A number of years ago I was diagnosed with the condition known as fibromyalgia. Part of me was relieved- at least I now knew what was wrong. Part of me was pissed- it has been widely accepted that childhood trauma may have a contributing factor. It wasn't enough that I lived through it. It wasn't enough that I would always carry emotional scars. Now, I have to live with this too. Really!?
For those who don't know what fibromyalgia is, I will attempt to describe. On a good day, I feel like a giant toothache from top to bottom. On a bad day, I feel like a giant toothache with sharp stabbing pains in some localized places. On a very bad day, it's the giant toothache and the stabbing pains ALL over. Definitly it is not fun!
Here is what sets it apart from other pain conditions, i.e. arthritis, muscle aches, back problems, etc. Fibro is all in your head!! Seriously! In most conditions, part of the body hurts, then messages are sent to the brain signalling that something is not right. With fibro, the process is reversed. There is nothing wrong with your body but the brain sends pain warnings out anyway. This makes your body react as if there is danger- stop moving- it hurts!!!
I found out early on, that sitting on the couch doing nothing didn't hurt any less than being up doing things. Being active made the rest of me feel better so I try to stay active. I work hard at living with fibro- I exercise, eat right, drink lots of water and try to rest in between activities. I try to regulate the stress in my life. Keeping my life in a healthy balance has helped the most as does pain meds when I need them.
I do, however, have bad days. I have given myself permission to go very slow and easy on those days. It's part of the balance. I'm sharing because I keep running into people that have the same condition but live like invalids. One woman I met is 10 years younger than I. She takes an assortment of meds as well as medicinal marijuana. She has a daily caregiver. She is in bad shape.
Another woman I know has been bedridden for close to 8 years. She lives in the living room of her home on a hospital bed watching TV all day.
I have a friend who talks about her sister who has fibro but as I keep being reminded- "she has it alot worse than you". I love that, don't you? Just because I choose to live with fibro but not let it define me, I've got it easy.
So it's all in our head in another way. I think that with any chronic health issues our attitudes make the biggest difference of all. There's a line from The Shawshank Redemption that I think is appropriate- Red says, "You can get busy living or you can get busy dying!"
The dying is going to take place no matter what we do. But we can make the most of living regardless of any condition we might be afflicted with. It's our choice.
That's the view from my side of the street, what's yours?
For those who don't know what fibromyalgia is, I will attempt to describe. On a good day, I feel like a giant toothache from top to bottom. On a bad day, I feel like a giant toothache with sharp stabbing pains in some localized places. On a very bad day, it's the giant toothache and the stabbing pains ALL over. Definitly it is not fun!
Here is what sets it apart from other pain conditions, i.e. arthritis, muscle aches, back problems, etc. Fibro is all in your head!! Seriously! In most conditions, part of the body hurts, then messages are sent to the brain signalling that something is not right. With fibro, the process is reversed. There is nothing wrong with your body but the brain sends pain warnings out anyway. This makes your body react as if there is danger- stop moving- it hurts!!!
I found out early on, that sitting on the couch doing nothing didn't hurt any less than being up doing things. Being active made the rest of me feel better so I try to stay active. I work hard at living with fibro- I exercise, eat right, drink lots of water and try to rest in between activities. I try to regulate the stress in my life. Keeping my life in a healthy balance has helped the most as does pain meds when I need them.
I do, however, have bad days. I have given myself permission to go very slow and easy on those days. It's part of the balance. I'm sharing because I keep running into people that have the same condition but live like invalids. One woman I met is 10 years younger than I. She takes an assortment of meds as well as medicinal marijuana. She has a daily caregiver. She is in bad shape.
Another woman I know has been bedridden for close to 8 years. She lives in the living room of her home on a hospital bed watching TV all day.
I have a friend who talks about her sister who has fibro but as I keep being reminded- "she has it alot worse than you". I love that, don't you? Just because I choose to live with fibro but not let it define me, I've got it easy.
So it's all in our head in another way. I think that with any chronic health issues our attitudes make the biggest difference of all. There's a line from The Shawshank Redemption that I think is appropriate- Red says, "You can get busy living or you can get busy dying!"
The dying is going to take place no matter what we do. But we can make the most of living regardless of any condition we might be afflicted with. It's our choice.
That's the view from my side of the street, what's yours?
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