Episode 47: Understanding Fibromyalgia - with Linda Fraas

Liam, you wanna take the next part?

Thank you.

Linda, one of the most painful experiences for many people with fibromyalgia is feeling dismissed or misunderstood.

Why do you think this happens?

It happens because it's a hidden condition.

It's got many, many symptoms, and I think the medical profession tries to treat the symptoms and not the cause, because they don't know what the cause is.

Nobody knows what the cause is, and that's why there's no cure, and that's why there's no diagnostic test.

They used to use trigger points.

They would touch you on your body where you hurt, where you might hurt.

And if you had 11 of the 18 trigger points, then you had fibromyalgia.

I think now they're trying to develop a blood test to see if there's some sort of enzymes in there to see if they can diagnose it that way.

But the symptoms, they change from day to day.

It's like, okay, I go in, I've got pain, and he gives me a pain pill.

But the next day I get up, I'm just sore.

I've got vertigo.

Now what? I gotta go back to the doctor and get something to help me for dizziness now.

So it's very difficult to understand.

And because that people can't see what you're going through, you can tell them what you're going through, but whether they believe you or not, it's hard to say.

They'll say, "Well, everybody gets a headache, so how could it be so bad?" But being repeatedly questioned or told things like, "You don't look sick," can be very discouraging.

And over time some of the people start to believe it, you know, "It's all in my head," and they won't seek to get help, and they feel like nobody's validating what's important to them.

So depression and anxiety can set in, because it puts a lot of stress in families.

You just wanna get out of work.

You don't want to do this.

You're making me do it.

So it's very difficult.

Liam, you wanna take the next part?

Thank you.

Linda, one of the most painful experiences for many people with fibromyalgia is feeling dismissed or misunderstood.

Why do you think this happens?

It happens because it's a hidden condition.

It's got many, many symptoms, and I think the medical profession tries to treat the symptoms and not the cause, because they don't know what the cause is.

Nobody knows what the cause is, and that's why there's no cure, and that's why there's no diagnostic test.

They used to use trigger points.

They would touch you on your body where you hurt, where you might hurt.

And if you had 11 of the 18 trigger points, then you had fibromyalgia.

I think now they're trying to develop a blood test to see if there's some sort of enzymes in there to see if they can diagnose it that way.

But the symptoms, they change from day to day.

It's like, okay, I go in, I've got pain, and he gives me a pain pill.

But the next day I get up, I'm just sore.

I've got vertigo.

Now what? I gotta go back to the doctor and get something to help me for dizziness now.

So it's very difficult to understand.

And because that people can't see what you're going through, you can tell them what you're going through, but whether they believe you or not, it's hard to say.

They'll say, "Well, everybody gets a headache, so how could it be so bad?" But being repeatedly questioned or told things like, "You don't look sick," can be very discouraging.

And over time some of the people start to believe it, you know, "It's all in my head," and they won't seek to get help, and they feel like nobody's validating what's important to them.

So depression and anxiety can set in, because it puts a lot of stress in families.

You just wanna get out of work.

You don't want to do this.

You're making me do it.

So it's very difficult.