The
primary focus of all my efforts in building this site, blog and related
social media pages has been, and will remain, awareness raising.
Raising awareness in men primarily, but not exclusively. Because men are
seen as the minority group in fibromyalgia. Many health professionals
still see fibromyalgia as a female only syndrome - so when they see men
presenting with the same or similar symptoms they dismiss fibromyalgia
as a possible diagnosis. So, if men are being ignored by the medical
profession we need to make our voices heard - loud and clear. This isn't
going away. Men do get fibromyalgia.
But I can't raise awareness on my own. I know that there are many many
sites out there providing advice and guidance about fibromyalgia and I
welcome them with open arms. I'm not competing with them, I'm embracing
them - whether about fibro in men, women, the elderly, the young -
anything and everything fibromyalgia related is being read, linked to,
joined, signed up to and shared. You'll find FibroGuys on everything
from Twitter to Pinterest, Facebook to Google+ and Google+ Communities, blog lists and directories, National and international fibromyalgia associations'
sites - and I urge everyone who reads my blog posts and facebook
messages to also join and link with and sign up to any and all of them,
not only to boost my 'follower' numbers but to share the images,
stories, advice, tips, medical reports, research findings about
fibromyalgia and related conditions so that we can grow bigger and
stronger together. It is only by joining together that we can create a
loud enough voice to be heard.
So please, join with me to share your story
and journey so that together we can be louder - share your links on my
site, on facebook on twitter on Google+ - I'll happily link to any site
or blog or share any post I feel would be of interest and value to my
visitors - you can send me your link as a comment here or on any of the
above linked social media outlets - or you can email me ( gary@fibroguys.com ).
Let's be heard - we're stronger together.
Saturday 25 April 2015
Friday 24 April 2015
The Myth of Male Fibromyalgia
I've been granted permission to reproduce a publication by The National Fibromyalgia Partnership
who work tirelessly to raise awareness about fibromyalgia, and whose
site has a wealth of articles and information - well worth a visit.
The article was written a couple of years ago, but is still relevant and makes for quite an interesting read. The author, Dr Kevin P. White, examines the "myth" of male fibromyalgia, based on his own, and others' research over a number of years and sets out to explode this myth.
The article clearly demonstrates the importance of raising awareness - not only in men, but also in the medical profession and wider community.
Read the full text HERE - or if you wish DOWNLOAD a copy to read at your leisure. (Download is a Word docx file)
The article was written a couple of years ago, but is still relevant and makes for quite an interesting read. The author, Dr Kevin P. White, examines the "myth" of male fibromyalgia, based on his own, and others' research over a number of years and sets out to explode this myth.
The article clearly demonstrates the importance of raising awareness - not only in men, but also in the medical profession and wider community.
Read the full text HERE - or if you wish DOWNLOAD a copy to read at your leisure. (Download is a Word docx file)
Sunday 5 April 2015
Easter 2015. Cherry blossom blooming.
This £3.99 cherry blossom tree always signals the start of the 'warm' season for us. It usually blooms for just seven days - which is about as long as the British summer!
Saturday 4 April 2015
The Simple Task.
I was left with just one task to complete before my wife returned from work today. I'd woken feeling refreshed and vibrant for a change, capable of anything.
It was meant to be a five minute job. Take down the old shower curtain and hang the new one. Twelve hooks to unclip, remove from the old curtain and attach to the new one, then rehang on the rail.
Dead easy. Dead wrong!
The pain in my back intensified as I reached up to unclip the hooks from the rail - but there's always pain in my back. I could cope with a little more for the short time this was going to take.
After unclipping three of the twelve hooks from the rail I began to get intense cramping in the thenar eminence (the fleshy part of the thumb where it merges into the palm) like I'd been squeezing a rubber ball for hours, or gripping on to a rope. Only nine more of the little buggers to unclip. Perhaps if I stood on a footstool so that my hands were level with the rail it wouldn't hurt so much. I fetched a stool which didn't quite give me the height I needed, but made things marginally easier on my hands. Three. Four. Five. By the sixth hook I had to stop. My thumbs throbbed and I simply couldn't apply enough pressure to unclip them from the rail. Hooks seven to twelve took a further thirty minutes to unclip - I had to rest my hands for five minutes between each one.
Now came the task of removing the hooks from the old curtain. Fiddly little things coming off and fiddly little things going on to the new curtain. Another half an hour. More painful throbbing in my hands. Thankfully it didn't last too long, after a short while the cramping diluted to a dull throb and then only hurt if I touched it - like a bruise.
The pain has gone completely now, but it's got me thinking about how this terrible affliction is affecting my day to day life. Simple tasks, which I'd once do without even thinking, now have to be meticulously planned around the expected pain - allowing for it in terms of time taken to complete and having all I might need to hand so I don't have to go searching for stuff and, of course, in true British worker fashion, having lots of rest breaks and copious quantities of tea!
Today's task was so simple, I hadn't even thought how difficult it would be. For such a simple task to have such an effect on my body concerned me greatly. How much further will this illness take me. My doctor advises that there is no cure and that it will get progressively worse, but the rate of progression is quickening and I'm worried that I won't be able to do anything at all in just a few years. Fibromyalgia might not be a life-limiting illness, but I certainly discovered today that it's an 'ability-limiting' one.
It was meant to be a five minute job. Take down the old shower curtain and hang the new one. Twelve hooks to unclip, remove from the old curtain and attach to the new one, then rehang on the rail.
Dead easy. Dead wrong!
The pain in my back intensified as I reached up to unclip the hooks from the rail - but there's always pain in my back. I could cope with a little more for the short time this was going to take.
After unclipping three of the twelve hooks from the rail I began to get intense cramping in the thenar eminence (the fleshy part of the thumb where it merges into the palm) like I'd been squeezing a rubber ball for hours, or gripping on to a rope. Only nine more of the little buggers to unclip. Perhaps if I stood on a footstool so that my hands were level with the rail it wouldn't hurt so much. I fetched a stool which didn't quite give me the height I needed, but made things marginally easier on my hands. Three. Four. Five. By the sixth hook I had to stop. My thumbs throbbed and I simply couldn't apply enough pressure to unclip them from the rail. Hooks seven to twelve took a further thirty minutes to unclip - I had to rest my hands for five minutes between each one.
Now came the task of removing the hooks from the old curtain. Fiddly little things coming off and fiddly little things going on to the new curtain. Another half an hour. More painful throbbing in my hands. Thankfully it didn't last too long, after a short while the cramping diluted to a dull throb and then only hurt if I touched it - like a bruise.
The pain has gone completely now, but it's got me thinking about how this terrible affliction is affecting my day to day life. Simple tasks, which I'd once do without even thinking, now have to be meticulously planned around the expected pain - allowing for it in terms of time taken to complete and having all I might need to hand so I don't have to go searching for stuff and, of course, in true British worker fashion, having lots of rest breaks and copious quantities of tea!
Today's task was so simple, I hadn't even thought how difficult it would be. For such a simple task to have such an effect on my body concerned me greatly. How much further will this illness take me. My doctor advises that there is no cure and that it will get progressively worse, but the rate of progression is quickening and I'm worried that I won't be able to do anything at all in just a few years. Fibromyalgia might not be a life-limiting illness, but I certainly discovered today that it's an 'ability-limiting' one.
Friday 3 April 2015
Happy Easter
Good Friday. Just got up and it would appear that it is going to be a good day indeed. Pain levels are around three or four - which is excellent for me and the crohn's seems to be settling down now that I'm back on the prednisolone. Don't want to tempt fate though as I have to be at work for 11.30. Have a happy Easter everyone.
I'll leave you with this cute image of the Easter Bunny...
...enough to cheer up any dull Good Friday!
I'll leave you with this cute image of the Easter Bunny...
...enough to cheer up any dull Good Friday!
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