Invisible Illness - Some Info about Fibro

Did you know:

1. It is pronounced fy-bro-my-AL-ja.

2. It affects an estimated 10 million Americans.

3. Most people with Fibro tend to look completely healthy on the outside.

4. Fibro comes with a host of other symptoms, including but not limited to: moderate to severe fatigue, sleep disorders, irritable bowel or bladder syndrome, acid reflux, problems with cognitive functioning {some of us affectionately refer to this as Fibro fog}, headaches and migraines, anxiety and depression, environmental sensitivities {depending on the day I'm super sensitive to spicy smells/foods, flowers, lights, loud noises, temperature swings to the very high or very low, etc}, skin sensitivities, dry eyes and mouth, ringing in the ears, dizziness, vision problems, neurological symptoms, impaired coordination, and so on.

5. There's no real known cause. There are guesses like it might be genetic and that it appears to be brought on more often than not by a physical trauma of some kind.

6. There's no known cure, so treatments focus on helping to relieve symptoms and improve function.

7. It is generally not a progressively worsening, debilitating syndrome although it can be.

8. It affects mostly women (about 80%) but it hits men too.

9. Fibro was once thought to be a mental disorder.

10. The term Fibromyalgia is taken from Latin and Greek words:

• Fibra (Latin) means fibrous tissue and has to do with painful tendons and ligaments
• Myos (Greek) means muscles
• Algos (Greek) means pain

Information taken from the National Fibromyalgia Association website and Fibro Center. For more information, please also visit these Fibro sites.