Relationship with Fibromyalgia

I think we can all agree that relationships are hard but adding any sort or illness or injury can add a lot of stress on the relationship. Finding someone who is completely supportive can be hard especially having fibromyalgia because it is not visible and it's hard to believe what you can't see.

Another thing that comes along with a relationship and chronic fatigue and chronic pain is the not wanting to talk about what your going thru because you don't want to bother them or not want them to get annoyed with your daily issues with pain and leave.

I have always been so afraid to talk about my pain to anyone my family my friends doctors because when you have pain that can't be explained. Having no one to take you seriously because if they can't see it then it doesn't exist. Fibromyalgia has cause a lot of problems in my relationships. I have lost friend ships due to my pain making plans and literally the morning of having to cancel because your are in too much pain. Fibromyalgia has caused fights in my realtionships because my boyfriends have never how i could have pain that is "for no reason" .

Trying to explain fibromyalgia to your significant other is like explaining geometry to a kindergartener who barely knows their numbers and letters. They say they understand when they really don't and you will fight over it later down the road and they will have no understanding of what you spent hours trying to explain to them before.

Somedays you suffer in silence because its easier than telling people every day you are in pain ..

The common responses to saying you are in pain are:

"Is there ever a day your not in pain?"

"Are you really in pain or do you just want attention?"

" If your really in that much pain you should go to the doctor.."

"Maybe you should take some Tylenol"

"Maybe you should cut dairy out of your diet"

"Have you tried ice or heat?"

" You should work on your posture that might help"

"If you had a proper diet you wouldn't hurt so bad"

As we all work thru a similar battle we all have to walk these trenches alone. We are all here to support each other. We all know how difficult it can be just to get up and look at the sun some days.Never be afraid to speak up and tell people how they feel. If they don't support you then you don't need them around the deal with Illness such as Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Syndrome you need a very strong support system to get through. Tell your boyfriend/girlfriend everything you feel and try to relate your feelings to something they will understand . Its a man instinct to fix things but something can't be that simple some things can be fixed only managed. Its a women's instinct to nurture and protect so it may be hard for a girlfriend to not coddle you during bad days and to let you work it out. Communication is key in a relationship with Fibromyalgia because at the end of the day the Fibromyalgia isn't going to leave so the people that come and go can not understand or they can at the end of the day you need to take care of you and make sure you are floating above water. There is alway support groups of all kinds for different kinds of illnesses. People are always willing to lend a listening ear.

Please if you ever need someone just to talk to about anything I am here and will support you the best way I can.