4/16/09

Everything is so stressful right now. My mom was recently in the hospital for a few days due to a bowel obstruction. My dad's having open heart surgery soon- which is terrifying. It seems like everyone in the house is depressed about something, be it money, health, or because Thatcher won't stop barking at Toby for no apparent reason.

I haven't written anything lately because there just isn't anything left to say. Nothing good has happened and no one wants to hear about the continuous crap that just keeps coming down. The only real new thing was the confirmation I knew was inevitible. I thought maybe it would make me feel better to get the long awaited diagnosis, but it's only reminding me that this isnn't curable and I'll have to deal with it the rest of my life. I know it could be a LOT worse than fibromyalgia, and I'm exceedingly grateful that it's not. However, having an incurable disease just doesn't really life one's spirits. It's no wonder I play by myself online all the time when my reality just keeps getting more painful. But I'm not going to whine about it. Instead, I'm going to inform about the weird, not very well understood disease that is actually quite common. And yes, I stole this from Wiki. I read it first to make sure it wasn't bogus info.

Fibromyalgia (new lat., fibro- fibrous tissue, Gk. myo- muscle, Gk. algos- pain), meaning muscle and connective tissue pain (also referred to as FM or FMS), is a disorder classified by the presence of chronic widespread pain and a heightened and painful response to gentle touch (tactile allodynia).^[1] Other core features of the disorder include debilitating fatigue, sleep disturbance, and joint stiffness. In addition, persons affected by the disorder frequently experience a range of other symptoms that involve multiple body systems, including difficulty with swallowing,^[2] functional bowel and bladder abnormalities,^[3] difficulty breathing,^[4] diffuse sensations of numbness and tingling (non-dermatomal paresthesia),^[5] abnormal motor activity (i.e. nocturnal myoclonus, sleep bruxism),^[6] and cognitive dysfunction.^[7] An increased prevalence of affective and anxiety-related symptoms is also well known.^[8] While the criteria for such an entity have not yet been thoroughly developed, the recognition that fibromyalgia involves more than just pain has led to the frequent use of the term "fibromyalgia syndrome".^[9] Not all affected persons experience all the symptoms associated with the greater syndrome.

Fibromyalgia is considered a controversial diagnosis, with some authors contending that the disorder is a ‘non-disease’, due in part to a lack of objective laboratory tests or medical imaging studies to confirm the diagnosis.^[10] While historically considered either a musculoskeletal disease or neuropsychiatric condition, evidence from research conducted in the last three decades has revealed abnormalities within the central nervous system affecting brain regions that may be linked both to clinical symptoms and research phenomena.^[11] Although there is as yet no generally accepted cure for fibromyalgia, there are treatments that have been demonstrated by controlled clinical trials to be effective in reducing symptoms, including medications, patient education, exercise and behavioral interventions.^[12]

The defining symptoms of fibromyalgia are chronic, widespread pain and painful response to touch (allodynia). Other symptoms can include moderate to severe fatigue, needle-like tingling of the skin, muscle aches, prolonged muscle spasms, weakness in the limbs, nerve pain, functional bowel disturbances,^[13] and chronic sleep disturbances.^[14] Sleep disturbances may be related to a phenomenon called alpha-delta sleep, a condition in which deep sleep (associated with delta waves) is frequently interrupted by bursts of alpha waves, which normally occur during wakefulness. Slow-wave sleep is often dramatically reduced.^{[citation needed]}

Many patients experience cognitive dysfunction^[15] (known as "brain fog" or "fibrofog"), which may be characterized by impaired concentration,^[16] problems with short^[16][17] and long-term memory, short-term memory consolidation^[17], impaired speed of performance,^[16][17] inability to multi-task, cognitive overload,^[16][17] diminished attention span and anxiety and depressive symptoms.^[17] "Brain fog" may be directly related to the sleep disturbances experienced by sufferers of fibromyalgia.^{[citation needed]}

Other symptoms often attributed to fibromyalgia that may possibly be due to a comorbid disorder include myofascial pain syndrome also referred to as Chronic Myofascial Pain, diffuse non-dermatomal paresthesias, functional bowel disturbances and irritable bowel syndrome (possibly linked to lower levels of ghrelin,^[18] genitourinary symptoms and interstitial cystitis, dermatological disorders, headaches, myoclonic twitches, and symptomatic hypoglycemia. Although fibromyalgia is classified based on the presence of chronic widespread pain, pain may also be localized in areas such as the shoulders, neck, low back, hips, or other areas. Many sufferers also experience varying degrees of facial pain and have high rates of comorbid temporomandibular joint disorder.

Eye problems such as eye pain, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, and fluctuating visual clarity, can also be a symptom of the condition.^[19] As a consequence of this, sufferers who wear glasses or contact lenses may have to change their lens prescription frequently.

Symptoms can have a slow onset, and many patients have mild symptoms beginning in childhood, that are often misdiagnosed as growing pains.^{[citation needed]} Symptoms are often aggravated by unrelated illness or changes in the weather.^{[citation needed]}They can become more or less tolerable throughout daily or yearly cycles; however, many people with fibromyalgia find that, at least some of the time, the condition prevents them from performing normal activities such as driving a car or walking up stairs. The disorder does not cause inflammation as is characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis, although some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may temporarily reduce pain symptoms in some patients. Their use, however, is limited, and often of little to no value in pain management.^[20]

That's just a small snippet. The treatment for this is pretty much based on your symptoms. I don't want to be on narcotics forever, so I'm not going that route. We're first going to work on my sleeping problems which will help pain in the long run. The Dr wants me to do a sleep study... which will be really interesting, assuming I can fall asleep while hooked up to machines.

So yeah, that's pretty much been the focus of the past few months and why I fall off the face of the map for weeks at a time. At least now it's being addressed so I'm hoping that we'll find a means of managing all of the 8999676 symptoms that have been tied together. Regardless, I'm still going to England and I've been accepted to ASU for next semester so this disease can suck it. I'm not letting it take over my life.