My 16 years of experience facing Fibromyalgia and 30 years of CFS Pain medications taken too often can lead to a pain cycle, where every time you take an analgesic, the pain will come back sooner and stronger. Once you are there, you have to stop all painkillers completely. I just had my cycle restarted by a week in the hospital where…

It really drives me nuts the way doctors and the general population misunderstand fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia literally means “muscle pain” in Latin. Of course, the muscle pain is real and it can hurt like hell, but it’s not a diagnosis. It’s like going to a doctor complaining that your head hurts, and having the doctor diagnose you…

Anyone who has suffered from an extended flare or has been hit with back to back flares knows how bad fibromyalgia flare stank can be! Hygiene is rarely discussed in the fibromyalgia community. It’s personal and embarrassing. I mean seriously, how many people, besides myself, wake up and think that today is a good day to announce my stench…

Fibromyalgia is a difficult disease to live with. It affects your entire body and changes your way of life. Its symptoms include muscle pain, fatigue, and exhaustion. All of those things can make it very difficult to live your life the way you want to. It may prevent you from doing things that you love to do. That can make…

Most of you know that I have been taking care of my grandparents and mom because of their illnesses and elderly needs. What you may not know is that my grandmother has passed. She was 94. This post will not be like my regular posts because I’m still dealing with a lot of stress so I will be streaming…

You may have seen some conflicting information regarding fibromyalgia and autoimmune diseases. Some people will tell you it is considered to be an autoimmune disease, others will tell you it’s not. However, you must know that physicians do not consider fibromyalgia to be an autoimmune disease. The cause of this debilitating disease is not known and individuals who have other diseases could be much more…

I didn’t ask for this and believe me, I don’t want it. I know you roll your eyes, even when you try and hide it. I know you think I’m exaggerating or being dramatic. But this is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. You’re used to seeing me work and cook, clean, walk, go shopping, and even out with friends. I…

It’s 7:30 p.m. on a Friday night, and I’m in bed. With my husband and dogs right beside me. Nothing new here, and honestly, most of our friends are probably doing the same thing, but I really wouldn’t know. It wasn’t the diagnosis, or even the pain really, that caused me to start avoiding party invites and happy hour…

What are fibromyalgia flare-ups? Is it non-stop pain that lasts a lifetime?Or is it pain that comes and goes? Do they include more than one pain/symptom? The answer to all of these questions is YES and NO. Fibromyalgia flare-ups are difficult to fully define because there are so many varying factors. Although I began experiencing fibromyalgia symptoms as early as age 10,…

Fibromyalgia is the second most common rheumatic disorder behind osteoarthritis and, though still widely misunderstood, is now considered to be a lifelong central nervous system disorder, which is responsible for amplified pain that shoots through the body in those who suffer from it. Daniel Clauw, M.D., professor of anesthesiology, University of Michigan, analyzed the neurological basis for fibromyalgia in a plenary session addressed today at…

“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense”, Gertrude Stein To write that I am frustrated, angry, and discouraged over the recent hoopla this week in the news from the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is to be putting it mildly. As is usual with someone who has CFS and…

“One out of two women are going to have, live with, and/or die from heart disease and stroke,…It is amazing women are still not getting that message, and one has to ask why.” Dr. Martha Hill On January 19th I suffered a heart attack. For that reason, I have not written much in the past several weeks. Writing…

“The happiest women, like the happiest nations, have no history”, George Eliot I have based my unproven theory about why more women than men are diagnosed with fibromyalgia upon a feminist analysis of the political and cultural roles of women in societies in general- both historically and at present. However, now that gender is currently socially constructed and is much more fluid, it has…

” My friend…care for your psyche…know thyself, for once we know ourselves, we may learn how to care for ourselves”, Socrates Fibromyalgia does not allow for any kind of scientific tests to aid in making the diagnosis of the syndrome. It is not a disease, but a broad spectrum of ‘symptoms’ which appear to be somewhat universal, that…

” The world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it”, Helen Keller A condition called paresthesia results in numbness, tingling, and pins and needles in the limbs, due to disturbances in the nerve pathways. Those of us with fibromyalgia have what is also known as peripheral neuropathy, most particularly in the legs. For me, it is much worse…

“Memory, the warder of the brain”, William Shakespeare It has been a long and interesting journey beginning with my book in which I laid the foundation about why women are more prone to developing or at least reporting FMS, and my conclusion that it is actually caused by an over-aroused nervous system. However, while this was the first step, and the…

” When things get really bad, just raise your glass and stamp your feet and do a little jig”, Leonard Cohen As I have been limping along these past few months following hip surgery I began to have foot pain, a condition I had never had before. I was speculating about the cause. Too little walking of late? Plantar…

“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it”, Lena Horne HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEKEND! We Canadians are always so happy our Thanksgiving falls in mid-October when it’s harvest time; the leaves are gorgeous and in full color and if we cook a turkey it is still a long way till Christmas and we can enjoy another one…