What is FMS

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain illness, also known as “the invisible illness.” Fibromyalgia is one of the most common chronic pain illnesses in the world that affects about 10 million people in the U.S., and up to 6% of the population worldwide. While it mostly affects ladies at a rate of 75–90%, it also affects men and children, and has no specific nationality.

Fibromyalgia is classified as a syndrome and not a disease. Why? Fibromyalgia is widespread body pain that affects each of the four quadrants of the human body but does not lead to any diseases in the body. It is, however, all the medications that you will be prescribed to manage the fibromyalgia that will lead to other health issues. Keep in mind there are several tests, x-rays, and doctor appointments that you will endure to rule out other diseases before a diagnosis can be made.​

Fibromyalgia presents itself as pain, pure, raw widespread pain all over the body. The pain can be all right away, known as a “flare,” or the pain can be periodic in many parts of the body, with the neck and shoulder region seeming to be the most affected in a lot of sufferers. Sometimes, the pain takes turns... I guess that's when fibro is being empathetic and decides to only hurt you in one place at a time. And that is a much-needed break, those are called, “Good Days”, because you can still function and be somewhat mobile.

Sometimes, you just kind of build a type of relationship with your ailment to where when one thing is already hurting then something else starts hurting simultaneously you find yourself talking to your ailments like, "Hey you, fibro, that is already hurting, we don't need this to start, now let's just deal with one pain at a time, please.” Go ahead and give it a try, you'll probably be surprised at the outcome, even if the outcome is simply "Am I really talking to my illness right now?" I bet you had a little chuckle at yourself and I would also bet that one of the pains you were complaining about was no longer present.

It is also important to remember that a body at rest stays at rest so, it is important to exercise, whether it's walking, dancing, yoga, tai chi, or whatever your preferred method of cardio is, be sure to try to get at least five minutes of exercise, including stretching daily as fibromyalgia causes stiffness due to inflammation in the body. However, do not overdo it as fibro has a way of paying you back when you over exert yourself, so listen to your body.

Fibromyalgia really is a mystery. If you do nothing but relax, you hurt. If you exercise and inadvertently over exert yourself, you hurt more, and that hurt carries over to the next day or two or three, so you have to find the right medium for you. Fibromyalgia is such a mysterious illness that medical professionals still don't know much about it, and they probably don't even know where to start since there is such a wide array of symptoms reported yet not a plethora of research has been reported. However, there is some active research being performed now as doctors are seeing and diagnosing more and more cases.

Since there is no known cure for fibromyalgia, doctors mainly focus on treating and managing the multiple symptoms that accompany fibromyalgia. Some fibro sufferers have opted to utilize homeopathic methods as part of their pain management plan and it seems that some natural techniques such as yoga, tai chi, meditation and acupuncture have proven to show results. They also implemented eating anti-inflammatory foods, adding vitamins and herbs to their daily routine and diffusing essential oils.