Fibromyalgia. Say the name and some people don’t know what you mean, some people think you are making it up, some people are supportive but a little clueless and a few nod their heads in “I’ve got it too sympathy.” From the NIH we get this information on symptoms:

“In addition to pain and fatigue, people who have fibromyalgia may experience a variety of other symptoms including:

• cognitive and memory problems (sometimes referred to as “fibro fog”)
• sleep disturbances
• morning stiffness
• headaches
• irritable bowel syndrome
• painful menstrual periods
• numbness or tingling of the extremities
• restless legs syndrome
• temperature sensitivity
• sensitivity to loud noises or bright lights.”

For example, I fell getting out of bed this morning at 3:50 a.m. because my balance was off (a symptom I am SURE should be on that list) and crashed into my bedside bakers rack, sending jewelry, my phone, my glasses, change, and all sorts of things flying across the room as I fell to the floor.  It was a sight to behold. But all those good promises we make ourselves, those smart plans, are out the door in the fibro fog.

I am learning to deal with the fatigue and some days I do better with my planning than I do other days. I really wish there was a community to deal with this fibro in, perhaps a support group. I have so many questions that could use answers, even if the answers weren’t once all be all for good answers, which I doubt fibro lends itself to having.

If anyone reading has fibromyalgia and wants to begin a dialogue, I am very open to that. This November will be my first anniversary of my diagnosis and I feel like I should know more about it that I do. But in the big picture, I’m not going to worry about that too much and I will worry about what I can learn now. I don’t want to fall out of bed again.

With special thanks to:  http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Fibromyalgia/#b