Congratulations, It’s Fibromyalgia — Now What?
It’s been six years of niggling symptoms, two years of asking for help, four different doctors and now you have a word. Fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition of unknown origin and currently has no cure. It is an umbrella term which incorporates many symptoms and comorbid disorders. The big four symptoms are chronic pain, chronic fatigue, insomnia and brain fog.
It is also a medical blackhole.
That scenario I started with is not far from most people’s experience. Research has shown that it takes, on average, 2.3 years and seeing 3.7 doctors for patients to receive a diagnosis, Ernest Choy et al, 2010.
It is a life-disrupting, debilitating illness with symptoms that, for most sufferers, are always present to some degree.
Yet, most people will experience years of being ignored, made fun of and undertreated.
We are a lot further along now, than when I was diagnosed over a decade ago. But I will never forget all of the experiences I had with doctors who disbelieved me. The people who disregarded my symptoms. Of trying to manage to be a “normal” twenty-something-year-old while living with debilitating symptoms.
I have made massive improvements in the past 10 years and I had to do it all myself. If you want the entire journey condensed into an eBook with some printable worksheets to help you get started, you can check out my book here.
In this series I would like to share the key components of what to do once you are diagnosed.
Why “congratulations”? Well it took you a long time to get here. But now you have a word that can provide some direction for help. I am going to share practical things you can do today.
What first?
Start learning. You will need to become your own best advocate and project manager. My book above will give you a great shortcut. You can also check out my blog, with more than 300 articles detailing my journey over the past eight years. Or you can click the follow button and look out for my next article here. I will share brain-fog friendly, to the point articles of what you might like to do next.
Tell me, do you have fibromyalgia, or suspect you do?
