Posted on Thursday, 4th May 2006 by Maritzia
I don’t often talk about having fibromyalgia or the struggles that go with it. I found this link a couple of years ago, and the first time I read it I cried. At last, someone had found a way to put into words how I feel so much of the time. If you haven’t read it, please, do all of us who live with chronic illnesses a favor. Read the story I have linked at the top of this entry.
It’s so hard to explain to people why you can’t do things. Especially when they’ve seen you do it before. They don’t understand that having fibromyalgia is a day by day illness. Some days you have more energy and you can do a lot. Other days, you have none and you stay in bed all day. The real danger is when you have a high energy day, so you overdo things and have to spend the next 3 days in bed.
Fibromyalgia has a special challenge. One of the absolutely necessities of life with fibromyalgia is exercise. It helps keep the fatigue at bay and it helps control the pain. The problem is that there is a very fine line between not enough exercise and too much exercise. Not enough exercise means a progressive worsening of the fatigue and stamina. Too much exercise means a major flare that can keep you down for days. The window of just enough exercise is so incredibly small, it’s very hard to get it right. Especially when the line isn’t in the same place every day. It depends on how many “spoons” you have to start with. You have to know your body, and you have to resist all those around you who think they know better than you.
So, if you have someone in your life who is suffering with a chronic illness, do them a favor and don’t second guess them. Yes, they need you to be supportive, and they need you to encourage them to do what they need to do deal with the illness. However, if they tell you they can’t do something, then listen to them. They live in that body day in and day out. If they say they can’t….then they probably can’t. Just love them through it. It’s what they really need the most.
Posted in Health/Medicine | Comments (3)
May 8th, 2006 at 4:21 pm
I suffer from fibromyalgia too. It is so very hard to explain to others what its like to live with. Thanks for the post and for the article link…
June 17th, 2006 at 9:30 am
I have FMS+CFS, so I understand what you write about. So far none of the persons I meet believe/understand my situation. Realising that I have “sisters in crime” makes it easier to endure.
June 17th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
*nods* Sometimes you just need to talk to someone who’s been there.