Fibro Fog: Finally Some Clarity

Those who know me well, know that I have suffered from chronic health issues for a number of years.  Nine and a half years, to be exact.  I've seen numerous doctors - including specialists at a renown hospital - all who've looked at my symptoms in isolation, and only one of which even suggested the possibility that they might be related.

I've had a hunch for quite some time that all of these seperate symptoms are somehow connected.  The intense fatigue and energy loss on a regular basis (to the point of struggling to talk), the feeling of being extremely drained when I first wake up in the morning (I used to be a morning person...), the lip swelling (diagnosed in 2004 as angioedema - which Jake affectionately calls "angelinadema"), the symetrical muscle pain and tightness in my feet, legs, lower back and neck (which, after osteopathy, physical therapy, and chiropractic care never seem to go away), the restless leg syndrom at night, the anxiety & tension headaches.

Well, turns out, they are all related and fall under the diagnostic title of Firbomyalgia - a disorder of the central nervous system.  Labels are a funny thing.  They can be so limiting and defining, and yet, in this instance, this name brings me such relief.  It has been so reassuring to finally have a name and explanation to all of these myseterious things which my body has been experiencing for the last almost-decade.  It all makes some sense, at last.  It validates what I have been feeling for a long time.

I don't talk much about my health struggles.  When people ask me how I am doing, I usually say 'fine', not because I don't want to be honest, but simply because I almost always feel tired and am used to hurting.  That is my normal, so I have learned to differentiate between happy and healthy.  Just because I am doing well, does not mean that I feel good.  I can be having a good day (feeling joyful, grateful, peaceful, content), but still be hurting.  I've also never really known how to explain my health problems.  They make me sound like a bit of a hypochondriac - especially since doctors have been unable, until now, to tell me anything conclusive on the matter.  So, I am grateful to have a name, that at least sounds a bit familiar to most people. 

One exciting thing about this recent discovery is that it enables me to explore some treatment options.  Although Fibromyaligia is incurable, there are ways to reduce the symptoms.  This brings me much hope.  I don't know why God chose to reveal this now, but I trust that He has his reasons.  I thank Him for shedding some light in an area where I have remained in the dark for so long.

Even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Ps. 139:12