The 'Fibromyologist'

Diagnosing an illness or syndrome like fibromyalgia can be extremely daunting. Exhaustion, widespread body pain, insomnia, hair loss, anxiety, joint pain, redness and burning of certain parts of the body, depression, headache, migraines, weight loss, weight gain, IBS, bladder issues, sleep disturbance, osteoarthritis are some of the horrors you could have experienced.

By this time most likely you or someone you love has taken it upon themselves to do some research about the combined symptoms you’ve been experiencing. Maybe, you have gone down the many rabbit holes until eventually you came upon this word “fibromyalgia”, or your doctor came to this diagnosis.

What is fibromyalgia? Fibromyalgia, a Greek word meaning “pain in the muscles and fibres.” Fibromyalgia has now replaced the previously popular names fibrositis and rheumatism. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (1983) say’s “any group of rheumatic disorders affecting soft tissues and characterized by pain, tenderness, stiffness of muscles, and associated connective tissue structures.”

Fibromyalgia affects every ethnic group over the world. In 2006 it was estimated that 5 percent of the adult population in North America suffer from it, Dr. St Amand believes the actual rate is higher. In his book What doctors may Not tell you about fibromyalgia, The revolutionary treatment that can reverse the disease (revised addition), he states back in 2006, “that conservatively, then, some twenty million Americans suffer from fibromyalgia and its related disorders – most are women, with the ratio to men at about five to one. There is some evidence, mostly anecdotal, that this statistic may be skewed due to the fact that men are often either misdiagnosed or less likely to visit a doctor. Rheumatologists say fibromyalgia is the most common disorder they see. Another twenty-five million people suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, which I (and most other physicians) believe is the same disease. ” -Dr. St. Amand

The World Health Organization The Copenhagen Declaration states, “Fibromyalgia is part of a wider syndrome encompassing headaches, irritable bladder, dysmenorrhea, cold sensitivity, Raynaud’s phenomenon, restless legs, atypical patterns of numbness and tingling, exercise intolerance, and complaints of weakness. Also recognizing that patients are often depressed.

“Thousand of medical articles later, fibromyalgia is almost universally recognized as a distinct illness. Sadly, there remain a few, increasingly rare doctors who still tell patients it is a group of neurotic women. Despite much research and more speculation on the subject, much of fibromyalgia remains poorly understood. It is a complex and chronic disease that causes widespread pain and profound fatigue. Its range of symptoms makes simple, everyday tasks daunting, difficult, and often impossible”, says Dr. St. Amand.

According to Dr. St. Amand, fibromyalgia doesn’t dependably cause the same complaints in everybody. Which can make it difficult for doctors to make the connections among, a foggy brain, frequent bladder infections, pain in the neck, brittle nails and understand that they are relevant symptoms of the same illness. This makes actually diagnosis terribly difficult, that coupled with the fact that no lab or x-ray can pinpoint a factor.

It is prudent to try to speak with your doctor about fibromyalgia. Educate yourself too. Find out all you can.

Be gentle with yourself. Everything is gonna be okay.

Make your recovery, your new discovery❤️