Will I ever get over fibromyalgia?

Everyone who is given the diagnosis “fibromyalgia” wants to know, “Is it curable? Will I ever get over it?”

In the beginning, I saw a rheumatologist who told me that I didn’t necessarily have fibromyalgia. The onset of my pain occurred many months after a car accident, and so he thought it possible that I had “post-traumatic myofascial pain syndrome.” He recommended physical therapy and said there was a chance it would make me well. If not, my condition would probably “turn into” fibromyalgia. Looking back, I think he gave me that diagnosis to keep me hopeful. I don’t think there was much difference in his mind between fibromyalgia and myofascial pain (expect that people more often recover completely from post-traumatic pain). I think he believed that if I were going to have a chance of getting better, I would need hope. The physical therapy helped with the pain temporarily, but it didn’t make me well. Still, I continue to hope.

The same rheumatologist told me that sometimes we can “get used to” pain. He said “At first it is difficult to bear, but after awhile we just go on about our routine and if we don’t focus on it, it doesn’t bother us much.” I remember thinking that the level of pain I was in at that time would always be unbearable. I knew what he meant because small pains like a paper cut or a slight headache can be ignored. But I knew with all my heart that the severity of the pain I felt at that time could never be ignored.

Prior to the pain and the diagnosis, I drank about six cups of coffee a day, I ate whatever I wanted, I didn’t pay attention to how much sleep I got, and I drank alcohol in occasional binge amounts. I did what I wanted, and all of my negative behavior never affected how I felt. But now that I have fibromyalgia, unless I experience a miracle or someone discovers a cure, I will never again be living that kind of lifestyle and be free of pain.

Fibromyalgia is not black and white. It is shades of gray which vary from day to day, and year to year. It is a little like the 1 – 10 question they ask you in the medical facilities in the United States. How bad is your pain on a scale of 1 to 10? Think of 1 as being very mild pain, and 10 being the worst pain you have ever experienced. Today my pain is a 2, but fifteen years ago when I had the conversation with the rheumatologist, it was a 9.

In the early years after being diagnosed, I didn’t understand the huge difference that lifestyle can make. It didn’t seem like anything I did made a difference. It seemed like the fibromyalgia pain came and went on its own time schedule. I suffered a lot during those years.

Today I know that how I live makes a huge difference. I can influence whether my pain is going to be a 9 or a 2. I can make the difference. I can live well with a pain level of 2. I can continue to work full time and live a full life.

But will I ever get over my fibromyalgia?

I am allergic to cats. Will I ever get over my allergy? I admit that it is possible. There is always hope. How should I proceed then? Should I buy a cat and hope that it doesn’t kill me? Wouldn’t it be better to avoid cats altogether. If I avoid cats, I won’t suffer from this allergy. I won’t be aware of it at all unless I am around cats. So even though I might never get over my allergy to cats, it is possible to live without any allergy symptoms.

But will I ever get over my fibromyalgia? Do you believe in miracles? I do, and therefore yes, I could get over my fibromyalgia. And yes, you could get over yours. There will always be hope.

While I pray for the miracle that will free us all, I will continue to do the things that decrease my symptoms. Taking guaifensen and following good lifestyle behaviors have brought me to the point where my pain is so mild that most of the time I can actually forgot about it. I have some pain-free days. Most of the time, my pain is very mild.

My advice to you is to do everything you can to keep yourself as healthy as possible. Sleep well, make good choices about what you eat, avoid everything that causes you discomfort, stretch your muscles daily, keep your stress level low, and don’t lose hope.

My advice is to you is to hope and believe that you will someday be free of fibromyalgia, but make all of your lifestyle decisions as if you will have it forever.