My Fibro Is Not Her Fibro

I’ve written on this before, but that seems to be one of the lost articles in the gap of time. So, I’m taking another stab at it

Do not compare your health with anyone else’s. They are not really comparable beyond the basics.. Yes we may both have fibromyalgia, but my symptoms & treatments are different from everyone else’s . It not like comparing apple & oranges, but more like apples to apple.. a Delicious vs a Granny vs Macintosh. They all have the same basic characteristics, but are still significantly different.

Fibro, like apples, have different but similar forms..

For example, a friend also has Fibromyalgia. Her diagnosis happened alot quicker because she knew me & I had alot of the same symptoms.

Now, while we both have fibro, we experience it differently and treat it differently. Our symptoms overlap with the obvious: pain, fatigue, IBS, fibro fog, sleep impairments… But from there they differ. I have mental health issues, significant cognitive issues, chemical allergies, speech impairment, & TMJ .. Her issues include balance problems, vertigo, chronic migraines, difficulties maintaining body temperature .. This is by no means an exhaustive list for either of us.

She is able to take some of the pharmaceutical treatments.. They work for her. She also sees a chiropractor on a regular basis. This helps her. She is able to work full time. I’m not saying she does not have pain or fatigue or anything else. I am also not saying she has less pain or less fatigue than I do. I’m saying we experience it differently, we react to it differently, and we treat it differently.

Myself, no, I am unable to work due to my symptoms and have been for many years. I am currently on long-term disability . It has taken a long time to get my symptoms under control with a very different treatment plan than my friend. I’ve tried the pharmaceutical route & most of those medications do not work, or work well for me. In addition to regular visits to my pain doctor, I have alternating appointments (well before & after COVID19) with an Osteopath & RMT ATVs local health clinic. I also go to the gym. (Before you jump on me, read my post about my activities at the gym))

So, you can see, two very different people can have very different symptoms, very different treatments, and very different results.

We both have Fibro but we are not the same.