Fibromyalgia

A very real, painful, debilitating illness that should not be in any way joked about. No one should have ever included a definition of it on this website meant for jokes. Fibromyalgia is NOT A JOKE. There have been definitions posted that display the stigma that real sufferers deal with. Fibromyalgia is not an excuse not to work. It is being in so much pain and suffering such heavy fatigue, as well as a slew of other symptoms like stiffness, depression, headaches or migraines, dry eyes, incredibly sensitive skin, and many more. The pain is widespread and feels like the deep muscle aches from the flu, growing pains, shin splints, stabbing, burning, like your bones and veins hurt, and more. 900,000 known Canadians suffer from this and 10 million in the U.S. There is no cure and no adequate treatment. It takes most people a long time to get diagnosed. It is not itself a fatal illness. The danger is the risk of suicide from suffering constantly with no relief. What’s written in some of these definitions about sufferers being hypochondriacs, bogging up the medical system, or complaining about ‘normal aches and pains’ that others work through are wildly false. It is harmful for this kind of stigmatized information to be available for anyone to read, spreading the stigma that seriously affects lives.