Fibromyalgia: the Bad, the Worse, and the Ugly

In a previous post, I mentioned that I have a chronic illness that limits the kind of work I can do and the hours when I can do it. I suffer from depression, generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia, but it's actually the last two that are the most troublesome. For a brief overview of fibromyalgia, go here.

When my chronic pain began about five years ago, my doctor said I needed to lose weight. He was right; I'm 5'6'' and weighed 280 lbs. Over the course of three years, I've lost about 100 lbs and continue to work my way toward a healthy weight. With every positive change I've made in my lifestyle, however, the pain has gotten worse, not better. What began as a stiff neck has developed into constant pain in my neck, shoulders, chest back, pelvis, hips, and legs, with periodic pain in my hands, arms, feet, head, face, jaw, and abdomen. In other words, I hurt all over, all the time.

The activities that aggravate the pain seem to defy logic: I can walk for an hour on flat ground, but struggle to trudge up a hill or a single flight of stairs and can't stand for more than 10 minutes. I can do moderate free weights and yoga, but carrying a light back pack on my shoulders or a grocery bag by my side is excruciating. My friends always know when I'm approaching because they hear the rumble of the giant wheeled suitcase I drag behind me, and strangers on campus sometimes leap out of my way, assuming the noise is a skateboard.

The first time I saw the word "fibromyalgia" was when I looked at the diagnoses listed on a medical bill. My doctor had never told me what he thought was wrong with me. When I asked him about it, he said it was just a word for pain that won't go away and that he hadn't brought it up because there was nothing that could be done about it. I've dedicated the last four years of my life to improving my health and proving him wrong. Stay tuned for future posts where I discuss what I've been doing about fibro.

One of the most challenging parts of this condition is that any number of related illnesses accompany the pain. Thyroid disease is a prime example. While no one knows whether hypothyroidism is a symptom of fibro or the cause of it, it's important to understand the role that the thyroid gland plays in our health, which is the subject of my next commercial post.