Thursday, August 12, 2010

Fibromyalgia Shout Out

This post is dedicated to a few of my readers with fibromyalgia who are struggling to deal with their condition and a medical establishment that makes life even harder to bear. To them I want to say, "Do not give up, do not give up hope. Science and public opinion are changing all the time. This will get better. I empathize, and I understand."
 
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Although I don't talk about it much, fibromyalgia is a big part of my life. Regular exercise has made a huge difference in my daily quality of life, but I still have flare ups. Some days it feels like someone has taken a mallet to my ribs and fingers. If I were to look in the mirror, I would expect to see bruises. But the pain of FM is invisible. My close friends and family are aware of it, but no one at work knows I have it. When I sit, hunched over at my desk, waiting for the pain medication to kick in, people simply assume that I have poor posture. I do nothing to change their minds. If more people understood how insidious and debilitating FM can be, then perhaps those of us who suffer with it would be willing to talk about it.

I am not looking for any sort of sympathy here! I'm just trying to raise a little awareness and maybe vent a little bit. Some days it's hard enough to get up and exercise when my knees are creaky and my muscles are tired. On top of those regular aches and pains of age and fattyness, I also have to ignore the "imaginary" pain of FM and get moving. Some days, like today, it takes me until after noon to really get going. My day off, and I've lost half of it to the FM monkey on my back. 

This is my lot in life, and I bear it willingly. It definitely beats the alternative! I have a good pain cocktail that I will share with anyone who needs the information. Other than that, I try to get good sleep, eat well, and exercise. This is just another battle that I'm trying to win.
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 On a positive note, my scale finally budged this morning!! I've never been so excited to lose a pound in my life. It wasn't really just a pound, though. In the past ten days I have gained four pounds, then lost those four pounds plus the one extra, for a net loss of one pound. And I ate more to do it. Now THAT makes me proud.

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