The biggest thing that's happened over the past year is that I was officially diagnosed with (severe) fibromyalgia.
What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia (pronounced fy-bro-my-AL-ja) is a common and complex chronic pain disorder that affects people physically, mentally and socially. Fibromyalgia is a syndrome rather than a disease. Unlike a disease, which is a medical condition with a specific cause or causes and recognizable signs and symptoms, a syndrome is a collection of signs, symptoms, and medical problems that tend to occur together but are not related to a specific, identifiable cause.
Fibromyalgia, which has also been referred to as fibromyalgia syndrome, fibromyositis and fibrositis, is characterized by chronic widespread pain, multiple tender points, abnormal pain processing, sleep disturbances, fatigue and often psychological distress. For those with severe symptoms, fibromyalgia can be extremely debilitating and interfere with basic daily activities.
I encourage you to click on this link to learn more about fibromyalgia. It's really important to educate yourself on issues such as these, especially if you know someone, or have a family member who suffers from this.
Fibromyalgia is a cruel & frustrating syndrome. I feel like I've aged about 20 years just in the last year. After trial & error periods with medications…trying to find something that works, losing half the hair on my head (it was literally coming out by the handful), not being able to give/receive hugs or wear some clothing because my skin hurts so badly that I want to scream, not remembering things because my memory has all but left me, not being able to attend my kids' activities, not being able to exercise often due to pain, not being able to get out of bed somedays simply because my pain level is too high… it goes on & on. I'm a virtual shell of the person I once was. I'm usually a very outgoing person, and over the past year, I've turned into a really awesome hermit. I really have to give serious props to Mike & the boys. They have really stepped up to help when it was/is needed. They are my ROCKS!! I literally don't know how I'd get through all of this without them.
I'm not writing this to elicit sympathy, in fact, I'm doing the opposite. I'm writing this to help educate people! Fibromyalgia seems to be one of those syndromes/diseases that falls under the "it's all in your head" category. I'm here to tell you, it's NOT in my head! I had a family member tell me that doctors diagnose people with fibromyalgia when they can't figure out what's wrong with them…and my mouth dropped open. That family member witnessed me in the midst of an awful, debilitating flare, and quickly apologized. That's just the thing, many people don't understand it, so they're quick to sweep it under the carpet -- as are many doctors.
I wake up each morning never knowing how I'm going to feel. That makes it very hard to plan things! I hate having to cancel plans. It has also made taking pictures very difficult. I've really pulled back with the photo biz for a while. After trying to get through a shoot with hand/arm tremors and half of the pictures being too blurry to use, I realized that I needed to stop. It's not fair to my clients to not have quality work, or to have me reschedule on them due to a flare-up. That has been a very difficult decision for me, but one that I know is right. Photography is a passion for me, but I feel like maybe life is taking me in a new direction now.
Because I have many days where it hurts to do just about everything, I have taken to researching fibromyalgia. I have been looking into a more holistic approach for pain relief. I have such a severe reaction to pain meds, that there is very little left that I'm able to take (and let me just say, Advil doesn't even touch the pain). I've tried acupuncture, and had some success with it, and need to start doing it again. I've also been experimenting with essential oils to treat my symptoms. Why? Because I really don't enjoy keeping CVS's pharmacy in business! I don't like taking pills if I don't need them.
I've been able to treat individual symptoms with different essential oils with some success. I've been using doTERRA essential oils since before Christmas, and I love them! To feed my oils habit, I became a consultant. Check out my website! Jenni's doTERRA Website These oils not only help me, but they've helped Mike & the boys, too! I'm really trying hard to watch what I put in & on my body. I'm "going green", if you will. :)
I've had many people approach me with "miracle" ways to relieve my pain. While I really appreciate people wanting to help, what works for one person most likely won't work for another with fibro. There is no magic pill. There's no magic diet. There's no magic exercise. It takes a lot of trial & error. Little by little, I'm finding my way…but as I'm learning, it's going to be quite a journey!
I feel like I'm rambling. Sorry! This is a subject I've wanted to blog about for a while, but just haven't. I hope it gives a little insight to what I deal with on a daily basis.
Love & hugs,
Jenni
