Fibromyalgia Good Days vs Bad Days Free Essays

Fibromyalgia Good Days vs. Bad Days Michele Gay National American University January 11, 2012 Abstract Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disease that has â€Å"good† no pain days and â€Å"bad† excruciatingly painful days. The differences in the days are extreme. We will write a custom essay sample on Fibromyalgia Good Days vs Bad Days or any similar topic only for you Order Now A good day is also a mentally bad day, knowing that the pain can come back at anytime, while an extremely painful day could be mentally a good day because the pain has to go away sometime. Fibromyalgia has many symptoms and there is not a known cause for the disease at this time. Keywords: fibromyalgia, good days, bad days, pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety or depression, physical appearance For people diagnosed with fibromyalgia, according to Moore (2011), on average, we feel, well, average. Average is whatever comes in the middle of a really good day and a really bad one. Or, to put it another way, good days get worse, and bad days get better. There is a seesaw effect going on with how a person feels physically. This seesaw effect can be very hard on an individual, but not just physically but psychologically. On the good days thoughts of wondering, just how long will the good feelings continue. Then when a bad day happens, there is excruciating pain, and all the while the realization that the pain can’t last forever and in time the person with fibromyalgia will feel better. According to MyFibro. com (2011) Fibromyalgia statistics, fibromyalgia is a chronic disease that about 1 in 50 Americans are diagnosed with. Symptoms of fibromyalgia can be primary and or secondary symptoms. Primary symptoms include but are limited to; musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances like sleep apnea, grinding of ones teeth, restless leg syndrome and frequent waking during the deep, restorative phases of sleep or alpha-EEG anomaly. Some of the secondary symptoms are headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, TMJ pain, anxiety / depression, ear nose and throat problems, pelvic pain, skin roblems, paresthesias, fibro fog (cognitive changes such as memory problems, confusion and difficulty concentrating). Fibromyalgia is a disease that is not always visual to other people. Many people have fibromyalgia and do not realize that they do, let alone someone else knowing a person has it or that they are dealing with it. A few aches here and there, tenderness in certain areas, dizziness, a little anxious are a few of the symptoms, but when looking in the mirror at oneself a person could not see those symptoms. Unfortunately this makes it difficult for our peers to know if a person with fibromyalgia is having a good or bad day, unless they are told. Without knowing about the disease peers don’t realize that there could be some limitations physically, mentally and dietary as well. Depending on the severity of fibromyalgia, having a good day, could mean that there are no symptoms to medium symptoms. A feeling of going out for a walk or a run, slept great and feel refreshed. A person is back to their old selves or close to it. According to Schmidt (1990) a person with fibromyalgia needs to plan for the bad days – imagine it as a day off from work, take naps, allow an occasional bout of private self-pity – on those really worst-of-all-days cry if it helps, believe in the good days- no matter how severe the relapse is there are occasional good days, use a 50-percent solution – on a good day try to do about 50-60 percent of what is normally managed. , just do a little – on the days of mild energy, just do a little, it will be there tomorrow, schedule time for rest – even on a good day schedule time for rest each day. Bad days again range from the extent of your symptoms. A person with fibromyalgia and their worst days and nights, hurts everywhere including the hair on their head, clothing hurts physically to the extent of wanting to cry from the pressure on the skin. There is little to no good deep REM sleep, so the person continues to be tired and the body does not rejuvenate. There are muscle spasms that run all over their body and the spasms add an extra layer of pain to the already continuous muscle pain. A person’s anxiety level shoots up as well as psychologically, where the person diagnosed with fibromyalgia feels worthless, angry and loneliness. During a bad day others can not generally tell that a person with fibromyalgia is in pain. So when it is mentioned that that a person is having a great deal of pain or not able to concentrate, the person’s peers will look at a person with fibromyalgia say that, â€Å"You look fine. † If a person does not have fibromyalgia, then the there is no possibly way for them to imagine what it feels like and probably could not understand how someone feels not only physically but mentally as well. References: Moore, Dr Chris (2011). Fibromyalgia: Why good days get worse and bad days get better Fibromyalgia Doctor Medical Information for Fibromyalgia Sufferers, Retrieved from: http://docchrismoore. wordpress. com Schmidt, Patti (1990). Getting Through the Bad Days CFIDS Fibromyalgia Self Help, Retrieved from http://www. cfidsselfhelp. org Site Writer (2011) Fibromyalgia Symptoms, MyFibro. com. Retrieved from http://www. myfibro. com/ How to cite Fibromyalgia Good Days vs Bad Days, Papers