It's a Sweet Life

AUTHOR’S NOTE

As some of you already know, I am a member of the fibromyalgia “club.” With a dual diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome on top of that, and arthritis to boot, it can sometimes make life…interesting. I didn’t have to stretch my imagination far to write the health issues the heroine in this tale goes through. I simply wrote from my own experiences, sometimes at the same time while I was writing this book.

It’s very hard to describe how frustrating it is to go from being someone who could easily pull an all-nighter, a “get shit done” kind of gal, to someone who, on some days, feels like they can barely get out of bed. I don’t “look” sick. And yes, I have plenty of good days, fortunately. But there are the days where simply walking through the grocery store can put me back to bed for the rest of the day.

Or suffering through bouts of “word salad” that sometimes accompany the condition called fibro fog, leaving me grasping for a word I know I should know and unable to think of it. Hubby and I even have a system where if I get stuck, he waits to start tossing words at me until I start pantomiming and gesturing at him that I’m really and truly stuck. Sometimes, a well-meaning person trying to help can make the issue worse as my frustration grows if they try to offer me words too soon when I’m still struggling to put a sentence together.

As you can imagine, that can be a particularly vexing symptom for a writer who makes their living slinging words. Fortunately, it seems to happen most verbally and not when I’m actually sitting at my laptop. Although I do keep my trusty Roget’s Thesaurus close at hand for when I’m at a loss for a word. In the writing of this manuscript, it took me three different searches to finally remember the word I wanted to use in the Walmart scene was “dysfunctional.”

(Yes, there is a certain irony to that which I can appreciate all too well.) I’m not looking for sympathy, and neither are most sufferers of this condition. I know I’m lucky to have an incredible support system combined with a job that allows me to sit at home in my pj’s all day.

And it’s not any more terminal a condition than life already is to start with. But what I, and other fibro patients, are usually looking for is patience and understanding. That it’s not in our heads. That we’re not lazy or trying to get out of doing things. That putting others before ourselves can, literally, be hazardous to our health in some cases. That we might need to beg off plans at the last minute even though we don’t “look sick” because our energy plug got yanked out of the wall on us. And while we might have been in great shape the day before (or even the morning of) an event, that doesn’t mean fibro won’t wave its wand and put us on our ass in the space of a few minutes. That instead of belittling us for what someone might perceive as laziness you offer an understanding ear and not try to guilt us into doing something we will pay for later in terms of our “spoon usage.”

Yes, believe me, it frustrates the crap out of us, too. Most of us would give anything to be able to get to our pre-fibro (or pre-whatever) energy levels.

What are spoons? Please take the time to read “The Spoon Theory” by Christine Miserandino. It applies not only to fibromyalgia patients, but anyone with a chronic condition or disability that saps strength and energy.

(http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/) If you feel you might have fibromyalgia, please do your research and talk with your health care provider regarding treatment options.

Pain, fibro fog, and fatigue are just some of the most common symptoms of this complex disorder. There are various regimens, both prescription and homeopathic, that can help relieve some of your symptoms and make life more manageable.