As I look at this picture and carefully study each word that describes the many faces of fibromyalgia, I realize that over the last fifteen or twenty years that my doctors have been totally baffled as to what in the world was wrong with me... if they would have looked at the whole picture they would have easily seen it....Fibromyalgia. I should have kept a journal of my symptoms and problems along the way to take to the doctor perhaps and then maybe they would have been able to piece it together. The Fibro Fibs come in when other people think that Fibromyalgia is no big deal and that it is not a real disease! Tell me....if you experienced all of these symptoms most all of the time would you then say that it is not for real?? Granted, there have been some respite times in my life when I was with Less symptoms ..but I won't say I have ever been symptom-free! Whenever I have been through any kind of stressful times in my life, which have been many, then the symptoms have been at their peak! There is some connection because the stress affects our central nervous system which in turn affects these symptoms. Family and Friends are the hardest to convince that this is for real and even though you may look fine you are not fine!! When you feel lousy you usually hide out and don't show yourself for days to the world because you just cant!! Then when you finally manage to make it out of your house and feel good enough... people think you are a Fake! They don't realize that you just spent 3 days laying on the couch with aches and pains that pain killers hardly touch! I have had family members and friends both say to me, things like.."Oh, you have Fibromyalgia, that's no big deal!" Do they even know what it IS? Please read the symptoms and educate yourself!! Please stop believing the Fibro Fibs out there that it is NO Big Deal!! It is a big deal to those of us who have it and have to deal with it on a daily basis!
