Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic muscular pain disorder.

I don't really want to write this down, cause it feels like I am whining. But anyway:
Symptoms I experience:

• chronic widespread diffuse muscular pain
• characteristic tender points (about 16 of the 18)
• anxiety
  
• depression
• cognitive disfunction (brain fog)
• concentration problems
• fatigue
• itching skin (feels like ants are crawling on me)
• IBS
• Sicca syndrome (dry eyes, nose and mouth)
• headaches
• morning stiffness
• numbness in hands and feet
• muscle spasms
• sleep disturbances (I over-dream - yes, it is possible). Also insomnia... well, sort of - I can get to sleep very easily if I go to bed before James, but I toss and turn and have trouble staying asleep
• temperature sensitivities
• weight gain

I suppose I should feel fortunate that I seem to have this only mildly. Looking at websites with other people's symptoms/blogs, I should feel glad that I can still do stuff - I am not unable to work, I can still perform household chores, move around, etc. I don't consider myself disabled.

I do have to wonder, though, if I am not simply being a hypochondriac. Yes, before you say anything, I realise the mere fact of wondering if I am a hypochondriac makes me not a hypochondriac (hmmm, reminiscent of sanity checks in Catch 22). However, over the years, I have had other "major syndromes" which have simply disappeared with time. E.g: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). Being honest, I wonder if this isn't just all in my head - some desperately pathetic attempt at getting attention. But then, I had never heard of fibromyalgia before I was diagnosed, so... and I was diagnosed by my GP, so either I'm really good at faking diseases that I've never heard of, or it must be true. (Or am I just rationalising here)... On the other hand, the symptoms have gotten considerably worse since I've been able to put a name to all this. Hmm, suspicious...

So what am I doing about it? Well, I am taking the following drugs:
NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories) - although why I don't know. FM is not an inflammation of the muscles, and the particular one that I am taking (trade name Pixicam) doesn't seem to help at all.

Pain killers - a low dose opiate, Synap Forte. This stuff is great, the effects hit me like a friggin wall, and man, what a buzz! So much so, that I can actually only take one. If I take two, like the instuctions say, I feel so out of it, I can't actually do anything. Actually, I worry about addiction (I'm sure I have an addictive personality).

Calmettes (Valerian based tranquilizer).

Also, physiotherapy, although not so much any more since I have exhausted my medical aid with physio already, and its not even mid-way through the year! Christ!

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Filed as: Fibromyalgia »
 

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