One Of My Many Ailments: Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is so much fun. I have to say its a joy to have. It makes you sweat all the time when your aren't exercising so you look like you just ran a marathon when all you did was sit on your sofa. Pain and confusion abound. And everyone reacts differently. As I said, its a joy. You get treated for pain and depression.... But there is no cure for it.

"Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain processes pain signals.

Note those words: 'amplifies painful sensations'. This is key to the 'joy' in fibro.

Symptoms sometimes begin after a physical trauma, surgery, infection or significant psychological stress. In other cases, symptoms gradually accumulate over time with no single triggering event.
I went through breast cancer so maybe that's my trauma - or 'significant psychological stress'.

Women are more likely to develop fibromyalgia than are men. Many people who have fibromyalgia also have tension headaches, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety and depression.

Or did fibromyalgia give me anxiety and depression - or can I blame that on my breast cancer too?

While there is no cure for fibromyalgia, a variety of medications can help control symptoms. Exercise, relaxation and stress-reduction measures also may help.

Yes, I exercise. But I can only exercise every other day because I have to recover from the exercise of what I have done. Stress-reduction measures for me are reading, watching bad tv, knitting, and weaving.

Symptoms of fibromyalgia include:

• Widespread pain. The pain associated with fibromyalgia often is described as a constant dull ache that has lasted for at least three months. To be considered widespread, the pain must occur on both sides of your body and above and below your waist.
• Fatigue. People with fibromyalgia often awaken tired, even though they report sleeping for long periods of time. Sleep is often disrupted by pain, and many patients with fibromyalgia have other sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea.
• Cognitive difficulties. A symptom commonly referred to as "fibro fog" impairs the ability to focus, pay attention and concentrate on mental tasks.

So do I have 'chemobrain' or 'fibro fog' or both? And if both, how can I form a coherent thought at all? And apnea? Got that too but I can't sleep with an f*%^$#ing mask on my face.

Fibromyalgia often co-exists with other painful conditions, such as:

• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Migraine and other types of headaches
• Interstitial cystitis or painful bladder syndrome
• Temporomandibular joint disorders

Or maybe it can coexist with rheumatoid arthritis? 

Causes: Doctors don't know what causes fibromyalgia, but it most likely involves a variety of factors working together. These may include:

• Genetics. Because fibromyalgia tends to run in families, there may be certain genetic mutations that may make you more susceptible to developing the disorder.
• Infections. Some illnesses appear to trigger or aggravate fibromyalgia.
• Physical or emotional trauma. Fibromyalgia can sometimes be triggered by a physical trauma, such as a car accident. Psychological stress may also trigger the condition.

So they don't know the cause or have a cure. Nice!

Why does it hurt?; Researchers believe repeated nerve stimulation causes the brains of people with fibromyalgia to change. This change involves an abnormal increase in levels of certain chemicals in the brain that signal pain (neurotransmitters). In addition, the brain's pain receptors seem to develop a sort of memory of the pain and become more sensitive, meaning they can overreact to pain signals.

Nerves overreact to pain. How wonderful. So basically the pain is magnified.

Risk factors for fibromyalgia include: 

• Your sex. Fibromyalgia is diagnosed more often in women than in men. 
• Family history. You may be more likely to develop fibromyalgia if a relative also has the condition. 
• Other disorders. If you have osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, you may be more likely to develop fibromyalgia.

So I have RA, and was diagnosed with both at the same time. So its a case of the chicken and the egg - which came first? We have no way of knowing. I also have no way of knowing which ailment is causing which pain.

Complications: The pain and lack of sleep associated with fibromyalgia can interfere with your ability to function at home or on the job. The frustration of dealing with an often-misunderstood condition also can result in depression and health-related anxiety."*

Yep. Got that ' depression and health-related anxiety'. But did they come from having cancer twice and the fear of a recurrence or as part of my RA and fibro medical crap? Or did I get a double dose because of all my ailments. 

I don't know. I just wanted to tell readers more about one of my many ailments. I will get through the other ones over time I'm sure.  Because they are what makes up with my 'chronic illness life'.

*From Mayo Clinic

Bedtime

I was never the child who wanted to stay up late (unless is was the annual Miss America Pageant - don't ask, we thought it was awesome). I was happy to go home and go to bed by 9 o'clock. In college, I would stay up late, but would nap often. Also, I was so busy studying (beer) that I would not notice how late it got. Maybe I was sleep deprived for four years.

When I met my husband, I was very concerned about his sleep habits, among other things. If I married someone who wanted to stay up until midnight every night, it would not be a good relationship. I happily discovered that he is an early to bed person as well.

Now, as my body has continued to fall apart, I have problems staying up until 9pm... I used to try to stay up until sundown.... But that doesn't work.

RA causes fatigue. Fibromyalgia causes fatigue. Pain causes fatigue. Fatigue causes fatigue. Last night I was in bed at 730pm and didn't wake up until 6am. That was a whopping 10.5 hours of sleep. I needed it.

Tonight my bedtime will be around 830 probably.... but I will not put money on that.