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Back in the early nineties, my mum whom I lived with at the time was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. All her life she had been a strong woman, she worked hard to get us a good living, she did everything to ensure that I never missed anything at all.

“I’m in pain all the time, my body hurts everywhere."

Words my mother used to say thousands of times. When you love someone that much, last thing you wish is to see them suffering. Fibromyalgia symptoms are excruciatingly painful and debilitating, it is a never ending fight against the disease that has no foreseen cure.

How did it all happened?

My mum went from leading an active life, raising me as a single mum with a fully loaded working week to being hospitalised and diagnosed medically unfit to work. Her life changed from day to night within the matter of 10 years!! Early on in that space of time, she suffered from depression due to her separation with my step-father, slowly symptoms related to FM got more and more frequent. Chronic depression, pain, tiredness, stress…, it was all to real, there was no looking back, fibromyalgia was present and there to stay. Even though her condition developed over a long period of time, her disease cycle never ceased until she passed away fifty years young.The reality is that we never saw it coming…we were not prepared!! I never understood what it was really like to live with this disease; I was un-informed. I wish I would have known more about it at the time, I would have been able to help my mum better with her daily routine.

In my quest to help those affected with Fibromyalgia, this is my way of remembering my beloved mother...these words are for her.

“This path I choose leads me closer to you
When I run, you run next to me
Your pain has faded away and you're free
You smile, I smile and we're happy
We’re together every step of the way
Love you mum, your son forever”

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This is a short wikipedia description of Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a medical condition characterised by chronic widespread pain and a heightened and painful response to pressure. Symptoms other than pain may occur, leading to the use of the term fibromyalgia syndrome. Other symptoms include feeling tired to a degree that normal activities are affected, sleep disturbance, and joint stiffness. Some people also report difficulty with swallowing, bowel and bladder abnormalities, numbness and tingling, and cognitive dysfunction. Fibromyalgia is frequently associated with psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety, and with stress-related disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder. Not all people with fibromyalgia experience all associated symptoms. Its exact cause is unknown but is believed to involve psychological, genetic, neurobiological and environmental factors.

Signs and symptoms

The defining symptoms of fibromyalgia are chronic widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and heightened pain in response to tactile pressure. Other symptoms may include tingling of the skin, prolonged muscle spasms, weakness in the limbs, nerve pain, muscle twitching, palpitations, and functional bowel disturbances. Many people experience cognitive dysfunction (known as "fibrofog"), which may be characterized by impaired concentration, problems with short and long-term memory, short-term memory consolidation, impaired speed of performance, inability to multi-task, cognitive overload, and diminished attention span. Fibromyalgia is often associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms. 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 myofascial pain and have high rates of comorbid temporomandibular joint dysfunction. 20–30% of people with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus may also have fibromyalgia.

Cause

The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown. However, several hypotheses have been developed including "central sensitization". This theory proposes that people with fibromyalgia have a lower threshold for pain because of increased reactivity of pain-sensitive nerve cells in the spinal cord or brain.

Lifestyle

Stress may be an important precipitating factor in the development of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is frequently comorbid with stress-related disorders such as chronic fatigue syndrome, posttraumatic stress disorder, irritable bowel syndrome and depression.Poor lifestyles including being a smoker, obesity and lack of physical activity may increase the risk of an individual developing fibromyalgia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibromyalgia

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