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In December of 2016 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Doctor after doctor kept telling me it was all in my head and that I was just depressed but I kept pressing the matter until finally my new PCP finally believed me and agreed that it was fibromyalgia
Let me tell you. It’s a frustrating illness to say the least. Most people think that because they can’t “see” the illness then I must be faking to get attention. Other people think I’m just being lazy. It’s hurtful and unfair . I want to bring more awareness to this chronic illness. So here is a list of some of the many problems people with fibromyalgia face:
Fibro Fog
Due to “fibro fog”, people with fibromyalgia tend to forget words, even in the middle of talking. I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me and it can be quite embarrassing.
I have the worst memory ever. I can forget a conversation I have had with someone only moments later.
Pain
This is a given. Pain is the number one symptom of fibromyalgia. I am 34 but sometimes (okay, all the time….) feel like an 85-year-old getting out of bed! Morning stiffness is the worst. There are days it takes me quite a bit of time just to get out of the bed. Then once my feet hit the floor I’m in pain because my feet ache, my knees are killing me and I just want to crawl back into bed. (I could so easily fall back into my depression because of this but I haven’t yet. Praise the Lord!)
Fatigue
I am not exaggerating when I say I’m tired ALL THE TIME! It doesn’t matter how much sleep I get….I wake up tired. I go to bed tired. I’m always tired.
I guess what I want people to know is that fibromyalgia is REAL! It exists and it hurts to hear “Oh you’re just lazy.” “Oh, you just want attention.” And here’s my favorite: “But you don’t LOOK sick!” To which one day I WILL respond “Yeah and you don’t LOOK stupid but here we are….(Okay I probably will never say that…..it’s just not in my nature to be mean like that.)
I never asked for this and I don’t understand why I have to suffer through it but by God’s grace I will keep on moving forward day by day.