Yesterday's July 4th celebrations saw your intrepid blogger trapped in a party he didn't wish to attend with a guest list that included six -- that's one more than five, one less than seven -- gay men, all more-or-less in a "committed relationship", which to judge from the openly frank exchange of sexual innuendo would seem to indicate that "committed" means something to gay men that it doesn't mean to the rest of us.
But that is not the point of this little screed, so I shall leave the unsavory details for another post later today.
Anyways, apparently all the rage in Gay Circles these days is to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
And I should probably point out, for the 32,000,000th time on this blog, that I don't give a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut if anyone is gay -- I have my own problems, thank you very much -- and no, I don't hate you. Anyways...
For those of you who do not know what fibromyalgia is, I'll try to explain in layman's terms. I should make it absolutely clear before I begin that I am NOT a doctor, nor have I had any medical training, whatsoever. I do, however, have certain experiences (to be described later on in this nonsense) that have given me a basis for an opinion on the subject.
Fibromyalgia is, basically, a medical term that relates to a constant and often-severe pain that does not have an obvious, identifiable medical source. That is to say, there is no physical injury to point to as a source of this pain; there is also usually an absence of a viral, bacterial or other biotic agent. In the Olden Days, before the practice of medicine became a game to see who could push the most pills and score the most medicare patients with padded bills in a day, doctors often referred to conditions like this as "Phantom pains", or "Psychosomatic conditions".
It was noted that this complaint of "Phantom Pain" was most often observed in amputees, who could swear they could feel pain in their now-gone limbs and extremities, often years after the fact. I'm not saying fibromyalgia is the new "Phantom Pain", but it sounds very much like it could be
Typically, fibromyalgia "victims" have three things in common:
1. They've all suffered some serious traumatic injury that has involved broken bones/fractures/head injuries and possibly multiple surgeries. Additionally, these injuries may include severe psychological trauma which has either been undiagnosed, or left untreated.
2. They were all prescribed massive doses of painkillers, most notably opiates and opiate-derivatives.
3. Continued medical examination consistently reveals that whatever past injury may have existed, it has healed, and logically, the pain that is associated with the original trauma should be long gone.
In other words, fibromyalgia is a fancy term for a condition that your doctor, with all his/her years of expensive training, with all the miracle machines available for diagnosis, with all the knowledge of genetics we're gaining, cannot identify. He's simply stumped, and rather than look like idiots with a diploma the medical profession has simply coined a fancy name for it.
There is one school of medical theory that holds that fibromyalgia is a neurological/nervous system disorder or some type, but we're talking about the human brain -- the single organ about which medical science knows absolute jack shit about. If medical science ever unlocks the secrets and function of the human brain then we're pretty much done as a species, as the Master Race of thinking, feeling, robots we'll create with that knowledge will eventually figure out that we're just bags of protoplasm and so easy to kill.
Just sayin'...
Anyway, three of my poo-stabbing, party-going compatriots were happy to announce, to anyone who would listen, that they have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Now, 50% of six homos is a rather small sampling, I'll admit, but you have to wonder. That sort of "infection" rate would make fibromyalgia more virulent than Malaria, Yellow Fever or Ebola, and more prevalent than Multiple Sclerosis or Cancer.
I'll bet the only other medical condition more prevalent among Gay Men is inflamed hemorrhoids, but I digress...
Back to fibromyalgia. I don't want anyone to get the mistaken impression that only Gay Men get it -- or rather, claim to have it -- because I have also known three straight people (two women, one man) who have also claimed the mantle of this condition. if you take a cursory look at their medical histories, you will find the following:
Woman #1 had been involved in four -- count 'em -- automobile accidents. Two of those accidents involved minor injuries, but two others resulted in serious injury requiring orthopedic surgery to a knee, her lower back, and a shoulder. Woman #1 was given large doses of opiate painkillers, even after her injuries and trauma healed, and for years afterwards continued to see her physician on a regular basis for renewals. After nearly five years on painkillers, another doctor (seeing her for a totally different issue) recommended she be put on methadone in order to treat her obviously-undiagnosed prescription pill addiction. One year-plus of methadone treatment and psychotherapy fixed her behind right up. She no longer feels the pain, and is able to lead a normal, active life. She's still driving, so be careful out there!
Woman #2 was also involved in a car accident, and has a surgically-repaired back with a metal rod stuck in it. Woman #2, after recovery, held down a job as a trauma center nurse, and when busy would hardly remember that she had a rod in her spine. However, whenever she was bored, felt depressed, had some sort of emotional issue that she couldn't deal with, the pain in her back would suddenly become unbearable, and it was off to the doctor's office for a prescription for her drug of choice, Percocet. Having dated this woman, I can tell you that her medicine cabinet was a veritable supermarket: Percocet, Halcion, Xanax, Codeine, Oxycontin, prescribed by doctors, psychiatrists and even her freakin' dentist. Once Woman #2 --don't ask me how, I wasn't there anymore by that time -- "found God", she suddenly wouldn't touch a pill with a 10' pole.
Man #1 in this example suffered a severe head injury when he was accidentally whacked with a falling (from about 10 stories) 10-pound sledgehammer on a construction site (I shit you not). Despite (or perhaps because of) his hard hat, he still (only) suffered a severe skull fracture, and you guessed it, was prescribed an awful lot of painkillers during recovery. Long after his fracture had healed, he would suffer from severe headaches, and his hands would tremble. PET Scans, CAT scans, dog scans, whatever, failed to reveal a physical problem, but his doctors kept churning out prescriptions for painkillers. Needless to say, this man was, unfortunately, killed when -- after his doctor wisely decided to cut him off and tried to find him other help -- he got into an argument with a drug dealer over the price and quality of his new drug of choice, heroin. A subsequent autopsy revealed no obvious brain damage or abnormality.
Now, back to my three Butt-Pirate fibromyalgia partiers.
Mr. Butt-Cowboy suffered a leg broken in two places while skiing three years ago. His surgically-repaired leg, held together with pins and plates, is as good as new, he's happy to tell you. He'll also be quite happy to tell you about all the wonderful, psychedelic experiences he has had whilst sampling the full menu on the medicinal smorgasbord. He still takes prescription painkillers for a pain that manifests nowhere near his repaired leg, and after consulting another doctor who would "do something besides give me pills", he was diagnosed with fibromyalgia after but two visits and a minimum of testing...and given new pills to take.
Mr. Ass-Spelunker had broken his hand and wrist seven years ago, and still takes painkillers. He's tried several different types of painkillers, too, and despite the fact that no one can explain the cause of the pain to him, neither has anyone done anything except give him more pills... and he just happily takes them. He recently went to the same doctor as Butt Cowboy (see above), and got the same diagnosis: fibromyalgia.
Mr. Rump Wrangler suffered a minor neck injury in a collision. Although it did not require surgery, and for many years did not bother him at all, a doctor gave him a prescription for a painkiller which he has had refilled at intervals over the last two years. Last year, he began to notice that his pain became more severe, and so the doctor upped the dosage on his meds. Now, he can hardly get through the day with at least three of what he refers to as "The Magic Pills", and wouldn't you know it?, a completely different doctor gave him a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, too!
By the way, another thing these three men have in common besides sexual partners, shared bodily fluids and the same doctor?
All three are currently receiving, or in the process of getting, disability benefits based upon a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
And why not? It's not as if anyone can actually prove it does or doesn't exist. It's not something visible and obvious, like a missing limb (then again, a missing limb wouldn't be visible as it's not really there, is it?), or something that can be inferred or tested, like blindness or diabetes. How do you prove that someone has a condition that medical science can't even agree exists in a physical sense, and which is often masked or complicated by other factors, such as emotional issues or drug addiction?
Your guess is as good as mine.
So, either fibromyalgia is a psychosomatic condition, the result of a human being being unable to mentally get past the trauma(s) that initially gave them so much grief, a mental disorder that involves believing in something that isn't there (you know, like religion), or it's the result of doctors handing out opiate drugs like they were fucking Good n' Plenty, and then having to find a convenient medically-sounding explanation to avoid being sued for creating drug addicts that were supposed to be under their care and supervision.
Whatever the real reason, it seems as if it's about to become the all-time favorite of personal injury and disability attorneys for years to come. Someone with better qualifications than I should seriously start looking at what's plainly before them before they start inventing new diseases and disorders out of thin air, because it looks set to cost the taxpayer -- and the healthcare system -- a shitload of money.
390 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 390 of 390Okay, here it is one LAST time, this time from the Mayo Clinic. I'll summarize this:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079
* Symptoms typically occur after physical or psychological trauma, surgery, or other, unrelated infection
* Women are 2 times more likely than men to "get" FM
* Many people who "get" Fm are also diagnosed with ANXIETY and DEPRESSION
* Risk factors include Sex (women get it more often than men), Family history of Rheumatoid disease (i.e, arthritis or lupus).
* There is NO SCIENTIFICALLY-RELIABLE TEST to confirm fibromyalgia. Present diagnostic criteria is largely useless (i.e. the 11 out of 18 pressure point test is useless because doctors cannot agree on how much pressure to apply).
* Current medical guidelines indicate Fm under the following (vague) circumstances: any pain that lasts for more than 3 months, and any pain that cannot be tied to rheumatoid disease or other identifiable and scientifically-accepted factor (lupus, MS, etc).
* Current treatment criteria (as per Mayo Clinic) indicates anti-depressants and anti-seizure drugs which simply mask or manage the pain, but which DO NOT CURE IT. Those 'suffering' for FM are also strongly urged to seek psychiatric help to deal with underlying psychological issues.
* Mayo Clinic also recommends the following: yoga, Tai Chi, Accupuncture and massage therapy, in other words, the full range of proven placebo treatments.
* Mayo Clinic also recommends the following lifestyle changes:
Reduce stress
Get more sleep
Exercise (the average FM sufferer is a woman who stands 5' 4" tall, and weighs 180 pounds. Use of anti-depressants often results in additional weight gain, making symptoms worse).
Eat Healthier
So, in other words, the highly-respected Mayo Clinic agrees with about 90% of what I've stated here repeatedly.
One other thing, the asswipe who keep trying to compare PTSD to FM:
Most (better than 90%)people who acquire PTSD are eventually CURED and have not a single symptom after a successful course treatment. In the case of FM, the medical literature is quite clear on this point: the more "treatment" you give to an FM "victim" the sicker they tend to believe they are.
Conclusion: you don't have Fibromyalgia. You have undiagnosed mental problems, and perhaps an undiagnosed rheumatoid issue. You may have suffered some severe physical or mental trauma that you have no been able to deal with. The reason you've been told you have FM is because it's the quickest way to separate you from your money.
If you don't like the Mayo Clinic, here's what Johns-Hopkins has to say about FM. Summarized:
http://www.hopkinsarthritis.org/arthritis-info/fibromyalgia/
* Symptoms typically occur after physical or psychological trauma. Symptoms are similar to Arthritis, RA, or Lupus.
* Women are 25 time more likely to report FM than men (5% of the female population, as opposed to 0.5% of men).
* Additional causes include: lack of exercise, DEPRESSION and ANXIETY (up to 40% of FM 'victims' have a previously undiagnosed mood disorder), painful menstruation.
* Diagnosis and testing: There is NO MEDICALLY-RELIABLE TEST for FM. There are only tests which indicate the presence/lack of cytokines, hormones or other blood chemicals which are often indicative of another (undiagnosed) illness.
* Current medical guidelines as to diagnosis are too generalized and open to interpretation (again, the 11-out-of-18 and pain for three months stuff).
* Johns Hopkins recommends the following treatment regime:
Anti-inflammatories (i.e ibuprofen), anti-depressants, anti-seizure drugs. These do nothing other than help you manage or mask pain, THEY ARE NOT A CURE.
It is also recommended that patients exercise more, eat better, lose weight, and use 'traditional' stress reduction techniques (i.e. placebo techniques such as accupuncture).
Quote from the entry:
"...given the prevalence of emotional/mood disorders in persons with FM, it is also thought that psycho-behavioral factors may contribute to pathenogenesis and/or individual expression of fibromyalgia."
Translation: get thee to a shrink, you crazy bitch.
Again, Johns Hopkins agrees with most of everything I've said here.
I know (because I've checked) that if you look up the same stuff for the National Institute of Health, Harvard Medical School, Center for Disease Control, The Lancet, The Journal of American Medicine, etc,. you find the EXACT SAME SHIT.
Fibromyalgia is a dodge, designed to sell anti-depressants and allow (unscrupulous) hospitals and doctors to scoop up cash with a backhoe, and which allows disability layers to collect astronomical fees by defrauding the disability system.
If you are not convinced by now then you're either:
a) Crazy
b) Stupid
c) are probably already sucking off the government teat, or you hope to do so soon.
You can now stop anonymously posting nonsense about how you're special, or about how I don't understand, or what a rotten individual I am. I don't care.
One more thing...
This next article is really about Ritalin and ADHD, but there is an undertone throughout it that hints that many of today's "instant epidemics" (see: Restless Leg Syndrome, FM, Male Menopause) are really little more than the uncertain reactions of very confused, very scared people who are having to live harder lives (mostly because they're stupid and make poor decisions, by that's just my opinion).
Fibromyalgia falls right into this category. The final two paragraphs of the article are fascinating:
"As Dr. Lawrence Diller — who was already voicing heretical thoughts about the stimulant explosion back when I quoted from his book Running on Ritalin in 1999 — now tells the Times, in a striking metaphor: “Pharma pushed as far as they could, but you can’t just blame the virus. You have to have a susceptible host for the epidemic to take hold. There’s something they know about us that they utilize and exploit.”
Exactly. And what Pharma knows better than most is that the happy talk about how kids today are doing fine, thank you very much, is a story we tell ourselves to avoid the obvious. Some of their moms aren’t all right, either, another fact that doesn’t get nearly the attention it should. And some of those fathers are suffering from the fallout too, whether self-inflicted or not. In the ashes of the sexual revolution, someone has found a gold mine.""
In other words, Big Pharma knows exactly how to manipulate us and sell us things, even going as far as to make shit up out of thin air the frighten the fertilizer out of us. Oh, and that women are the easiest marks for this sort of thing.
Here's the entire article:
http://nationalreview.com/article/366585/why-ritalin-still-rules-mary-eberstadt/page/0/1
nice try Mathew...anyway your world must exclude any new research that pertains to fibromyalgia. the latest research does indicate established disease properties biologically. These types of comments just represent a diseased state of mind. This kind rant is childish and useless. I feel sorry for your hate ,this must be hard to deal with. Why you feel you need to expand and share your hate to hurt others is very destructive .
Listen, don't get all menstrual because your pet peeve is not taken seriously (it shouldn't be).
You keep accusing me of being a mean old bastard to poor suffering people, but you never offer any proof to bolster your argument. I've given you reams of proof, and because you're a lunatic, it, predictably bounces off your head like peas off a steel helmet.
We're getting into that area of the battle between faith and empiricism;You have faith that if you simply believe hard enough, your wish for your condition to be taken seriously will come true.
The problem you have is that you keep bumping up against the reality of science and Big Business.
By the way, historically, faith always loses such a battle, except in the minds of truly demented or the truly self-interested.
Whoever you are, Anonymous Person who can only refute facts with calling me names, it is YOU who needs a rubber room, not me.
If you continue to feel the need to respond (I'm sensing some OCD here, or perhaps masochism?), by all means do so. You're only bumping up my view stats while fighting a losing battle. Just don't expect a response, because I'm done arguing with someone who can't accept evidence from Johns-Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic, and the doctor who "discovered" the damned thing who all say the same thing:
You're not physically sick, you just need psychiatry, or a substance abuse treatment program.
And "the latest research" is complete crap. Any research which is based upon a faulty underlying premise (proving a negative, for example) is utterly worthless. Read both reports I posted above, in full, and you'll note that neither of them indicates a biological component attendant to FM.
If there was one, there'd be a germ or bacteria identified as the culprit, and you'd be getting anti-biotics instead of ANTI-DEPRESSANTS, you ignorant pissant.
Since you even had the temerity to write such a ludicrous statement, then I must assume two things about you:
a) You must be making money off of this dodge, somehow, and no fact, no anti-argument, no research which disproves your cherished beliefs will ever suffice to change your mind because this is where your rice bowl is, or
b) Your real issue is that you're probably too stupid to be left alive. No wonder you imagine you have a fake disease.
Screw you and have a nice day.
Dude you make no sense there for you are not real...we hope.
WoW! coooool your jets psycho! What a rant of total and absolute shit are you on the rag or what? Your problem is you can"t take what you dish dude. Lets see PTSD is given terminology for nervous breakdown. And that's as real as Santa Clause so ok ok you have a real condition and FM isn't??? Gosh all this over one chick man you need to chill the F Out! The FM conspiracy thing(that you rant about) is pretty huge by the way, its all over the gosh darn place! What the Hey! Those darn medical professionals are up to it again guess after coming up with a fake term for nervous breakdown they had to come up with one for chronic pain. what can ya do? And you wouldn't know proof if it came up and bit you in the ass obviously, but we all know your just trying to keep this pathetic excuse of a blog going so delude on ;)
Oh and by the way You absolute idiot! Patients with MS (a so called proven disease with the same diagnostic evolution as FM) die from old age also. Ahhhhh But of course we wouldn't expect you to know that either.
Okay, one more time:
There is NO SUCH THING AS FIBROMYALGIA. It is an invented term for "you're crazy, but so long as there's a buck in it, no MD will tell you this".
FM is not the "same thing" as MS. Stop kidding yourself.
To the person who keeps thinking that he/she is principled in their "if you keep shitting on my invented disease, I'll shit all over your real condition (PTSD, which I no longer have because medical science actually cured me, shithead!); there, how do you like it?" form of argument. You're a dipshit.
You're also extremely childish.
Just face it; fibromyalgia is simply a term that doctors invented to avoid telling you painful truths (that you're a hypochondriac and your life probably sucks because you're most likely insane) and sell you treatments which do not work.
The proof is that there seem to be more FM 'victims' and not less -- that tells me there's more money to be made in 'treating' you. The fastest way to get more of something is to let it be known there's money in it.
You don't have 'overactive nerves' you have a doctor and a pharmacological company that are either knowingly or through sheer ignorance fleecing you, that's when they aren't making you a drug addict and then covering their tracks with a fake diagnosis.
This person sounds just like matt only not as hostel lol..
I'm betting you also may believe the world is flat? Be care full with that mentality you might fall off the edge!
Who ever wrote this is a very sick narrow minded individual, I feel sick to my stomach after reading some of these posts. You are categorizing, stereotyping, and judging people you do not even know. These people could be you or family members. I feel sad for people who have fm who read this vulgarity and critical judgment. I'm sure it makes them feel awful. Must be wonderful to be as perfect as you . Be ashamed you deserve it. I know people with FM whom are neither lazy, overweight or drug addicts. Your trying to stereotype a group of people. You know nothing about the illness and nothing about them. That is ignorant and you know it. I have never met you and by reading your post I would assume you are narrow minded idiot. But perhaps not,there must be a reason you are so angry and cruel. I truly hope you can get help and have empathy for those you do not know, who are suffering. I am showing my age but these last two poster remind me of Archie Bunker who everyone felt sorry for, but laughed at because he was so clueless. This is how you come across.
I was dx with fibro in 2008. My mom had it for about 45 years before she passed in 2007. My dad never believed her and treated her horribly until he left her when she was 40 for a much younger gold digger. Yeah, I'm a little bitter. My point is, because her doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with her and were throwing around the word "psychosomatic", my sisters and I wondered if maybe my dad was right, maybe she just wanted attention and Valium and codeine. Sometimes she was so drugged when I was a kid I couldn't wake her up.
Fast forward 46 years and a year after her death and I'm recovering from an antibiotic resistant infection and I start aching all over, feeling severely depressed and having daily panic attacks. A physical medicine doctor dx's me with fibro and I'm thinking, "Oh my God, she wasn't lying!". I then proceed to go through the most painful 3 years of my life because I refuse to take the 600 mg of Lyrica my doctor insists will help me because I've got a 3 1/2 year old daughter, and the last thing I want is for her not to be able to wake me up some afternoon! So I struggled thru the pain, and let me tell you, it feels like you're on fire sometimes. But I keep thinking, How can there be no cause and no cure? I know it was triggered from an infection so there must be some imbalance in my body that is causing this 24/7/365 excruciating pain. So I pray & I pray, and then I go online everyday and research, which isn't easy since fibro people can't retain any information due to brain fog. And just a quick note here: I don't want to disparage anyone's illness but... If you've really got fibromyalgia you're not going out to parties much since making any kind of plans at all is next to impossible. The pain can at times be as bad as being in labor, but at least with labor pain, you know it's going to end and you're going to get a beautiful baby. With fibro pain it's just endless misery, like someone has beaten you with a baseball bat and you know they're going to do it again tomorrow, and the next day and the next.... ad infinitum....
So here's the happy ending of my rather long-winded post. After 3 years of research I came across the Stop The Thyroid Madness website and realized I had all the symptoms of hypothyroidism. And guess what? My mom had been dx with thyroid problems too! So I go to my doctors and they all (several by this time) tell me my thyroid is fine, my TSH is fine, even tho by this time my thyroid is swollen and covered with nodules. My antiTPO is below 28, so even tho my immune system is obviously attacking my thyroid, they won't treat me for autoimmune Hashimoto's Thyroiditis because, apparently, it's not attacking my thyroid enough to warrant an Rx for thyroid medication!!!
I had to go from doctor to doctor, and finally I found one who rx'd cytomel which is T3, the active thyroid hormone, and you know what happened? All my pain went away. I started sleeping better and was no longer depressed or anxious. Of course by that time my immune system's assault on my thyroid had caused thyroid cancer, just as it had done in my mother's case.
Loooong story short.... I had a thyroidectomy in Oct 2010, and it took my another 2 years to find a doctor who would Rx desiccated thyroid. Synthroid is useless, esp if you have no thyroid.
So now I'm out of pain, although I do still struggle with sleep issues occasionally. But thank God for the internet or I would have suffered the same fate as my mother. BTW, she passed from liver disease which is linked to untreated hypothyroidism. Even tho she was on Synthroid, it never treated her hypothyroidism. So sad..., wish I knew then what I know now so I could have helped her.
Doctors are diagnosing people, mostly women, with fibromyalgia because they don't know how to diagnose hypothyroidism anymore, and if they do check your thyroid they rely too much on the faulty TSH test. Forty-five years ago a woman with fibromyalgia symptoms would have been given desiccated thyroid and would have gotten better. Fibromyalgia is a new disease because of the invention of the TSH test in the mid 70s. TSH is a pituitary hormone, and while useful, it can't on its own diagnose thyroid disease.
If you google it, you'll see that hypothyroidism & fibromyalgia have identical symptoms.
Here's the latest research which shows that fibromyalgia is an endocrine problem:
http://c.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/steps-authentic-happiness-positive-psychology/2013/nov/11/fibromyalgia-indisputable-proof-claims-uk-research/
And here's my honest story of how I got the correct diagnosis and am now pain-free from fibromyalgia:
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/tamras-story/
And more stories from the Stop The Thyroid Madness website:
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/fibromyalgia/
I have nearly all the symptoms of fibromyalgia, but have none of the corollaries. I'm not gay, I'm in my late 30's, I've been military for nearly 20 years, and I have a life of living hell. My leg muscles lock up if I sit/stand/etc in any position for any length of time, my physical therapist says my muscles are tighter than anyone she's ever seen, and my hips/knees/ankles pop, snap, and click like rice krispies. I had a foot tumor removed last year that has only made it worse, because moderate to light exercise sometimes helped, but now I can't even do that. I have diarrhea at least 5 times a week, 5 hemmorhoids that have been removed, sleep apnea, and constant sinus and ear infections.
Maybe I'm just sickly, but I was healthy as a horse for the first 14 years of military service since I was 17, so you tell me what the hell is wrong with me, since I can't get the doctors to tell me.
Hi.
I'm sorry to post as an anonymous,but I'm very disturbed by what you post and the consequences of what you argue: that fibromyalgia is a psychological/psychosomatic maladjustment (seems to me). It is very IRRESPONSIBLE what you do, to those who suffer it as a very real part of their lives. For, if fibromyalgia is not, something that can be treated like depression or anxiety, you are inciting others, who can”t understand this ailment, to devaluate the experience of suffering of these persons and contributing more to challenge their health and wellness in a life of illness.
Please, before passing judgment, consider:
-Many of us don”t take medications or very few. I only take one, for example.
- It is very easy to turn into an “arbiter mundi” as Jung said, but it destroys ways to knowledge.
- Let us remember, that ignorance and error, are part of all disciplines consistency. So, science changes, and what was false one time, is true in another. Such as miasma theory.
- Absence of evidence, doens”t mean absence of existence. Medicine isn”t omniscient, nor will ever be.
- To quote the Bible (from my head): «It is the greatness of God to hide something, and the greatness of the king is to discover it.» Meaning to me, that finding the truth takes the exercise of difficult to find virtues, like patience, honesty, intelligence, and the will to work_ a lot_ for it.
- What if you are wrong after all, and fibromyalgia patients don”t fit the lazy or hypochondriac or depressive cause of their illness?
- Suppossing they are depressive or anxious, the way you talk is ignorant of the way these people experience their disease and their effects. You talk bitter with no empathy, but depression isn”t cured by scolding people. It doesn”t help them at all, in fact it worsens their ailments. Their different requirements are recognized and different solutions are given than to “normal” people to help them overcome their problems, hence therapy and antidepressants
There was some people in the seventies who thought cancer was caused by self hatred or similar “negative thoughts”. People would be cured if they found again self-love and a positive attitude towards life. The result was that no one was cured of cancer, but in addition to the normal burden of cancer symptoms, people now felt guilty and had much lower self-steem.
Now, efforts have been made to find biological evidence of fibromyalgia as a physical disease. They have been found. I won”t point you to the studies which point to elevated P-Substance, lowered serotonin levels, abnormal interpretation of stimuli in the brain as pain, lowered tolerance to pain, and much more recently: lower cytokines levels (so much that some people think they have a test for fibro now), and abnormalities in the “arterial venous shunts”. You can find the abstracts in Pubmed if you want to.
But let”s suppose all findings don”t point to a disease different to anxiety or depression. What can give you lots of information is spending a few days on the fibromyalgia support groups like those on facebook. Compare the way these persons talk about their ailments with the way those of the depression or anxiety support groups do. You”ll even find a few of them are quite cheerful and don”t experience anxiety or depression. They may also happen to be the healthiest, but they aren”t cured.
Yet for most, the disease is progressive (meaning the symptoms are more and get more intense with time); it has made them completely different persons; and they feel depressed or anxious because of the symptoms, or as a part of a bigger thing that causes everything else. Many of the men are veterans.
I have had fibromyalgia for two and a half years, and I will tell you about my experience. A similar story to that of many of us:
(second part of my post, sorry!)
I indeed had a history of anxiety and depression, but I had never manifested physical symptoms for depression or anxiety, nor did I even know they existed. Then six months after a small back injury and a depression that came with it, I began feeling terrible. The pain was not a little pain, but like being burned alive. Indeed, the pain is incapacitating. And almost at the same time came the rest of the symptoms: from nausea to blurred vision. As soon as I felt like that what I thought was: it's all about attitude. I thought that because before this my life was PERFECT. I ran, went to the gym, studied math and philosophy, and worked. (Many of us tend to be perfectionist, or put lots of pressure on ourselves to some end). Similar to my story there are many. And you should get close to fibro patients. Rarely do they fit the attention seeking profile. They want to go back to their normal lives, and they make all they can to feel better: from medication to therapy to exercise to change in habits.
So, I was happy and enjoying life while feeling excruciating pain, nausea, dizzyness, indigestion... I tried to go back to exercising as much as I could, but after five minutes I would have to rest for hours, because too much physical or mental effort makes the pain and all the symptoms come back to you with a vengeance. It only lasted for one month. Pain was too much, and I was getting worse by the day. After this I began treatment: antidepressants have helped me more than anything. I”m much better, but the fibrofog has stopped me from studying. Here is an abstract for you:
«Fibromyalgia and cognition.
Glass JM.
Abstract
Patients with fibromyalgia frequently complain of cognitive problems or "fibrofog." The existence of these symptoms has been confirmed by studies of the incidence of cognitive problems in fibromyalgia patients and by the results of objective tests of metamemory, working memory, semantic memory, everyday attention, task switching, and selective attention. The results of these tests show that fibromyalgia patients have impairments in working, episodic, and semantic memory that mimic about 20 years of aging. These patients have particular difficulty with memory when tasks are complex and their attention is divided. Cognitive symptoms in these patients may be exacerbated by the presence of depression, anxiety, sleep problems, endocrine disturbances, and pain, but the relationship of these factors to cognitive problems in fibromyalgia patients is unclear. Standardized tests and treatment have not yet been established for cognitive problems in fibromyalgia patients.»
So I”m also not as eloquent as I used to be. So we can”t even argument properly, and I”m very very tired from writing all of these. I have to go, and please, I suggest you, go interview yourself with fibromyalgia patients and serious investigators with an open mind before passing judgment that could potentially just harm others.
-Bill
Bill, thank you for your thoughtful comment. I will respond to some of your points individually:
1. Having an opinion (and hopefully an informed one) is never IRRESPONSIBLE. You just don't have to agree with it.
2. Your suffering is your own business. When I hear people begin to use words like "devalued" and "challenge" experience tells me that what's really up is that there is an assault on my wallet about to be made. I begin to sense the beginning of a disability case. Sorry, but you are not entitled to anyone's money on the basis of sympathy. Either doctors can recognize and fix what's wrong with you, or they can't, and that's your tough luck; don't make it everyone else's financial burden.
3. You have registered all the classic symptoms of the fake diagnosis: you admit to having anxiety and depression, you say you are taking anti-depressants, and have had a back injury. I find it interesting that you don't identify the meds you took (or take. Was there a painkiller for your back in there, somewhere?), and say this problem has persisted for two-plus years, well past the time when any injuries should have (mostly) healed. Then again, we're talking backs, where there are no guarantees.
4. I don't want, nor "need", to "get close" to any fibro "patients". I have had enough up close experience with the mental health system to last me a lifetime, thank you very much. I don't need to "understand" crazy, since I've already experienced it.
5. As for your fibro fog, are you certain this is not just a side effect of the anti-depressant, or the painkillers you probably took (but failed to mention) during your two years of back trouble?
I don't mean to insult you, Bill, but really, you're grasping at straws a bit. The part about Jung was classic, and funny. Your issues probably started long before anyone mentioned the word "fibromyalgia" to you.
The writer of this post is correct about everything except for the reason that the medical community more or less conspired in creating the fibromyalgia diagnosis. It's about money. In order for a doctor to collect from the insurance company they need to have a diagnosis. Insurance doesn't have an item for ghost pain. Now that there is a term associated with pain caused from some un diagnosed nerve disorder (usually depression) they can get payed for it.
Wow you people are so judgmental and behind the times.Studies have shown that fibromyalgia is a neurological condition that affects immune function and causes small nerve fiberdl damage...hence the random pains and symptoms. I have had it for 17 years and wouldn't wish this on anyone except for you assessed that just don't wish to understand. I was never in an accident or given heavy painkillers or had a psychiatric problem. Dont judge what u havet been through based on a few bad applesa
You are the disgusting psychopath to talk about your mother that way. I don't know what kind of mother she was when you were a child to have raised a pig. People pay into their own Medicaid. Medicaid is broke because of greedy politicians- not lonely old ladies.
You are the same people that would have said Endometriosis is all in a woman's head and she should seek psychiatric help. Yes, doctors used to say that. Now we know the devastation this disease can cause. You want to learn more about fibromyalgia? Go to Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic or NIH. Do your research before you open your mouths.
Umm, Claire...Take a look a few replies back, and you'll see that I posted the links to Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic, and they both say essentially the same thing:
Fibromyalgia is a condition that is closely linked with issues of emotional disorders and addiction.
In addition, it has only been pointed out here (with links to the original articles) that THE VERY DOCTOR WHO DISCOVERED FM TAKES IT ALL BACK. HE SAYS IT'S BULLSHIT.
Perhaps you should learn how to read something before you accuse others of having not read it? Or perhaps you might take the time to read all the comments this post generated before you post something that has already been covered -- and debunked thoroughly?
Oh, right: Who has time to do accurate research when you're so busy accusing others of not having done any when there's an emotional argument to be made in a half-assed fashion?
LOL I am a RN at an ED big teaching hospital in the US. Fibro patients are usually women, come in with sunglasses on,stressed look, and always on psych meds..no one likes to care or them because they are so focused in YOU understanding their pain.. look for validation.People with true pain are usually focused internally,quiet as the pain overwhelms their spirit. FM is not a dx..just an easy our for GP to get them out in the 15 minute allotted time frame. I truly believe psych therapy would be more appropriate.The pain is real to them
If Fibromyalgia if fake how did they come up with the fibromyalgia fm/a test? Apparently it is as accurate as the HIV test.
You mean this blood test? The one where the guy who says he developed the test and has no financial interest in it, is, in fact, the founder of the company that wants to sell it to the world?
http://www.arthritiswa.org.au/news/view/fact-or-fiction-the-fm-test.html
And that's just one example of the bullshit surrounding this blood test (which is now something like 3 years old). Do a simple Google search and you'll find 500 others.
BTW we covered this subject earlier in the discussion (see above): Presence of elevated or lowered cytokines is NOT evidence of fibromyalgia, since those kinds of symptoms (the only one being tested for) are common in everything from arthritis to the common cold.
I wanted to propose to you... but you said you're straight so I won't.
DEAR GOD you put on a blog EVERYTHING I have said my entire adult life. From gay men (and I am one) to Fybro-fakey-o. Wow.
You da man!
My hubbies rheumatologist told him he had Fibro just by looking at him?? Then Dr. couldn't find the right blood work to diagnose Rheumatoid arthritis. Which he does have and was diagnosed by another Dr. We tlx our family Doc that we just don't want fibro written in his file because someone might think he's nuts. The family doc offered several pain scripts. We said no thank you. He takes celebrex and gets on with life.
I know this blog post is older, but I came across it while searching for "shingles and fibromyalgia" and felt compelled to comment.
I am recovering from (a very real diagnosis of) shingles and (complete utter bullshit diagnosis of) "fibromyalgia".
I am not saying people diagnosed with FB are not in some sort of pain or need help; I actually believe quite the opposite, they need additional help to determine what is actually going on vs. receiving a convenient all inclusive label. Where I believe anger and resentment comes in is when one with this "diagnosis" refuses to be open minded enough to see this label is not helping anyone but pharmaceutical companies and doctors.
FB is supposedly substantiated (sometimes) by tests (sometimes run) which render results mirroring those of other illnesses and conditions. The problem is, when physicians cannot meet all criteria for treatment of a "non-Fibro" illnesses, insurances will not pay for treatment of that illness. Voila! Here comes the catch-all diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, a.k.a. "Dunno, don't care, but hell I've got to say something this patient!" Doctor is relieved because they can label something instead of getting to the root of the actual problem, labeled person is happy because they have a word to explain how they feel to others and an open ended prescription pad until their next appointment, and pharmaceutical companies are happy because more diagnosis means more "statistics" = more research money = large profits.
I used to get angry and defensive when I was first diagnosed with Fibro and read articles about the legitimacy of it. "NO!", I thought. "You don't understand what I go through!!!" It took a awhile for me to realize that perhaps taking a second look through another person's eyes was in order. Yes, I definitely had an illness, it just wasn't the one being treated. It was one with a less socially acceptable pre-fix.
Here now is what I take from it Fibromyalgia:
1. Every person I personally have come into contact with this diagnosis (including myself) has some sort of mental illness. I am not saying that to shame anyone. In fact, if anything this proves how horrible it is for physicians to blanket label different illnesses as Fibro, because then the underlying issue is never addressed.
2. Most people I have discussed this with become highly defensive because no one wants to believe something can be easily explained by a mental illness. The mind can do terrible things to the body. Aches, pains, thoughts, you name it. These issues can be treated for those who want the issues to be resolved. For others with different types of mental illnesses, this label gives them the opportunity to have an "attention illness" or a drug enabling illness. Either way, there is a legitimate illness that is not being treated because "Fibromyalgia" is tossed around like candy, much like "ADHD" and "Autism" have become over diagnosed instead of addressing the real root issues (I am a parent, as well, I see it everyday.)
So yes, I have been diagnosed with "Fibromyalgia", but my real diagnoses is "Manic-depressive with PTSD from childhood abuse" Oh, and shingles now, which can also be brought on by stress if you want to see exactly how powerful the mind is over the body. All of which are actually being treated.
I am not belittling anyone. There is definitely something going in in the minds/bodies of those diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. It is just not "Fibromyalgia". There is a legitimate illness in dire need of being treated by something other than a sorrowful look, a label and a prescription pad.
I'm dying! I absolutely love your witty, truthful take on this so called disease. I have a mother in law who claims to have fibromyalgia but announces it to the world like it's an accomplishment. It's disgusting really, how she never has flare ups when a fun day is planned, and how she can get through walking around disneyland 3 times a week but can't get a fucking job! If you ask me, her collecting disability is straight FRAUD. She's a middle aged, 'ex' drug addict who pops pain killers like it's candy. She (still) lives with her mom because she can't ever get her shit together, never was a mother to her children growing up, and never amounted to more than a pile of dog shit. I FIRMLY believe this made up bullshit disease is nothing more than a way for losers in life to continue and claim their victim status. Fibro is a crutch for them in the game of life they so miserably failed at.... for my mother in law at least. At the ripe old age of 60 bankruptcy, failed motherhood, failed marriages, zero income, and NO friends (besides other losers she met on the internet world of fibromyalgia support groups) would make me feel some kind of pain too!
Sadly I was on another forum and the Fibro freaks were comparing themselves to cancer patients. They disgust me. Real people INCLUDING children are suffering in hospitals and these freaks complain and refuse to work with their FAKE ailment. sickening.
1. Fibromyalgia means "you are in pain and we don't know why."
2. That is what it means.
3. No one is disputing that.
4. It's kind of a jerk move to say that anyone who has unexplained pain is a crazy drug-addicted faker.
5. Some people who have unexplained pain are later diagnosed with an accepted physical cause for that pain, meaning that at least those few people are not crazy drug-addicted fakers.
6. There is probably at least one condition that causes unexplained pain that science has not yet uncovered.
Wow. You, my friend, are an uninformed, insensitive, dangerous idiot. I am sick of ppl like you vilify others in extreme pain. I doubt YOU can hang a day with fibro.
Fibro patients....stand UP and fight this ignorance! This nonsense has got to stop, it's very dangerous. They did the same with Diabetes at its inception..now is THAT ones head? We are the pioneers of such a mysterious illness and will fight for its awareness. YOU MY FRIEND NEED DO YOUR RESEARCH AND BACK AWAY FROM BLOGGING! FIBRO IS A LEGITIMATE ILLNESS THAT EXIST DESPITE YOUR IGNORANCE.
"Fibro" is a load of horseshit by which fat, lonely, mentally-ill, attention-seeking, drug-addicted assholes manage to a) get attention and b) manage to get money.
That fact cannot be disputed despite your insistence that it's a legitimate disease and your calling me names.
Seek professional mental health assistance, and stop believing in things even medical science says is unadulterated bullshit.
Hi Matthew, I have osteo arthritis pretty severe in my hands and elbows. I was referred to a rheumatologist who dianosed fibromyalgia after a medicak examination. I had never heard of it before that. I thought my OA was flaring up I don't suffer depression and have never had any physical trauma but honestly this pain and IBS insomnia proven sleep apnea and recently diagnosed mitral valve problem by carduologist are all part of FM. look up The Monster List of fibromyalgia and I have most of that. I am an Australian and our medical people look for physical symptoms very thoroufhly. you will alway get tossers who fake. Sorry you are so cynical but I understand. I hate that people think I might be faking. I wish medical science could find the answers. bye from the land downunder
Lol, you do talk complete crap with no basis but ignorance, but very funny all the same.
@Sonjia:
You don't have fibromyalgia (which is often used as a catch-all term for many arthritis-like symptoms)you have osteoarthritis. One does not "get" arthritis and then fibromyalgia on top of it.
IBS, sleep apnea and insomnia are also symptomatic of an anxiety/panic disorder, and you wouldn't know you had depression for certain unless it was diagnosed. Sometimes, depression symptoms can be very slight or mistaken for something else. Have you seen anyone about a diagnosis on that front?
It's quite possible that an undiagnosed/untreated anxiety/depression issue can cause a flare-up of arthritis or exacerbate other underlying health problems, because of the physiological changes that accompany them.
Best of luck!
Hi Dr Matthew, I am a medical professional. I have fibro. I work full time. I run marathons and half marathons. I was diagnosed after being in pain, having dizziness, numbness, tingling, and fearing that I was going crazy. Of course, FM was one of my differential diagnosis, and one that I did not want since there is no cure.
I was referred to various specialists to try and determine where all my maladies where coming from, until a rheumatologist confirmed my fears.
My lifesaver was a book called "What your doctor may not tell you about fibromyalgia", written by a doctor whom has worked with thousands of FM patients. The rx is guaifenesin (yes, an expectorant).
I still have pain, but I can function, and that is all I hope for: to be able to have a life, to practice, to continue taking care of my patients.
So yes, the pain is real, and it is daily, and it sucks. I refuse to be disable because I am not. I can work, run, parent my children, be a wife to my husband, and a good clinician to my patients.
Funny thing, my husband wanted us to go see a therapist, because he (like you) thought that I might have all this pain because I had a sucky childhood! Of course, the therapist was able to educate my better half. FM has been around for eons, but before it was all "hysteria" (yes, from the Greek word meaning uterus).
I do not see a mental health provider because I do not have a mental illness. I do however, use alternative treatments such as water therapy (water spa), swimming, massage chair, TENS unit, as well as NSAIDs.
So, here goes again, the name of the book that saved my life:
"WHAT YOUR DOCTOR MAY NOT TELL YOU ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA". Hope it helps others as much as it has helped me.
PS--make sure you keep on taking your psych meds, and see your therapist at least monthly.
Yeah, riiiight.
And I don't take psych meds because I've been cured.
Maybe you should take some, because that was some fairy tale.
Just a few comments on the last testimonial from a crazy person:
a) She's 'has' fibromyalgia, but runs marathons. Through sheer willpower. Wow, what a superwoman.
b) Her doctor has allegedly 'cured' her with prescription for a compound found in over-the-counter cough syrup.
c) Despite having what she calls a "sucky childhood" a mental health professional found her to be the most well-adjusted person in the solar system. The experience did not affect her one iota. Which never happens.
d) She mentions the title of a book twice.
I've looked into this cough-syrup-as-cure nonsense, and it is exactly that.
Guanifenisan is the active ingredient in Mucinex. It is often sold over the counter in mixtures with...oh, my god!...other narcotics such as ephedrine, psuedoephedrine (major ingredient in crystal meth), and dextromethorphan (which every recovering junkie knows to avoid like crabs).
Guaiac, from which guanifenisan is derived, has been used as a remedy for rheumatoid arthritis -- not fibromyalgia -- for centuries, with mixed results.
It is also used in conjunction with propofol, the anesthetic that (allegedly) killed Michael Jackson, in veterinary medicine as an analgesic and anesthetic in large animals.
This is a common thing recently in alternative treatments where medicines currently approved for animal use are being used by people, and pushed by so-called "medical professionals", with little to no study of the actual effects.
The main motivations in this misuse of veterinary drugs are almost always COST and a placebo effect.
Studies on the effects of guanifenisan cough syrup as a cure for rheumatoid conditions (and fibromyalgia) indicate it is no more effective than a placebo.
Which sounds about right, since fibro is in your head, not your lungs.
So, I figure that last story was a load of crap, just to get the book mentioned twice and bump up it's search stats.
I'm not going to bother telling you my name or anything about myself, because you will probably just have some smart ass response- and I really don't give a shit if you ever respond to me.
You're an inconsiderate bastard. You obviously have no idea what it's like to be in chronic pain, regardless of what "label" or "name" the reason for the pain is given. You are entitled to your opinions, but instead of downing people, why don't you try understanding where they are coming from instead? Until you are in the other person's shoes, you have no idea what the fuck their life is like or how they feel day to day.
I'm so glad you've done your "research" but are you honestly that bothered by fibromyalgia that you felt the need to write an entire blog entry about it? Wow, I hope you feel better now that you got that off your chest.
Based on your responses to other people that comment on your blog, you are a sarcastic, negative, narcassistic asshole that has little regard for the feelings of others. I'm sure you hide behind your keyboard because you know that if you said most of this stuff in "real life" someone would probably beat the shit out of you.
I have a million other things I could type here, but since you are an arrogant douchebag, it would do me no good. I'm glad it makes you feel good to put other people down. Hopefully you have an extraordinarily high self esteem because of it! Now, go fuck yourself!
I agree with every one of Matthew's posts. FM is bullshit.
Just read nearly all this.
I've recently been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia by a rheumatologist.
I also have diagnosed by x-ray and scans, degenerative disc disease in my spine, peripheral neuropathy, osteoarthritis in neck and lumbar spine (both of which have had fusion surgery with plates and screws). I also have Achilles Tendonitis in both heels, Carpel Tunnel in both wrists, Plantar Fasciitis in both feet, knees that give way with no notice and drop things with amazing regularity. All cause me a lot of pain.
So to be honest, a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia is not something I needed to explain why I was in so much pain.
All I want to do is live my life to the best of my ability, enjoy the good days, work through the bad ones, be in control of how I deal with the shit life throws at me rather than the shit be in control of me.
Labels are for people who need them, and sadly sometimes we need to use them, because if we are finding life hard and need a bit of help for a while, we have to be able to explain a 'format' that is written on someone's tick list to meet the 'criteria' for the help we need.
It is not the person in pain who makes up the label. The person in pain wants that pain to go away, whether it be physical, psychological or whatever.
The labels are made up so that us human beings can be fitted into boxes, controlled and be kept nice and tidy.
Pain hurts, well, it does. No-one likes being in pain. So we use whatever is available to get rid of it.
Rest, heat, ice, prescribed medication, illegal drugs, alcohol, anger (yes, I did mean to write anger), acupuncture, you get my drift, whatever might relieve the pain we feel. It's human nature.
Have I got Fibromyalgia? I don't know. I've been told I have. I have also been told I'll never amount to much, been congratulated on nearing completion of my degree at sixty, that I'm fat by a thin person and that I'm thin by a fat one. The list is endless.
I have pain, pretty much all the time. And I am breathing, which means by default I am alive. I don't plan to waste a single breath of my life worrying about who wants to argue over the name my pain does or should have. It's a game for those who either want to make money out of me or want to try and stop me having any when I can't walk, get dressed or feed myself.
I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments, am glad I stumbled on this blog, and wish everyone as pain free life as possible.
30 years ago I contraced mononucleosis and never got better. It wasn't until the 1990's that fibro was first being diagnosed. I have all its debilitating symptoms. There probably are traumatic physical and emotional events in some fibro patients past as I expect there are in those with cancer, heart disease, and others. Medicalscience may someday have atest to vindicate all of us who truly have the f-word of diseases -- fibromyalgia.
Love this post, it's had me chuckling for the last hour reading the comments, ok here's my two pennerths worth.
A few years ago I visited my Doctor complaining of exhaustion and a sore tongue, blood tests showed I was iron Anaemic.i took the iron pills but still felt really Ill,, brain fogs,memory loss, walking like a drunk, horrible pain in my feet, pins and needles in my hands and feet, migraines, the list was endless, I felt like I was being battered by an elephant.Im pretty sure if I had gone back to my Doc with that list of symptoms I would have been DX with fibro, anyways as I have little time for Doctors I asked sheikh Google why my iron pills weren't working,I was directed to a B12 deficiency website and boy did I get my eyes opened, I had every freekin symptom on there,off to Docs I trot and ask for the B12 blood test, I was amazed when the Doc told me it made sense to be tested as I had large red blood cells, something that should have been investigated as it's a marker for anaemia,long story short, I was deficient and started a course of loading injections, result was all my symptoms either disappeared or became manageable,( irreparable damage can be done if deficiency is left too long) I now have injections every 3 months for life, I'm a member of a few support groups and the amount of women who are misdiagnosed with fibro when it's only a vitamin deficiency is huge! The answer could lie in the cost of anti Ds compared to the 3 monthly 68p cost of the B12, Big pharma can't make any money out of it.
Mags.
Ps..B12 is not tested as part of a full blood work up.
People diagnosed with fibromyalgia may have a legitimate disease, but it's not fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a catch-all & means that they either didn't do all possible tests or didn't care to.
I am a medical inpatient nurse. I see people with "fibromyalgia" frequently. They are typically drug-seekers who have been enabled by the medical system to obtain their fix. They need to be actively withdrawn from their meds, which is quite difficult as they have become physiologically dependent on them. When you stop the meds, they are in truly excruciating pain due to their acquired tolerance to them. Most cannot tolerate this. These are my second most difficult patients to work with, second only to renal failure patients.
Matthew well done, you've hit the nail on the head, I totally agree GP and doctors here just hand out meds like there there sweet I've seen so many people addicted to drugs all because of laziness and consequently have no life, it's a shame.
Matthew is right. And I am right. You are all a bunch of fucking cry bitches. I know two wack jobs that claim this illness. Both have the symptom of severe laziness and lack of money.
What do you know about the situation? Absolutely nothing.
Wheat is an opiate. Just saying. I guarantee you eat that shit. Also, sounds like you need to do some real homework as you're pretty ignorant to what our declining demographics look like about healthy people and it's just a coincidence that we have all these brand new diseases no one seems to be able to provide proof for.
With all due respect though, you probably have a lifestyle defiancy; living a stressful life, eating shitty food, constant stress, etc. Join the club. But it is a fake disease. Any disease medical claims has no cures is fake.
I haven't read every single post in this blog, but Matthew makes very impressive arguments, and I couldn't agree more. I would never go around telling people I had "fibromyalgia" so that any sophisticated person would just assume from the gitgo I was a former or current drug abuser and/or hypochondriac. It's like a form of Munchausens where you make yourself more and more debilitated to get constant attention from the medical community.
If you have never been diagnosed with chronic pain, I suggest you keep your uninformed opinions to yourself. Maybe someday YOU will be in the same boat as millions of Fibro patients and then YOU will understand what it is like to have pain and exhaustion that can ruin lives. I had to give up the career I wanted more than anything else in the world because of constant pain, fatigue, memory issues, and sickness. Fuck.Off.
https://www.ted.com/talks/elliot_krane_the_mystery_of_chronic_pain
Chronic Pain IS a Disease. Watch, Learn, Hope you never experience it. Peace.
I've already had to give a career for a real medical issue, Stella.
But then I went and got it back.
Put your big girl panties on, get real help, and go about your life.
Fibromyalgia does not exist.
Oh...and you can fuck off, too.
Awesome. I have to say I was amused by this. We have a family friend who's married to a woman who cant work (never has) and has severe pain but can totally rock 4-5" heels and surf when on vacation. Yet when I posted an article about people who use the handicap mirror tag to get out of paying for parking she actually replied that we should not judge because we cant see her pain? What about the pain for the guy in the wheelchair or crutches that has to go all that extra distance because she doesnt want to pay or walk a block or two. FM is bullshit. Plain and simple.
There will always bee people taking chances at getting benefits, no doubt. It doesn't matter whether it's called FM or not, the Chinese Medicine has another name for it and frankly, who cares, since the problem is: the damn symptoms are there. Not always there is a trauma, physical or psychological, and I'm sorry to say that it's way too easy to just brand it as some "psychic" problem or as depression. I should know because I have been living in this hell for almost ten years now and let me tell you something: you try and live for months with pains that never leave, your sleep is messed up because, due to the pain you keep tossing here and there and you barely reach any deep sleep, leaving you so damn tired and achy when you wake up...then will see if you won't develop some sort of behavior which would resonate with the diagnosis of depression!! Depression is in most cases a by-product of FM, not FM itself. And any pill which should better psychotic illnesses and depression only made me worse, which is why I'm off all medication. What's the point anyway, why should I burn off my liver for some pharmaceutical garbage which will not cure me? If you are not depressed by now, you will be when you realize that FM does not kill you, oh no... but the perspective of living a long life in such a hell, well, it's so NOT inviting. There is chemical imbalance in the brain which targets the hormones in charge of dealing with the pain signals. Other illnesses are also caused by some chemical disruption in the brain, like Parkinson's, and others mess up pretty bad any sensation into painful events, like the autoimmune disease chronic urticaria; are those invented too?? There is a lot modern medicine still can't handle, and unfortunately there isn't much it has to offer for FM sufferers. A world where even a cozy hug is sheer pain, believe me, no one would make such stuff up for fun. And for the record, there are many countries where FM is not eligible for disability, so a vast majority has to face the daily ordeal of ordinary folks, with the difference that they have an additional burden which does not wear off. Ever.
Amen. Have some respect. Psycho or not, no child should speak about their mother that way.
Just been diagnosed with fibromyalgia myself, bit worried as I already have an autoimmune disease. My mum was told she had fibromyalgia so it was the last thing I wanted to hear from the rheumatologist! - especially after mum recently died of cancer. It's possible that she had both diseases, but if she had a full mri then they would have found her terminal cancer. As far as I understand fibro is a syndrome, and could occur with other diseases, perhaps as yet undiagnosed. There is no 'cause' for IBS, or CFS - AIDS is a syndrome but they know the cause, the cause for fibro might not be known yet. It's possible I have early MS, no one will know for a few years as it takes time to develop lesions, they haven't ruled it out yet. However they don't offer full work ups wiith every specialist or scan you every year with an mri, personally I think it is a neurological disorder, and part of that includes a sleep disorder and hypersenisitivity to pain, or touch - doctors have discovered that fibro patients do not go into the deep stages of sleep, and perhaps this is why the body can't function properly. Imagine how bad you would feel if your sleep didn't make you wake up feeling refreshed, it would make anyone feel like they had been run over by a bus. I don't take painkillers, sleeping tablets or maoi's either, side effects from medication just makes me feel worse so I know I'm not an addict, and until a year ago I had a very active, outdoors life. I'm not depressed, overweight or traumatised either, but I have pain, muscle weakness, and neurological symptoms such as loss of balance, neuropathy, spasms and dizziness (losing the ability to walk and fall over regularly) - if not fibro, then what? I could accept the idea if I had just come off painkillers after an injury, but I haven't. I had an operation ten years ago, so I know about pain and opiate painkillers and their dreadfull side effects, and really have no wish to take any more, surely fibro would have manifested itself then and not now if I was a prescription pill addict? but all I have taken since then is an allergy pill.
I agree with Matthew, and I happen to like his sense of humor and general 'no-bullshit' outlook.
I think there's a ton of miscommunication going on here.
I read most of the posts, and I'd like to break down the offended people into a few categories.
1) The people that Matthew is actually insulting. These are the people that are making shit up for one reason or another, attention, drug addiction to get more pain meds, etc. To those people, you are likely in denial and don't believe you're in this category, or are angry because you know you are and you're being called out. These are the majority of fibromyalgia cases, because like it or not - it is the perfect disease for freeloaders, drug addicts, or anyone else wanting to fake a disease that gets them what they want (ie drugs, disability check, etc). These people disgust me, too.
2) People that may have psychological issues that have manifested themselves physically. The idea of this seems to greatly offend people on average, no one seems to want to believe that they could be fucked up in the head. Get angry at the idea all you want, but it's absolutely true that this will apply to some people, whether or not you believe it is you. Matthew isn't claiming authority on this subject, it's just a simple fact backed by statistics, this DOES happen. There's no reason to get angry at him stating this fact, any issues you have with facing it aren't his fault. He is not trying to classify anyone into this category, he is merely suggesting that people consider it, because the denial rate for it is quite high. If the mere suggestion of this offends you, then maybe you should reflect on why that is.
3) People that have physical problems that doctor's can't figure out, so they misdiagnose them with Fibromyalgia. These people get offended because they think Matthew is saying that they aren't sick and that there is nothing wrong with them, because they are so emotionally distraught over their maladies that they are failing to read his simple words. He is not saying that there's nothing wrong with you, he's not saying that your symptoms are all in your head, he's not saying that your symptoms are anything other than what you say they are - he's saying that he DISAGREES WITH THE DIAGNOSIS. He is simply stating that the healthcare industry in this country is shit. It's full of shitty doctors, money grubbing pharmaceutical companies, etc. If you want to believe that this disease exists, a disease that has no legit diagnosis or cure, then that's fine; it's a defeatist attitude, but that's your choice. You shouldn't be offended at Matthew though, he's saying that he thinks you deserve more from the medical community, he's on your side - believe it or not. He isn't discrediting your suffering, he's discrediting the medical community for being lazy and not trying to find the true cause of your suffering.
Bottom line, if you aren't a hypochondriac, freeloader, or pain pill addict, then there's really no reason you should be offended at Matthew. He is saying that he believes in your suffering 100%, he's not telling you that it's in your head, he's not telling you that you're just crazy and need to see a shrink (just that you shouldn't discount it entirely!). He simply believes that the diagnosis is bullshit. He is not saying that your suffering is bullshit. Let me try wording it another way for those that still aren't getting it: If you had cancer and the first doctor you went to told you that you had "one eyed one horned flying purple people eater" disease - that is a diagnosis. Matthew thinks these doctors made up some shit to hide the fact that they don't know what is wrong with you. You should want to believe Matthews opinion, because it leaves hope that one day they figure it out, and figure out a treatment (or maybe even a cure!) that works.
My chiropractor said that doctors came up with the name fibromyalgia to explain away pain that they couldn't treat, so that they can give you medicine for it. Chiropractors on the other hand, correct the skeletal muscular cause of your pain. For example, a joint out of place can place pressure on your brain, as all of the nerves run up the spine.
All of the people you described in your post would have had chronic skeletal pain: spinal fusions, for example, never stop hurting, as the spine is a delicate system with more moving parts than you could possibly imagine. If you know anyone with this condition, please be considerate of their grumpiness: chronic pain causes people to be a bit grumpy. While fibromyalgia is a dummy condition, the pain is not, and people in this case should go to a real spine doctor, a CBP/Pettibon chiropractor, or a Palmer graduate, to correct the cause of their discomfort without medication, before it causes other health problems.
My cousin, THE FORMER CHIROPRACTOR, once told me the entire profession is largely made up of bullshitters who plunked for a degree in Chiropracty (is that even a word?) because it was the quickest way for complete nerds to put "Doctor" in front of their name, and thus attract hot chicks.
Himself included.
He's now a CPA.
Chiropractors are no better than acupuncturists, yoga instructors, or faith healers. Most of what they do is largely temporary and potentially dangerous.
However, they're cheaper than orthopedic doctors and so insurance companies love and swear by them.
Matthew, i think you are absolutely correct in your overall assessment of FM. However, your insulting tone to the gays does not promote credibility. Having worked in the insurance claims industry for over 20 years, I have seen many FM claims. I can assure every reader here that I have NEVER seen a FM claimant that was not mentally defective. Every FM claimant has an odd history of one or more of the following: depression, obesity, multiple failed marriages, pre-existing conditions for current claims, drug abuse (including pill seekers who deny drug addictions), employment-related problems, symptom exaggeration, malingering, etc. The typical profile is a female, mid 40's, unmarried, and overweight. I have never seen a FM claimant that is married, employed, and otherwise a normal functioning individual. I stumbled upon this blog while researching a medical condition on a current claimant who has been to the emergency room over 100 times in the past 3 years (another nut case).
I enjoy being able to help injured people get back on their feet. That's why I'm still at it. Matt is correct in his assessment of FM and I admire his frankness. He is correct in his assessment of the strain these nuts are putting on the insurance industry and the government.
I don't know what the answer is, but from my viewpoint, FM is, indeed, total BS.
My "insulting tone towards gays" does not "undermine my credibility" ( I don't care if anyone is gay, as I stated in the post, and quite frankly, don't dislike anyone because they happen to be gay. Don't be so sensitive).
The idea that because you don't like the way something -- that you might actually agree with, and accept as irrefutable truth -- was said, it renders the main point inoperative, is an extremely childish idea.
It's a result, I reckon, of the modern culture where we have to be careful about what we say in order to avoid giving offense. Fortunately, I don't give a fuck about giving offense. Especially when it's intended as humor.
It's not my fault if some people don't get my brands of sarcasm and humor.
Hell, check back in the comments to this post: there was a gay guy who wanted to propose marriage to me! He, at least, got it.
It's not your job to be offended on other people's behalf. Somehow modern folks believe it is (mostly for appearances sake, I'd say), another symptom of the complete stupidity of the mass of humanity.
A "medical professional" huh? I think you mean "something much less educated than a physician or nurse so I don't want to disclose my job title because it would lend me zero credibility"
you know, whether the pain stems from psychological damage or neurological, pain is pain, and it is felt, which means it is there no matter how it "manifested" itself.
I cannot believe some of the ignorance in these posts, Fibromyalgia is a real and serious condition. I am a 19 year old girl who never had serious trauma life. I grew up in a middle class family and never had any sort of drug addiction. I did, however, briefly have an eating disorder (not so uncommon among female track runners) that depleted some of my adrenal energy storage, an outcome shared by those undergoing mental and physical maladies. In other words, people will mental or physical illness are indeed more likely to get Fibromyalgia, but because FM occurs in those with adrenal fatigue, not because it is psychosomatic. I take no pain killers and try to deal with my pain through meditation and yoga. However, I am starting to lose the ability to keep up at college and cope with my pain. I also seem to be losing all remnants of a working memory.
Eating disorders usually suggest serious mental health issues, stemming from lack of self-esteem (which always relate back to some form of trauma. It doesn't have to be physical).
Your adrenal issue is a result of your eating disorder: not fibromyalgia. You don't get proper nutrition and your body starts eating itself, resulting in all sort of long-term (often permanent) conditions.
I am going to assume that you no longer have an eating disorder, and furthermore, assume you got some psychological help for it, but may have ended treatment too soon.
Because now you obviously have another mental disorder, this one related to anxiety and depression, only someone chose to call it "fibromyalgia" instead of telling you "go back to the couch, Darlin'".
Wish you luck with a more committed therapist.
You're a stupid, sick, disgusting, ignorant piece of shit.
I am most concerned about people who have no other diagnosis. I'm not saying your symptoms are not real, but isn't it worth looking into why so many think this is fake?
So eloquent, pmcollectorboy.
You must have been the smartest kid in the (special ed) class.
80 yrs old and you want her to act and feel like 40. What an ass of a son you are.
What a bunch of ignorant twats. You are talking about something you're terribly ignorant of.
First off, I don't believe in fibromyalgia either. I believe it's a blanket diagnosis doctors give when they don't know what the source of pain is. That being said, from my research and experience, many of the people diagnosed with it ARE in pain. Then there are the ones with some sort of somatic disorder which give the rest of us a bad name. I have learned from research and experience that after an injury, the nervous system can become damaged and unable to "forget" the trauma to the body. The body keeps sending out pain signals in spite of the fact that the source of pain is gone. It's a form of nerve damage This is where drugs like Lyrica come in. It is not a psychiatric drug. It is for seizures and neuropathic pain, which is NOT in one's head. It helps to dull the pain by keeping those nerves from firing pain signals.
My pain began years before I was ever prescribed pain medication. I suffered an injury which never got the proper medical attention. And twenty years later I still live with pain. I have never been diagnosed with any psychiatric disorder.
Your theories are not based on anything concrete. They're nothing but spurious correlations. And if you lived with my pain you'd shut your ignorant mouth very fast. You've admitted you've no medical training. It's also very apparent from reading this that you've no knowledge of things medical or pharmaceutical. You're nothing but a spoiled brat.
Karma will get all you mean and nasty ppl ...you need to repent ,or you'll be going to he'll for sure. You're to be of service to those who are in need ....the Lord judge's by action not by wealth or who has the ist money or fame....So think before you speak.Bless those who are suffering.
You don't have to tell me about chronic illnesses: I survived the "Sept 11th attacks on New York, and suffer from recurring anxiety issues, depression, inexplicable skin rashes and pains, and one of these days I just know I'm going to hear words like "sarcoidosis", "cancer", and worse, because I spent 18 months exposed to smoke, dust, pulverized glass and concrete, and about 25,000 other known toxins in post-9/11 air, water and residues."
I am not a doctor, but all your symptoms are bullshit.
See how that works?
You've just got arsehole syndrome rabbiting on about something you have no fucking idea about and not experienced. I normally do not wish bad things on people but from time to time you come across a person such as yourself and think, I hope you get fibromyalgia right up your arsehole.
I got this shit about 8 years ago myself, I'm male, not a whinger and always worked my entire life quite often when I have been sick. I walk around and act like I am fine, not groaning about the chronic pain I am in, fucked up vision, mostly because assholes like yourself have a shitty attitude towards people who look generally okay on the outside.
Yeah forget the physical symptoms we have, dry, flaky sore skin on the eye lids and scalp for example that crops up time to time, I guess I am just imaging that hey? My friends family and doctor must be hallucinating when they see it. I guess when I start to ache more days before it begins to rain that is not fibro, that's me being psychic.
Like any disease fuckers out there will fake it, sure, I've seen people go Oh I am tired, it's fibro. Just because you're dating some stupid drug addict and cannot deal with it don;t put it on everyone else.
I mean by your logic because a few people get addicted to pain killers and fake now fixed backpain to get their fix, sciatica aetc does not exist for others.
You're an ignorant tool bag, unhappy with your GF so you condemn many. Bravo, how fucking brave you are (then proceed to bitch about your own health issues like a fucking hypocrite)
Until you've lived with this shit yourself or have a degree in medicine you should shut the fuck up about it.
Bad enough cunts like you put us down, let alone being a male with it when it is largely a female disease, and much harder to be diagnosed with it as the tests that do exist are mostly based on women who respond differently to men.
Get that chip off your shoulder and maybe try being a decent human being, it's clear you're bitter and miserable in life, if you need to bash strangers on the net to get it out of your system I pity you I really really do.
To The last Anonymous Reply:
My, the intelligence on display is astonishing.
Save your pity....you'll be needing it after everyone else's for you runs out, because you bathe in it.
In some of the earlier comments, some asshole outed a fibrofakey-o "sufferer" by name, and made a great deal of noise about him/her that seemed rather personal.
We do not condone that kind of thing here at the Asylum: if you have an ax to grind with this person (what's the matter he/she wouldn't blow you?), take it someplace else.
Your comments were deleted for this reason.
Lyrical is a placebo....
Lyrica* I apologize for my typo.
All the people who have attacked Matt have just gone and proved his point. My roommates girlfriend has FM and is extremely narcissistic, has depression and supposed past trauma and is addicted to weed. Literally every morning I hear them wake up and hear her moan about some phantom pain and then they go smoke and skip class or work. I've seen her start to have "symptoms" more when me and my other roommate decided we would just ignore her cries for attention. When she first told me she had Fibro I was skeptical but I accepted it because I really had no idea what it was. After seeing her pathetic attempts at faking symptoms I really have come to believe that she's just batshit insane and instead of getting mental help she is avoiding it by sulking and using fibro to justify the fact that she's addicted to weed. Oh did I also mention that according to her weed is "good" for you. I can't believe people this dim exist.
First of all, respect is earned. This fibro shit is the new diagnosis for anyone who torrents their doctor(s) until they're given a diagnosis when medically there is clearly nothing wrong with them. It's the new pacifier & it's sickening how many people are given this diagnosis. They should be sent to a shrink before this fake diagnosis is given, which is only given by their doctor(s) to shut them up & make their crazy assess go away.
Thanks so much for your posts! Everything that you're saying here is 100% true. I work with a woman that "has fibromyalgia" and I believe she has this "crippling disease" because her husband has MS and gets all the attention so she had to find something that she has (after going to 50 doctors and no diagnosis) to prove that she was just as sick if not sicker than he was. So now she is excused from a lot of the work she's responsible for because she's "too sick," therefore, the rest of us are expected to do her work for her and treat her like a porcelain doll or she'll cry and then we get in trouble. She's tried to go on disability numerous times but, imagine that, she's been turned down every time! It's all a load of crap!
Thank you! Finally a voice of reason! EVERYONE has pan in life. Do something constructive to fix it & stop whining that "It's not fair" or 'why me?"
why would you want to fight someone for calling you an asshole. Sticks and stones may break my bones...and all that...but you clearly are an asshole.
23 yo female = liar ...every time
Even though i'm like 3 years late with reading this, i loved it! My mom was supposedly "diagnosed" with Fibro.. thankfully my dad is smart enough to know what's real and whats in your head. instead of taking lot's of crazy people pills, my mom went to a psychiatrist. guess what.. her fibro just "magically" disappeared.
Like so many things, this illness is all in people's heads, and unless you believe that, you will never be "cured".
There are many diseases that either don't have the perfect diagnosis, treatments or have mixed symbols with other diseases. Like migraines, HIV and even cancer sometimes. It doesn't make them fake, or does it?
And I see no doctor's comment anywhere on this or any other blog or Internet or in person to be agreeing to your opinions.
Plus, everything you believe to be true or false, doesn't have to be that way..
I am sorry for you, but the world doesn't run on your opinions and a "seven persons you know sample set study".
Besides,
I would just say one thing for this blog... The perfect name you chose for your blog..
it is a Lunatic'S blog!
Go back and read the comments, Sehrish: several doctors and other medical professionals have commented, and agreed with me.
I have also posted links to the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins medical Center, and other top-notch medical research facilities in this country who also,largely, agree.
One other point:
There was ALSO a link to an article written by...THE DOCTOR WHO "DISCOVERED" FIBROMYALGIA, who has finally decided the time was right to tell everyone that he was wrong about the whole thing.
I never claimed the world ran on my opinions and a sample set of seven people. You have inferred that I have, probably because you don't read very well or have developed the modern habit of self-interpreting what you read according to your own feelings (or worse, by attempting to deconstruct what's written without context) and not by what is written on the page.
I believe there has now been proof that fibromyalgia is not only an autoimmune disease, but a neurological one also. the fact that millions have been spent on research and medical facilities would suggest there's got to be something more than laziness and pain Ior all being in someone's head, symptoms are vast and way more that anybody has seemed to grasp on this thread. I know that I have had nothing show regarding inflammation in blood work yet doctors examine them and my muscles are incredibly raised and tender. I agree it seems to be something that everybody seems to be diagnosed with recently though. And easily faked if so desired. There are other diseases that also are diagnosed by various means and some that are diagnosed after receiving no definitive answer but still given, such as MS, even if mri scans and lumbar punctures say nothing is wrong. In fact the symptoms of CFS/ME/MS/lupus and fibromyalgia are all extremely similar. I work full time, have a onc, hnc. Degree, masters, and now a pgce, I have two young children, a house to run, claim no benefits, don't take any prescription medication, regularly exercise and eat well. To tar everyone diagnosed with the same brush is very small minded, not everyone is trying to milk the system, craves attention or is just fat and lazy!
Pishflaps
Demand an Ultrasound of your thyroid, then sputum culture or bronchioscopy, look up infectious thyroiditis, pathogens may be causing the majority of chronic illness, the golden goose of healthcare professional losers, if your diagnosis is psychosomatic they can bill the federal gov. your tax dollars directly $$ Insurance companies love the Medicare Advantage Program aka Medicaid Part C "Medicare+Choice,". call your congressmen and senators, if not get ready for a US version of the German T4, Doctors make sadists look like saints billing over 150 billion a year to Part C to put there boot up ur, ur families, neighbors etc.. and laugh. Md. in developed European Countries can make as little as $56,000 Internal Med. why do you think mds in the US are making so much more. Also look up "The Death of Rebecca Riley" Harvard’s Joseph Biederman who put pediatric bipolar disorder on the map, didn't show up to court with his lawyer stating "he's a force of nature" things are much worse in the US than u can imagine.
Not all moms are worth something. Just because a woman squirts a baby out of her vagina doesn't make her a saint.
Hi there happy, and not so happy people. My name is Kerry. I was diagnosed at 29 with fibromyalgia, in 1996. There was no reason for the symptoms that have became worse over the years. One day I woke up with what felt like broken arms, then shit got crazy from there. I worked up until I retired in 2008. I retired due to the fact that I could, not because of my whatever the hell it is I have. I am not drug dependant and don't take the crap they try to dish out "for fibromyalgia" as I have a lot of sensitivities to drugs, I have always exercised and do weight bearing exercise (it hurts but it has to be done), I was not overweight when diagnosed (still not), I have a very high pain threshhold (which is opposite to what I have read should be the case), and more importantly, I do not believe in fibromyalgia. I do suffer insomnia, but have done since early childhood. It has taken all these years to come to the conclusion that it is doc speak for we have no idea. I am not a stupid person but I stupidly trusted the rheumatologist, General Practitioner and, Pain Management doctor. I thought it would be a good idea to join fibromyalgia facebook support groups but I realised they nearly all had autoimmune diseases causing their pain, or past injuries, depression and so on (I had to leave the groups as they get so damn negative and wallowed in self pity to the point where I wanted to hit someone). My question is, can anyone give me some ideas on what path to go down to get any diagnosis that could lead to a cure. I do not have depression or anxiety. I told my GP that fibromyalgia is crap and he pretty much laughed at me. However, he is happy to do referrals as I wish. I am in Australia and the doctors here don't believe Lyme Disease is born here. I am going to start with getting tested for that anyway, because, frankly, they are idiots, as there are cases being diagnosed all the time here in people that haven't been overseas. We have an accredited Lyme testing laboratory here that does do the testing (blood, serum, urine and tissue). I want to know if anyone has anything they could suggest to help me find the real cause of my UP (unexplained pain). Any other suggestions I can research apart from Lyme??? Anything that has the same symptoms as those listed with fibromyalgia??? I have a wonderful life otherwise. I am happily married, financially secure and love to travel so I am keen to kick the bitch to the curb. I know you are not a doctor Matthew, I am just trying all avenues to get ideas and came across your blog. Anyone who has previously been misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia could maybe make some suggestions. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Idiot !!!!
I don't know if it's bullshit or not, at least insofar as any given individual is concerned. I can just read and use logic as best I can. Fibromyalgia as I understand it can't be traced to a trauma, infection or any kind of organ/system failure. So it's a disease that comes from nowhere as far as we can tell. Psychosomatic pain feels real to the person suffering. So I'm willing to concede that FM is at the very least, in some people, a constellation of painful symptoms brought on by some kind of mental illness. I'm not a doctor. But it doesn't sound like a disease as I understand the meaning of that word. Just like I don't buy the idea that alcoholism is a disease--and I'm a recovering alcoholic. That doesn't mean it's not a problem; it's just not a disease. I know this guy who basically quit life seven years ago and collects a social security disability check because the physical and psych problems his alcoholism cause him. I think he started out 1/3 full of shit and has convinced himself over time that he really is disabled. Anyway, I digress. I just get very suspicious of people who engage in drug seeking behavior, look for government handouts, and basically expect others to give them a pass on living because of some disease about which the existence of the medical establishment isn't even in consensus. When we get older some of us have more aches and pains than others. Some sleep well at night, others not so well. I have a friend who has FM. She's at least 150 lbs over weight at 5'3". Sorry girlfriend, you don't have FM. Your body is screaming from having to carry around two whole women day in and day out. And she can never have a conversation that goes three minutes without bringing it all back around to her. She was like this in school thirty years ago, and is still the same. Nice woman with many great qualities. But she's a textbook middle child complex pain in the ass who never got enough attention or approval from her father. So now at 55 she has FM. I know, anecdote is not science. I'm just a little unconvinced about the whole thing.
Geez, that's intelligent. Is there anyone out there with any intelligence that could actually help me? It is a genuine question.
My personal thought is that FM is a made up lawyer term to help get clients on permanent disability or money from an insurance company of which the lawyer will get a percentage. If FM is real why didn't it exist a 100 years ago, or 50 years ago? I first heard of it while editing many depositions in lawsuits in the mid 1990's. It came up in about 1 in 3 depositions where People who can't prove anything is wrong with them were looking for free money and getting a doctor to agree.
Another suspicious comment trait among every single fibromyalga case I can find is that they are all sedentary. When someone does not exercise they get the exact same damn symptoms. Muscle aches.. nerve pains.. fatigue.. its all fuckng caused by sedentary lifestyles. So if not exercising is worthy of disability benefits.. I guess being lazy is a physical illness now. You can even look at the official description of what fibromyalgia is and all it basically says is muscle aches that have no physical evidence of a cause.
And hilariously it also has the cheek to say that the exact same symptoms are caused by bad sleep. I'd be willing to bet that at least 70% of sufferers of fibromyalgia are also smokers and that at least 90% of them eat a shitty diet!! I'm sick of hearing about this crap rom my mother who's symptoms change every time she fucking mentions them. Who claims that it all started when she got "hit by a car" though nobody ever saw this accident happen.. she claims it was intentional.. it happened when she was fucking paralytic drunk and the only marks she had on her were scraped knees where she had clearly fucking fell over in her drunken state.
Its a bullshit illness that doctors give out because there are so many lazy fuckers whining about the tiniest amount of pain that they had to give it a medical name!! Even the way of diagnosing it is stupid... they basic touch pressure points and ask you if its tender... of course its going to be fucking tender on a pressure point if you don't exercise!!! Just the idea that so many people are playing this card infuriates me.
Just keep feeding the fire.. the government love this. Its a perfect opportunity to give you drugs that will dumb you down more than you already have been and claim they are helping you!
I am a 43 year old mother of 2 with a wonderful husband. I have no mental issues and I have fibromyalgia. I have not been in an accident, I am not a drug addict, and have never been described as a narcissist. I wake up every day barely being able to get out of bed. I do not have arthritis, but my hands hurt so badly sometimes I cannot make a fist. My knees and arm muscles hurt so badly I sometimes cannot move them without wanting to cry. There are many people diagnosed with Fibromyalgia that do not fit into the ugly little box you describe. I hope karma bites you in the ass and you get a debilitating chronic condition that brings you pain and misery every day.
How do you know you have "no mental issues"? Have you checked? Has anyone (a doctor) ruled out MS, Muscular Dystrophy, any number of muscular or neurological issues that can actually be proven to exist?
If not, then you don't truly "have" Fibromyalgia; you most likely have something that hasn't been screened for and diagnosed.
And if it makes you feel better to wish me harm, Sweetheart, then by all means...It doesn't change anything for anyone. You're still being shortchanged by the medical profession, not me.
Kerry, if you're still out there, I would recommend the following:
1. Get a psych workup. I'm not calling you a psycho, I'm just saying you should investigate the possibility.
2. Get a neurological workup. Make sure you're not struggling with MS or Muscular Dystrophy or any one of a thousand other neurological ailments that can be responsible.
3. Get a full endocrine workup.
4. Exercise more. You don't have to do a full work out, just try to get an extra 20-30 minutes in a day, somehow. If you can walk, then do so, if you can't then try a sitting-type regime that is usually used by the elderly.
5. If you're not taking ibuprofen regularly, try it, per instructions.
6. Stop talking to the "Support Groups"; the Support Groups do not exist to help anyone. They exist to let one bunch of people wallowing in self-pity know that there are other bunches of people wallowing in self-pity, so that they can all wallow in self-pity together, and misinform each other on the latest "medical research" from some guy in his garage. Whoever owns the site and domain name get rich on repeated internet visits, because the Support group becomes as addictive as a drug.
I'm also going to repost the links to the Mayo Clinic and Johns-Hopkins Hospitals, which are two of the best in the United States in my next reply. There's a lot of information in them that you might find useful.
My contention is that the medical profession is making a huge mistake by not treating people with chronic pain issues in a more holistic and human fashion, preferring to prescribe anti-depressants and run expensive tests that are usually (and they often expect them to be) inconclusive.
Kerry, here's some info from earlier in the comments. Hope this helps!
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079
Summary:
* Symptoms typically occur after physical or psychological trauma, surgery, or other, unrelated infection
* Women are 2 times more likely than men to "get" FM
* Many people who "get" Fm are also diagnosed with ANXIETY and DEPRESSION
* Risk factors include Sex (women get it more often than men), Family history of Rheumatoid disease (i.e, arthritis or lupus).
* There is NO SCIENTIFICALLY-RELIABLE TEST to confirm fibromyalgia. Present diagnostic criteria is largely useless (i.e. the 11 out of 18 pressure point test is useless because doctors cannot agree on how much pressure to apply).
* Current medical guidelines indicate Fm under the following (vague) circumstances: any pain that lasts for more than 3 months, and any pain that cannot be tied to rheumatoid disease or other identifiable and scientifically-accepted factor (lupus, MS, etc).
* Current treatment criteria (as per Mayo Clinic) indicates anti-depressants and anti-seizure drugs which simply mask or manage the pain, but which DO NOT CURE IT. Those 'suffering' for FM are also strongly urged to seek psychiatric help to deal with underlying psychological issues.
* Mayo Clinic also recommends the following: yoga, Tai Chi, Accupuncture and massage therapy, in other words, the full range of proven placebo treatments.
* Mayo Clinic also recommends the following lifestyle changes:
Reduce stress
Get more sleep
Exercise (the average FM sufferer is a woman who stands 5' 4" tall, and weighs 180 pounds. Use of anti-depressants often results in additional weight gain, making symptoms worse).
Eat Healthier
So, in other words, the highly-respected Mayo Clinic agrees with about 90% of what I've stated here repeatedly.
One other thing, the asswipe who keep trying to compare PTSD to FM:
Most (better than 90%)people who acquire PTSD are eventually CURED and have not a single symptom after a successful course treatment. In the case of FM, the medical literature is quite clear on this point: the more "treatment" you give to an FM "victim" the sicker they tend to believe they are.
Also for Kerry:
If you don't like the Mayo Clinic, here's what Johns-Hopkins has to say about FM. Summarized:
http://www.hopkinsarthritis.org/arthritis-info/fibromyalgia/
* Symptoms typically occur after physical or psychological trauma. Symptoms are similar to Arthritis, RA, or Lupus.
* Women are 25 time more likely to report FM than men (5% of the female population, as opposed to 0.5% of men).
* Additional causes include: lack of exercise, DEPRESSION and ANXIETY (up to 40% of FM 'victims' have a previously undiagnosed mood disorder), painful menstruation.
* Diagnosis and testing: There is NO MEDICALLY-RELIABLE TEST for FM. There are only tests which indicate the presence/lack of cytokines, hormones or other blood chemicals which are often indicative of another (undiagnosed) illness.
* Current medical guidelines as to diagnosis are too generalized and open to interpretation (again, the 11-out-of-18 and pain for three months stuff).
* Johns Hopkins recommends the following treatment regime:
Anti-inflammatories (i.e ibuprofen), anti-depressants, anti-seizure drugs. These do nothing other than help you manage or mask pain, THEY ARE NOT A CURE.
It is also recommended that patients exercise more, eat better, lose weight, and use 'traditional' stress reduction techniques (i.e. placebo techniques such as accupuncture).
Quote from the entry:
"...given the prevalence of emotional/mood disorders in persons with FM, it is also thought that psycho-behavioral factors may contribute to pathenogenesis and/or individual expression of fibromyalgia."
I googled fibromyalgia bullshit and came across this thread. I have noticed a huge increase in fybromyalgia claims and it cost our government in the uk millions a year in benafit and free mobility cars. And it's all lies.
I rarely comment on shit...and I'm coming at this post LATE! Better late than never. For many years I was struggling crazy pain, like debilitating. I'm a former super athlete, through college, and work in a physically demanding job which requires me to chase and tumble/tussle with people. When I was younger, I attributed the pain to sports, and to work and "getting too old for this shit" as I aged. I've got good insurance though...so I started trying to figure it out. First off, I want to work. Second, I don't want to be a legal dope fiend...cuz well, I couldn't do my job well, and I'd be a fucking big fat hypocrite. The doctor did xrays and some tests. I was immediately offered a HUGE script for high dose Percocet, which I turned down...cuz if I get hurt HURT i need those to work WORK. After a year of dicking around she diagnosed me with fucking fibromyalgia and referred me to fucking pain management. I was livid. I refused to accept the diagnosis. I went to pain mgmt to get full blood work followed by a referral to an immunology clinic...I'm not talking 4 viles of blood. I'm talking probably 25. I did throw an adult temper tantrum, which offended several fibro patients...sorry, not sorry. I don't believe it's real. It turned out i have advanced rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, serious autoimmune diseases...and two other minor autoimmune diseases...which untreated could seriously shorten my life...by decades. So, serious diseases, found through blood work...both of which are found by way of more than one blood test (RA, my most serious disease, can be found by 6 different blood tests, and i was + for all 6), was overlooked, not tested even tested for when I reported having every single symptom of the disease? The only symptoms of fibro i had were fatigue and pain...albeit my pain is in my joints, which were actually being further destroyed while my doctor fucked around and diagnosed me with fibro. The crazy shit is...some people want fibro so they can get disability and narcotics. Sine people just want to know what the fuck they have, so they can work, support themselves, end up in a wheelchair and not fucking due before their kids are out of high school. Doctors owe it to us to test us extensively. I don't think fibromyalgia is a thing. It's a cop out. Once you find out what's really going on, prescribe all the legal dope you want, God knows people in my boat definitely need it. I'm just toughing it out because I figure there are enough dings working against my internal organs...and really my former doctor really should be sued, but I'm too fucking exhausted, lazy, unmotivated, and busy trying to be ok. Thanks for listening.
Great post.
I rarely comment on shit...and I'm coming at this post LATE! Better late than never. For many years I was struggling crazy pain, like debilitating. I'm a former super athlete, through college, and work in a physically demanding job which requires me to chase and tumble/tussle with people. When I was younger, I attributed the pain to sports, and to work and "getting too old for this shit" as I aged. I've got good insurance though...so I started trying to figure it out. First off, I want to work. Second, I don't want to be a legal dope fiend...cuz well, I couldn't do my job well, and I'd be a fucking big fat hypocrite. The doctor did xrays and some tests. I was immediately offered a HUGE script for high dose Percocet, which I turned down...cuz if I get hurt HURT i need those to work WORK. After a year of dicking around she diagnosed me with fucking fibromyalgia and referred me to fucking pain management. I was livid. I refused to accept the diagnosis. I went to pain mgmt to get full blood work followed by a referral to an immunology clinic...I'm not talking 4 viles of blood. I'm talking probably 25. I did throw an adult temper tantrum, which offended several fibro patients...sorry, not sorry. I don't believe it's real. It turned out i have advanced rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, serious autoimmune diseases...and two other minor autoimmune diseases...which untreated could seriously shorten my life...by decades. So, serious diseases, found through blood work...both of which are found by way of more than one blood test (RA, my most serious disease, can be found by 6 different blood tests, and i was + for all 6), was overlooked, not tested even tested for when I reported having every single symptom of the disease? The only symptoms of fibro i had were fatigue and pain...albeit my pain is in my joints, which were actually being further destroyed while my doctor fucked around and diagnosed me with fibro. The crazy shit is...some people want fibro so they can get disability and narcotics. Sine people just want to know what the fuck they have, so they can work, support themselves, end up in a wheelchair and not fucking due before their kids are out of high school. Doctors owe it to us to test us extensively. I don't think fibromyalgia is a thing. It's a cop out. Once you find out what's really going on, prescribe all the legal dope you want, God knows people in my boat definitely need it. I'm just toughing it out because I figure there are enough dings working against my internal organs...and really my former doctor really should be sued, but I'm too fucking exhausted, lazy, unmotivated, and busy trying to be ok. Thanks for listening.
Great post.
23 yr old you state you have neve taken a pain killer. lyrica is a painkiller....and an addictive one at that. Fibromyalgia is the new Autism spectrum disorder of the medical world. Ues there are a very few that actually have the issue and the very many of the population that are being treated for it. As a nurse I tell you that no one under 50, with an average medical history in childhood, should really have much of a need for long term pain management.
Lyrica is an anti-convulsant which is often prescribed to patients with epilepsy, depression/anxiety disorders, or people who have suffered a bout with (identified) neuropathic concerns -- like some symptoms of diabetes -- or which are related to the herpes virus that causes shingles.
It is NOT a painkiller. It is an anti-seizure drug and is used most often as an anti-depressant, though it was never developed as such. This is not uncommon; some medicines are found to have incidental benefits (depending on who you speak to) they were never intended to have.
For example, Viagra was developed to treat certain aspects of heart disease, and it turned out to be a great way to get a boner on demand, or like rogaine (Minoxodil), which was also developed as a heart drug and turned out to be a nice way to sorta-kinda treat advanced male pattern baldness (you vain bastards).
In any other time except our own, the ability to pop a boner on a schedule or grow hair while treating your bum ticker would have been simply "side effects"; instead, the side-effects become a rationale for re-purposing a drug.
That the drug may cause additional side effects in patients who are taking them (strictly) for the supposed benefit of the original side effect, and not for what the drug was intended for originally, seems to be (not much of) an afterthought.
As a result, people wind up taking the original drug for something it was not intended to treat, and then when more side effects crop up, they're prescribed additional meds to address the unintended side effects. It's why many senior citizens in this country take $400/month worth of prescription meds to address what were, on the whole, very minor medical issues made worse by prescribing medicines without regards to the additional, unintended side effects while hoping to take advantage of the incidental side effects of the original drug.
This is poor medicine.
Ya, I get it. I was diagnosed with fibro in 2006. I live in a large university city with top doctors. I was like what do you mean. I hve numb fingers, weak arms, crazy pain that shows up in all areas of my body at different times. I knew nothing of this fibro. I wanted a nice pill and make it all better. I was only 29. I had no accident and only drank alcohol. But, I will admit to having been wasted a few times. But, I do know I don't handle stress well and it has a huge affect on my body. My doctor would never prescribe pain killers. She told me there is no cure. The only way to help yourself is a lifestyle change. I did see a psychotherapist teamed with a psyciatrist. I really did want to get better. I head read abt possible phycosomatic connection. After 6 months they felt as my doctor that i truly had fibro. So, Feeling sorry for myself and that the world is against me doesn't help. Why does anyone need to know? In these past years I hve seen a rise in diagnoses too. And to the point I hve begun to question my own diagnosis. Yet, I know what I go thru. But, I will say I hve some really good weeks. But, man person after person goes on and on abt this and that and they hve fibro. Many people sound like Wikipedia. Don't you feel like when more than one fibro diagnosee gets together they seem to try to out do each other with suffering? Since, when do people want to be sick and make that a fun night with friends conversation? Its stupid. And I found this blog by simply googling "fibromyalgia in bullshit". Such an oxymoron for me
Hey, I get it. I am one of the special to get this unknown thing fibro in 2006. Ok, great so help me. Right? That's what I'm thinking. Well, the thing is lifestyle change. Ok, I was trying to wrap my mind around that. Thirty year old 5"3 127lbs. Rollerblader.. What am i doing wrong. I could see my career field and the amount of stress. But, then lets do an MRI. So,i get one done. I'm told I hve a very small lesion. Scary. No more tests are needed for now I have fibro. I hve had no trauma but an alcoholic father. I hve seen all types of therapist to help myself of that damage or at least aware of it and how to deal with it. So, I can't see that being a source. I live in a very progressive university city no pain killers were ever prescribed. I was given the lets see if fibro patients will take it Lyrica. Wonderful stuff it made me hallucinate. The thing is why does this i diagnoses hve to be everyone business? What is the need to defend it. We are told stress is a major trigger. Isn't the idea to feel better. Not convince someone you're sick? Just like every one in our country we're allowed to hve our opinions. Like you admit in the beginning neurology is vast and much is unknown. If fibro is truly nerve pain much more needs to be studied of actual suffers. The key being actual. My view fibromyalgia is bullshit is because its dosed out like candy and ruining any real chance to be reliably studied. I mean during therapy I would hve loved to be told I was psychosomatic. That can be worked with. Get real people.
Hey, I have a question. Isn't fibromyalgia considered a disorder?
Depends on who you talk to, Sarie.
(Some) Neurologists say "yes", but then again, they would. When all you have in your toolbox is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Many also say "no".
There is a great deal of uncertainty in the medical profession concerning this...whatever it is.
If you ask the mental health people they say it's a mental health issue, and so far, most of the research says they might be closer to the truth than anyone else.
The problem in defining WHAT it is stems from the simple fact that the symptoms are common to literally hundreds of other diseases, disorders, malapropisms, palindromes, elephants, whatever. It's not so much a syndrome or a disorder as a jumble of symptoms that may have other explanations....provided someone takes the time and makes the effort to do so.
Hi i have fibromyalgia i do not take any fancy pills...i work in the cold old day in a meat plant i don't i agree with my doctor when he told me that I have fibromyalgia believe me is painful but i just deal with it until I finally find something to get better. ..but anyways in the mean time i still looking for answers because like you said i think this days doctors are fricking lazy. ....and they just want money and more money. ....I'm just want to feel good. ..is if mentally or whatever it is I'm fjust want to be energetic again with out pain. ..
I agree with you 100% my foctor told me that I have fibromyalgia i refuse to believe that shit because i want fucking answers my pain is bad and im not taking nothing I'm just dealing with it. ..i think doctors are lazy
Boy i agree with you on everything my doctor told me that I have fabromyalgia and i refuse to take the pills and everything i thing she is lazy ...my pain is no joke maybe even mentally like you said but is not fricking way that my body hurts this much for nothing. ..i just deal with the pain i work in a meat plant 30° all year long is sucks and painful but is nothing I can do. ..
Wow physicians and nurses who have posted here have shamefully just added more hurt to those who suffer from this condition. Calling it BS is easy when you do not have these symptoms. However, when you wake up and have these symptoms from hell and on top of it realize you can not talk to any one about it because people like you will only make the person feel worse. I do not take pain medications, I do not seek attention, and I am a Health Professional.
To hear health professional talk about patient who have these symptoms with such disdain is truly sad and probably why I suffered so long in not seeking help.
Bottom line I would hate to come across any of the Doctors or Nurses who posted here because its obvious they will not give a crap about me or any one with my symptoms.
That is why I keep this to my self and cope best I can suffering through my physical pain. and symptoms and not share with anyone who is not a trusted friend.
Health Professional should not assume stuff or make judgments based on ER experiences. In poor communities drug seekers may exist but there are also real human being who are suffering who you just call psycho because you can not take the time to be better providers. Just because not all medical conditions are quick fixes or not visible like a broken leg for instance does not make them less real. Also, if a person is not a beauty queen or is older and have these symptoms does not make them crazy either (that was another disgusting post that was made here in reference to older women) . I am glad to be attractive, a health professional, non drug seeker, hard worker and still got these symptoms. Unfortunately medicine is not an exact science and people who wrote derogatory statements here about people who have these symptoms simple have been lucky enough to not face the challenge themselves. However, for those of you who found this post seeking information about your symptoms do not let the bad humans beings who want to call you crazy discourage you. Any set of symptoms need to be called something so you can name it and discuss it. So ridiculous that your going to call it Bull Shit just because Doctors have not done the research to discover its cause.
Just because you have discovered the cause of a problem does not mean it does not exist.
Any way I wrote this post for someone who may stumble upon this and realize they are not alone and ignore the mean people who don't have it because every one a critic until it happens to them.
Also choose your Health professional carefully because as you can see from the post there are a lot of them out there who should never entered the health field at all.
PS:
Just of note ....if a person feel pain every day , can not talk to any one about there symptoms because people like you are going to call them nuts, if you have to suffer in silence and there is no cure ....................then at some point depending on your coping skills your going to get anxious or even depressed if you allow blogs like this to destroy your confidence of what you feel or are experiencing .........
A woman I used to work with used every un-diagnosable illness on the book so she could take every summer and christmas off without a thought to the people who would have to cover her(and when I say christmas I mean christmas day and new years) she used everything from back pain to depression to ME untill she was informed that this was medicaly diagnosable using blood tests. Then just like the rest of the conditions she googled she found FM. She managed to fleece the company of thousands and overwork our entire team by either not turning up, turning up whenevee she damned well pleased or just sat around doing fuck all because of her "condition" I know from first hand this is a bullshit "illness" and everyone who claims to have ot are lazy sons of rabid bitches who just think the world owes them a lifestyle!!!
I alway thought the drug companies invented Fibromyalgia so they could claim their drug worked on something.
Florence Nightingale had fibro. In her day it was called fibrositis. The last four months of her life she was bedridden with the pain. I expect you'll say that she was lying too because it seems to me that you think that you are the only person who can have a health problem. One other thing, why do you feel the need to swear? I don't expect or really need a reply from you,
I know a woman that was a cop,, but claimed she had this problem,, till finally they retired her with a pension!
Funny how she could come to our riding facility and ride her horse everyday without any pain! she would also clean stalls and sweep the barn out everyday!
I would love to have her life! lol
Only an American could be so stupid.
The body and the mind are not separate. All disease is caused by stress. Both "physical" and "emotional" stresses strain the body, release chemical reactions that can cause further symptoms and damage, and create chain reactions of the body and brain systems.
The brain is a body part. The skeletal, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular, endochrin and reproductive systems do not work independently but together.
Thoughts and emotions are a part of us as well. They affect and are affected by all of those systems. Both physical and mental responses are guided by chemichals such as hormones and neurotransmitters. Nothing is ever "all in your head" of "all in your body."
As I said, you're brain... It's a part of your body. And if you *think* you're in pain, you are in pain. If you're lying, that's a completely different thing. And the ability to fake something does not disprove it's existance.
Your thoughts are interesting, and some of them may even be worth exploring, but you're belief that the opinions are medically valid is delusional.
International conference on Fibromyalgia and
Chronic Pain, will be organized around the theme “Recent trends, advancements and discoveries on Fibromyalgia and Chronic pain”
Fibromyalgia 2016 is comprised of 12 tracks and 109 sessions designed to offer comprehensive sessions that address current issues in Fibromyalgia 2016.
Submit your abstract to any of the mentioned tracks. All related abstracts are accepted.
Register now for the conference by choosing an appropriate package suitable to you.
"Register now for the conference by choosing an appropriate package suitable to you."
You mean PAY to attend a conference on a fake "disease"?
I am an Icu nurse at a level one trauma center and every doc I work with thinks fibromyalgia is bullshit but are too afraid to say it. Anytime a FM patient comes in they ALWAYS have other comorbid psych issues like bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety and they always have 8 million allergies, to things like potassium which as you may know you can't be allergic to since you need potassium for your heart to beat or you will die. After ten years in the field I'm 100% convinced FM is a psych disorder because the patients who present with it are NEVER normal in any sense of the word. Fm has become a code word for drug-seeking and attention seeking behavior in most hospitals I've worked at. "Why is that patient on the call light every five minutes" " It's a FM patient" " Say no more"
My adopted cousin suddenly has FM. She was molested and had a messed up childhood. When she was a teenager/ early 20s she started acting out and now in her 30s she's claiming FM. I think it's a coping mechanism for people who have had some serious trauma in their lives, maybe similar to a post traumatic stress disorder. But it's definitely all in their heads. There's no question about it.
I am an Icu nurse at a level one trauma center and every doc I work with thinks fibromyalgia is bullshit but are too afraid to say it. Anytime a FM patient comes in they ALWAYS have other comorbid psych issues like bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety and they always have 8 million allergies, to things like potassium which as you may know you can't be allergic to since you need potassium for your heart to beat or you will die. After ten years in the field I'm 100% convinced FM is a psych disorder because the patients who present with it are NEVER normal in any sense of the word. Fm has become a code word for drug-seeking and attention seeking behavior in most hospitals I've worked at. "Why is that patient on the call light every five minutes" " It's a FM patient" " Say no more"
My adopted cousin suddenly has FM. She was molested and had a messed up childhood. When she was a teenager/ early 20s she started acting out and now in her 30s she's claiming FM. I think it's a coping mechanism for people who have had some serious trauma in their lives, maybe similar to a post traumatic stress disorder. But it's definitely all in their heads. There's no question about it.
I never recommend fibromyalgia patients for any biomechanical therapies. Natural herbs and supplements are enough to treat this. It can be cured with some herbal alternatives and proper Light, relaxing exercises
Anyone that states fibromyalgia has psychological issues and are junky's
For all those people who think that those with fibro are faking the pain they are dead wrong. First off just because you met a couple people with fibro that had injuries and were prescribed a bunch of meds doesnt give you the right to say that they all are nut cases that are faking the pain. I dont understand how you can have that opinion like that based off of a couple people you met and things that you have read. To me you seem like a complete douche. Ive had terrible aches and pains and brain fog and depression and ive vomited about a thousand times, ive had headaches and a bunch of other stuff . I went to the rheumatologist and she thought it was fibro so she put me on meds. The meds didnt help so we did more testing and it was found that certain enzymes in my body werent working as well as fructose intolerance and various allergies. I also had an extremely high ANA test. Im a teenager still in high school and have been through hell when it comes to my health. ive been so sick i couldn't leave my bed for days , throwing up twenty times a day isnt fun. Having my whole body hurt like that wasnt fun . I had to quit my favorite sport of soccer because physically i couldn't take it. So for me i didnt have fibro but i did have something, so my pain was real. It hurts when people say youre a wacko or its all in you're head. And other people out there like me have pain like that and maybe its not fibro but the pain people have is real and you have to be sensitive to that, otherwise you are just a brain dead douche. A couple months back if i told you That i had fibro and you told me i wasnt in any pain for that i needed to go see a therapist for mommy issues like you have said then when it was discovered after certain tests that i had something else then you would be a complete jerk Matthew for sayin That. Instead of hating on people that say they are in pain you could believe that they are in pain, respectively say that you dont believe tha t fibro exists but you think that there is another problem . It could be one of a million different things that are wrong. And the most important thing is that people feel healthy. Sure some people are attention seekers but most arent and you have no right to judge people who are indeed in pain.
I like what you're saying.
I am a 26 year old male with a psychosomatic disorder. I ask my Dr about Fibro and they instantly cut me off and say "NO". Which is brilliant because I don't want to be labelled with this supposedly incurable/unknown illness which has been given a name through undiagnosed and countless test after test after test. Why would you want something that is unknown and having a Doctor saying they have ran out of ideas how to help you?
I have a psychosomatic disorder, I can had a car accident at 23 and it got worse from there. My problems didn't actually start until 6 months after, which goes perfectly after trial and error of prescription after prescription.
1st Doctor said it all in my head (which is ridiculous way to break the news of a physiological problem) then I had a traumatic fall, and guess what, I got worse. So I had trauma added to more trauma. Now I can barely walk due to fear, but I am getting better since switching doctors. My new Doctor has sent me to a physiologist and the fist thing he said was that fibromyalgia is a name given an illness which is undiagnosed.
Where would anyone get the idea that you hate "poo-stabbing" "Butt Pirate" "faggots"?
There are far more straight people than gay people in the world, and many of them also have buttsex, so in fact there are more straight "poo stabbing" " butt pirates" than gay ones, so your lame, schoolyard homophobic insults have zero comedic value.
nice try though!
None of you have done any lengthy research now are doctors. They learn more about fibromyalgia everyday. There is a link with anxiety and depression but why would that make the pain any less painful? It's because of the stigma around mental illness that most people still have. That "depression" is all in your head , you can snap out of it whenever you want. As if it's your fault. As if you CHOOSE to be depressed or have anxiety. Guess what. ALL pain is in your head. It is merely a signal in your brain. Would you tell a cancer patient that their pain isn't real, to get over it? No because the cancer is not their fault. Everyone acts like fibromyalgia is some how a choice. That is nuts. And also there are plenty of other diseases or injuries people fake to get pain killers. That doesn't make them any less real. Let's try I educate ourselves before we judge.
And the more they learn, Melody, the more they re-iterate: it's looking more and more like a series of mental disorders.
Once again, no one said anyone's pain wasn't REAL, just that the medical profession is giving patients the short end of the stick by pushing pills, running inconclusive tests, etc., when they ALREADY KNOW that the main factor in the majority of cases, at least, is psychological.
I'm going to assume -- because it seems I'd be right -- that you haven't read the lengthy give-and-take in this comments section in which it has already been established (with factual evidence, complete with links) that, in no particular order:
a. The best medical minds in America all say that mental illness is the single biggest contributing factor to a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, followed by UNDIAGNOSED rheumatoid and addiction issues. Translation: you don't have something called "fibromyalgia", but have a (usually) treatable mental condition or addiction that directs money into someone else's pockets.
b. The doctor who coined the word "fibromyalgia" and who is credited with "discovering it" took it all back 10 years later. He says it doesn't exist as an actual disease. Neither does John's Hopkins or the Mayo Clinic. You can check CDC, The Lancet, Journal of American Medicine, etc, etc, and they will all say the same things.
c. The word fibromyalgia is a catch-all; it does not describe a condition or affliciton, just a collection of symptoms that may have other causes.
d. Several medical professionals with extensive experience with fibromyalgia patients have chimed in here, and say the same things: there is no such thing. A few European doctors responded to say that fibromyalgia is TOTALLY UNKNOWN IN EUROPE. I speculate that this is because they have Socialized (rationed) medicine in Europe and governments are reluctant to spend money on conditions/syndromes that medical science says doesn't exist.
Not so in America, where insurers (particularly government insurers, like Medicare and Medicaid) and patients will throw money at all sorts of quackery, like chiropractors, for example. Give doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals an opportunity to suck at an endless stream of money, and they'll continue to justify everything from the theory the moon is made out of cheese to the idea that disease is the just wages of sin. Add lawyers to the mix (to run disability schemes) and another layer of government bureaucracy to rubber-stamp the paperwork, and everyone's getting paid.
Everybody's happy then: the mental patient feels justified and doesn't have to admit to herself thatr she may be a nutjob, the hospital gets to charge someone for tests it doesn't need to run, the doctor padded another Medicare bill, Big Pharma just sold you an anti-seizure drug you didn't need and which causes 70 side effects that can only be counteracted by another drug you don't need, the lawyer just collected a fee for bullshitting an administrative judge into believing your treatable mental disorder is a debilitating disease that deserves disability payments.
e. I told you the tales of several people known to me claiming to have fibro, and they ALL were drug addicts, and they were turned into addicts by their own doctors who were too lazy to do anything except push pain meds, or too stupid (or self-interested) to recommend mental health counseling.
Agree, 26 here I have kidney and liver disease, celiac disease, well...shit I have 7 autoimmune diseases fibro being one. I take NO medications, no narcotics and the ONLY time I have is my 8 surgeries and that was at the hospital and came home and took Tylenol OTC as needed.I don't receive any benefits of any kind,though based on how sick I am (liver is failing, bile duct is shredding, gallbladder died, MS has become ridiculous to manage) I don't, mainly because I don't want to be labeled as lazy for being "only 26" and sick.
Where are you getting your facts from? I have fibromyalgia and I've never had any physical traumas or anything on else on your 'victim' list. Your victim list is not a true depiction but rather a stereotype, you might want to look into more research and correct yourself.
Also, majority of women have it - not men and not gay men. Not saying that gay men or men in general NEVER have it, but it's most certainly prevalent in FEMALES.
What I wonder is why the fibro activists and forums I've seen all leave out the mountain of studies easily found on PubMed that theft is growing consensus that fibromyalgia should be classified as somatic...this means many do have the pain and other symptoms they claim to have, but the etiology is not medical. There is no shame in this, though most forum postings from self-or doctor-identified fibromyalgia sufferers react with rage and indignation if one of their number has been referred for a mental health check. Aren't they doing what they condemn so harshly in fibro-skeptics, that is, stigmatizing the mentally ill? Shouldn't they be grasping at whatever chance there might be for relief from their sufferings?
In 2016, they still cite a 25 year old paper by a Dr. Wolfe, which while he himself had long since backed off and is currently with the vast majority of researchers looking at FM as a polysymptomdisorder (PSD) which is as of 2015 classified in the in the latest DSM 5 under somatic disorders?
People, a three second search of Dr. Google and esp PubMed should be reflected in these forums, but with much looking I do not see it in the sufferers' blogs, forums, and web sites!
I dare you to have a look if you want help so badly..the info is there and growing! There's are literally hundreds of papers already out and in the works in 2016 and its just January! Many of you are not going to like what you read about who gets it (less educated, overweight, dysfunctional family history, relationship problems, and likelihood of not working at a job; and how losing weight and exercising are the best treatments.
I've had MS for over 30 years...the posts here on this site arguing that many with my disease were until recently thought too be nuts is simply not true, period. There are physical signs to give a yes or no diagnosis!
What I wonder is why the fibro activists and forums I've seen all leave out the mountain of studies easily found on PubMed that theft is growing consensus that fibromyalgia should be classified as somatic...this means many do have the pain and other symptoms they claim to have, but the etiology is not medical. There is no shame in this, though most forum postings from self-or doctor-identified fibromyalgia sufferers react with rage and indignation if one of their number has been referred for a mental health check. Aren't they doing what they condemn so harshly in fibro-skeptics, that is, stigmatizing the mentally ill? Shouldn't they be grasping at whatever chance there might be for relief from their sufferings?
In 2016, they still cite a 25 year old paper by a Dr. Wolfe, which while he himself had long since backed off and is currently with the vast majority of researchers looking at FM as a polysymptomdisorder (PSD) which is as of 2015 classified in the in the latest DSM 5 under somatic disorders?
People, a three second search of Dr. Google and esp PubMed should be reflected in these forums, but with much looking I do not see it in the sufferers' blogs, forums, and web sites!
I dare you to have a look if you want help so badly..the info is there and growing! There's are literally hundreds of papers already out and in the works in 2016 and its just January! Many of you are not going to like what you read about who gets it (less educated, overweight, dysfunctional family history, relationship problems, and likelihood of not working at a job; and how losing weight and exercising are the best treatments.
I've had MS for over 30 years...the posts here on this site arguing that many with my disease were until recently thought too be nuts is simply not true, period. There are physical signs to give a yes or no diagnosis!
Matthew,
I ingested food I was allergic to in the past. I avoided them for five years, but then assumed that I could reintroduce them. I've had back pains quite a bit here and there. However, for weeks I had massive, severe pain, IBS, and then horrible depression, the latter for two weeks. I have never known such pain. When I decided to stop eating these foods, within three days the pain and depression were gone.
I knew that depression and food allerges were linked beforehand, but I never associated severe pain with it. Are we looking at food allergies regarding fibro?
Hmmm....
Check back in the Comments, Two Cents:
John's Hopkins
The Mayo Clinic
The CDC
The Lancet
The AMA
The DSM-V
I could go on, but why bother? You're apparently not reading and just whining that no one "understands your pain".
Your pain is understood VERY well by medical science. There's just no return on treating it properly.
Also, Two Cents, had you bothered to actually read the post you're complaining about, you would have read this:
" I don't want anyone to get the mistaken impression that only Gay Men get it -- or rather, claim to have it -- because I have also known three straight people (two women, one man) who have also claimed the mantle of this condition."
This is such a funny blog! We are from the Netherlands and my husband, who is a surgeon, and myself were just discussing this fybromalgie thing since it has 'spread' to Europe too😰.
Anyway, I asked him in his experience what FM is. He told me he had encountered many so-called FM patients. He said FM the is the collective name for all undiagnosed symptoms mainly being vague pain, fatigue, etc and that so far,again only in his experience, they have all been women. They seem to all have a need for attention and often talk in the 'I' form. He said you can recognise FM patients by the number of times they say the word 'I' or 'me' as opposed to other patients who hardly complain even if they are terminally ill.
I wondered first of all if was just his male chauvinism showing up, but he told me more. That, like you are stating here, it is NOT a proven diagnosis. And the common ground these women hav is being very much in need of attention,nclose to the point of Munchhausen and are always extremely difficult and unreasonable people who can't stand it if you suggest they see a therapist (since that would mean it's not real).
Ok, so I also know a couple of FM's and thy too are complaining and often self-centred moaners.
But then again, maybe that's just a coincidence!
This is such a funny blog! We are from the Netherlands and my husband, who is a surgeon, and myself were just discussing this fybromalgie thing since it has 'spread' to Europe too😰.
Anyway, I asked him in his experience what FM is. He told me he had encountered many so-called FM patients. He said FM the is the collective name for all undiagnosed symptoms mainly being vague pain, fatigue, etc and that so far,again only in his experience, they have all been women. They seem to all have a need for attention and often talk in the 'I' form. He said you can recognise FM patients by the number of times they say the word 'I' or 'me' as opposed to other patients who hardly complain even if they are terminally ill.
I wondered first of all if was just his male chauvinism showing up, but he told me more. That, like you are stating here, it is NOT a proven diagnosis. And the common ground these women hav is being very much in need of attention,nclose to the point of Munchhausen and are always extremely difficult and unreasonable people who can't stand it if you suggest they see a therapist (since that would mean it's not real).
Ok, so I also know a couple of FM's and thy too are complaining and often self-centred moaners.
But then again, maybe that's just a coincidence!
Another thing..
My husband also told me that in the hospital in the Netherlands where he works htey have an actual FM rating scale:
- if you are middle aged and female you have a 20% higher rate of getting FM
- if you prefer talking to your pets to a real person, 50%
- if you have had serious relationship problems all your life, 60%
And it goes on.
In the Netherlands just like in the US there is absolutely no real proof. The Dutch medical institute have termed it an illness given to undiagnosed pain, undetermined stiffness of the limbs, sleep disorders, mood and mental instability.
So, anyway that sort of sums it up. But also here like in the US the country is full of FM's all pleading equal rights..
I'd like to comment on how all the people on this blog claiming to have FM have written the longest and most self-centred accounts on here so far..
Just an observation (have had so much fun reading this blog)
As far as I'm concerned your a self opinionated dick head.I've had FS for 23 years and its destroyed my life.I eventually lost my wife after she had cared for me 24/7 for 8yrs,which almost killed her.She also took my children.I also lost a career with one of the worlds largest companies who paid me far more than you're worth you bag of shit,I've lost hundreds of £1000's in lost income.And what for to spend more than 200,000 hours in chronic pain,only able to spend short periods away from a bed.This condition has ruined my life and that of my family.I have no social life and as there is no cure or definitive treatment for this disease theres no hope of much changing is there?
If you're so sure this illness doesn't exist I hope you end up with it,because a wining nobody like you won't stand the pain for a day before running to a Doctor begging for help or praying for a miracle like the rest of us who suffer in silence!
Apparently not silent enough.
Go see a psychiatrist. You sound like you need one. That's probably why your wife left you.
I'm fairly young, look fairly good, had a fairly bad injury to my rotator cuff several years ago.
Now, lo and behold, I have pain ALL THE TIME and ALL OVER MY BODY with no sign of inflammation.
Fibromyalgia is real.
OK.
I did like what you said, though:
'I should make it absolutely clear before I begin that I am NOT a doctor, nor have I had any medical training, whatsoever.'
True.
So please keep your long-winded and uneducated opinions to yourself.
You don't have fibromyalgia...you have a bad rotator cuff that most likely wasn't treated properly.
I'm sure you'll be "fairly" addicted to painkillers any day now with that attitude!
I think you nailed it Matthew. Fibro would make my roses grow a f**king treat I have to say the ones I know who claim to have this condition are either really fat, had an injury or are emotional train wrecks or all of the above. I have a scar on my knee and the tissue pulls at my knee cap that's not fibro that's scar tissue.
I also think a lot of these people might even find not exercising and sitting at a desk/being sedentary munching on sacks of chips and takeaways is not the way to help themselves. Have I seen a fat woman get out of a chair younger than me her legs literally trembling like a pro weightlifter to stand she is someone I know well for a number of years now.
A sibling who had a spiral fracture in her leg who also happened to be a narcissistic hypochondriac who actually tried to destroy a family and thought she had leukaemia at one point because it was better than getting the gas checked in her flat for the more imminent risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Whilst I sound unsympathetic I have experienced life threatening things personally in the past and some bloody painful ones that left me on the deck in agony. I don't expect the worlds smallest violin people have been in more or less strife than me.
We all seem to live and work sitting on our arses I have never heard of people who work outside moan about fibro they call it hard work and wear and tear or 'Too old for this s**t'.
Unless there is a definition I'm afraid my roses are going to get really huge on the crap peddled by people who clog up waiting rooms attention seeking for phantom ailments and over worked, over tired doctors writing scripts (some might be lazy or just pissed off at seeing the usual faces whining for more drugs).
It would just be nice if doctors didn't dance around the room to tell someone it boils down to needing counselling or that they are causing huge pressure on their body with too much weight. Those who moan they hardly eat anything yet weigh 20+ stone yeah right buddy and if I check your bins I won't find at least one carton from a take away or your cupboards stuffed with sugary/salty shite?
Fibro also sounds much more trendy than being diagnosed with something serious like Lupus (interestingly many symptoms fibro folk claim could have Lupus which is serious) But who wants to boast about having something that sounds contagious. Or have another title people have to stalk the internet to find out what the hell it is or forget what it is called the moment the condition has been named in a conversation.
So until there is a proper official check list that defines the condition for a true medical diagnosis Fibro will be up there with unicorns and pixies.
I am so pissed at myself for reading this abominable nonsense through. Wait-it's easier to be pissed at you people for writing it.
Such bull gives me pains...
Yes you are right you are not a doctor,so please keep your ridiculous comments to yourself.I think whoever wrote all this nonsense must be intellectual challenged for sure.Most everybody knows that fibro is real,and believe me I know this for a fact as I suffer from it.To blog or speak about something you know nothing about is wrong.I knew you have an intellectual disability as I work with people that are challenged and I am a nurse,fibro is real,ask your doctor,order a book from bookstore,and read about it.Talk to specialists in this ,fibro syndrome area to understand.I do not like swearing,these letters are so awful,I only pray to God,that you someday learn the truth.No I not going to swear or be rude,I would never lower myself to that level.I wish I was faking it,honestly I do,because most likely I would not be in such severe pain as I am.Believe me do your homework,and I gather from what I have been reading most likely you are not educated...Sad so sad,that some people to this day believe it is fake...I feel sorry for you,but I leave you in God's hands,,,
Order a book from bookstore read and educate yourself on fibromyalgia.I am not furious or angry because your belief that it is not real,is sad however I have understand where it is coming from.People who are most likely not educated,and if they are,educated it is pathetic on their part for a educated person not to believe fibro is real.Read an article Mayo Clinic about fibro and about people whom believe it is a myth,they will put you in your place in a fast hurry.Honestly I feel that you are not overly bright at all,you cannot be,most people now a day know somebody that has it ,so they know it is real.it is about one of the most painful things a person could go through.Do your research do not blog about things you absolutely do not know anything about.It is not your fault you are not too smart,most likely you were born that way.I cannot see somebody like you having any real caring friends,find something else other then fibro to blog about.Maybe some day you will get fibro or cancer.Then maybe you will not be so quick to judge others.People may say you are dumb and pathetic,I say you are most likely intellectually challenged individual,DO YOUR HOMEWORK,ASK your doc how many fibro come to him,and if it is real,he will most likely say yes it's real and I have dozens of patients with it.Look in library or bookstore read up on it educate yourself,quit the foul language,Fibro is REAL,
I could not agree more. Loved reading this.
The best way to treat "fibro" is open up one's mind to the almost definite likelihood that the true primary and often sole culprit is some form of clinical depression, then follow up with treatment for that. I have known several "fibro" people who have come out of the "fibro" family/fad, and only started to see any improvement whatsoever no matter how many doctors and prescriptions they got for fibro, once they started to treat their depression
they typically will say they have depression when they say that fibro their main illness, but blame the depression on the "fibro" and not treat the depression properly or at all, since their is some hesitance to even consider the possibility that what their principal problem is a mental illness. but there is nothing to be ashamed about having depression and it is FAAAARRRRRR more treatable that fibromyalgia.
when one says they have fibromyalgia, they are basically basically assigning themselves a life sentence of fruitless searches for people to listen to them and just wishing for a cure instead of actually doing anything to improve their condition.
My rheumatologist diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. I am too embarassed to even tell anyone. It is a cop out, get out of my hair diagnosis. Nevermind the Raynaud's, damaged joints visible on x-rays, rash, and hair loss. Give out pain killers and get them on their way. I do believe that a number of attention seekers want this diagnosis, hell why not. The pain I feel is real and inconsistent with what is described as fibromyalgia, and I truly think that the described pain is as you said, due to opiate abuse. The brain is trying to restore balance and sends out more pain signals than it would need in the absence of opiates.
It is not only in America. The UK has it too, but it's not to sell anything, the NHS is the HMO. They diagnose it to get rid of patients and save money running expensive tests and using up doctors' time.
Faker
Thank you..just described my sister..all about pitty and attention. Fat ugly lazy w no life to speak of.lays around all day watching tv and taking tons of opiates..
You should not be in health care....Ignorant people
My fiancées mother is just like what you described. I do understand that some people experience things that no one can figure out and they genuinely do hurt. However, when you deal with someone like my lovely future mother in law, it tends to make you negative and roll your eyes every time you hear someone say I have fibro. This woman was completely fine before she met her current husband. They've only been married a year. She was so pulled out on her wedding day it was pathetic. She now gets prescribed 180 10 mg norcos a month and her husband 120 norcos a month from some quack. She was offered pain management but refused to go when I told her they will probably cut that in half if not more and she has to take a drug test every month. She straight up said she will not give up her pain pills and muscle relaxers. This woman is nuts. We learned how to test her to tell if she's lying and making things up to get attention and oh yeah it is confirmed. She needs to try out for soap operas, this woman can cry on command. If you tell her you are hurting because you sprained you rist, she will have the same story as to why some other body part of hers hurts worse. I get so tired of the daily bs knowing she's faking because she's lazy, doesn't want to work, and loves to get high on her pills and lay around all day and be waited on hand and foot. It's sickening. We told her that we probably have a virus and she started trying to come up with symptoms she's having. Funny thing was we were talking about a stomach virus but didn't mention what kind to her. When she found out those were the wrong symptoms, she changed it to she was up at 3am vomiting and had the flying runs. What was even funnier was the look on her face when we told her no one had a virus, just food poisoning. WOW.....she acted for 2 days hardcore just based on us making up that we were sick, just so we could see what she was going to do. None of us believe her. Some of us pretend we care just so we don't have to hear how much her butt and eyelashes hurt 52 more times in one day. She wants disability but keeps getting denied. Oh did I mention they also sell half their pills to feed their hoarding addiction?! So for those who seriously need meds and can't get them, people like her and her husband are the reason for it. They both know they're wrong and they just want pills, but will deny it until the day they die. I hope they get cut off so I can laugh. Have degenerative disc disease, scheuremanns disease, carpel tunnel, tendonitis, ovarian cysts, a blood clotting disorder, RA, and the list goes on, and I only take Lexapro for depression and Tylenol or Motrin. I still work and I have 3 kids. I'm so sick of people like them. It makes me sick!!!!!!
Pain without medical source. Read the post, I can see how sensitve types might get buthurt over this, but I got a chukle fom your creative writting. Sound like the kind I used to have a few beers with. Ran into a young military active talking of how they're getting retired out on 50%. Something some had to work decades for. Feeling like a chump.
Thanks for the tough love Matt, I'm cured. I too was having these annoying chest pains. But instead of visiting an expensive doctor and waisting everyones time and money, I came here for medical advice. Decided to pull up my bootstraps, butch up and put a cork in it. I'll power through this thing in a few days. No one's gonna call me a pussy.
This thread is amazing. I have been reading the comments for and hour. You, Matt are a dick. I'm a libtard, and also a dick. Fibromyalgia is bullshit. Pain is real.
Could FM be a cover up for Lyme disease?
I am SO beyond mad at this post by whoever the hell uneducated idiot wrote it!! I was just recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and let me tell you ass wipe it is REAL, we ARE NOT psycho pill chasing lunatics. I have never had a real traumatic life altering event happen other then child birth. Fibromyalgia is not more prevelant in the gay community it is actually more common in women then men so I would have to say you are homophobic (even though you claim not to be). I have never taken a pain killer for my fibromyalgia EVER. I think you need to do a little more research on the topic before you start spewing out accusations and idiotic remarks about a DISEASE you know absolutely NOTHING about.... clearly. Anyone with fibromyalgia can tell you that you are 100% inaccurate in EVERYTHING you say.
I also am no doctor, but I have encountered several people who have received a fibromyalgia diagnosis. Of these I've only known one really well. This woman was around 50 when I knew her, grossly overweight, and an average day for her amounted to staying in bed all day, popping pain pills (30mg oxycontin), and the multitude of other drugs (klonopin, and prozac to name a few) that she was on, and watching TV. I rarely ever observed her actually get out of bed (usually only to go to the bathroom, or get something from the kitchen if she couldn't get someone else to get it for her). This woman also was on disability because of her fibromyalgia. The main problem I saw with her was her weight, and the fact that she was without a doubt the laziest person I ever knew. I was good friends with two of her kids, one who's actually a nurse now, but neither seemed to believe that anything was physically wrong with their mother, and I'm inclined to agree with them based on conversations I had with the woman where she seemed to imply that she was just using the diagnosis as a way to get pain pills and disability. She never came right out and admitted it, but she would often give other people advise on what to tell a doctor if you want this diagnosis. The whole thing made me sick, and every time I hear someone say they have fibromyalgia I automatically think of this woman. I don't know if it's a real thing or not, but I'd be willing to bet that the vast number of suffers are hypochondriacs, drug seekers, or just people trying to get on disability. For some insane reason it seems a number of people actually enjoy the attention they get from being sick. I see so many posts on facebook where people post any little problem they have seemingly just to get the outpouring of sympathy that comes with it. Anytime I've had a medical issue I keep it to myself, but so many others seem addicted to the attention that comes with being sick. I find the whole thing disgusting. I guess my past experience with a number of obvious hypochondriacs has tainted my outlook on society, and maybe these people genuinely are just worried, and looking for a little bit of support in their time of need, but I almost always see it as them just looking for attention. I'm sorry that I feel that way, but I can't change it.
I've been diagnosed with fibro myself and am terrified of taking pain killers and the like due to their less than stellar reputation. I battle daily with getting out of bed because the pain is almost unbearable but I am a mother and wife and therefore do not have the luxury of lying around feeling sorry for myself. But, that being said,I would like to thank you for making me feel so much more worse about myself. The guilt eats at me daily for not doing enough, am I just being lazy and looking for an excuse to slack, is this real or all in my head? These are questions that plague me all the time along with the'phantom' pain, the awesome insomnia and the myriad other'fun'symptoms I'm obviously making up because I'm an attention seeking hypochondriac. There's not an insult you've hurled out there that I've not wondered about myself. How am I supposed to 'get over something' that doesn't want to get over me? And yes, I'm sorry to say that depression is a huge part of fibro. It's kinda hard to be chipper when your body is your number one enemy. I'm constantly doubting myself about this fibro thing and do not ever want to use it as an excuse to slack off. All I can say is that for me, whether it's considered a real disease or a figment of my imagination, the struggle is very real and utterly demoralizing. Your comments, and I do understand that you are merely expressing your opinion, has done nothing more but add to my burden. I already feel like a totally useless person, unable to function like a normal human being, worried sick that I'm damaging my family by constantly feeling sick and exhausted and so very very sore. If this is all for show, then I'm one hell of an actor. Just please remember, when you are ranting about us crazy, lazy hypochondriacs, that your words (stranger though you may be) hurt more than you'll ever even begin to imagine.
I'm a 15 year old female and was diagnosed last year and never had any physical trama and never had to take pain pills, never done drugs. Fibromyalgia runs in my family and it has been explained to me as there being an issue in blood flow to certain parts of the brain and issues with chemicals being unbalanced in the brain, I've also heard it described as over active nerves because the pain happens everywhere, not just where there has been a previous injury. If I had a choice I would NEVER want this or ever wish this on my enemy. I don't know why people would want this, but it sounds like those people may not have fibromyalgia but I don't have the authority to make that decision
Fibromyalgia is a condition that fat depressed miserable middle aged women suffer from.
I almost never respond to posts but read a lot of this one and it only makes someone who actually does have a legitimate diagnosis of FM feel that much more alienated. I was diagnosed at age 13. I have tried to have the docs rule out any other possible cause to my extreme random pain but so far I really do seem to be one of the few that actually do have Fibromyalgia. It is debilitating. I have struggled in life bc I don't want to tell people something is wrong with me, especially when I was young. I thought it must be something like cancer because I was in so much daily pain and had so much fatigue, dizziness, fog, chronic sleep issues as a result of shooting pain throughout my body. It feels like you have the flu in a lot of ways. It in some ways feels like an every day hangover. A bad hangover. I did not experience early childhood trauma (physically or psychologically.) I certainly do not make shit up. It's so hard for us FM sufferers to deal with life as it is, why not just give us the benefit of the doubt and consider that if we are brave enough to risk telling someone what we struggle with (due to the obvious stigma and crap like this out there) we are probably not making shit up. I have worked hard my whole life and its been an extreme struggle. I try to eat healthy and try to exercise when the pain is not excruciating, that's all I can do. I take a combo of meds to treat the four major components of fibromyalgia: 1. Pain; 2. Poor sleep/never feeling rested regardless of how much we've slept; 3. Mood - being in pain all the time and poor non restorative sleep is the cause of most of our depression and anxiety; 4. Fatigue.
Living with this condition has been challenging but I thankful it is becoming more recognized because back before any Fibro meds came out, I was in so much physical pain everyday, that life hardly seemed enjoyable in any sense. I pray for continued research for those of us who do have a chronic pain disorder - and send my best to all those out there feeling misunderstood, confused, hurt and helpless around so many aspects that this condition causes to our lives. I'm tired, as usual so please forgive any grammatical errors. This feed was a real downer and I know for myself, I shouldn't read these insensitive posts because it does no good to anyone.
Was told i have fibro 20 years ago im 52 6.2 240 lbs and if you told me to my face i did not all my pain would not stop me from stomping a mudhole in your dumb ass
I did tell you, that, macey.
Now, if you're capable of getting your 6'2", 240 pound, 50-year old ass off your couch and stomping a mud puddle in my dumb ass, then I guess you're not really all that sick, are you?
I wrote this years ago, and you people keep responding to it as if I care.
I suggest that you see a psychiatrist, Sir, because you obviously have issues with rage and perhaps self-esteem.
It is amazing that someone who admits to no medical background and no experience with a particular health issue would launch such an attack.
The body is a far more complex thing that many here seem to realize: hormones, nerves, tissue beyond muscles and joints. There is a great deal of research that suggests that what is now called fibromyalgia...and it has been called that for roughly 30 years, previously called fibrositis...is related to systemic inflammation. Some sufferers have had previous accidents, yes. Some have not. Some have tried pain meds as a treatment, and some have not. Many docs who have researched the condition have looked to inflammation of fascia tissue as the culprit, which produces hyper stimulation to the central nervous system and an all-over hyper sensitization. The brain is bombarded with pain signals. Some patients also test positive for pathogens such as candida albicans, experiencing leaky gut and other byproducts, which causes generalized weakness, fatigue and "brain fog". The immune system is compromised, making the patient susceptible to viruses and bacterial infections.
Inflammation can be structural or chemical. It is complex, and your highly biased discussion really contributes nothing of value. I would suggest that you still have some demons in your thought process, perhaps relating to your brain based personality and acknowledged addiction.
From the Mayo Clinic:
What is the most common misconception about fibromyalgia?
The top misconception is that people think fibromyalgia isn't a real medical problem or that it is "all in your head." There's a lot that's unknown about fibromyalgia, but researchers have learned more about it in just the past few years.
In people who have fibromyalgia, the brain and spinal cord process pain signals differently. As a result, they react more strongly to touch and pressure, with a heightened sensitivity to pain. It is a real physiological and neurochemical problem.
Why does this misconception persist?
In our society, people tend to think that there is a cure or a fix for every medical problem. You go to the doctor, expecting he or she will fix whatever's wrong with you with medication or surgery.
It's frustrating to people with fibromyalgia because the traditional treatment approach isn't effective. And it's also frustrating to health care providers because they want to help people. But there's no easy fix. It takes lifestyle changes and small steps toward achieving wellness. It's a process.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/in-depth/fibromyalgia/art-20048097
*Ahem* I posted a link to the Mayo Clinic earlier in this discussion thread....multiple times, in fact. Johns Hopkins says the same thing:
According to the Mayo Clinic, 40% of "fibromyalgia" patients have undiagnosed/unresolved mood disorders or depression.
Are you sure you have the right Mayo Clinic? It's the one with doctors in it, not the one where they make mayonnaise.
Also, rsrchr, my contention has been throughout this tour du crap that medical science has no answer for it because they haven't been treating it; they're treating symptoms, yes, but they're not treating the underlying syndrome which is a mental illness. The medical profession has been viewing this thing through very parochial lenses, and they are not giving their patients good advice or treatment when they're stuffing them full of anti-depressants, handing out opiates, and running unnecessary tests that they know beforehand are going to be inconclusive.
Why? Because if your MD sent you to a psychiatrist, he loses out.
Seriously, sometimes it pays to read the discussion thread before you make an ass out of yourself. It's only been repeated over and over that the medical profession is doing a great disservice to patients by not telling them unwelcome truths about themselves.
Hi there,
I'm a 30 year old female and was recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I feel like it's the diagnosis used when doctor's have no idea what's causing you pain. I've had no significant trauma, and I've never been on any medication. I'm a natural health chica all the way. I've had very very mild anxiety (self diagnosed), so I can't say that it doesn't have some link to mental health, but even if it does, it doesn't reduce the pain any less. I'm a stay at home mom and not trying to weasle my way out of doing work. No way my kids would allow that! I can't hold the books when I read to them, because it hurts my wrists, peeling or cutting foods hurts, so many things that I never thought about for a second have been impacted. I'm not sure if what I have is fibromyalgia or something else that they couldn't figure out, but I promise you, the pain is very real to some of us.
Its not a disease, its a type of symptoms of something which hasnt been taken seriously by a doctor. These people are not lying!! They are in serious pain. Your article is bullshit tbh :D You say we all have previous injuries, thats a load of shite., I have had fibro pain all my life and no broken bones or serious injuries ever. In fact I have never bene in hospital before :D Watch this:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRaD-mmeZQ8 maybe you can become enlightened if you start to learn something instead of judging what you have no idea about.
Fybro "Nonsense".
I was married to a so called "Fybro sufferer" for 10 years.
The only relief - divorce.
So free now.
Complete mumbo-jumbo. Ended up holding the terminals of batteries for "relief". Cummon.
It's all in the head and just wanting sympathy.
I said it, yeah!
B.
I feel sorry for many of you. Fibromyalgia is real and I was born with it. The reason I found this forum is because I have been looking for years on how to properly treat this disease. I was actually born with it. I've had the painful tender spots as many years as I can remember. I complained to my rich family (yes, rich, not on welfare and drugs as some say) and I was at the doctors for painful tender spots, constipation, migraines, and other fibro symptoms by the time I was 7. I had 15 strep infections by the time I was 8. I was born sick or weird as some of you would say. I don't care if you want to call it psychological, call it what you want but it is real. I grew up in pain, did everything I could to fight it. If I had migraines, I laid down and it took 8 hours after I woke up to do a 5 minute homework but I always made honor roll. I never smoked, have never tried a drug in my life including marijuana and I don't drink. I am not on medication for my fibromyalgia and I eat nothing but health food and I am in constant pain. I have bad days that are a 10 and good days that are a 3 or 4 of pain but there is always pain. I worked my way through a college degree with this severe pain, and it took me about 120 hours a week to do my classes when others take 30 or 40 hours. This pain sets you back that much. Many people give up because it never goes away and you have nothing to look forward to. All I can explain it like is having a bad flu where even your hair hurts and you can't get out of bed. People with the flu usually call in sick to work. I never have. I try to fight this disease so bad and I've held onto walls to stand up and get to work. People really should not be putting anyone down just because you have not experienced the situation yourself. My fibromyalgia is in the process of breaking down my spine. It ate away at my neck last year and I had to get a neck fusion. It is now messing with my lower back and I need an operation later for spinal stenosis. I have never been in an accident before as many would suggest. I do believe that people with fibromyalgia have some psychological problems but I believe the fibro came first. Who would not be feeling a bit psycho when you have spent your whole life sick and in pain with no support system and everyone putting you down and calling you names. Most people with the flu complain for three days and get back up to work. A fibro person has that flu the rest of their life. There is no getting back up and feeling better. Worse yet, you get bullied for this disease by people such as the ones on this website. Fibro is like throwing a person out of their wheelchair and telling them to walk. we get bullied all day, everyday until we are ready to snap. we have enough pressure on us already with all the doctors appointments and pain to be bullied by people. Open up your hearts a little bit and say what if? What if these people are telling the truth? (which they are). What if these people are alone and bullied? (which they are). What am I doing to help them? (which is absolutely nothing). What am I doing to hurt them? (constant belittling, and bullying, among other things).
Born with it? Has someone identified a "fibromyalgia" gene and forgot to tell me about it?
The Mayo Clinic has this to say on the subject:
"Is fibromyalgia hereditary?
Answers from Kevin C. Fleming, M.D.
Fibromyalgia isn't passed directly from parents to children, but the disorder does appear to cluster within families.
The odds of developing fibromyalgia are several times higher in the immediate families of people with fibromyalgia than in families in which no one has fibromyalgia.
In fact, studies of DNA from family members of people with fibromyalgia and other chronic pain syndromes have turned up a number of genes that could help explain why these disorders seem to run in families.
Each of these genes plays a role in your nervous system's response to pain. Some of the same genes are also associated with depression and anxiety, which may be the reason why certain antidepressant medications help reduce fibromyalgia symptoms.
With
Kevin C. Fleming, M.D."
Note: He said "Some of the same genes are also associated with depression and anxiety, which may be the reason why certain antidepressant medications help reduce fibromyalgia symptoms."
Nothing like playing both sides of the fence, Doctor.
No broken bones or trauma? Are you obese or overweight? Do you hardly ever exercise? You could be stressing your nervous system out with unhealthy habits and bad posture.
Most patients with fibromyalgia have some psychiatric disorder as well...depression being the most common but also can be anxiety etc.. I believe that their nerve sensitivities have been unregulated by these psychiatric issues. There are also patients with pain syndromes that we don't know the cause of. Doctors call it fibromyalgia basically to not hurt patients feelings by saying this is literally in your head.
Using the anecdotal evidence of three people you know that have fibromyalgia to make some broad generalization about a disease is not very scientific. It is the same thing as saying "I know three people who avoided smoking and they still got cancer". But i digress...
What does one do as a physician when a patient is in tears in front of you and you can't find a cause of their pain or discomfort? Tell them to fuck off? Go Away? Seeing patients with difficult to treat problems that have no identifiable cause is not profitable at all. That is why doctors seek patients who have an identifiable problem and a simple procedure to fix it. That is what american medicine pays for. Getting $30 for a patient to talk about their pain which you can't identify and treat very well for 30 minutes is not making any doctor rich (or even able to pay their staff or your electric bill).
This misconception about "doctors want you to be sick" or "doctors have some conspiracy with pharmaceutical companies to give you medicine" is nonsense. As a doctor it just pisses me off when people say that. I want people with real shit to come in, I treat them and they go on their merry way. I make more money that way. I have less stress that way. It is frankly way better for me. When I have a patient with a chronic untreatable condition I am about as excited to see them as seeing a dentist for a root canal. These patients usually go from doctor to doctor hoping for a "cure" when there is none. Most appointments involve sitting in a room with them for 30 minutes letting them "talk to us" after which we try desperately to give them something (because patients prefer us to try to treat someone as opposed to just telling them "you're fucked". ) Contrary to TV shows, we haven't reached a 100% cure rate for every medical problem yet. Modern medicine is only really 100 years old. Unfortunately that is where the science and research is right now. If you don't like it, donate money to NIH or other brain research centers. Put your money where your mouth is. Glad the post gets the convo going. Though I disagree with a lot of it, it helps move people.
Best of luck - An American Physician.
I was told by my doctor that I had Fibronyalgia. All they did was pump me with painkillers and send me on my way. After months of the same bullshit excuses I grew impatient and demand they look into it further. Eventually, I was sent to a geneticist who diagnosed me with EDS after running tests. Fibromyalgia is bullshit... doctors are just too lazy.
By the name itself it does exist--pain in the ligaments, fibers, muscles, cells, of our bodies--We all have it duh!!! That being said it is an end to further research, no need for diets, lifestyles, or mental health changes which would more than likely bring resolve to many. It does disgust me when I hear more and more people lay claim to this disease/disorder, knowing, as has been stated by many, there is no definitive rule by which one is diagnosed. Believe me there is an underlying reason for all our ailments and not being fully understood it is very simple to be tagged with FM. Now we could ruffle some more feathers by discussing how ADD is also BS!!! We in this country are so undisciplined(diet, pursuits, lifestyles, character, education, etc.) that we no longer maintain a proper focus. Look how far we have fallen, so now we coin phrases to justify/excuse our undisciplined natures.
My ex-wife just got diagnosed with this crap, and guess what - shes been addicted to opium based painkillers for about 18 years.....
I hear you Matt, even if the hysterical FM army doesn't. You don't lack compassion at all. You're trying to get them to listen (which is another hysterical FM symptom... lack of listening skills) to the possibility that there could be something to actually help their pain. That whining has never cured a damn thing and it never will. Doctors don't always have the answers, sometimes they don't want or need to follow through. I know a woman who had years of difficulty... pain, weight gain, emotional troubles, etc... before she found a doctor who finally followed through and kept looking before it was discovered she had a thyroid issue. Two things: she never accepted the FM diagnosis, and she never gave in. Sometimes there is a happy ending, sometimes not. The human body is complicated and fascinating and we will never know everything. Our crummy health care system holds most of the blame for the FM plague, I totally agree.
Got to agree with Matthew. I think fibro is bullshit, and I think its as much down to lazy diagnosis by docs as much as patients malingering. Im a 42 yr old woman with Schizophrenia. Had back trouble for years, but couple of years ago started getting hellish pain in hips, legs, feet etc. Off to the doc, and as soon as he reads my schizo diagnosis 'oh, pain must be fibro. Here, take some painkillers and go away.' So I ditch the painkillers as I do NOT do well with opioids, and grit my teeth. Fast forward a yearand Im in an accident and need physio. At first session physio watches me walking around and tells me shes pretty sure I have anterior pelvic tilt and asks if I get leg pain etc. Few months of exercises, and pains a lot better. Now Im not overweight or anything- 5'6 and 115lb,so cant comment on the 'fat, depressed' stereotype, but if the doc hadnt gone 'crazy, female, early 40s, eh slap a fibro diagnosis on it' I could have been saved a lot of pain, and reckon a lot of other people could be too.
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