking to a representative of the group can often give you a feel for whether
or not it is going to be a good fit for you.
The
internet is not the only place suited to help you with where to find special
fibromyalgia support groups. Another fantastic resource for you is the local
hospitals. If you call the hospital and ask, most all of them will have support
groups for all sorts of conditions and situations. They should be able to give
you information on special fibromyalgia support groups that will fit your
schedule. They should be able to tell you when the groups meet, where they
meet, and how to get into contact with them.
So, if
you are not “computer savvy” and still needs to know where to find special
fibromyalgia support groups, then contact your local hospital and they should
be able to help you. If not, they should be able to direct you to another
organization that certainly can.
Finally,
if all else fails, then you can find where to find special fibromyalgia support
groups by contacting Fibro-Friends. This is a group that supports and advocates
for those who have fibromyalgia. They can help you find support groups,
organizations, and other contacts in your area so that you do not have to be
alone.
Knowing
where to find special fibromyalgia support groups can be a big part of dealing
with it. By going online, through your local hospital, or talking to
Fibro-Friends, you can get the support system you need to deal with this
condition day in and day out.
This
article is from the Get Your Health Back – Fibromyalgia
& Chronic Fatigue Freedom.
It consists of a strategy filled with guides on sleep, pain, depression,
anxiety, diet, exercise and fitness plans, diet plans and packed with 369
healthy and delicious recipes
To
find out more about this program, visit the website - Get
Your Health Back – Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Freedom
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