Explaining Fibromyalgia

My lovely wedding photographer, Jessica, wanted me to better explain what exactly Fibromyalgia is. Fibromyalgia is a pain filled disease. It causes fatigue, stiffness, pain, which then leads to depression.

How does it cause this? Well, the brain sends pain signals when not needed. So, say I get hit in the arm running into something, I'm using this example because it happened the other day. Instead of it just hurting for a day, it hurts for a lot longer. I didn't even get a bruise after I ran into a display peg at work, but it hurt so bad I was in tears off and on the next day. Also, you just get these pains randomly. You don't have to hurt yourself on something. You get a stiff thigh muscle and it just constantly hurts and then goes away. Sometimes its a couple hours, sometimes a day. I also get flare ups. This is when I get horrible pains that make me cry for a couple days, a week, two weeks. These pains are more persistent and painful than usual. The usual pains I have gotten used to and don't really take pain pills for, but when I have a flare up the only thing that takes away the pain is vicodin or something to that extreme. Don't think that just because I have gotten used to the daily pain that it doesn't hurt. It still does. I just can't take anything for it that helps. Like the flare up pain, ibuprofen, tylenol, advil, anything over the counter does not help.

The fatigue is pretty much annoying and ridiculous. Some days all I can do is laundry for thirty minutes and then I'm exhausted. Then there are others where I can go almost all day without being exhausted. Right now in my flare up I could sleep twenty hours during the day. Most other times when you sleep that long people say well you are only tired because you are sleeping so much. Unfortunately with Fibromyalgia if I don't sleep as much as I need then I get sick and more pains than normal. I also get insomnia. This is due to the pain. When I try and go to sleep I can't because all I can think about is the pain that I am having.

Unfortunately, as most pain diseases cause this, depression gets pretty bad with Fibromyalgia. It's hard to stay positive when you are dealing with a disease with no cure. Also, there are many things that help the symptoms, but nothing that cures it completely. The depression comes on more when you have bad days. Mainly because you want to get things done, and just can't because you feel so horrible and so much pain.

In conclusion I have found yoga is great because it stretches your muscles. Obviously I don't mean go out there and be as flexible as Gumby. Pace yourself and don't do anything that you think might hurt because it probably will. That is the only thing I have so far learned. If you have any advice please comment.