Life With Fibromyalgia

People with Fibromyalgia (Fibro) end up having to quit their jobs, no matter how hard they pushed than worked to get to where they were when they quit. It’s just too much to cope with and you literally are not capable of doing it anymore.

When you have Fibro, you end up being judged by people who don’t understand the depth of this disorder. They don’t comprehend the amount of pain you are in and the fact that you can literally pass out from the pain if you push too hard. I’ve personally laid in bed many times wishing God would just take me home. The fact that I know for sure others have it worse is testament to the strength of some of the Fibro Warriors. Because they don’t see the disability readily, they think we are fine and just freeloading. The fact that it is medically provable now that we have the affliction means nothing to them.

A person with Fibro must learn their limitations. If we go past the line, it can be days or weeks before we are back to the base line. There is never a point of being “fine”, if we say we are “fine”, we are lying to save from explaining once again why we are NOT FINE. Also, we come to realize that the base line moves over time and sooner or later, the limit is lowered. The limit is also in fluctuation most times and we must have the ability to know we are reaching a limit when we did not at first think it was going to be so soon.

Most people will never realize the amount of effort put into a simple task like going out for a meal with friends is. They don’t know that even a mild case of Fibro can leave you suffering in silence while you try to enjoy your time out. Then there is going to about doing things like banking and shopping. A lot of us end up ordering groceries and other things we need, simply because of the vast amount of pain it would cause to go and get the items ourselves. If we do go and get them, the effort is beyond the understanding of most people.

A lot of people with Fibro tend to not want to let down family and friends, so we push ourselves to be with them, or to do tasks for them that only we can do. Most of the people I know with Fibro are rather creative and enjoy doing crafts and other forms of art for people to enjoy. Personally, my base level is lower than most people I know with Fibro so I’m lucky enough to be able to do things I desire to do most days. However I end up in bed resting several times a day, or I end up on the floor eventually. I’ve woken up on the floor after pushing way too hard more than once and I’ve learned the lesson.

The common person can’t possibly know the level to which we are tired most of the time. The fact that a good number of people with Fibro also have chronic fatigue syndrome to some level or the other, is a horrible reality. Fibro by its self-drains you of energy. Pushing to do anything drains you and you need to rest often during the day. This goes back to learning out limits and knowing when the limit has changed.

In general, most people with this terrible affliction are so very tired of being tired and sick. We just want a normal life back, but it will never happen. For most people, literally nothing helps this affliction. I get some relief with THC, but it does not fix the pain, and I have side affects you probably don’t want to go through due to a mental illness that gets much worse when I take the edibles. For some, THC makes it hellishly worse, and they can’t use even this to dull the pain. I’ve tried a great deal of things over the years, and some have helped a little, but nothing to a significant degree.

People with Fibro often feel isolated, even when we are in a family. The suffering is not knowable to our loved ones. They know we are suffering but can’t understand it. We often feel that we are alone in the world. This is false, our loved ones are there for us, but we can’t help this feeling. For others the isolation is all too real. They are separated from loved ones who don’t believe they are sick. They are isolated from a society that thinks this disorder is not real. The average person tends to not even want to understand our reality and does not care one bit about us. The fact that some think we are parasites living off society is disturbing and further isolates us mentally from even those that love us.

SYMPTOMS:

Depression, Anxiety, Insomnia, Headaches, Migraines, Nausea, Aching and stiffness, Brain Fog, Irritable Bowels, Fatigue, Widespread Pain, Hyperalgesia, Allodynia, Dizziness and Clumsiness, Paresthesia, Slowed or Confused Speech, Poor Memory, Muscle Spasms, Photophobia. Some people also suffer from others not listed; this is just the common ones.

Fibromyalgia is a debilitating, and invisible chronic illness. Unfortunately, a great number of people tend to not believe that if they can’t see it, it’s not there. For many generations, even most doctors did not believe it. Fortunately, now it’s in the books and doctors learn about it in school – it is documented.

What we all need from the world around us is support, love, and understanding.

Keep strong. Fight for every moment of life. If you are not suffering from this, and just know someone who is, be there for them in any way you can – big or small.