it's not in my head

I have Fibromyalgia, I was diagnosed two weeks before my 20th birthday. I have been on an assortment of drugs, but have decided to go it without drugs. It hasn’t been easy, and I don’t sleep well because of it… but I don’t want to be dependent on drugs.




I’ve tried to explain to the important people in my life what fibromyalgia is, but I fail. So instead I am copying it from a site I used to be a member of www.fibrohugs.org

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Fibromyalgia pain isn't all in patients' heads, new brain study finds. Click here

Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is often called the "invisible disease," because outwardly, we may look perfectly healthy. Inside though, we may have intense pain throughout our bodies, we may be constantly fatigued and weak, we may be dizzy, confused, lacking sleep, suffering digestive disorders, and generally living a poor quality of life. There is no known cure for Fibromyalgia, but there are ways to treat the symptoms, to improve that quality of life.

FMS is a type of neurotransmitter disorder, in which the pain-signals that our brains receive are intensified, and our muscles do not get the healing nutrients they need. The current diagnosis is usually made by a Rheumatologist who will find 11, or more, "Tender Points" on your body.

This site is enormous when it comes to the accumulation of information and knowledge, but is small and cozy when it comes to the personal contact with new friends that suffer the same effects of Fibromyalgia, like you. Come here for gentle hugs, tough love, self-help information, and lifelong friendships. Relax and enjoy.

If you have a loved one that suffers like we do and you can not understand how they feel, please read "A Letter To Normal's". http://www.fibrohugs.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10573&Itemid=239
Your loved one is fighting a ferocious inner battle so please give them the support they need, for support and love are a medicine that will never be conjured up in a lab.
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The letter pertains to someone who has more flare-ups and worse pain than I do, but it is the closest thing I have come across to helping people understand.



It is true that I have always doubted the doctors, that my friends is denial. I know I have fibromyalgia, I just don’t want to admit it. I knew it after the doctors (yes I have had four different doctors come to the same diagnoses) each having done the ‘tender point’ pressure test, and having me wince in pain, flinch or say yes that hurts to at minimum 16 of the 18… I realized it wasn’t a crock of shit.

I can trace it as far back as junior high when I had super bad knee pain… a lot of the other pain was around, but I ignored it, and thought it was growing pains.

After more recently looking at the list of 63 common symptoms, and having checked off many of them myself, I was reminded that the doctors aren’t quacks, and I need to accept the fact that I do indeed have FMS.

My biggest issues are the headaches, constant pain and fatigue. It’s not that I don’t sleep, I do at minimum six to ten hours a night. But I rarely reach stage 4 restorative sleep.

I hope this helps you understand that I am not tired because I am pulling all nighters, or making my pain up. I try to keep it on the down-low because I don’t want extra attention, I just want those close to me to understand that there are reasons for the way I feel. I can handle a lot of pain, and always have been, so for me to say I hurt, it means that I really effing hurt.