Fibromyalgia is such a complex condition. It affects you physically, cognitively and emotionally. Sometimes, if forces us to change who we are or suffer the consequences. This is where I have a hard time because I have dreams and goals and I’m not ready to give them up. Today I woke up feeling the weight of fibromyalgia on my body…

Maybe the doctor you followed some patients with the presumptive diagnosis of fibromyalgia. And maybe after years of following them, and checking for objective signs of disease- lab abnormalities, physical changes, etc. your doctor never found anything to document a medical illness. But the patients always had the same complaints, always complained of fatigue, not sleeping, muscle aches and not being able…

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…

Not all Rheumatologists (especially if they had been trained some years earlier and belong to the older generation) believe in Fibromyalgia. Even if they “believe”, not all are comfortable with managing patients with Fibromyalgia for diverse reasons. One very common reason (which doctors only admit to other doctors) is that Fibromyalgia patients are generally difficult (I sympathize with those patients) as…

How do I be confident using the cane in public when I look like an otherwise healthy, able-bodied person? I can’t give you a direct definite answer to your question. But I will share a couple of things with you. When my oldest daughter was 13 she had surgery for scoliosis. She walked back to the surgery suite turning…

Yes, I was diagnosed in 2001. In 1999, I suffered a back injury at work. Even though I followed my treating physician’s advice, including physical therapy and home exercises, the pain in my back just wouldn’t ease up. Within a year, I had widespread pain that felt like I’d overtaxed my muscles. (To this day, the area of my injury is extremely sensitive…

Fibromyalgia is primarily a neurological brain disorder. It is seven times more likely to strike women than men, and it doesn’t matter what nationality you are. The hypothalamus part of the brain acts as a circuit breaker/fuse box for the rest of the brain and body. It’s like the battery for the entire body. There are several things…

I’ve had it for about 29 years now. In a word—-Pain. Never-ending, constant pain. Your shoulder will suddenly start to hurt, which can last for a few seconds to days. That can happen in any part of your body. When it quits, it will start in some other place, again for only a few seconds to days….

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,…

I’ve tried just about every medication possible over the years, and have just recently ended up with a configuration that works for me. Some of these are atypical, and were prescribed for something else but ended up helping. I am putting my results with each here, because although everyone reacts differently – especially fibro patients – I have found…