I have been thinking about posting just a blurp about how my health has been, for anyone who is curious. (If your not, just skip this one!)
I have several people ask me “what is fibromyalgia?” So I thought I would attempt to answer what its like for me. (Because everyone with fibro seem to experience it just a bit different, in either severity of pain, or amount of symptoms)

(I’m not adding this to sound like I’m complaining, cause I’m not trying to. I Just wanted to help others understand the condition.)

First off in the book I’m reading it explains what fibromyalgia means.
“Fibromyalgia is a form of muscular rheumatism characterized by tenderness, soreness, pain, and muscle spasms.Fibro- means fiber; my-means muscle; algia means pain.”

Have you ever gone to the gym, and worked out real hard? Then a day or 2 later your muscles are achy & stiff and you think to yourself “What did I do to myself”?
Well, this is how I feel most days, and its not from working out every day, cause I dont.
Some days are much better then others, so…good days, & bad days. And kind of like when you have over done it at the gym, if you get up and start exersizing lightly when your sore, it helps you feel a bit better! Thats how I am. So I have tried to go walking every day since I got diagnosed, and it has helped a Great deal! But on bad days, it is so hard to get out and go walking because some times it really hurts!

A word on sleep….sleeping is a very difficult thing for me! If I lay on my side, my hip feels like its severely bruised, and my shoulders start throbbing and hurting really bad! I cant sleep on my stomach because my neck injury doesn’t allow me to have my head in that position. So I lay on my back, which isn’t my favorite position to sleep, nor is it the most comfortable. Because of that, falling asleep usually takes a while! And I sleep so lightly that when the girls roll over in bed, the creek of the bed wakes me up & I feel WIDE AWAKE! That is how I sleep all night! Then I wake up, achy, and feeling as though I have just been beaten while I slept!

My shoulders, neck and down in between my shoulder blades usually ache. Each day for me, as far as pain, and where the pain is, has been so differnt that its hard to say what its like. My shoulders and that whole area aches, and I find when its late, and when I’v had too much sugar they ache REALLY bad! Its best described like when you have a really bad case of the flue, and your hole body just hurts. Thats the best way I can describe that feeling! At times like this I take ibuprofen 800, and that seems to help a lot. One intersting thing is when it aches really bad in my shoulders, it seems to spread down into my arms as well!

My arms, previously thought to be tendinitis, is also part of the fibro.
Its harder for me to describe the problem in my arms…so bear with me as I attempt it.
Starting at my shoulders, and going down into my forearms, a light touch is quite painful! (my husband knows this, cause I frequently ask him to rub my arms and with every touch its “OUCH!”)
With all the muscles in my arms sore, and tight, they pull on the muscles and tendins in my wrists, which then make hand movements, and pressure, excruciatingly painful!
So for example, lifting up a child can be not only hard, but painful, and it usually aggravates it, if it isn’t currently hurting. Carrying a laundry basket has the same effect. Some times, picking up the dish washer soap and pouring it in hurts!
With this, and everything else, I have some days that are not as bad as others. And some days I just wanna cry!

My hips are another very painful part of my condition. I feel as though my hip is bruised all over, or has been shot with a gun, and its trying to heal. (that is the best way I can describe that) So walking, though good for me, can Really hurt! But the walking usually seems to decrease the severity of the pain there. Stretching, like in yoga, has been one of the Best things to help the pain here! And actually the yoga I have tried, which is very easy stretching, (not any of those complex funky positions that only a double jointed acrobat could do) has done the most good for me! I find that when I am able to do yoga stretching that the next day I’m having a better day! So I am convinced of the good that it can do, not just for me, but for anyone and everyone!

Next I’ll just briefly mention my tummy. This condition very often includes irritable bowel. My doctor explained it this way: A “normal” person without I.B. wont feel an air bubble moving through their intestines, or feel solids going through it. But someone with I.B. can usually not only feel it, but it tends to be quite painful! If a “normal” person’s body doesn’t react well to certain foods, like dairy, they might feel bloated, or slight discomfort. But then someone with I.B. will REALLY feel it!

Tiredness is another lovely part of this condition, and honestly I have found if I just keep moving, keep myself busy, and not allow myself to sit very long,then I am not usually effected very much by the fatigue. But if I do sit down, like to watch a movie with the kids, then I get hit with this fatigue that makes me feel as if I havent slept in 2 days! Its a Terrible feeling!

Treatment for this is a difficult thing. Because there has not been a definite “cause” of fibromyalgia, it is tricky to treat. The doctors start out by treating the sleep, because when your body is deprived of sleep your body doesnt produce enough of a chemical called “somatomedin-C”.
“This chemical plays a part in repairing the muscles. So people with fibromyalgia have muscles that are tighter and less flexable then most people…and the muscles would be more subject to microtrauma”
(taken from the book ‘Fibromyalgia a comprehensive approach’)

My doctor is having me try excersize and muscle relaxers at night to see if that helps. And honestly, the muscle relaxers have done a little, but not much.
My FANTASTIC husband, Mark, has been so wonderful! He has given me countless massages, and has tried so hard to help me in any way he can! I have had 2 doctors tell me that a hot tub would really help improve my health. So, my WONDERFUL Mark, has ordered a hot tub from Costco!
I’m Very excited to try out this new “therapy”!

Kudos to you Mark!
I know you cant sympathize with my pain, but I think I’m a good enough pain for the both of us! hahahaha :)
But seriously, I know at times its hard to understand me, and what I’m going through. I am very proud of how sweet you are, and how you have stepped up to the plate and just really taken care of me! Your WONDERFUL!!!