Go ahead, I dare you!

It's pathetic I even have to address this, but I have to, because it's one one of the most talked about things for people with Fibromyalgia.  Is Fibromyalgia real?  Is is a "waste-basket" diagnosis?  Is it just a face for lazy people?  People get divorces, families are divided, and there is non-stop fighting as to whether Fibromyalgia is a real thing or just an excuse.  Let me just say one thing; this is no different than any other prejudice.  If you can't wrap your small mind around a simple thing like Fibromyalgia, you're probably a very narrow minded person who also deals with other prejudices.  Only very sick people pick on or make life harder for a disabled person.  If you know someone who treats your Fibromyalgia like this, move on.  Easier said than done, I know.  Not understanding your disease and making your already hard enough life even harder, is a form of abuse though.  Fibro symptoms are ten times worse when you're under stress.  Do you really need poison in your life telling you you're lazy and making this up?  A lot of people with Fibromyalgia won't even admit they have it.  I've had a few friends send me private messages saying, "I have Fibromyalgia, too.  Most people don't believe it though and people don't want to hear about pain, so I don't even mention it."  This is appalling.  Not that they feel this way, but that anyone would make them feel this way.  I felt that way for years, hence denying I even had it!  No more.  Fibromyalgia has full blown controlled my life.  I could deny my church, my marriage, or my life as easily as I could deny my disease.  A disease is part of who you are, it isn't who you are, but to deny even having something wrong with you to appease small minded people?  Unbelievable.  I've come to embrace Fibromyalgia.  I have "I fight like a girl!  Fibromyalgia warrior" shirts, a Fibromyalgia necklace, earrings, a purple mouse with butterflies on it, my purple pajamas, man, I'm embracing this!  This will never go away, it's not in my head, I can't pretend this isn't real.  I may as well treat her like a companion.  She's with me for life.  We'll be sisters for life in all our undertakings.  I could try to fight her, what's the point?  That just hurts me, and frankly, I hurt enough.  It's very rare for a doctor to say it isn't real, and let me tell you something, doctors don't know everything!  I know, can you believe that???  Would you be idiot enough to go see a gynecologist for a heart problem or would you go straight to a cardiologist?  Just because someone is a doctor, doesn't make them a specialist in your disease.  Even if they're not experts, Fibromyalgia has made significant strides in the medical field.  Yes, it CAN be proven and if your doctor keeps up to date on his medical education, they'll be properly trained to treat your Fibromyalgia.  The only person this wouldn't be real to, is someone who is too selfish to admit it.  Someone who's so wrapped up in their all knowing, prideful ways, they can't see past the end of their nose.  They'd rather dump their pain and problems on you rather than dealing with it like an adult.  At this point, I don't have time for nay-sayers.  You could call my disease cancer, brain damage, lung disease.  Will it change my symptoms?  A rose by any other name is still a rose.  Call it whatever makes you feel better.  Doesn't change what I'm feeling or dealing with on a daily basis.  I can never tell you what it feels like living with this.  You will NEVER understand until you go through it yourself.  So while I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, I'd also appreciate more understanding.  I don't pretend I understand what you're going through, but I will give you the same courtesy and respect I demand for myself.  I will not allow a single nay-sayer in my life, and hallelujah, my husband feels the same.  Someone at school asked him the other day where he was looking for a job at.  He told them he had a job offer in Vermont.  "That's too cold, though" he said.  "It's not THAT big of a deal." his friend replied.  "Just do winter activities."  "My wife has Fibromyalgia.  The cold kills her, it's a big deal to her."  "What is Fibromyalgia?  My friend's wife has that.  Doesn't that make you very tired?"  My husband laughed.  "Yes, fatigue is just one of the many symptoms.  It's a brain disease.  The pain receptor in your brain over-loads, causing all the nerves in your body to over-react, and be over-stimulated.  It causes non-stop pain."  When he came home and told me, I wanted to cry.  He's a pro in all things Fibro now and sets people straight.  He gets very defensive when people push me past my limits, physically or mentally.  He's very sensitive to my feelings and can even read the pain on my face.  This is the guy who took all four of my kids (mind you, ages 6,4,3 and 16 months!) grocery shopping yesterday so I could deal with a Fibromyalgia flare up in peace.  He heated up rice packs for me before leaving, got me some water and asked if there's anything he could get for me at the store because my stomach was killing me.  He came home, sanitized the kids, :) and made me some toast.  He then did his homework out in the living room while watching the kids so I could read my book and deal with my pain alone.  The guy's golden.  He's set my standards pretty high.  I'd never marry again should he die.  I'd never be satisfied by another man.  He treats me too well.  He's pretty dang sexy, too...Of course I'd treat him the same way if he were in my situation, but he's not.  I appreciate what he does more than he'll ever know.  He won't even take a second glance at a job that would upset my Fibromyalgia.  Ach, I love this guy!  I told him I could do Vermont.  "No, honey, it wold kill you.  It's colder than Idaho and this is killing you.  We couldn't do that."  I am a very, very lucky girl.  I do not take that for granted.  He's made me stronger and is the source of my embracing this damnable thing.  I can embrace it because he holds me up high enough to do it.

Me and my husband.  See?  He holds me up.  :)  I love this man more than anything.

For those less fortunate, do this to these small minded people.  If you're small minded and reading this, here's a dare for you.  Go to Google and type in "is Fibromyalgia real."  Type in "is Fibromyalgia fake."  Good luck finding anything to fuel your prejudice and narrow mind.

Go ahead, Google it, I dare you!

Nothing?  Mmmm...