National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day
May 12, 2009 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
I’ve written quite a bit on fibromyalgia and I had featured someone with it in a Company’s Calling piece (Company’s calling – a journey with fibromyalgia ) when I wrote Help My Hurt for this network. I never knew there was a National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day – and I bet many of you didn’t either.
Fibromyalgia is one of those hidden diseases that is still very much a disease that’s fighting to be recognized (Fibromyalgia debate continues ), which adds to the difficulties faced by those who live with it. They know it’s real – they have to live with its effects on a daily basis.
According to the National Fibromyalgia Association :
In 1993, May 12 was designated as the International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND) by Tom Hennessy, the founder of RESCIND, Inc. (Repeal Existing Stereotypes about Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases), to memorialize the birth date of Florence Nightingale, the English army nurse who inspired the founding of the International Red Cross. Nightingale contracted a paralyzing, CIND-like illness in her mid-thirties and spent the last 50 years of her life virtually bedridden. Despite her illness, she managed to found the world’s first School of Nursing.
The National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) joined the Awareness Day effort in 1997 and has led the call for increased recognition of fibromyalgia each May 12.
When different causes have national days or weeks, or even months, I’ve heard people say, “what’s the point?” And, while I can see how it can get tiresome seeming to always have a cause of the day/week/month, this is often the only way to get people to understand, to recognize, the existence of these issues.
Fibromyalgia is a complex disorder that has a range of symptoms, from fatigue to pain and more. It affects both men and women, but women with fibro outnumber men by far.
After many years of doctors not understanding what fibro was, diagnostic criteria was determined by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in 1990.
The vague nature of the complaints may often be mistaken for other illnesses, so doctors are encouraged to rule out other illnesses first. This is often called, diagnosis by exclusion: by excluding possible illnesses, you’re left with fibromyalgia. When a doctor is diagnosing fibro, it usually includes a history of widespread pain all over the body for at least 3 months. There is also pain in at least 11 of the 18 designated tender points – brought on when a specified amount of pressure is applied.
If you believe you may have fibromylagia, speak with your healthcare provider. While there’s no cure for the disease, there are ways you may be able to manage the symptoms, and make life easier for yourself.
For more information on fibromyalgia, you can visit:
National Fibromyalgia Association
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Image: Newscom
The situation is now very difficult and many people do not really know what to do, but now we must get down to analyze each of us and see if we can get ahead, as everything depends on oneself, there are ups and downs but the important thing is that while there is life there is hope, a few days ago I read in findrxonline that antidepressants are the most common pills used in these cases but not many of them know the consequences …
Thank you for letting us know that today is National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. My husband suffers from fibromyalgia and it has been a struggle to get him diagnosed. Also it has been a struggle for others to accept his condition as real. As a wife, I can see the effects every single day and it breaks my heart that there is such a stigma surrounding it. I hope that somethings can be changed and that awareness can really come to our communities!
there are so many controversies regarding this subject. Having had been diagnosed over 2 years ago I had tried many things. I tried anti-depressants, I tried exercise, I tried massage therapy, I dieted. the pain still continued.
The only thing I have found that works was a program that I do currently. It incorporates counseling, homeopathy, diet and exercise, and supplements and some medications. It all works together and it is half as much as I was spending before. I am at about a quarter of the pain. The key to it is managing the disease, and its all about balance.