My name is Fibromyalgia

Hi..
My name is Fibromyalgia.
I'm an Invisible Chronic Illness.
I am now velcroed to you for life.
Others around you can't see me or hear me but YOUR body feels me.
I can attack you anywhere & anyhow I please.
I can cause severe pain or, if I'm in a good mood...
I can just cause you to ache all over.

Remember when you & Energy ran around together & had fun?
I took Energy from you & gave you Exhaustion.
Try to have fun now!
I also took Good Sleep from you... in it's place, gave you Brain Fog.
I can make you tremble internally...
Make you feel cold or hot when everyone else feels normal.

Oh yeah, I can make you feel anxious or depressed, too.
If you have something planned... or are looking forward to a great day,
I can take that away, too.

You didn't ask for me.
I chose you for various reasons:
That virus you had that you never recovered from, or that car accident,
Or maybe it was the years of abuse and trauma.

Well, anyway, I'm here to stay!
I hear you're going to see a doctor who can get rid of me.
I'm rolling on the floor, laughing.
Just try!
You will have to go to many, many doctors
Until you find one who can help you effectively.
You will be put on pain pills, sleeping pills, energy pills,
Told you are suffering from anxiety or depression,
Given a TENS unit, get massaged..
Told if you sleep and exercise properly I will go away,
Told to think positively
Poked, prodded, and MOST OF ALL...

You will NOT be taken seriously as you feel
when you cry to the doctor how debilitating life is every day.
Your family, friends & coworkers will all listen to you
Until they just get tired of hearing about how I make you feel,
And that I'm a debilitating disease.
Some of them will say things like "Oh, you are just having a bad day"
Or "Well, remember, you can't do the things you used to do 20 YEARS ago"
Not hearing that you said 20 DAYS ! ago.

Some will just start talking behind your back,
While you slowly feel that you are losing your dignity trying to make them understand.
Especially when you are in the middle of a conversation with a "Normal" person
And can't remember what you were going to say next!

In closing..
(I was hoping that I kept this part a secret, but I guess you already found out)..
The ONLY place you will get any support and understanding in dealing with me
is with OTHER PEOPLE WITH FIBROMYALGIA

except the minority of us, who like me,
have support from their husband & their immediate family.

Sincerely, Your Invisible Chronic Illness,

FIBROMYALGIA

(Thank you Denis, children and close friends for your loving care, Janick. xxx)