Fibromyalgia and Me

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It can always get worse. I got my letter of denial from SSDI today. Even though I know they deny 80% of people who apply for the first time, I was still shocked and panicked. It was 2 page letter that ended with “we have concluded that your condition should not limit your ability to work.”

Huh? That’s one of the craziest things I’ve heard.

The next step is to get an attorney and file an appeal. I have 60 days in which to do so. It’s overwhelming though. I spent some time researching attorneys. The crazy thing about this whole maddening process is that it take energy and a good mind to do this. I have neither right now.

What I’d really like to know is can I start again with this life?

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There is a lot of debate as to whether there is such a thing as “secondary” fibromyalgia due to some sort of trauma. Often, the trauma is the result of a fall, or a car accident. Such “post-traumatic” fibromyalgia patients are more severely affected, with more pain, and are therefore more difficult to treat.

Fibromyalgia may take many weeks to fully develop after a trauma. One theory holds that pain spreads from one region (for example, the shoulder after a fall) to the rest of the body. In fact, this post-traumatic fibromyalgia phenomenon can be seen as starting as a myofascial pain problem which over weeks to months spreads throughout the body, resulting in the total body pain seen in fibromyalgia.

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Pain- something that no one wants to experience even once let alone daily and yet chronic pain is not uncommon. The Chronic Pain Association estimates that 50 million Americans endure chronic pain on a daily basis. Whether you suffer from Fibromyalgia Arthritis, or a Sports Injury, pain from the inflammatory response finds us and can make life miserable. Taking anti-inflammatory medications is the first defense against chronic or acute pain. Research shows if you want to add even more relief to your pain symptoms you can make some small changes to your diet.

Foods that have the greatest effect on the inflammatory process are fats. The predominant omega-6 fatty acids present in the American diet tend to promote inflammation while omega-3 fatty acids help to inhibit the inflammatory process. The omega 6 to omega-3 ratio in the Western diet is a high 16:1.8 leading some researchers to say the typical Western diet is a pro-inflammatory diet. No wonder we are in such pain!

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