Fibromyalgia: IT'S REAL, It's Manageable, What You Can Do

Check out "Healthy Longevity: A Geriatrician's Perspective" here: https://youtu.be/L1fF06kheP4

I've had it for about 23 years now. The ONLY thing that helps are painkillers yet docs are always wary of giving them because of addiction. I could CARE LESS ABOUT ADDICTION as long as I CAN GET UP, OUT, & FUNCTION. It's sooooo frustrating. This plus friends & family sometimes thinking that I'm faking sickness because I "look fine!" ARGH

I cried in between watching this because it’s hard enough to come to terms with it all then to be discounted by family and friends with all kinds of advice as though they are medical doctors. I feel validated by this video and my current doctor is amazing. It has taken years to get the support I need. The anxiety & frustration that comes with it can be unbearable some days. At least I can now share this with people for better understanding and hopefully support. It is both isolating and debilitating in so many ways. But I have faith that if I can at least focus on managing it then I can get somewhere with it. I live one day at a time now and even the slightest change in plans can be overwhelming. I pray all who suffer from FM get the support they need. Thank you for this.

This man absolutely nailed what it’s like to have Fibromyalgia. It’s so frustrating when your doctor is ignorant of Fibromyalgia and thinks it’s “all in your head”. There is so much more to Fibromyalgia than people know.

Everybody says you just need to get out but you can't to tired in pain, tired don't sleep bowel trouble chest pain headaches I've got it all

Those of us who suffer untestable , unprovable illnesses are at the mercy of the medical profession. I am 67 and it started when I was a child. So there was not a label until recent history. So many people suffer from this group of symptoms. I thank the Lord for Doctors like you who listen to and believe their patients. I've seen many doctors had many tests over the years. Been to alternative therapists spent so much money. I've learnt a lot about nutrition and that has been my best help ..not a cure. I have spent my life in bed with visits to the 'outside' world pretending I'm normal then back to bed. I send my love and prayers out to you all who are suffering so much.♥️🙏

I was diagnosed in 1988, at age 27. During the prior several months, I had my second baby son, moved twice, and had a melanoma removed from my left shoulder. I read that your body’s overreaction to a traumatic event could trigger fibromyalgia. I believe that is true. I explained to one doctor that I felt like I had been beat up! Just touching my hair hurt. I went into some kind of remission over the next few years. Then, at almost 42, I had my daughter. The fibromyalgia flared up again. But it calmed down, I think because my husband and I were so happy to have our daughter. Then, in 2012, my husband’s mom died. We were at her house when she passed away at home. My daughter was 11. Then, about a year later, we lost our oldest son in a car accident. I was 54 and my daughter was 12. My pain flared back, plus vertigo and other symptoms. A few months after we lost our son, our daughter started complaining about pain. She would be so tired that she wouldn’t want to go to social functions. Her hands hurt. Even her face hurt. She had trouble sleeping and wanted to lay down all the time. Her memory was getting bad. I knew myself what was happening to her. She had been through so much at a young age. I told her that I thought she had fibromyalgia, like me. She was shocked and cried but I told her I was there for her and together we could deal with it. We, of course, took her to the doctor for a check up and tests to make sure it wasn’t anything else. All her tests came back, “normal”. Her doctor said, ‘Oh, it’s just depression’. That’s the same runaround I had got to begin with. Now, she’s 19 and still suffering from it, like I am, at 61, but we support each other and my husband supports both of us. He’s been through a lot too, of course, but his constitution is so different from ours. He can deal with stress and loss so much better than we can. Now, it’s near the end of 2021, and all of us has been dealing with the pandemic stress. I’m the caregiver right now for my parents. And I’ve been dealing with right shoulder/upper back pain for awhile now. The first doctor I went to ‘diagnosed’ me from across the room, without even looking at my back or anything! The second doctor ordered a CT, because he thought it was my liver. All good results, not even any fatty liver, and he said blood results were great. He did order a MRI for my shoulder. There was a mixup there. (Nobody listens!) Finally, I have the test scheduled for a week from now. Worried about what it might be. But I’ve been doing some research and I think it may be extreme flare ups from fibromyalgia. I’m going ahead with the tests, of course…… I do know that my daughter and I have both benefited from what we eat: REAL food. We hardly ever have anything processed and we cook at home. The effort it takes we think pays off in the long run. We eat lots of vegetables and no seed oils or food that contains them. We also have lowered our carb intake over the last three years or so to no more than about 75 to 100 grams a day. Most days, it’s a lot less. We don’t eat pasta at all; bread only about twice a month. We get the most nutrient dense kind we can find. We eat fish, meat, nuts and some fruit, too. I think we have really benefited from eating this way. I don’t have any other health problems except for what I mentioned. I don’t take any medicine except for a VERY occasional pain med when I need it. My daughter has to be feeling extremely bad before she will take any medicine. We both like very warm showers. They help. And I like a hot bath when I hurt really bad. And the drier the weather is, the less pain we have….. I hope the best for all who suffer from whatever they are going through. :)

Just getting medical providers to finally begin to treat it as a neurosomatic, not a psychosomatic illness is a relief. I am 71, had it for fifty years and diagnosed for thirty-five years. Any complaints about this video has not suffered long enough to be grateful the medical community is BEGINNING to educate themselves. Even the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona does not yet have specialty physicians for it. Even nearly a decade after this video, we are still struggling with untrained medical providers. Get pro active fibro folks. It is our own responsibility to take the best we can do day by day. I am not cured yet I am much better than when diagnosed over three decades ago.

I have Fibromyalgia and feel undescribable. I've had it sinçe I was twenty years old. I also was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. I struggle everyday just to exist. My pain never stops. I take Tramadol for mine. Thank God for Tramadol, I know I would probably be in a wheelchair if it wasn't for it. It's sad there's no cure for Fibromyalgia and all disease. I really believe there is a cure for all disease. I'm so sick of Fibromyalgia sometimes I want to give up. Sometimes I feel as if my whole body is lead. Fibromyalgia is very real. People if you don't have Fibromyalgia thank God everyday you wake up and before you go to bed.

Dr. Andrew Gross, You have explained Fibromyalgia perfectly. Your demeanor and approach to Fibromyalgia is phenomenal. I have only met a few doctors that possess this heartfelt demeanor. Thank you for being so understanding and explaining this horrible disease.

The problem with sleep is the pain from fibromyagia kept me from getting to deep stages of sleep. I woke up more tired than before. My brain lost the ability to go to sleep. During normal sleep, the body repairs itself and has many functions that it must carry on each night. When we keep waking up from the pain, it can’t do that. STRESS usually starts the process and builds over time. Decreasing stress anyway you can helps. I found soaking in warm Epsom salts (like 2 pounds) in the tub and no soap) before going to bed helps. . Taking MAGNESIUM tablets everyday helps. We are all low in magnesium. Malic acid can also help to get the lactic acid out of your muscles. Mild physical movements help. To improve your ability to sleep get out in sunlight every morning for a half hour. Turn off all light in the early evening before bedtime. Just like nature does if we were living outside. This is the way to release the brain chemicals like melatonin that prepare us to sleep. Get up every morning even if you are tired. Eat the most healthy food you can manage. No chemical additives! Our pain comes from tightness in the muscles along our energy meridians. Put 2 tennis balls in a sock and tie the end of the sock. Put it behind the base of the neck. Lie on this for a few minutes. If it hurts, you found the right spot. Move it down your spine to all the spots that hurt. You can also place it on lower back, side of the hips, wherever. You could also do acupuncture. That can take many treatments and does cost some money unless you have insurance that covers it. Everything else is free. I would not recommend any drugs as they cause other problems and really do not work, at least not for me. Drink plenty of water. These things all helped me. Takes time.

I suffered 20+ years w/severe fibro. I was finally diagnosed after all the tests you mentioned. After being in bed, my feet hurt to walk on them. Couldn’t fully open or close hands. I called it “the slap down“ after any type of exercise. It’s normal to feel sore after exercise but I couldn’t walk or move because of the pain. I started eating Keto and intermittent fasting 3 years ago. Lost 65 lbs and NO MORE FIBRO!!! All gone! Have others reported this?

When I went to get evaluated they treated me like a drug seeking addict I just live with it! I was SO HUMILIATED!

Having the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia can also be a disadvantage because doctors stop taking other conditions seriously and miss another disease!!! That happens every day!

Very insightful explanation of this "invisible" disease I am suffering from for a long time. The hardest isn't always the disease itself, but rather people's ignorance and prejudice cause it doesn't show on the outside. Thanks for this video!

I’ve had fibromyalgia my whole life. It was when I was about four years old a doctor told my mother there was nothing wrong with me and what I needed was a good spanking. I suffered in silence nearly my entire life in 1994 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I’m wondering now if the lack of understanding contributed to my heart attacks. Funny thing there was a bitch of a doctor at ER who yelled at me while I’m having a heart attack told me I needed a hot bath and it was all in my mind. Then the last doctor I saw at ER a totally different approach , he asked me how severe was my pain , I didn’t know how to answer, he looked at me and said I guess you’ve never had a pain free day in your life have you? I’m glad there’s some acknowledgement in this talk. Some doctors still dismiss fibromyalgia. Some doctors can be incredibly cruel and dismissive. It’s true I did have an unnecessary gall bladder operation and it hasn’t helped in the slightest. I hope in time there will be a cure or better understanding. I’m nearly 60 years old and I’ve never had a pain free day in my life.

My wife has fibromyalgia, watching this video has helped me better understand what she is experiencing and was very informative. Most family doctors don't have this level of expertise regarding fibromyalgia.

Pressing on those spots feels like pressing on a persons bruise.

Thank you Doctor, finally someone who knows what I've been experiencing. May GOD Bless you. I was in grad school, 1991 when I developed chronic fatigue syndrome which developed into fibromyalgia after being in a car accident. I'm 71 yrs old now and still trying to make the adjustments to living with this.

I respect all doctors. I will not write a long comment. I suffered from Fibromyalgia after my husband told me over the phone that he had a mistress and he wanted a divorce out of the blue after 29 years together. I suffered all these symptoms. At the highest peak of pain, it was all over my body and even showering, the water just touching my skin would make me cry in pain. I heard on a panel of doctors discussing Fibro and one of them was a naturopathic doctor. At the last second of the show he blurted out: “ some patients find relief when they take SAMe. I went to the health food store and bought it. It pulled away all the fog, depression and pain within a week. I stopped it and the symptoms came back. I started taking them right away again and finished the bottle then bought another one and after two bottles in all, I stopped and it was gone for GOOD. I have been free of it since 2007. We are in 2023. I can assure you that it is certainly due to trauma and depression as the doctor said. It creates havoc at all levels everywhere in the body. I pray you also find relief and cure in that supplement that is natural and safer than medications. All the rest of the advice on activities like walking, stretches etc are excellent. God Bless All our doctors. ❤️🙏🏻