Fibromyalgia

The 12th May is FIBROMYALGIA AWARENESS DAY.

What is Fibromyalgia?

It’s an invisible and debilitating chronic condition where sufferers feel pain all over their body. It could feel like:

• an ache

• a burning sensation

• a sharp, stabbing pain

Other symptoms include:

• extreme sensitivity to pain

• stiffness

• extreme fatigue

• insomnia or poor sleep quality

• cognitive problems ('fibro fog')

• headaches

• irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

• etc..

Many sufferers struggle to work and it can seriously impinge on day to day living. It affects around 2-5% of the population and is most common in middle aged women, but it can affect people of all ages.

I should know as I have had it for about 16 years. Very mildly these days though. ADHD is four times more common in those with fibromyalgia (29.5%) than in those without, I have both conditions.

What causes it? It is not fully understood, but it is believed to be caused by abnormal pain processing in the central nervous system. And it many cases it is triggered by a physically or emotionally traumatic event such as:

• An injury or a virus

• Giving birth

• An operation

• Stressful event like relationship breakdown or a bereavement etc

Mine started after very stressful external events, then a nasty virus that knocked me for six (I had weeks of post-viral fatigue after it where I was bedridden). To be honest it totally ruined my life for about 2 years. Feeling in extreme pain all the time was soul destroying.

But I have worked very hard with dietary measures, supplements and lifestyle interventions. I no longer have the fatigue or insomnia and I am very lucky, because most days the pain is so low that I forget about it.

I feel for other sufferers so much, as there is so little understanding about chronic conditions such as this one. There is also stigma and many uneducated doctors are frankly woeful and suggest it’s all in your mind. (Tell that to research from brain scans and hospitals which completely validates this condition and to all the sufferers who live with it)..

So I am sending much love and sympathy for the many other people with Fibromyalgia. And I am here to tell you there is always hope 🙏❤️❤️.

Tests

Some lab tests to support fibromyalgia clients include digestive tests such as SIBO tests to rule out small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, as a clinical link between bacterial dysbiosis and fibromyalgia has been found. 

Cortisol tests may be recommended, as chronic stress can sensitive nerve endings. Neurotransmitter imbalances can also be found.  And mitochondrial tests can be really helpful to see how energy is being produced on a cellular level (by our energy factories in each cell) as poor energy production can lead to fatigue, increased lactate and chronic pain.  But each client is assessed on a case by case basis.