What is Fibromyalgia?

So you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. What now? Fibro-what? It probably feels satisfying to finally have a name for this painful disease but the next thing to cross your mind is probably "What is fibromyalgia?" A quick search across the internet will invariably pull up medical sites with broad, hard-to-understand language explaining what it is. It almost seems like you need a medical degree yourself to understand the flowery language used.

Fibromyalgia is a painful disease that causes widespread pain across the entire body as well as a heightened response to pain. While these are the general problems that almost every person diagnosed suffers with, there are fibromyalgia symptoms that vary from person to person. Debilitating fatigue, problems with sleep, problems concentrating, joint problems, bladder and bowel problems and problems with blood circulation are only a few of the symptoms that can affect people diagnosed with this complex disease.

Symptoms of fibromyalgia can come and go at a moments notice. You can wake up feeling great and by lunch time be so tired and in so much pain that the most you can do is lay in bed.

Since this disease is on the inside and has no outward appearance (skin rashes, swollen joints, etc.) most people label fibromyalgia sufferers as lazy and hypochondriacs. There are many doctors still convinced that fibromyalgia is not even a real disease despite overwhelming medical evidence of its existence. Doubt by friends, family, and the medical community often leads people diagnosed to withdraw and isolate themselves completely from other people. This in turn causes depression and other mental illnesses.

While this disease is incurable, that does not mean that there is no treatment or hope. By learning coping techniques, figuring out triggers for flares, reducing stress, and making lifestyle changes, patients are able to drastically reduce the amount of pain.