let's try this. msvee posted a link to this wonderfully informative article. Here: you don't even have to click the link, now...

Fibromyalgia: An Epic Tale
In the How Can We Help? section of our patient questionnaire, Nicole had written Im in constant pain as long as I can remember and Im so tired I cant even think straight. Even as I welcomed her to our center, I noticed how slowly she moved, her muscles stiff. The deeply etched lines around her eyes revealed a daily struggle with constant pain. And yet she was young, not yet 40.
Before I could ask her anything, Nicole initiated the conversation. I dont mean to be rude, but youre my sixth doctor and if you want to tell me this is all in my head or that Im depressed, Ill save you the time and me the money and Ill leave. I read an article about fibromyalgia and I think thats what I have. The first four doctors told me my tests were normal and to take it easy. The fifth said I was depressed and to take an antidepressant. Of course Im depressed. Im in pain every single day.
I leaned back in my chair to get comfortable. To do this right would take some time. OK, lets take it slowly and pretend your life is on videotape. Press the rewind button and go back to a time when you felt just fine. No pain, energy good, no health issuesnothing. A time when you took good health for granted, like people who feel fine usually do. Nicole was silent for almost a full minute as her eyes filled with tears. Im sorry, doctorIll get control in a minute. She fumbled for some tissue and sighed slowly. Its just that Im realizing how long Ive been feeling this way. How many days Ive woken up in pain. How manyyears, actually.
OK, so were back now in time. Pain free. When is this? Where are you in your life? Oh, you wont have time for this. Its really too long Please. When?
I think maybe just before the time my mother was dying. It was terrible. She had cancer, Dad had died the year before, and there was only me to take care of her. Frank, thats my husband, had lost his job and we were living on my income and his unemployment checks. Frank Jr was five maybe six and sick all the time with his tonsils. I was always in a doctors office with someone and we came this close (she held up two fingers) to losing our home.
And you started hurting? It seemed like nothing at firstlike the aching when you get the flu. Frank would rub my neck and back and Id feel OK, but in the morning Id wake up and think: Why am I still so tired? And then, just walking to the bathroom I felt old, like I was coming apart. This went on for weeks and I thought, Im only 33. What if I live the next 40 years feeling like this?
And then your mother passed away? And your son got better and is now how old? 13? Nicole nodded. And your husband finally got a job? Yes, but our marriage didnt survive. He was drinking and getting abusive. He started reminding me of my father and I wasnt going that route again. I dont even want to talk about my childhood. But it does sound like your life regained some semblance of order.
She smiled. I really didnt do too badly for a single mother. I went back to school, got a degree in business. Now I make a good living, though I struggle through every day, especially mid-afternoon, when I feel like a truck hit me. My son is my best friend and doing very well in school. Im sure hes really tired of hearing me complain about how much I hurt. And hows the job?
She laughed for the first time since wed met. Stress seems to follow me like a shadow. I went into PR and youd never believe the stress. My supervisor herself is sick all the time from the stress she says her VP gives her. And the clients! Its always more, more, more. You dont need to hear all about this. Just believe me, every day is a battle.
We talked about some details of her childhood and adolescence, and then went over other symptoms that had started cropping up over the years. Chronic sinus congestion, irritable bowel, PMS, poor concentration. Despite entering a new and promising relationship, she told me she had no interest in sex. I know hes going leave me. Im no fun to be around. And then she paused. I cant believe my body is such a wreck. And I cant imagine what its like to feel well.
I looked over all the records shed brought with her. It came as no surprise that all of her tests were normal. During my physical exam, 18 of the 18 hallmark fibromyalgia tender points were so painful to light pressure that minutes after the exam she said she was still hurting. Is it hopeless? Am I really crazy? Reassuring her that not only was she perfectly sane, but that all her symptoms were quite genuine, I agreed that the only reason she could be called depressed was a completely rational response to feeling awful day after day, without light at the end of the tunnel.
Fibro is the bodys response to chronic stress
Then Nicole and I spent some time discussing the human bodys physical response to chronic stress. Initiated in the brain, which sends signals to the adrenal glandwhich in turn releases several hormones that produce our fight-or-flight responsethis bodily response, I explained, was meant to be a brief on-off reaction lasting just a few minutes. The amount of time it takes you to escape a mugger or veer your car away from a potential accident. If you picture this stress response as a switch, its certainly not meant to remain in the on position day in and day out. Like it is with me?
Exactly. And what happens next is that the body sends you symptoms of distress. These signals mean theres trouble somewhere. Symptoms dont necessarily mean you have a disease. Theyre a signal that something needs attention. But if you try to get help with the signals, like I did, and you dont get any help? Well, your body starts undergoing changes. And those changes, like the PMS, or the brain fog, or the constant tenderness of your muscles, and any of a dozen other symptoms are fibromyalgia.
You got it. Fibromyalgia means muscle pain in Greek. So you see, for a lot of doctors, fibromyalgia doesnt fulfill what we learned in medical school about the definition of disease. Its not an autoimmune disorder. Its not an infection. Its not contagious. No one ever dies of it. The blood tests, x-rays, even biopsies that we use to diagnose other diseases are all normal. But obviously, its something. You feel terrible! And, there are ten million of you all out there.
Nicoles treatment plan
We spent the rest of her visit going over a treatment plan that would slowly but surely move her body out of constant stress mode. I asked three things of Nicole before we met again:
First, I wanted her to carefully review her life and examine all sources of stress. Maybe it would be reconsidering her job, a change to a less stressful firm. Some companies seem to pride themselves in creating stress as a way of life for their employees. She should practice the word no (pronounced no) when others piled demands on her. And she was to start some pleasurable activities. A morning walk. Time spent reading. Going somewhere with her son. Some very limited gentle exercise.
Second, I wanted her to take a combination of conventional medicines and some nutritional supplements. I warned her in advance that it would seem like a lot of pills to swallow, but these werent forever. My goal was twofold. I wanted her symptoms relieved: better sleep, less pain, better mood, no PMS. But I also wanted to start repairing some of the damage to her body that the years of chronic stress had inflicted.
Third, I wanted her to begin sessions with a deep-tissue massage therapist or an acupuncturist. I told her that it was important to know the sensation of feeling good again of being pain-free, even if at first it was only temporary. She needed this sense of hope, a taste of the possibilities of wellness that lay ahead.
For me to tell you that Nicoles fibromyalgia was cured in three or four weeks would not only be deceptive, but just plain silly. If only life worked such miracles! But after just three weeks on the plan, Nicole told me she was undeniably aware of changes going on in her body. And these were changes for the better.
As months passed and I saw less and less of Nicole, I learned from the other therapists in my office what was happening. Shed left her job and found something for less money, but with a fraction of the pressure. She reframed her life to pay attention to a healthful diet and regular exercise, and even took enough yoga classes to become one of the instructors. During brief follow-up visits with me for a cold or a Pap smear, we kept trimming her medication and supplement list until she was down to some basic vitamins and a healthy bone supplement.
And her fibromyalgia began drifting to the back burner of her life. One year later, this is what Nicole told me: Its not gone, like gone-gone, but I rarely notice any muscle pain anymore. And my energy has zoomed up. But the muscles in my neck are like radar. If they start tensing up, I scan the horizon. OK, I ask myself, whats going on in your life? I realized months ago that there will always be stuff happening in the world to stress you out. Thats life. But you can choose not to give in to the stress. You beat it, you get rid of it. Or itll kill you.