Fibromyalgia Experiences

I am your average person with fibromyalgia.

Well, not really. Statistically, and in my own experiences, the majority of people that are actually diagnosed with fibromyalgia are women around their 40's or older. A large portion of them are married with children (sometimes grown children) by the time they are diagnosed.

Personally, though, I had recently passed my 23rd birthday when I was diagnosed. I was working at a children's center, which had greatly added to the deterioration of my physical health; most particularly, my left hip had gotten really out of whack (so much so that there are still days when it hurts terribly, almost two years later) due to my work, and the fact that children often carry contagious illnesses had added to the decimation of my immune system. Most notably, that winter, I'd had acute bronchitis, the likes of which my primary care doctor had never seen before, and around the time I was diagnosed, I had an extremely severe rare ear infection, the likes of which my primary care doctor had also never seen before.

I'm not married; I don't currently have a long-term partner. I don't have any children and my family of origin is rather unsupportive. Sometimes this makes it especially hard for me, I must admit; most of the people I know that have chronic illnesses have a long-term partner/spouse, and in my humble opinion, it can be easier to cope with when there's someone else to do the dishes, or the grocery shopping, or the laundry -- even little things like that.

I currently work part-time; I have two small jobs that are very flexible and allow me to pretty much set my own times. Both of my employers are aware of my chronic illnesses and they are both very understanding about them. It is very refreshing in this country, where so few employers really understand (or even want to understand). I had been planning to get a very different job after college -- one that really let me use my brain. The things I do now don't, really, although I enjoy them, but I know that I can't really rely on my brain anymore anyway because of the cognitive problems that come with fibromyalgia and CFIDS. It is frustrating and it sometimes depresses me, but I try to accept what life gives me with grace. This isn't where I had expected to be at this point in my life, but there must be a reason for it.

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