23/11/2022
Something that explains Fibromyalgia In simpler terms, it might help people understand a bit better and gives some of us a bit of validation x
Hello my name is Fibromyalgia …... I'm an invisible inflammatory disease that attacks your nervous system.
I am now stuck to you for life. If you have me, you can hope for remission but there is no cure. I'm so sneaky - I don't show up in your blood work, in x-rays, MRI’s can’t detect me, basically there is no test to prove you have me. There are only tests to rule out other things.
Others around you can't see me or hear me, but YOUR body feels me, I can attack you anywhere and anyway I please, and I will, constantly. I can cause severe pain or, if I'm in a good mood, I can cause you to ache all over.
Do you remember when you and energy had fun? I took that energy from you, and gave you chronic exhaustion. I will take sleep from you and in its place give you a severe lack of concentration, you know this as ‘Brain Fog’
I can make you want to sleep 24/7 and for fun I can also cause insomnia.
I can make you tremble internally, I will make make you feel cold or hot when everyone else feels normal, I'll also make you drip with sweat!
I can cause one limb to change colour, look bruised or feel super sensitive. I can also give you swollen hands and feet, swollen face and eyelids, swollen everything.
I can make you feel very anxious with panic attacks or very depressed, I can also cause other mental health problems, those delightful mood swings? That's me. Crying for no reason? Angry for no reason? That's me too.
I can make you scream out loud, anytime of day or night, anywhere you are because I can create pain that makes you feel someone just stabbed you with a knife.
I will make your nails become dry and brittle, I will cause acne and cause dry skin, the sky's the limit with me. I can make you gain weight and no matter what you eat or how much you exercise, I can make you keep that weight. Maybe I might make you lose weight.? I wont discriminate.
If you have something planned or are looking forward to a great day, I will take that away from you. You didn't ask for me, I chose you for various reasons. If I hear you're going to see a doctor to try and get rid of me, that makes me laugh. You will have to go to many, many doctors until you find one who can even try to help you effectively. Most of them will make you feel like you are to blame, or worse, it is all in your head, I will convince them that you are crazy, people know that you can’t have all these symptoms all over your body and still walk around looking normal.
I will make you be put on the wrong medication :- pain pills, sleeping pills, energy pills, you will be told you are suffering from anxiety and depression therefore given antidepressants. There are so many other ways I will make you sick and miserable, the list is endless - If your body is all of a sudden dealing with things that were never issues before, that will be me.
Shortness of breath or "air hunger?"
Bone density problems?
Can’t regulate body temp and poor circulation?
Constant ‘electric jolts’?
I told you the list was endless…….
You will be advised to eat properly, rest properly, think positively and to exercise and I'll go away…. No I won't
Your family, friends and co-workers will look at you in disbelief as they can't see me, they will say things like “I hope you have a sp*edy recovery”. Only those who I punish know how cruel my punishment is. You will hear comments like “oh your just having a bad day” or
"if you just get up and move, get outside and do things, you'll feel better." They won't understand that I take away the energy that powers your body and mind to enable you to things people I don't know do everyday without thinking about it.
People will start talking behind your back, they'll call you a hypochondriac, while I make you you slowly feel that you are losing your dignity and mind. Don't waste your time trying to explain to them how I make you feel, I will make you forget what you were trying to say.
They will not understand that having this disease impacts your body from the top of your head to the tip of your toes, and that every cell, every body system and organ will be affected.
I didn’t really want to post this as I don’t want you to think I’m looking for excuses not to do things or to have your sympathy.
All I want is for family, friends and colleagues to try to understand and believe I’m not making it up.
I hate Fybromyalgia with a passion especially the chronic fatigue, I can mostly cope with the pain but the chronic fatigue is an embarrassment, I’m not Lazy I promise, I try my best to do what I can and overcome it all.
Thank you for taking time to read this and I hope it helps you understand a little bit of what I go through on a daily basis ###
