Fibromyalgia: A journey through pain and fatigue

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BRENDA CONYERS
When they saw each other in a local bank, two friends began talking some health problems and discovered they shared a condition called fibromyalgia, a chronic disorder with pain, stiffness and fatigue.



Out of that conversation came the Fibromyalgia Support Group, which had their first official meeting in June with eight participants.



Today 12 participate, and more people are asking questions. The group meets monthly in the Parkside Apartments dining room.



Fibromyalgia is a relatively “new” disorder, first discovered in the early 1900s and, to date, is difficult to diagnose.



“This is diagnosed by exclusions,” said Randy Whitely, local physician with the PMA-Hillsboro Family Practice Clinic.



“If lab results are normal and everything else checks out, but the constellation symptoms are consistent, there it is,” he said.



Most family physicians are able to care for fibromyalgia. He said it is not a form of arthritis, but a painful muscle condition that occurs in areas where the muscles attach to bones or ligaments, making it similar to the pain of arthritis.



Whitely said the joints themselves are not affected, so they are not deformed nor deteriorate as they may in arthritic conditions.



Lucille Prieb, a fibromyalgia patient from Hillsboro, said, “It is a very difficult, entailed disease to try to explain, and even harder to learn to live with.”



She has been living with the condition since the early ’90s and has been doing as much reading and studying as she can to learn what she can do to help herself and others live with the symptoms.



According to the U.S. Fibrositis Association, Dublin, Ohio, Fibromyalgia is the most common cause of widespread muscular pain and affects an estimated 2 percent of the general population. Two thirds of patients are women, and their symptoms are more severe than men’s.



Whitely agreed that more women seem to be affected.



“This appears to be an autoimmune condition,” he said, “and people who are depressed are frequently affected…although this is a question of the chicken and the egg. Some women do tend to be more sensitive.”



Pain is the main symptom. The aches, pains and stiffness get worse or better from day to day or week to week. The pain also tends to move to different parts of the body. Other common symptoms include depression, headaches, anxiety, and fatigue.



According to USFA about 75 percent of patients fit the diagnosis for both fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. The relationship between the two disorders has been compared to a migraine to a headache. Some physicians believe the two disorders are the same with fibromyalgia as being an “extreme variant of chronic fatigue syndrome,” according to USFA.



Prieb said it has been important for her to set up a daily schedule in order to pace herself.



“I must schedule time in for a short nap every afternoon, and allow extra time for rest if there has been extra activities.”



She said a common phrase heard among sufferers is “I think I was born tired.”



Whitely stressed the importance of patients taking good care of themselves.



“Good diet, exercise, and plenty of rest,” he said, “is very important.”



Some massage treatments and medications can help sufferers to live with the symptoms, but there is no cure yet.



“Amytriptilene is very helpful in helping people to sleep,” Whitely said.



This drug is typically an antidepressant medication, but the dose given is not therapeutic for depression, only for a good sleep. It is not a narcotic.



“We try to avoid the use of narcotics as much as possible,” he said, “It would be incredibly easy to become addicted in this situation.”



Limited heat will sometimes help with the pain, he advised, “like a warm shower.”



Whitely also is concerned about people who would take advantage of sufferers by offering ineffective supplements or expensive alternative medical treatments.



He feels nutrition is an important part of the overall well-being of the patient.



“Poor nutrition and a poor lifestyle result in a weakened immune system,” he said.



Brian Sorrell from the Kansas City area will be speaking to the support group Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. He will be speaking of his personal experience with fibromyalgia and the use of nutrition and traditional medical care.



For more information contact Lucille Prieb at 947-3028 or the U.S. Fibrositis Association, Box 1483 Dublin, OH 43017.

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