What Is Fibromyalgia?

What is Fibromyalgia? This question has caused disruption amongst the medical community.  The question may seem simple but the answer is complex. The one aspect that’s agreed upon is that it’s a diagnosis related closely to pain. Fibromyalgia is a combination or the root word “fibro”, deriving from Latin meaning fibrous tissues; “my” meaning muscles and “algia” meaning pain. (Dr. Ananya Mandal, MD)

“Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain and spinal cord process painful and nonpainful signals.”(MayoClinic.org)

The CDC says, “Fibromyalgia (fi·bro·my·al·gi·a) is a condition that causes pain all over the body (also referred to as widespread pain), sleep problems, fatigue, and often emotional and mental distress. People with fibromyalgia may be more sensitive to pain than people without fibromyalgia. This is called abnormal pain perception processing.”(cdc.gov)

Fibromyalgia has been explained by many health professionals, but I feel that no explanation can truly embody how it feels. The wide spread body pain can sometimes feel like you’ve been hit by a bus and other times it’s an aching pain that doesn’t go away. Everyone’s experience will be different because we all process pain differently. Some of us have a high tolerance to pain while some of us have a low tolerance. Remain positive and don’t let this disease beat you. Try to remember you’re not alone.