Chronic pain and Fibromyalgia

I had a fall down my bottom step on the weekend. With my son on my hip, I contorted my body to ensure his safety. Who knew bodies could twist like that?! At first, I was sure it was my knee that I needed to be concerned about. The next day, I discovered that it was EVERY muscle in my back and neck that I needed to be concerned about!


While my husband and I were driving into Barrie, I was very uncomfortable. He kept asking me if everything was okay. I began to appreciate my chronic pain and fibromyalgia patients in a whole new way.


I am certainly not trying to equate one painful weekend of mine to the suffering that my patients have endured. But I really felt the need to comment on some of my insights.


The biggest one was how difficult it was to enjoy my family and the activities we were doing. It was only grocery shopping and the like, but I was very distracted by how sore I was. My son wanted to be picked up to look at things or show me something down an aisle and I could not do it. It took the fun out of it, for all of us.

That was another big ah-ha for me. It must be so hard on the families of these patients. My husband only had to deal with a couple of days of my being apathetic. Some of these patients feel that disconnected everyday for years! I'm sure that their families miss the lively people they were before the pain set in.

I love cooking and being creative in the kitchen - but not this weekend. I had zero imagination for colourful, healthful meals. No wonder that these patients find dietary changes so hard to make despite the importance of a healthy diet to manage the inflammation.

There are many treatment options for fibromyalgia and chronic pain. If you, or someone that you know is suffering, I encourage you to seek help. Treatment needs to go beyond pain meds that can leave you feeling even more groggy and disconnected.

Often, fibromyalgia and chronic pain are symptoms of an overstressed system. Some people end up with high blood pressure, others end up in pain. It's not a disease that exists 'only in your head'. That pain is real, and it requires real treatment. When left untreated, it can lead to a whole host of emotional disorders like depression, insomnia and anxiety.

Yours in health,
Kerri Fullerton ND