THE STIGMA OF FIBROMYALGIA
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Medical Scarlet Letter
My Song



FM – THE SCARLET LETTER OF MEDICINE
By Dr Skye

Fibromyalgia does exist and I want to make this crystal clear before you all attack me with mail. It is a syndrome that is very painful and I treat many women who have it. Fibromyalgia is the SCARLET LETTER of MEDICINE. Unfortunately at this time, it is considered a waste basket diagnosis but in time things will change. I believe that its an illness but a psychological one in the aspect of PRIMARY FIBROMYALGIA. There are FM and CFS clinics springing up all over the states, but they cannot cure anybody, they charge a fortune and people go with hope with their life’s savings only to find out that there isn’t anything that can really be done. That in fact, to date, there is no cure. This is a travesty.

We need support groups who understand the realities of this illness and just what can be done. I call it the SUPER SENSITIVE disease.

Meaning that in some obscure way, the neuro-receptors of the brain are influenced by the sensitivities of the mind and heart and as this produces stress, it hits in the vulnerable part of the body - the pain center. The pain comes from guilt, bad memories, abuse, etc and the pain is real but pain medications will not take it away. Hence the fact that they do not work too well or for too long. What people need to do is find out why they are sensitive to life's traumas and problems and why they cannot handle things that the so called NORMAL person without FIBRO can. This is not to say that the people are any less people, in fact I have found them to be highly intelligent, giving, generous and loving people who usually do too much for others at their own peril. And I have found others, particularly in the primary category, to be self absorbed, selfish, whining, vindictive people unhappy with their lot in life.

They are the hypochondriacs who need attention, want to be ill and thrive on each and ever stab of pain or twinge. The manipulate doctors, families and siblings into thinking that they are gravely ill, and cannot cope with any more. They disrupt the lives of normal people and do not think twice about it. They are self centered people who crave attention and love and are demanding, inconsiderate of others and prone to verbal attack of people without thought or reason to whether they hurt another human being or not. They become paranoid as most of them are on far too many prescriptions that DO NOT MAKE THEM BETTER, and they begin to think that everybody is against them. They vent their spleen on people and put it down to their illness and it becomes a great excuse to be a miserable, mean and negative person. Still others rise above it and become even more compassionate, loving and understanding and take care not to overburden their already worried and overburdened family with any more baggage that belongs to them, and them alone.

Witch or Martyr?

There is a happy medium.

However become a vindictive martyr to an illness is the most non-constructive thing a person can do to themselves. They are literally torturing themselves and sadly, loving it. The witch can come out with full venom as they attack people right left and center and feel justified because they are sick and the world owes them something for this unfortunate circumstance. And, the martyr plays on her family with frailness, constantly running to the emergency rooms, over emphasizing every little health problem that comes their way, including that of the family, and of concentrating solely on sickness and pain. They are easier to get along with but place a terrific strain on marriages and relationships and also soundly influence their children in the most negative of fashions.

Then you have the warrior, who pushes through it all, to his or her own detriment, literally doing too much, trying too hard! Keeping it all inside so as not to annoy or irritate anybody else, and who cries silently, never letting it loose and ends up in a ball of pain in the dead of night when everybody else is sleeping.

Which path is the right path?

ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS and TREATMENT. An understanding physician and FINDING THE ROOT CAUSE to the FIBROMYALGIA.

THE X FACTOR

The root cause is the X factor.

Once you are diagnosed with FM, the SCARLET LETTER OF MEDICINE, the doctors are prone to ignore all other symptoms OR lump them into the FM garbage bag and refuse to sift through the litter.

And in this way, so many Fibromyalgia sufferers are left by the wayside, suffering from a primary disease that is left undiagnosed until its almost too late, if in fact it is caught at all.

The primary diseases range from back problems, cervical and lumbar, auto immune diseases such as HHV6, granulotomous disease, Lupus,Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Multiple Sclerosis, etc. AS well as commonly, endocrine diseases such as Graves, as well as pituitary tumors, adrenal problems etc. All of the above can cause secondary fibromyalgia as a sympathetic to the pain and disease piggyback syndrome. I call it a syndrome in this case because it follows the pathways of the primary condition. And this makes sense.

Also, somewhere along the line the pain center becomes involved. I believe that because most Fibromyalgia patients are misdiagnosed for their primary conditions that the pain center becomes overloaded with pain and confused as it cannot handle it all. The body is NOT treated appropriately as the primary condition has not been established and in the end, the pain center simply breaks down from exhaustion and overuse of trying to control the pain. Then the endorphins fade away or become weak and ineffective and the person lives within a living hell of pain. All because they were ONCE stamped with the SCARLET LETTER OF FIBROMYALGIA. This is in MOST CASES. I REMIND YOU OF THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES.

PRIMARY – Needs help psychologically, counseling, and a readjustment of attitude, as well as medication, exercise and treatment for depression.

CAUSATIVE – FM caused from the repercussions of an accident, trauma to the body. In this case, it is the piggyback syndrome as I mentioned above. We will discuss treatment in my next article.

SECONDARY – Secondary Fibromyalgia symptoms due to a primary condition such as spinal stenosis, rheumatoid and or osteoarthritis, Lupus, etc.

Remember, your health is important.
It is your LIFE!

SKYE HOLDON

Fibro Girl Blog



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