A True Story Of Discovering And Dealing With Fibromyalgia

Recently, I’ve been speaking to a friend who had been coping with her daughter having peculiar symptoms. When the symptoms started, it seemed like it might have been a serious illness. But, after much deliberation, three months later, she was still none the wiser. If you have been in this situation, it can be incredibly stressful and difficult to understand what is happening. You want to help, but there seems to be nothing you can do. However, my friend took great steps to ensure they got to the bottom of this difficult illness and eventually discovered the truth. Here are steps she took.

1. Watch And Wait 

After the symptoms had started to develop, my friend watched her daughter carefully. She believed it might have been something to do with passing through puberty. She decided to wait and see if the symptoms worsened or the problems increased. The symptoms in question were a severe back pain and difficulty walking. As peculiar as this sounds, this can happen when a teenager passes through puberty. Growing pains can be incredibly nasty.

2. Contact The GP

The symptoms did not fade after two weeks, and my friend was forced to take further action. If anything, the symptoms appeared to be getting worse. The pain was becoming more frequent and was severely limiting how well her daughter was coping. Her mother decided it was time to get in touch with the GP. You may have recently read about whether or not a GP can diagnose you in ten minutes. Well, in this case, the GP was completely stumped and could only offer her daughter painkillers. This was not a long term plan on dealing with the issue, and they were told the situation would be reassessed in a couple of weeks.

3) A&E

The painkillers did not work and one worrying night the girl had to be rushed to A&E. She was unable to walk with agonising pain down her entire back. She also could no longer move any of limbs. If you think this is a nightmare scenario, you would be right. It was terrifying for both her and her daughter. But, after several hours in A&E they were still no closer to finding out what was wrong. They were only offered stronger painkillers.

4) The Specialist 

After the incident with A&E, my friend’s daughters condition was passed onto a specialist. The quickly diagnosed the condition as fibromyalgia.

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This is a condition that causes severe chronic pain, often for the rest of a sufferer's life. There is no cure and worse still, no known cause. Although it was a relief to find out what was wrong, they were still stuck with no remedy except putting the girl on painkillers for the rest of her life.

5) Clinical Trials 

Due to the mystery surrounding fibromyalgia there are constant clinical trials to attempt to fix the issue. A clinical trial involves a collection of patients being given drugs that could work to cure their illness. There are different phases of clinical trials that you pass through. It is possible to enquire about this option when you are dealing with a difficult illness. My friend asked for this option for her daughter. Five months later they were granted the request.

6) The Road To Recovery

Since the clinical trials, my friend has seen success in the treatment of her daughter. Although the pain is still there, the situation is improving. She hopes these trials will bring the end to the suffering of those who have been diagnosed with this and other similar conditions.

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*collaborative post