Explain fibromyalgia disease to your partner or familly (real conversation)

How To explain your fibromyalgia disease to your partner or to your familly 

• Your partner: Hey I want to ask you something, why have you been so quiet and withdrawn lately ? 

• You: Well I have been diagnosed with a disease called fibromyalgia 

• Your partner: What is fibromyalgia ? 

• You: Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes widespread pain, tenderness, fatigue, and many other symptoms throughout the body, it affects approximately 2% to 4% of the population. You may look fine on the outside but nothing could be further from the truth 

• Your partner: Oh well what is it like the habit ? 

• You: Well the pain can manifest in many ways all over the body such as burning, stopping, and aking of the muscles and connective tissue, sometimes the pain is so intense that I get nauseous, joints of the body can be so stiff and so painful that it makes it hard to move around and use your fingers. As far as the fatigue is concerned, it can be debilitating and it is made worse by stress or physical exertion. You know it feels like you are trying to move about with heavy sandbags on your arms and legs, performing even the simplest of tasks like washing your hair can be difficult, sometimes it feels like having the flu but it does not go away, there are days when it is hard to just get out of bed 

• Your partner: Are those all the symptoms ? 

• You: No fibromyalgia can also cause headaches tender points, or trigger points in the body, muscle twitching and cramping, severe muscle, weakness insomnia, TMJ syndrome, IBS, and restless legs syndrome, it can also cause anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation, living in a stage of constant pain and fatigue can do that, people also experience all kinds of neurological and cognitive dysfunctions, like memory problems, dizziness, lack of concentration and focus, and severe sleep disturbances, in fact some researchers believe sleep is a major factor, it is difficult for people with fibromyalgia to achieve stage for sleep, which is when the body restores and repairs itself. And if that's not enough people with fibromyalgia are also sensitive to all kinds of stimuli including noise, lights colors, smells, tastes, and motion, and they can have trouble regulating their body temperature, So the pain and fatigue that are associated with fibromyalgia are relentless and disabling, but as you can see this chronic invisible illness in false so much more, it affects so many systems of the body, many symptoms i have not even named here 

• Your partner: Wow that is a lot of information so what causes fibromyalgia ?

• You: Doctors now know that it is a glitch in the body central nervous system, the brain does not process pain and stimuli correctlyn normal sensations are perceived by the brain as painful, and painful sensations that are perceived by the brain are excruciating, also the normal pain alleviating functions that all of our brains have goes haywire. Doctors are learning that inflammation in the nerves and in the neurons of the brain are playing a role, and they now know that heredity is a major factor, they believe that some kind of episode triggers it, it could be a minor or significant trauma, a virus or infection, or even an emotional situation like post-traumatic stress disorder

• Your partner: Is there a cure for the silent illness? 

• You: No, there is no cure yet. There are medications that may help, but most say they don't have much. You have to understad this disease will not kill me, but it will forever affect the quality of my life, I will not be able to reliably work, and right now I have little energy to even have some fun, I do have some good days but they often come with a price of feeling worse the next day. I suppose it is a new era of my life, I ask why, I ask what can I learn from this, I long to see the bigger picture, I find myself trying to redefine my place and my purpose in this world, and I cannot help that to feel inadequate and impotence sometimes, I don't want to let anyone down. 

• Your partner: Is there anything I can do to help ? 

• You: There is nothing you can do better love me, and know that I love you too, I just want awareness, compassion, and understanding, please just know that i have good days, days when I am so excited to go out and be with the world, and there is nothing that makes me happier than spending time with family, laughter really is the best medicine, so now you know what's up with me. You are my loved one and I don't want you to think I'm purposely shutting you out. In fact i love getting invitations to go out, even if i can't always go, and although it may be difficult at times please know that I will do everything in my power to stay happy and positive .Thank you for understanding and for being there for me