If it’s not one thing…
…it’s my mother, calling with the kvetch of the day. For those of you not familiar with a kvetch, it’s similar to a nag, which is like a constant annoying reminder, only more so. If by chance my mother neglects to fill her nag quota while on the phone, I can always count on an email with a more extensive list. My mom is big into lists. From the time I was old enough to make my own lists I had (as a joke) compiled an alphabetical list of all her ailments so I knew what I was in for as I got older.
I’ve reached the age myself, though, where I’ve started on an ailment list of my very own. Not a good thing to get sidetracked by serious health issues with young children and a busy household to run. For me, illness is like an obstacle course: I’m always running and dodging, trying to leap over the daily hurdles that challenge me in ways I never imagined.
The big one from my list is Fibromyalgia. This disease is like a combination of rheumatoid arthritis and chronic fatigue. Add to the mix sleep disturbances preventing any kind of restorative sleep – which produces another symptom, “brain fog” – memory problems equivalent to those often experienced during pregnancy. In trying to explain the illness to my older daughter, I described the effects as if they were the Seven Dwarves: Achy, Cranky, Forgetful, Gimpy, Sleepy, Weary … plus the occasional visit with Doc.
I’ve had quite a variety of responses from people when they learn that I have Fibromyalgia. Some have never heard of it; others know the name but few details about the symptoms. One fun thing about having an oddly-named disease are the unique pronunciations that people come up with. One friend (a nurse, by the way) called it Fibro Malaysia. Malaysia is a country in south-east Asia, sweetie. Also really liked the one from my pastor, who called it Fiber My Algae. While it’s important to get enough fiber in your diet, that’s not what the disease is about. As for myself, I just like to call it Fibro What Ails You. That pretty much sums it up for me. One day you feel like you got hit by a truck; the next day it might feel more like a bus or a train. Every day is different. Just a nice little bonus of the disease, all the variety.
Some days are fine; other times the flare-ups just wipe me out and make ordinary things extraordinarily difficult. Simple things exacerbate the pain, like lifting a child out of a car seat and into a grocery cart. When even the little things are a challenge, it takes an even greater effort to make the effort to do them. One of my favorite quotes is from an old article, “Obstacles are in the mind, inventing them.” Sometimes we set ourselves up for failure just by believing that we will fail. So we choose to not even try, which is failure in itself. If you let a little pain prevent you from living your life, it’s not really much of a life. But there are times you have to just push through the pain (much like during childbirth) and keep on plugging.
I say all this not to complain, or to illicit sympathy, but to make a point. There is not a person on this planet who doesn’t have some kind of difficulty in their life. Sometimes, as with me, it’s a health issue; sometimes it’s a problem with a relationship, or financial, or the like. But we have a greater source than ourselves to draw on when we are beyond our own abilities. The Bible is replete with images of illness turned to triumph, of disaster changed to blessing. We may not understand why we are allowed to suffer, but there is always a point to be made or a lesson to learn. God’s ways are not our ways. We may not see the blessing in the day-to-day difficulties, but it’s there. There are times where He uses the flip side of blessing to draw us closer to him. If we can learn to praise him when times are bad, the good times will be even sweeter. God can use the problems in our lives to prove that He is with us always, through good times and bad. To walk in true relationship with the Lord is the greatest gift ever. A daily dose of communion.
In the book of 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul mentioned suffering from a ‘thorn in his flesh.’ Though he repeatedly asked God to remove the ‘thorn’ (which some scholars believe was the onset of blindness) and restore his health, Paul did not get the answer he was looking for. He did, however, receive a greater answer: “But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (New International Version)
So maybe I can’t do everything the same way or with the same energy that I used to. But I know that the Lord’s grace is with me, sustaining me through all my weakness. Fibromyalgia is a thorn that in all likelihood will never be removed from my side (or my knees, or my back, or my neck.) But that’s okay. Because His grace is sufficient for me, whatever my needs are. And that sure tops my list.
Judy Fedele
Publicity, Believers’ Chapel MOPS in Cicero, New York
I suffer from fibromyalgia & can relate so well to your post. Each day presents a different challenge.
Hope you’ll be fine and feel better. I am also one of many people suffered much pain of Fibromyalgia. I went from doctor to doctor to look for answers regarding my condition. It’s really difficult to lead a normal life having this kind of illness.
I just want to give helpful information for all fibromyalgia sufferers.
Fibromyalgia is a condition where you feel chronic pain in certain parts of your body; it is a muscular pain especially around the joints. There can also be centralized pain felt in the spinal chord, brain, neck shoulders etc. People with fibromyalgia generally complain of pain in the joints, but it actually is the muscles and the tendons around it that cause the pain, it can be excruciating sometimes and can be a continuous throbbing pain. People suffering from Fibromyalgia also show symptoms of depression, sleeplessness, irritable bowel syndrome, stress and many others, which are caused due to the pain.
Rid Fibromyalgia provides a simple process to helps you eliminate all your symptoms of fibromyalgia and enjoy living your life again. This will provides us the best and most effective solutions on how to rid ourselves from pain.
The Rid Fibromyalgia provides an eBook entitled “Heal the Body” that will teach you the best diet that will allow you to eat your way to wellness, it will also document which vitamins and supplements will target and reverse the illness, how to achieve pain relief through acupuncture, what exercises are safe and will work, and what type of medications may make you sicker, and what will work. This eBook takes a step by step approach in showing you how to rid yourself of the pain naturally so that you can take back your life.
We must know the symptoms of this illness. For us to know what would be the approach we will going to apply. Here’s Signs and Symptoms of Fibromyalgia and steps to treat it naturally.
We must also be responsible and aware to the things to gain and cope up with this kind of illness. Eating nutritious food with regular exercise would be result to a better life. Here’s Basic Tips in Coping Fibromyalgia.
If we say Fibromyalgia Diet, there is no specific recommended diet for fibromyalgia. But a healthy diet rich in vitamins and minerals can certainly help in coping with the illness. Magnesium rich vegetables are recommended for patient’s suffering from fibromyalgia. Here’s some information for you to help in Fibromyalgia Diet.
We must also think that vitamins are important for Fibromyalgia sufferers. This will give us additional energy and strength to kept a healthy living. But of course, you must be aware that not all vitamins are effective or directly gives you a good result. Find the best vitamins that would easily give a good response if your taking it. The best thing is your healed and keep your body healthy as possible. Here’s The Benefit of Vitamins for us to know why vitamins are important for fibromyalgia sufferers.
Also feel free to view this video Fibromyalgia Help. It really gives good information for those who have Fibromyalgia and encourage not to give up because in every pain your getting through has a good solution in the end.
Here’s Rid Fibromyalgia, For free info and helpful articles on fighting fibromyalgia.