A TSUNAMI of Symptoms!

All these years, I have had to play detective or scavenger hunt as I wondered where the multitude of symptoms were coming from as they attacked my body all at the same time!  It started out with aches and pains in 2001, then each year they grew to multiple aches and pains with numerous symptoms traveling all over my body and became more in frequency and stronger in intensity.

I’ve had many people ask me what Fibromyalgia felt like and over time, I realized the only way one can truly understand what it really feels like is if you’ve had the condition.  And believe me, you don’t want this chronic condition.  I wouldn’t even wish it upon my enemy!  I have thought of different ways to help people understand what it feels or looks like.  As I’ve really had a difficult time explaining it because it is so not easy to describe.  It is such an invisible condition that one can look normal on the outside but is in MAXIMUM pain and turmoil on the inside! But here’s one attempt which I’m sure I may still not accurately explain.

Picture yourself sitting at the beach, enjoying the sun, the sand, the ocean, the beautiful weather as you are just going about your day minding your own business.   When all of a sudden you spot small waves of water coming onto the shore.  And because these waves get bigger each time they hit the shore as they get closer to you, you would have to move back to avoid it.  But to no avail.  The waves just keep getting bigger and bigger to the point where it has now pulled you into to the ocean and you are doing everything you can to the point where your survival instinct finally kicks in.   This is one best way I can describe it to someone who doesn’t have Fibromyalgia.  It’s a TSUNAMI of symptoms coming at you all together at the same time!  You either do nothing and let the turbulent waters pull you down or fight back and do everything you can to survive! 

Well, I decided to fight back!  And it has been quite a long journey.

It has pulled me in and almost drown me in a SEA of symptoms! And I’ve had to figure out a way to survive in the middle of different symptoms growing in frequency and intensity ALL AT THE SAME TIME!  It is enough to make one caraaaazay!!!  And I have to admit, at one point, I felt like I was going crazy!  In the earlier stages of Fibro, I would see my doctor at the time and she would give me a clean bill of health.  I was even told “you are in your 40’s.  So, it’s just because you are getting old.  Put some tiger balm on your back.”  My mouth just about dropped open when she said that!  Thankfully, I eventually found Dr. Yee, D.O. of Kaiser who knew how to treat my condition and that is when positive things started happening.  Little did I know the treatment plan would last longer than 2 years!

Fibromyalgia is VERY REAL!  It’s just that some in the medical profession still think it’s all in your head and as long as you don’t think about it, the pain and symptoms will go  away.  Unfortunately, if you do have fibromyalgia, you may have to go this road before you are even taken seriously.  The good news is there is more research and it’s proving that Fibromyalgia is real and deserves attention as it is affecting more people.  And more medical professionals now find a multi-disciplinary approach is the best way to treat it, as the underlying cause for each person is different, which is why it is so difficult to treat!

Fibromyalgia is a complex syndrome characterized by pain amplification, musculoskeletal discomfort and systemic symptoms.  Now, try saying that 3x!  It’s a mouthful!  The reason I even decided to go public with my condition is because I learned awareness needs to be made.   As this condition is too often overlooked and seen as “not real!”  Insult to injury!

And Fibromyalgia has so affected me on a cellular level that I cannot not speak out.  It’s very personal to me.  And hopefully, my journey will help those who are still suffering today and are looking for answers.  I was that person at one point!  Looking and seeking for help!  I hope to convey that it CAN be reversed in a way that one can have a quality of life.  Not cured.  But one can be freed up from the multiplicity of symptoms Fibro brings!

Healing is on the horizon, I say!  There is so much hope!  Even though Fibromyalgia is very complex, it can be simplified…