Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness that causes immense physical pain and debilitating fatigue for those diagnosed with it. Classified as a syndrome, fibromyalgia is not a disease and is not contagious. Instead, it is a condition that causes many different symptoms that affect all systems throughout the body. Fibromyalgia plagues up to 5% of the general population with over 6 million sufferers in the United States alone. The name fibromyalgia comes from “fibro” meaning fibrous tissue (such as tendons and ligaments), “my” meaning muscles, and “algia” meaning pain.
The Pain of It All
Fibromyalgia’s most common symptom is widespread musculoskeletal pain throughout the body and affects the ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Ligaments are made of tough tissues which attach to the bones in your body. Tendons help to attach muscles to your bones and muscles allow you to stretch and flex various body parts.
Fibromyalgia patients often feel like they are aching all over and have a general soreness; muscles feel sore, stiff, and overworked. Muscle twitches are also common in fibromyalgia which sadly add to the pain of the illness. The muscles can also feel like they are burning and have the sensation of someone holding a hot iron to someone skin.
A Chronic Disorder
A chronic disorder, the pain from fibromyalgia can continue for months and even years. Unfortunately, any type of treatment for fibromyalgia is often difficult to near impossible to come by and many people must suffer in silence. Fibromyalgia pain generally does not worsen over time, and it doesn’t cause inflammation of the internal organs or muscles, unlike lupus.
Assorted Symptoms
Though pain is the most common symptom of fibromyaliga, it is by no means the only symptom. Among other symptoms fibromyalgia sufferers can experience are:
Fibromyalgia affects everyone
Fibromyaliga syndrome has many sufferers of all ages and backgrounds and can affect the entire family from an emotional perspective. Fibromyalgia does seem to affect women more than men, especially during the childbearing years. Children and the elderly can can also be affected.
Showing Compassion
Because it is considered and ‘invisible disease’, fibromyalgia syndrome is a very frustrating illness to deal with. So few people truly understand the condition and how it affects the afflicted and feel that because they can’t see it, how bad can it really be? It may be difficult for one to relate the consistent and chronic pain to your friends and family, but there are ways to give them some sort of perspective of the pain your are suffering. To help them understand, ask them to think back to when they last had a bad bout with the flu – aches, pain and a general feeling of being unwell. The memories of constant aches, pains, and fatigue may help them to understand what you are facing.
Fibromyalgia Treatment
Though there is no cure, there are a wide number of treatments available for fibromyaliga. Medical treatments and drug therapies can help alleviate your pain and alternative treatments are also widely popular. Think about joining a support group for fibromyalgia sufferers so you have someone to share your thoughts with.
