Fibromyalgia

Shelley knows what Fibromyalgia feels like

It can be quite difficult to describe the pain and tiredness experienced with Fibromyalgia. In my experience, I felt areas of intense pain mainly in my shoulders, neck and back but it came with many other symptoms. The fatigue was debilitating. At it’s worst, I could literally fall asleep standing up, but couldn’t fall asleep in my bed at night. I suffered with restless legs and aching throbbing feet. My digestion was poor and I felt bloated and suffered with IBS.

Along with this came the brain fog - the inability to remember simple things, being unable to focus or put my thoughts into words. I felt irritable and lacked motivation and it affected my mood considerably. The symptoms were affecting my relationships with others and my quality of life. I was no longer able to do exercise, I looked exhausted and my self confidence was at an all time low. Fibromyalgia made me feel alone, unsupported and misunderstood.

Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes widespread pain all over the body. The cause is thought to be related to abnormal levels of certain chemicals in the brain and the way the central nervous system processes pain messages carried around the body. In many cases the condition appears to be triggered by events that cause physical or emotional stress.

There is no specific test to diagnose Fibromyalgia. The symptoms can vary from person to person and are similar to those of other chronic conditions. You may get a diagnosis based on the following factors:

Multiple painful areas of the body on both sides.
Additional symptoms like fatigue, poor sleep and difficulty thinking or concentrating.
Symptoms that last for at least three months.
No other apparent cause of these symptoms.
You may be given a scan or X ray, urine and blood tests to rule out other conditions.

Symptoms include muscle stiffness, sensitivity to pain, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, headaches, IBS. Your symptoms can get better or worse depending on factors such as your stress levels, changes in the temperature/weather and how physically active you are.

Everyone experiences Fibromyalgia differently and symptoms are similar to other conditions which is one reason that misunderstandings often surround this condition.

Some say that Fibromyalgia isn’t a real disorder or is all in the head. For people who experience the pain and other symptoms associated, the disorder is all too real and this disbelief can add to their feelings of low self worth and anxiety.
Fibromyalgia only affects women. Fibromyalgia affects men too and it is suggested that gender based bias may play a role in how doctors diagnose Fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a ‘fallback’ diagnosis. Many people are under the impression that Fibromyalgia is a fallback diagnosis because there isn’t any single test or obvious symptom to diagnose it. However, Fibromyalgia is diagnosed by ruling out other conditions and diagnosis is based on certain factors (as mentioned above).

My GP offered anti anxiety tablets and a muscle relaxant but the side effects scared me and therefore I decided to follow a holistic route.

I tried many different therapies in an attempt to cure my Fibromyalgia and experienced positive effects from many modalities. However the effects would never last and I felt I was always lasting and most beneficial effects came when I began to look within.

From a young age, social conditioning can lead many of us away from our true selves. We mould ourselves into a model of who we believe other people want us to be, in order to feel loved. My journey of healing has been in rediscovering who I really am underneath all the masks and layers of protection that I’ve built up since childhood and coming back to my authentic core.

I began to learn to value, acknowledge and practice self love, along with releasing and acknowledging energetic blocks to move past the limiting beliefs and patterns that had been holding me back in the past. It was here that the healing truly began.