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kirstinxxx · May 4, 2007, 04:22 AM

My Mum was diognosed with Fibromyalgia about a year a go! I have researched the disease but whenever I look on the internet I don't really understand what it actually is!
My Mum won't talk to me about it! I suppose she is trying to protect me! But I really need to know what this is and what I can do to help my Mum!
Can anyone help?

CaptainRich · May 4, 2007, 04:47 AM

I can understand your dilemma. Not even doctors agree on the causes or the remedies. One great source would be WebMD.

Capuchin · May 4, 2007, 04:47 AM

I have gone to Fibromyalgia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and I am trying to summarise and paraphrase it into simpler language so hopefully you can understand.

It affects 3-6% of the population.
It is also called muscular rheumatism.
The main symptoms are all-over pain and tenderness to light touch.
Other symptoms MAY include: heightened sensitivity of the skin (also called allodynia), tingling of the skin (often needle-like), achiness in the muscle tissues, prolonged muscle spasms, weakness in the limbs, and nerve pain.
The above means that sleep is often disrupted or of a poor quality.
It is not fatal, and does not harm your body over time.
It's just a permanent pain. There are no outward symptoms, you have to believe your mother that she is in pain.
The disease isn't accepted by all doctors, since there are no outward symptoms. It may be a mental illness, with the patient's brain creating the pain.

I hope that this is a good start to you understanding the condition. If you have other questions, please ask and I will do my best to find an answer for you.

Allheart · May 4, 2007, 04:51 AM

Oh Kirstin,
What a sweet girl you are. May I ask how old you are? Your Mom is a very special Mom to have such a nice daughter be so lovingly concerned for her.

Will keep you in my thoughts. You just keep loving Mom the way you do and it can be some of the best medicine.

kirstinxxx · May 4, 2007, 04:53 AM

Thank you! That helped me a lot more than a lot of sites I've been on!
And I am 16!

Allheart · May 4, 2007, 04:55 AM

Originally Posted by kirstinxxx

Thank you! That helped me alot more than alot of sites i've been on!!
And i am 16!!

You're a special young lady and Mom is blessed to have you as her daughter.

Will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.

kirstinxxx · May 4, 2007, 06:49 AM

Thank you very very much!

Nicnet · Jul 22, 2007, 11:00 AM

I suffer from Fybro myself alongside Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Fybro = soft tissue myalgia = pain. Soft tissue pain, soft tissue constitutes every muscle and tendon in your body.

Basically there is no explanation at all for Fibro, It affects different people in different ways. I'm mainly affected by ongoing chronic muscle pains throughout my body. Pressure buildup in my back and shoulders is sometimes just short of unbearable. It feels like you have lugged a ton of bricks around all day and can't put them down. Very similar to that feeling in your arms when you try carry too much shopping home and drop it when you get in to the kithcen. Problem is you just can't drop the shopping with this sydrome.

Pain is very wearing and stress agrevates this condition as stress tenses the muscles along your shoulders and back to start with, The fibro picks it up and runs with it.

The only real ways to deal with this is to be supportive, you need to understand that just because she doesn't look sick does not mean that on that particular day she isn't possibly in agony. Do not push her to do things that she knows she is unable to do on the day, Sometimes just going to the toilet is a chore.

Light massages to the back of neck and shoulders can work but NEVER a deep muscle massage as this will agrevate the condition. There are pressure points related to Fibro that must be avoided at all costs.

Main treatment is painkillers and rest on flare-up days. It can also cause 'brain fog' where-in your brain just can't think straight on the day, i.e. milk in drawer and spoon in fridge type of thing.

You will need patience and a lot of understanding as this can cause her to get very frustrated and sometimes bad tempered.

There are some good Fibro support groups online, I could list some but as there are so many you may like to read some of them and decide if you would like to join. They are aimed a both Fibro sufferers and their friends / family also. Sometimes if helps to talk to someone who knows exactly what your going through.

Nicnet