Fibromyalgia: A Chronic Disease or Not?
Fibromyalgia is an illness that affects several hundreds of thousands of people every day in the world. It can lead to the person feeling as though they no longer have a life.
This condition is categorized by intense pain and feeling a level of tiredness that is often associated with a major disease.
Fibromyalgia sufferers are going to find that this can affect their daily life. Why is this?
The illness itself leads to many other symptoms that could affect their quality of life.
However, what most people want to know is if they are going to have to deal with fibromyalgia for the rest of their lives? Is this a chronic disease or not?
In order to understand what fibromyalgia truly is, you must understand first what a chronic disease is.
A chronic disease is defined as an issue that lasts for 3 months or more and they do not disappear.
These are issues that cannot be prevented by vaccines or cured by any sort of medication.
With this definition in mind, fibromyalgia is considered a chronic disease that is going to affect the patient for many years to come.
Why Is There No Cure to Be Found?
One of the most popular questions that are asked by those who are suffering with fibromyalgia is why hasn’t a cure been found yet?
This is a great question and one that many people have asked before. With all the advances in technology that we have and in the medical world, especially, many people cannot fathom why there is no absolute cure for fibromyalgia.
However, the causes of fibromyalgia are still not exact. We have several ideas of what could cause this to happen, and then there can be those who appear with this issue that have none of the issues that we once thought caused this.
Thus, with the inability to pinpoint what causes this each and every time, it becomes nearly impossible to cure.
There are tons of methods that are being used to treat this chronic issue, but it will not cure it. This is simply meant to help a person to live a more fuller life.
What are Some Treatments?
What a person needs to note about the treatments for fibromyalgia is that these treatments are going to be something that they must stick to for the rest of their lives.
Since this is a chronic disease, you are going to find that when you find something that works, then you need to stick with this to have a high-quality life. Some of the treatments that are being given to patients include:
1- Anti-depression medications are being given to several patients to help deal with the emotional toll that this issue can have on their lives.
In addition, it has been shown that this can actually help with the chronic pain somewhat that a person is feeling.
2- Taking vitamins to ensure that your levels are perfect is also recommended. A good, valuable vitamin is always something that a person should have included in their diets.
3- Exercise is often one of the best things that a person can do. The exercise is going to help the muscles to work and stretches the body.
This can help a person to relax even better and help to decrease the pain that is being felt.
4- Massage therapy is one of the extra treatments that many patients find relaxing.
This increases blood flow to the muscles which helps to alleviate some pain, and it can also offer relaxation that helps with sleep.
5- Physical therapy is often recommended to those who are having stiffness in the muscles due to this issue.
While exercising can keep a person loose and limber, physical therapy is something that many people find relief in.
6- Medications for pain are often given in intense situations. However, many medical professionals prefer that a person try other methods before reaching for pain medication for the pain that you are dealing with.
7- Nerve medication is often given as a way to decrease the tenderness and pain that a person is feeling since we now know that a lot of the issues that are being felt are due to the nerves throughout the body.
Medical professionals often recommend that a person watch what they are eating, as fast foods or those foods that are greasy are known to make this condition worse.
The Quality of Life
Since fibromyalgia is a chronic issue, you are going to find that this does affect the quality of life that you may have.
However, this is something that you cannot let get you down. Those who succumb to this illness and start to believe that their life is over are going to suffer with more pain and depression.
The reason being is that they are simply going to get depressed. How can you ensure that even though you suffer with this, you still have a life that is full of quality?
1- Be upbeat. Many patients find that this upbeat thinking is one of the ways in which they can beat this issue.
2- Talk with others that have this issue. Find support groups that are suffering with the same chronic issue. It can be a great way to connect and learn new methods for dealing with this.
3- Most important, don’t give up. There are going to be days in which the pain and feeling tired are going to take over, and that is fine.
However, you cannot let this happen all the time or you will find that the world moves on without you.
For those who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, they are going to find that this is not a death sentence.
There are ways in which you can help yourself and ensure that the quality of your life is not affected.
Research on this chronic illness is going on now, and you never know what the future may bring for those who suffer with this.