ChronicPain

Describing Fibromyalgia Perfectly

~ Felicia Denise ~ 1 Comment

Fibro Cloud

Living with chronic pain means hearing a lot of faux-wisdom chronic pain quotes from people who have decided they know what you’re going through. So you’ll often get “you should do this” or “have you ever tried that?” And the advice these people are giving out is usually pretty useless.

They simply don’t know anything about what chronic pain is actually like. So how could they know how to offer any meaningful advice? But there are plenty of people out there who have experienced enough pain in their lives to offer some really profound words of encouragement. And when you’re suffering from the chronic pain of fibromyalgia, sometimes you really need someone to help you put your pain in perspective. So, here are eight chronic pain quotes to help you cope with fibromyalgia.

8 Chronic Pain Quotes

People assume you aren’t sick unless they see the sickness on your skin like scars forming a map of all the ways you’re hurting. My heart is a prison of Have you tried?
Have you tried exercising? Have you tried eating better?
Have you tried not being sad, not being sick?
Have you tried being more like me?
Have you tried shutting up?
Yes, I have tried. Yes, I am still trying, and yes, I am still sick.
Sometimes monsters are invisible, and sometimes demons attack you from the inside. Just because you cannot see the claws and the teeth does not mean they aren’t ripping through me. Pain does not need to be seen to be felt. Telling me there is no problem won’t solve the problem.
This is not how miracles are born.
This is not how sickness works.”
― Emm Roy, The First Step

One of my favorite chronic pain quotes from author Emm Roy really sums up what it’s like to live with chronic pain from a condition like fibromyalgia, which no one can see. After all, that’s one of the most infuriating things about fibromyalgia. The way that people just refuse to accept that you are suffering feels so unfair. And this is a good reminder that just because your suffering is easy to see doesn’t mean that it isn’t suffering.

“Of pain, you could wish only one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain, there are no heroes.” – George Orwell, 1984

A much-quoted author also makes our list of chronic pain quotes. Shot in the throat during the Spanish Civil War, novelist George Orwell knew pain very well. And he understood that all the ways that people talk about enduring pain with some quiet stoicism are over-simplifying it. This quote sums it up really well when it says that, “In the face of pain, there are no heroes.” Don’t be ashamed when your pain gets the best of you sometimes. That’s what pain does.

“You just do it. You force yourself to get up. You force yourself to put one foot before the other, you refuse to let it get to you. You fight. You cry. You curse. Then you go about the business of living. That’s how I’ve done it. There’s no other way.”- Elizabeth Taylor

Famous actress Elizabeth Taylor endured a lot of pain in her life, having gone through several different chronic health conditions. And this quote from her really speaks to how you have to live with chronic pain. You have to force yourself to live in spite of the constant misery. There is simply no other option.

“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt faced a lot of adversity in his life. He grew up a sickly child and saw his wife and daughter die on the same day when he was a young man. But he overcame all of that and was one of our most beloved president’s. This chronic pain quote is a good reminder that you need that kind of spirit of resilience. You can’t fight through pain, you can’t overcome it, you can only endure it.

“Something very beautiful happens to people when their world falls apart. A humility, a nobility, a higher intelligence emerges at just the point when our knees hit the floor.” – Marianne Wilson

Of course, there aren’t too many upsides to chronic pain. And in fact, there probably is no such thing as a silver lining to this cloud, but this chronic pain quote by Marianne Wilson is probably the closest. It’s a good reminder that your pain can make you a stronger person. And in many ways, you have more depth of character, more capacity to endure, and a better understanding of the world as it really is when you’ve lived with chronic pain.

It doesn’t make your pain “useful,” as people often say, but it’s at least something.

“You are so brave and quiet I forget you are suffering.”- Earnest Hemingway

This quote from A Farewell to Arms is a reminder that too often the only reward you get for enduring your pain with silent courage is that people forget you have pain. That doesn’t mean that you should try to complain more, it’s just one more thing that’s hard to deal with when it comes to chronic pain. And maybe if you know someone who is suffering, this chronic pain quote is a good reminder of how important it is to let them know that you know they hurt.

“In the depth of winter, I learned that within me lay an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus

This quote from writer Albert Camus is a poetic way to express the type of strength that comes from within, and makes our list of chronic pain quotes. When you live with chronic pain, you have to find the strength to live through it or you don’t tend to live through it. That’s where that invincible summer of positivity comes in. It’s not a feeling that the world will all be alright in the end, but it’s knowing that no matter what happens, you can endure it.

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” – Khalil Gibran

This quote by poet Khalil Gibran reminds us that suffering makes you strong in one sense. People who have never known the chronic pain don’t develop the deep reservoir of spirit that you will. And while that doesn’t make pain a good thing, and it certainly doesn’t make it “worth it,” it is a simple truth that you can take some comfort in. You are strong enough to endure the pain, so you are very strong indeed.

 

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Fibromyalgia and the Burning Sensation

~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

Fibro Cloud

It’s the fibromyalgia burning sensation: Do you ever feel like your bones are on fire? What about the top of your leg or your back, maybe even under the skin? Some fibromyalgia patients feel like lava is being pumped through their veins rather than blood. You might even have that burning sensation in your brain, which is interesting in itself since the brain has no pain receptors. Still others feel like their stomach, tendons, or ligaments are burning right inside their body. For many with fibromyalgia, the searing pain is so severe that they cry and scream in pain.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s nothing to show for it! For example, when my skin feels like it’s on fire, it’s not even red. Does that happen to you? Does it make you angry? I mean, if I’m going to suffer I would really like a bruise, a mark, redness…. something as some sort of evidence at the very least. Because we all know that it’s really hard to get people to believe that something is wrong when they can’t see a single problem on your body.

What in the World is Going On?

According to medical experts, “Research suggests that the pain associated with fibromyalgia is caused by a “glitch” in the way the body processes pain. This glitch results in a hypersensitivity to stimuli that normally are not painful. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), research has shown that people with fibromyalgia have reduced blood flow to parts of the brain that normally help the body deal with pain.”

The American Fibromyalgia Syndrome Association puts it perfectly: “Fibromyalgia pain has no boundaries.” They add at the “body-wide symptoms are greatly magnified by malfunctions in the way the nervous system processes pain.” This coincides with the previously mentioned research regarding a “glitch” in the system, so in this context it makes sense the body will sometimes register stimuli as a burning feeling.

The burning that fibromyalgia patients often experience is sometimes associated with allodynia, which is a painful sensation caused by touch and frequently associated with migraine headaches. However, many fibro patients do not have to experience being touched in order to feel the burn that seems to come from within and sometimes on the surface. So while allodynia may be the situation for some with fibromyalgia, it does not explain the burning sensation across the board. To be fair, however, there seems to be almost nothing that explains any fibromyalgia symptom across the board. Thus, the great mystery surrounding this strange affliction.

Can Anything Be Done About It?

Here are some examples of what fellow patients say works for them to ease the fibromyalgia  burning sensation:

  • Massage therapy – A typical feature of fibromyalgia is the inability to relax the muscles. Often our muscles are tense and we don’t even know it. This leads to a build-up of lactic acid which can also be a cause of the burning sensation, especially in the muscles. A highly skilled massage therapist (you may even consider a medical massage therapist) who understands fibromyalgia can work with you weekly or bi-weekly to release the acid. For some patients this reduces and even removes the burning sensation entirely.
  • Cortisone shots – Administered by a healthcare practitioner, this is a temporary relief and does not apply to all situations of burning sensations.
  • Gabapentin – Prescription medication used to treat pain caused by shingles.
  • Heat therapy – It sounds counter-intuitive but fibro patients experiencing a burning sensation often report that heat therapy options such as hot tubs and electric blankets provide a great deal of relief.
  • Supplements – Although the exact cause of the burning feeling is unknown, some patients appear to be nutritionally deficient, which can be a leading cause of many fibromyalgia symptoms. Look for a high-quality (preferably whole foods) vitamin in addition to a high dosage of Vitamin D and a steady dose of magnesium (due to our commercial agricultural practices, almost everyone in North America is magnesium deficient which causes a litany of symptoms both related and unrelated to fibromyalgia.)
  • Lidocaine patches – These actually fall into the category of local anesthetics. Even though there are versions of them available over-the-counter, for our purposes of relieving the burning sensations, you’ll want to get a prescription from your doctor. In fact, they are often used to relieve nerve pain after shingles.
  • Antihistamines – Benadryl and Zyrtec have been reported as effective for relieving the burning pain in fibromyalgia patients.
  • Decreasing stress – You’ve heard it a thousand times because it’s true. Finding ways to relieve stress and cope with stressors can do wonders for many fibromyalgia symptoms, including the strange burning.

 

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

10 of the Worst Things Said to People with Fibromyalgia

~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

Fibro Cloud

1. People with fibromyalgia are just lazy

This is a killer, and the vast majority of our respondents mentioned being told they just “don’t want to do” stuff.

Some responses:

That I’m lazy I play up to my fibro and its all in your head and you can do more than you think you can!

Lazy, everybody hurts. Everyone has arthritis. You need to exercise, you need to walk. Blah blah blah.

My 17-year-old son broke my heart, he said I wasn’t sick I was lazy. Even though he hears me cry in my sleep in pain through two walls. I’m 53 and have to use a walker.

They have told me I was just lazy that I got up and moved around I would feel better or its all in my head if I would find something to keep my mind occupied I would be ok.

“Child protection services took my 5 children. On court records, the judge overruled me and my doctors and expert witness and said that it wasn’t a disease and I was just lazy.

Lazy, a waste of space, nothing wrong with me, so why would I want to leech off the government with wanting to get disability?

My ex husband told me I was a lazy sponging c$&t that I wasn’t contributing financially or around the house enough after much abuse I found out he was cheating and he left.

As you can see, this is very common and hurtful. In fact, people email Fibromyalgia Treating just spew this kind of hate. For example, this person got themselves so worked up they finished in all-caps:

you weak individuals are just looking for a quick fix, a simple cure, there isn’t one, very over it (sic) and care for yourself, lol no medication is going to help ANYONE with fibro you have to actually get off your ass to help yourself. Why not post TRUTH like that? Stop peddling trash. YOU ARE MISLEADING. I UNFOLLOWED YOUR TRASHY BULLSHIT PAGE AND I’LL KEEP REPORTING THOSE POSTS AS MISLEADING. HAVE NICE DAY. (sic)

We did have a nice day, and banned this person, too. But this person’s comment touches on our next type of hateful comment.

2. Fibromyalgia doesn’t exist

A classic that everyone’s heard, and it’s so hard because that maybe we should have made it the number one hateful statement because it’s the basis of all stigma against people with fibromyalgia.

I saw a doctor for a different medical condition. Once he saw Fibromyalgia listed on my medical chart he made a point to tell me “I don’t believe Fibromyalgia is a real thing. The doctors that do these days should have their license reviewed. It simply does not exist. What meds are you taking for it?

It’s an awful disease. I put my brave face on 24/7. No one can see our pain and suffering, so they question if it’s real or we’re just attention seeking. It’s much easier to pretend I’m ok, than it is to explain why I’m not.

3. It’s all in your head

This is closely related to the “doesn’t exist,” but it’s a much more explicit way to gaslight fibro sufferers.

That i’m lazy i play up to my fibro and its all in your head and you can do more than you think you can! And people have said i don’t want to hear it and we all have problems. They should step in my shoes for a day !!

They’ll say things like “you ain’t sick it’s all in your head” or “it doesn’t look like you’re in pain” makes your heart ache with tears that nobody will ever understand you.

They have told me i was just lazy that i got up and moved around i would feel better or its all in my head if i would find something to keep my mind occupied i would be ok.

As you can see, people are cruel and they like to use more than one category of hateful comment.

4. You Don’t Look Sick

Since fibromyalgia is an invisible illness, people who have it often don’t “look” sick, whatever that means. It’s also one of the most frustrating things a fibro warrior can her.

You don’t look sick. Look at you, you’re a runner. No way it’s that bad. Suck it up…. I’ve lost 2 very good paying jobs because of my faked illness.

I went to a concert at a stadium to be told I don’t look disabled and that fibromyalgia is just a figment of my imagination to scam the tax payers, needless to say we left the concert and headed straight home, wrote a letter of complaint but never even received an acknowledgement from them.

This women came to the car and said you can’t park There? On showing her my disability disk she said neither of you look disabled and it was disgusting that we were able to have a car???

5. God is punishing you for your sins

These people take victim-blaming to the next level by making illness a judgment on a person’s moral character. It’s shameful.

My uncle, who is a preacher, told me I was being punished by God for all of the wild things I have done & my family wonders why I don’t believe.

The rudest thing I have been told is GOD is punishing me for my sins. I know a lot of good Christians that died of cancer…I don’t think they were punished either. How dare they say this to me?

6. You’re just trying to get drugs

This is also a sad side-effect of the opioid crisis in the United States. We assume anyone in pain is just trying to get pills.

I’m lazy, good for nothing, will do nothing with my life, I need to do more, im a pill popper (I have a hard time taking meds unless I have too) and my favourite is I’m faking everything!

I’m not sure but to day I was left feeling like a addict over Tylenol. I am 54 years old when do you stop defending yourself. It made me cry.

I work with my mom and I was having an awful pain day. Around lunch time I had finally had it and I couldn’t hold back the tears. I was crying and crying as she spent 10 minutes telling me to suck it up and go back to work. I told her I needed to go home and take my meds to which she said ‘I think you’re just addicted to your meds.’

I was called a drug addict at one point because I was on so many medications. I felt like I might as well have been shooting up with the way people looked at me.”

I’ve had a receptionist look at my file and count my meds telling me I should still have plenty left, would never greet me, and I finally told my Dr after months and he got so upset with her and told me to tell him those things straight away, she has no right to be doing that. He sorted her out and also the pharmacist that would comment on my meds and how much I’m taking, without knowing my many medical issues.

7. You just need to exercise and lose some weight

This is similar to the “You’re lazy” and “it’s all in your head” with the added bonus of weight-shaming. It’s despicable. Here’s what our readers shared:

I have had to deal with uneducated Dr.s who were insensitive however , saying things like, Well, if you would lose some weight and get out and exercise you would be ok and this condition isn’t really a condition!

Just exercise and lose some weight and you’ll feel better. Or you sound happy to have that diagnosis, are you just looking for excuses.

“Well maybe if you lost weight and exercised you’d feel better.. THANKS SIS.. love you too.. maybe if she knew that the majority of the over 20 pills I take daily cause weight gain and bloating.”

Eye rolling while telling me ‘oh I don’t believe in all that crap! If you just exercise and diet you will start feeling better. Lose some weight and you’ll feel better. I would be in pain too if I just laid around all day.’

 

Lose weight, you are too big, that’s why you are in pain, you carry too much weight on your body.’ ‘You need to move around and exercise.’ I’ve been told this many times.’

Family member told me to just suck it up. You don’t need your Lyrica . You don’t look sick you’re just over weight…… U dont go out enough….. It’s all in your head……

8. You just want attention

People love to break out their arm-chair psychiatry degrees for this one. Munchhausen Syndrome is a real thing, but so is fibromyalgia. People are so rude.

‘Attention seeking’
‘It’s in your head’
‘It can’t be that bad’
‘Stop being lazy’
‘You need to go out and exercise more’
‘I did this with that and that’s worse’
‘Are you sure you’re not putting on?’
‘You’re always sick’

Was in hospital with the worst pain flare up, had so many tests and they all came back normal!….so the dr said to my dad does your daughter like being in hospital??…must of thought the blue curtain around my bed was soundproof.

You just want attention. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re a hypochondriac. You just need some exercise and to lose weight. These are just some of the things I hear!

9. That’s all you talk about

This is a big one. People are afraid to talk because they’re met with eye-rolls or worse. Here’s a tip: If you don’t want to know how someone is doing, don’t ask.

I can’t talk about how I feel….I always get the same comment…you always say your not feeling well…like it’s something I’m making up.Each day is different and can be a struggle.. It’s hard when people around you don’t understand how your feeling and don’t want to hear it and don’t really care.

10. Oh yeah, that sucks, but it’s not as bad as this

There are some people who can’t just empathize. They have to outdo your pain by telling you how bad they’re hurting.

A friend of a (friend), said, “O I have that too, but that’s nothing compared to ” and that’s where they say their condition is worse than mine.

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

The Reality of Depression

~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

depression
Image from Pixabay

Recently I wrote about those who question the reality of depression. What sparked the article was a Twitter thread wherein a professional kickboxer launched a very derogatory speech about how “depression isn’t real” and how depressed people are “too lazy to change it.” Most of the responses to him were emotionally charged, but some people offered several articles and resources that discussed the reality and consequences of depression. Occasionally someone would agree with the original post, including one person who charged: “I challenge anyone to come up with a study definitively proving the medical cause of depression.” That statement is, of course, absurd. People turn up with scores of diseases and conditions everyday for which there is no known cause.

Basically, we have two claims here, but in three forms. The first blatantly states that depression is a fake problem. The second says that anyone with so-called symptoms of depression is just lazy and needs to just get up and get better. The third essentially implies the same as the first, and uses a lack of cause to justify the argument. Hopefully these are the kind of people who just remove all their filters once they get behind a keyboard. But in case you ever have to engage with someone so ignorant and contentious, let’s go ahead and address each of these so that you can be armed with reason.

“Depression isn’t real”

In the interest of full disclosure, I need to once again say that I’m personally skeptical of Psychology as a field of medicine. Ironically, I started my degree as a Psych major but changed it to a minor after I got further into the relativity of it. That’s because I was also studying other cultures and quickly found that one country’s abnormal case that supposedly requires medication or institutionalization is another country’s priest or mayor. It should be noted that many non-Western countries offer a vastly different support system through communal living. We, on the other hand, are very isolated and hyper-focused on independence. Non-Western areas also tend to have a much different view of spirituality and are not obsessed with tangible evidence to validate their beliefs. I would not be surprised to find that depression is often a culturally specific condition. But that doesn’t negate its reality.

For example, while living in the suburbs, I suffered from severe postpartum depression. However, I believe I would not have had the same experience if I lived in a place where I was not isolated from my community and family. In no way does that mean my experience wasn’t real. Indeed, extreme poverty in places like Brazil causes malnutrition and dehydration. It’s so profound, that if a mother can carry a child to term, there is a very high risk that the baby will die because the mother cannot even produce milk with which to nurse the infant (from Death Without Weeping by Nancy Scheper-Hughes). Those people, too, are suffering from severe depression. Go figure.

The Mayo Clinic summarizes that “depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems…More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn’t a weakness and you can’t simply “snap out” of it. Depression may require long-term treatment.” Furthermore, Harvard Medical School adds that “there are many possible causes of depression, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, stressful life events, medications, and medical problems. It’s believed that several of these forces interact to bring on depression.”

Depressed People are “too lazy to change it”

Remember those starving folks in Brazil? Are they just lazy? Did you know that in the United States alone, an average of 20 veterans commits suicide every day? So, they had the fortitude to go into combat and/or serve in any capacity of the military, but somehow they just got lazy and killed themselves? Depression is one of the hallmarks of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Anxiety and Depression Association of America says that “PTSD affects 7.7 million adults, or 3.5% of the U.S. population. Women are more likely to be affected than men. Rape is the most likely trigger of PTSD: 65% of men and 45.9% of women who are raped will develop the disorder. Childhood sexual abuse is a strong predictor of lifetime likelihood for developing PTSD.” But our kickboxing Twitter ranter says these victims are just too lazy to change themselves. I guess ignorance really is bliss.

‘No Cause = Not Real’

I’m not going to spend much time here. I usually try to be relatively diplomatic, but this is one of the dumbest arguments I’ve ever heard in my life. The National Institutes of Health lists 14 autoimmune diseases alone. These have no known cause, but the condition is really happening. We don’t know definitive causes of depression, but you can compare brain scans of depressed and non-depressed people and see a definitive difference in function.

Please take the time to check the links in this article. They offer a wealth of information regarding the reality of depression. And if you or someone you know or love is in bad shape right now, do not hesitate to get help. What’s happening is real and it needs to be addressed, lest it lead to greater health problems or worse, even death.

The Crisis Text Line offers 24/7 support. Text for free at 741741 for immediate help.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is also a 24/7 support system available by phone, text, or online chat. 800-273-8255. They also have options for deaf or hard-of-hearing as well as Spanish speakers.

International callers: The Lifeline Canada Foundation. They also offer International Crisis Hotlines and Worldwide Emergency Numbers and include call, text, email, and online chat options.

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Can a Nerve Block Help Fibromyalgia?

~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

Fibro Cloud

The technology that has started to go around in the world of medicine really is interesting. As time goes on, it’s hard to believe how much help we can get from all of the different advancements that have occurred in recent years.

One such advancement is known as nerve blocks, and they have been known to help with a number of different painful diseases and disorders, including fibromyalgia.

What Are Nerve Blocks and How Do They Work?

Nerve blocks are similar to other types of injections that help to reduce the amount of pain and stress that your body goes through. If you’ve ever heard of cortisone shots, they basically end up working in the same exact way.

What they do is that they “block” the nerves that you are feeling pain in. The injection is put into the area where the pain is being felt, and because of that, you get immediate relief from whatever pain you may be dealing with in that location.

Even though we’re talking about fibromyalgia here, there are lots of reasons that nerve blocks can be used. The most common reason that it is used is because of childbirth. If you’ve ever heard of an epidural, then you’ve heard of a nerve block.

The epidural blocks the nerves that cause a woman to feel pain in their reproductive organs – in some women, it ends up helping so much that they don’t feel any pain at all as a result of their labor. It’s actually quite amazing, since many women say that childbirth is one of the most painful things to go through – a couple of little shots can make it so it doesn’t hurt anymore!

The procedure is relatively simple. An anesthesiologist will help you through the procedure in a safe way.  They will give you the nerve blocker through an injection. Then, as the injection is going into your nerves, you will get to sit and relax while it’s going on. It takes anywhere from a half hour to an hour, and it could be any number of different things, depending on exactly what you need to do.

What Do Nerve Blocks Do to Assist with Fibromyalgia Symptoms?

As stated above, we’re focusing on fibromyalgia here. What do nerve blocks do in order to help with the reduction of pain that happens with fibromyalgia? They’re actually quite an important tool, and many people find relief when they use it as part of their fibromyalgia treatment plan.

We’ve discussed in other articles that the main area that is affected by fibromyalgia is the nervous system. The nervous system is overreacting to pretty much everything that is going on in the body, even if it’s not something that would normally cause a person to have pain. This over sensitivity can cause a number of different problems, including the pain that you are fighting off on a daily basis if you have the disorder.

So, logically, the nerve blocks make sure that the nerves are not firing off as they usually would, thus making it so that you aren’t feeling as much pain in those situations as you would otherwise. That being said, people who use this method will end up finding a lot of relief rather quickly, which is something that is rare for those who are dealing with fibromyalgia pain and other related symptoms.

Of course, that’s not the only thing that nerve blockers do. Because you aren’t dealing with as much pain, there are other symptoms that you may have noticed that have been reduced as well. Here are some of the issues that may be alleviated by nerve blocks and similar procedures.

– Increased flexibility and range of motion. If you are feeling sore, then chances are that you’re also feeling as if you are unable to move around very easily. When you get relief from that pain, you will notice that it’s a lot easier for you to move around and do everything that you did before the pain became a real problem in your life.

– If you are worried about having the pain flare up again, you can have the procedure done again. Over time, this will make it so that your nerves are not as sensitive as they once were, thus reducing the symptoms that you feel and making it so that you are better able to cope with any pain that you may be experiencing as a result. And if a treatment that helps to reduce the pain now can also help prevent further pain, you will realize that it’s definitely worth any investment that you put into it.

– Sometimes, nerve blocks can end up being a part of a physical therapy routine. Why is that? Because it makes it easier for you to go through the motions and to do all of the different things that need to happen during your physical therapy treatment. It’s usually done by an anesthesiologist, but your physical therapist will let you know ahead of time if you will be using it in between all of the procedures that you’re going to be doing as well.

– If you have any other disorders that are related to your fibromyalgia, including digestive issues, joint motion, vulvodynia, or any other pain related issues, you can find a lot of relief from those as well.

Nerve blocks are becoming a more popular option among doctors who treat patients with fibromyalgia symptoms. The pain can get really intense at times, so having a way that you can help to relieve that pain can be a huge deal, and it can end up solving a lot of other problems that you may be having as well. If you want to consider nerve blocks as part of your pain management, have a discussion with your doctor about it. They’ll be able to let you know if it’s something that will help you or if they want to explore other avenues of pain relief first.

Further reading:

Pain Management and Nerve Blocks: http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/nerve-blocks

Nerve Blocks: http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_nerve_blocks.html

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Fibromyalgia & Psoriasis

~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

Fibro Cloud

People who fibromyalgia often don’t just suffer from fibromyalgia. There are a number of diseases that seem to go hand-in-hand with the condition. Fibromyalgia seems to be liked to things mood disorders, PTSD, arthritis, and IBS. Sometimes, you can even see the conditions that go along with fibromyalgia, like psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a tough condition to deal with, which is why it’s such a concern for people with fibromyalgia. So, what should you know about psoriasis? And how is it liked to fibromyalgia?

What Should You Know About Psoriasis?

Psoriasis is a condition that causes scaly patchesto form on the skin. These patches are usually red and inflamed. And they are often very sensitive to the touch and may be quite itchy. The issues with the skin usually come and go. Sometimes, you might experience small outbreaks. And other times, there may be major outbreaks that cover large areas of the skin.

There are a few different types of psoriasis. The most common form is called plaque psoriasis. This form causes the basic skin outbreaks that you might be familiar with, and it can occur anywhere.

Then, there’s inverse psoriasis. The major difference in this form of the condition is that the plaques seem to form from friction. So, the most common places to suffer from inverse psoriasis are the armpits and under the breasts. But anywhere where the skin rubs together can be vulnerable to outbreaks.

These are probably the most common form of psoriasis, but there are also other, less common forms. Those forms include nail psoriasis, which causes damage to the finger and toenails, and erythrodermic psoriasis, which creates a huge rash all over the body.

Finally, there’s psoriatic arthritis. Psoriatic arthritis is a condition that combines the skin problems of psoriasis with the joint pain of arthritis. This joint pain can sometimes make it hard to distinguish from fibromyalgia, which also causes pain near the joints.

Like other forms of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis is an autoimmune disease. In a healthy immune system, your body produces cells that target and destroy bacteria. It’s an important part of keeping you healthy. But sometimes, the immune system begins to target the body’s own cells instead.

When this happens, it produces an autoimmune disease. In the case of psoriasis, the immune cells attack the skin cells, which causes them to multiply rapidly. That explosion in the number of skin cells produces the scaly patches we associate with the disorder.

Psoriatic arthritis is especially interesting for people with fibromyalgia because the conditions can actually cause similar symptoms.

And there seems to be a strong linkbetween psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia.

How Is It Linked To Fibromyalgia?

Both conditions can lead to fatigue and stiffness. But while a trained doctor can easily tell the difference between the two conditions when you go for a check-up, there does seem to be a link between the conditions. People with fibromyalgia often seem to develop psoriatic arthritis and vice versa.

That link can probably be explained by the fact that psoriasis is an autoimmune condition.

We know that people with fibromyalgia seem to develop autoimmune diseases at a higher ratethan the rest of the population. For a long time, doctors assumed that meant that fibromyalgia itself might be an autoimmune disorder. But most researchers no longer think this is the case.

Instead, the link may simply be due to stress. Experiencing long periods of stress substantially raises your risk of developing autoimmune diseases. And of course, few conditions cause long-term stress like fibromyalgia. It could that the stress of fibromyalgia is actually making people more likely to develop autoimmune conditions like psoriasis.

And it turns out that stress might also play a rolein developing fibromyalgia. So essentially, autoimmune diseases like psoriasis might be so stressful that it makes you more likely to develop fibromyalgia. It’s a horrible, self-reinforcing cycle that might just explain the link between the two conditions.

Both autoimmune disease and fibromyalgia are poorly understood by modern medical science. And until we know more about both conditions, it’s hard to say for sure what the link between them is. But chronic stress may be the best answer we have at the moment.

This may be another sign of how important it is to reduce stress when you’re living with psoriasis or fibromyalgia. It may prevent you from developing another, related medical condition. The good news is that both conditions can also be managed with medications. Always consult your doctor if you think are suffering from a serious medical problem and follow their advice.

 

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

What’s the Worst Case of Fibromyalgia?

~ Felicia Denise ~ 3 Comments

Fibro Cloud

Have you ever wondered what the absolute worst case of fibromyalgia would be? After all, it’s a disease that affects everyone differently. And it makes sense that some people are affected by it more severely than others.

So what would be the worst case of fibromyalgia? How severely could it affect your life? And what could you do to treat it?

What Is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a disease that is not well understood. Essentially, it creates a general feeling of pain and fatigue around your body. There are a number of possible explanations for what causes fibromyalgia, but no one is sure what the right one is.

Some doctors believe that fibromyalgia is an autoimmune disease. That means that the body’s immune system begins to attack the healthy cells which make them inflamed and tender and causes aching in certain points around your body.

While no one knows exactly what the cause of fibromyalgia is, it’s a debilitating illness that affects people in a lot of different ways.

What Does It Do To Your Body?

Fibromyalgia causes a number of very different symptoms. And it varies so much that no two people have the exact same reaction to fibromyalgia. However, the most common system, and one that all fibromyalgia sufferers have, is chronic pain.

The pain is located along 18 specific points of the body. These are usually in your joints on both sides of the body and the level of pain can be different for different people. The level of pain can also change throughout the day.

And another common symptom for people with fibromyalgia is fatigue. Fibromyalgia sufferers often find that they can’t sleep very well, and when they do, they don’t wake up feeling refreshed the next day. As a result, people with fibromyalgia end up feeling something that is usually called a “fibro-fog.”

Fibro-fog is the name for a sort of mental cloudiness that comes with fibromyalgia. It usually presents as short-term memory loss, or trouble focusing on tasks.

Finally, fibromyalgia can cause some slightly more unusual symptoms. People with fibromyalgia often have irritable bowel syndrome, and gastrointestinal problems are very common among people who have fibromyalgia. And there are other conditions like constant itching which sometimes affect fibromyalgia sufferers.

What’s The Worst Case Of Fibromyalgia?

So if you’ve been diagnosed, you’re probably wondering how bad your fibromyalgia might actually get (what the worst case of fibromyalgia might be, basically).

Well, the good news is that your fibromyalgia won’t kill you. But fibromyalgia can still severely limit your quality of life.

Fibromyalgia affects many people by causing them to feel a constant feeling of pain and fatigue. So for people who have fibromyalgia, daily life can get very difficult.And the stories of people who have suffered from the illness for decades are heartbreaking.

Generally, fibromyalgia begins in its early stages with some warning signs. These are things like chronic fatigue and mysterious pain in eighteen points around the body. This pain is what causes most fibromyalgia patients to go to the doctor for a diagnosis. Though, if you have fibromyalgia, you probably already know how that goes.

Fibromyalgia then progresses into the chronic stage, where the pain and fatigue are constant. This is what most fibromyalgia patients live with every day. And though there are treatments, not all are effective. And everyone’s fibromyalgia seems to respond differently to different drugs.

Even the most up to date and cutting edge treatments might be completely ineffective for a lot of people. And this kind of treatment-resistant condition is the worst case of fibromyalgia since it is unresponsive to treatment and can often seem to get worse.

This is a tricky subject to discuss with any certainty, however. While most doctors will say that fibromyalgia isn’t a progressive disease for most people, some sufferers definitely report that their disease gets worse over time.

Can Fibromyalgia Make You Disabled?

So if you’ve just been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, there’s a chance that your pain and fatigue levels might begin to plateau and stay roughly where they are, though some days will be worse than others.

But in the worst case of fibromyalgia, the disease will get more painful and debilitating over time.

For people whose situation is the worst case of fibromyalgia, they will likely suffer their entire lives with constant, and unmanageable pain. This leads to serious problems in their daily lives.

Often, they lose their jobs due to the fact that they are effectively disabled. The constant pain and fatigue and the mental cloudiness, or fibro fog, makes working impossible.

And for people with extremely severe fibromyalgia, even getting out of bed is close to impossible. They require heavy doses of painkillers to even walk. And it takes them heavy doses of sleeping medication to get anything close to a full night’s sleep.

For those people who have the worst case of fibromyalgia, every day is a physical struggle. But it can be an emotionally struggle as well.

Can The Worst Case Of Fibromyalgia Affect Your Relationships?

Having severe fibromyalgia makes it difficult to maintain relationships with friends and family. People who used to enjoy your company sometimes drift away because your chronic pain and lack of mobility become tough for them to deal with. While that isn’t even remotely fair, it’s often how people are.

So in the worst case of fibromyalgia, expect to lose some of the friends you had who aren’t really friends. But the good side is that you will see who truly cares about you because they will stick around.

In addition, dealing with such a severely limited quality of life is extremely difficult emotionally. The constant pain can make it feel like life isn’t worth living. And suicide is tragically common among people with severe fibromyalgia.

It’s important to get help if you feel like you might be considering taking your own life. Suicide is never a good solution, and the saying that “it doesn’t end the pain, it only spreads it to the people who care about you,” is very true.

Fibromyalgia is a horrific disease to live with. And it takes a special kind of courage to endure the worst case of fibromyalgia.

 

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

10 of the Worst Things Said to People with Fibromyalgia

~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

Fibro Cloud

1. People with fibromyalgia are just lazy

This is a killer, and the vast majority of our respondents mentioned being told they just “don’t want to do” stuff.

Some responses:

That i’m lazy i play up to my fibro and its all in your head and you can do more than you think you can!

Lazy, everybody hurts. Everyone has arthritis. You need to exercise, you need to walk. Blah blah blah.

My 17-year-old son broke my heart, he said I wasn’t sick I was lazy. Even though he hears me cry in my sleep in pain threw two walls. I’m 53 and have to use a walker.

They have told me I was just lazy that I got up and moved around I would feel better or its all in my head if I would find something to keep my mind occupied I would be ok.

“Child protection services took my 5 children. On court records, the judge overruled me and my doctors and expert witness and said that it wasn’t a disease and I was just lazy.

Lazy, a waste of space, nothing wrong with me, so why would I want to leech off the government with wanting to get disability?

My ex husband told me I was a lazy sponging c$&t that I wasn’t contributing financially or around the house enough after much abuse I found out he was cheating and he left.

As you can see, this is very common and hurtful. In fact, people email Fibromyalgia Treating just spew this kind of hate. For example, this person got themselves so worked up they finished in all-caps:

you weak individuals are just looking for a quick fix, a simple cure, there isn’t one, very over it (sic) and care for yourself, lol no medication is going to help ANYONE with fibro you have to actually get off your ass to help yourself. Why not post TRUTH like that? Stop peddling trash. YOU ARE MISLEADING. I UNFOLLOWED YOUR TRASHY BULLSHIT PAGE AND I’LL KEEP REPORTING THOSE POSTS AS MISLEADING. HAVE NICE DAY. (sic)

We did have a nice day, and banned this person, too. But this person’s comment touches on our next type of hateful comment.

2. Fibromyalgia doesn’t exist

A classic that everyone’s heard, and it’s so hard because that maybe we should have made it the number one hateful statement because it’s the basis of all stigma against people with fibromyalgia.

I saw a doctor for a different medical condition. Once he saw Fibromyalgia listed on my medical chart he made a point to tell me “I don’t believe Fibromyalgia is a real thing. The doctors that do these days should have their license reviewed. It simply does not exist. What meds are you taking for it?

It’s an awful disease. I put my brave face on 24/7. No one can see our pain and suffering, so they question if it’s real or we’re just attention seeking. It’s much easier to pretend I’m ok, than it is to explain why I’m not.

3. It’s all in your head

This is closely related to the “doesn’t exist,” but it’s a much more explicit way to gaslight fibro sufferers.

That i’m lazy i play up to my fibro and its all in your head and you can do more than you think you can! And people have said i don’t want to hear it and we all have problems. They should step in my shoes for a day !!

They’ll say things like “you ain’t sick it’s all in your head” or “it doesn’t look like you’re in pain” makes your heart ache with tears that nobody will ever understand you.

They have told me i was just lazy that i got up and moved around i would feel better or its all in my head if i would find something to keep my mind occupied i would be ok.

As you can see, people are cruel and they like to use more than one category of hateful comment.

4. You Don’t Look Sick

Since fibromyalgia is an invisible illness, people who have it often don’t “look” sick, whatever that means. It’s also one of the most frustrating things a fibro warrior can her.

You don’t look sick. Look at you, you’re a runner. No way it’s that bad. Suck it up…. I’ve lost 2 very good paying jobs because of my faked illness.

I went to a concert at a stadium to be told I don’t look disabled and that fibromyalgia is just a figment of my imagination to scam the tax payers, needless to say we left the concert and headed straight home, wrote a letter of complaint but never even received an acknowledgement from them.

This women came to the car and said you can’t park There? On showing her my disability disk she said neither of you look disabled and it was disgusting that we were able to have a car???

5. God is punishing you for your sins

These people take victim-blaming to the next level by making illness a judgment on a person’s moral character. It’s shameful.

My uncle, who is a preacher, told me I was being punished by God for all of the wild things I have done & my family wonders why I don’t believe.

The rudest thing I have been told is GOD is punishing me for my sins. I know a lot of good Christians that died of cancer…I don’t think they were punished either. How dare they say this to me?

6. You’re just trying to get drugs

This is also a sad side-effect of the opioid crisis in the United States. We assume anyone in pain is just trying to get pills.

I’m lazy, good for nothing, will do nothing with my life, I need to do more, im a pill popper (I have a hard time taking meds unless I have too) and my favourite is I’m faking everything!

I’m not sure but to day I was left feeling like a addict over Tylenol. I am 54 years old when do you stop defending yourself. It made me cry.

I work with my mom and I was having an awful pain day. Around lunch time I had finally had it and I couldn’t hold back the tears. I was crying and crying as she spent 10 minutes telling me to suck it up and go back to work. I told her I needed to go home and take my meds to which she said ‘I think you’re just addicted to your meds.’

I was called a drug addict at one point because I was on so many medications. I felt like I might as well have been shooting up with the way people looked at me.”

I’ve had a receptionist look at my file and count my meds telling me I should still have plenty left, would never greet me, and I finally told my Dr after months and he got so upset with her and told me to tell him those things straight away, she has no right to be doing that. He sorted her out and also the pharmacist that would comment on my meds and how much I’m taking, without knowing my many medical issues.

7. You just need to exercise and lose some weight

This is similar to the “You’re lazy” and “it’s all in your head” with the added bonus of weight-shaming. It’s despicable. Here’s what our readers shared:

I have had to deal with uneducated Dr.s who were insensitive however , saying things like, Well, if you would lose some weight and get out and exercise you would be ok and this condition isn’t really a condition!

Just exercise and lose some weight and you’ll feel better. Or you sound happy to have that diagnosis, are you just looking for excuses.

“Well maybe if you lost weight and exercised you’d feel better.. THANKS SIS.. love you too.. maybe if she knew that the majority of the over 20 pills I take daily cause weight gain and bloating.”

Eye rolling while telling me ‘oh I don’t believe in all that crap! If you just exercise and diet you will start feeling better. Lose some weight and you’ll feel better. I would be in pain too if I just laid around all day.’

 

Lose weight, you are too big, that’s why you are in pain, you carry too much weight on your body.’ ‘You need to move around and exercise.’ I’ve been told this many times.’

Family member told me to just suck it up. You don’t need your Lyrica . You don’t look sick you’re just over weight…… U dont go out enough….. It’s all in your head……

8. You just want attention

People love to break out their arm-chair psychiatry degrees for this one. Munchausen Syndrome is a real thing, but so is fibromyalgia. People are so rude.

‘Attention seeking’
‘It’s in your head’
‘It can’t be that bad’
‘Stop being lazy’
‘You need to go out and exercise more’
‘I did this with that and that’s worse’
‘Are you sure you’re not putting on?’
‘You’re always sick’

Was in hospital with the worst pain flare up, had so many tests and they all came back normal!….so the dr said to my dad does your daughter like being in hospital??…must of thought the blue curtain around my bed was soundproof.

You just want attention. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re a hypochondriac. You just need some exercise and to lose weight. These are just some of the things I hear!

9. That’s all you talk about

This is a big one. People are afraid to talk because they’re met with eye-rolls or worse. Here’s a tip: If you don’t want to know how someone is doing, don’t ask.

I can’t talk about how I feel….I always get the same comment…you always say your not feeling well…like it’s something I’m making up.Each day is different and can be a struggle.. It’s hard when people around you don’t understand how your feeling and don’t want to hear it and don’t really care.

10. Oh yeah, that sucks, but it’s not as bad as this

There are some people who can’t just empathize. They have to outdo your pain by telling you how bad they’re hurting.

A friend of a (friend), said, “O I have that too, but that’s nothing compared to ” and that’s where they say their condition is worse than mine.

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Fibromyalgia & TENS Units

~ Felicia Denise ~ 2 Comments

Fibro Cloud

TENS therapy is a pretty common treatment for any condition that causes muscle pain, like fibromyalgia. And if you spend any time reading about these kinds of conditions, or in a physical therapist’s office for therapy, you’ll probably end up considering it at one point or another. So if you’re curious about a TENS machine, you’ve come to the right place.

Let’s talk about what TENS therapy is, how it works, and if it’s really as effective as a lot of people claim it is.

What Is TENS Therapy?

TENS stands for “transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation.” And essentially, TENS therapy uses a small machine, usually battery powered and portable, that sends a small electric current through the skin and into the underlying muscle.

It’s a fairly common method of treating muscle pain and is frequently used by sports therapists to help athletes recover from injuries faster. And people with arthritis sometimes use it to deal with the joint pain of the condition.

Usually, a TENS unit has an adjustable knob that allows patients to slowly turn up the voltage. TENS machines typically aren’t powerful enough to be dangerous and are designed to simply offer mild stimulation of the nerves. This fact, along with the fact that it is portable, means that you can actually purchase your own TENS unit and carry it with you throughout the day, and use it only when you feel pain.

That’s good news because the relief that TENS offers tends to be short lived. So, someone using it for chronic pain would have to turn the machine on several times a day to get the best results.

How Does It Work?

The idea behind TENS therapy is that the electric signals disrupt the neural pathways what cause our brains to register pain. The nerves in your muscles transmit electrical signals to your brain when they are damaged, which in turn is interpreted by the brain. The brain then sends its own signals back to the muscle, which we then perceive as pain in that muscle.

People using TENS machines hope that by sending an external electric current into that nerve connection, it will overwhelm the pain signals, which disrupts your bodies ability to process pain. In addition, many proponents of the therapy argue that the electric current stimulates the body’s natural healing process, leading to faster recovery times.

And finally, some theorize that TENS therapy triggers the endorphin system. Endorphins are a chemical released in the body that stimulates pleasure centers in the brain and dulls the sensation of pain. The idea is that it releases these endorphins and thus leaves you feeling better.

But the scientific basis behind the therapy is actually a little bit spotty.

Is It Effective?

There’s no question that some people who use TENS therapy report a decrease in their pain symptoms. There are numerous studies that back up the idea that TENS seems to work for some people.

But in many of these studies, the effectiveness of the therapy seems to vary widely. Some people report positive results while people with the same condition, at the same voltage, don’t see any improvement at all. It could be that some people are simply more likely to respond positively to it based on genetic makeup or body composition or any number of other factors. That could explain why results seem so variable.

But some have argued that these mixed results are better explained by something called the sensation-enhanced placebo effect. You see, the placebo effect is a well-understood principle in medical research where people who have been given an ineffective treatment seem to feel better anyway. They believe that the treatment was effective and so they report an improvement in symptoms.

The sensation-enhanced placebo effect is essentially the same thing but with a tool like a TENS unit that causes a physical sensation in the subject. So not only does someone using it believe they are receiving an effective treatment, but they feel like the machine is clearly doing something because they can feel the electric pulse.

This would explain why some people report success with TENS but others don’t. Some people are more susceptible to the placebo effect than others. But with that being said, anything that leaves you feeling better is a valid form of treatment. What matters when it comes to treating chronic pain are results that make it easier for you to live a normal life. So if you think a TENS unit may help you, there’s little harm in trying. Just don’t expect wonders from it.

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and is posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.