chronic illness continued from page 26
But there’s more: exhaustion, body stiffness, problems with memory and thinking that some call “fibro fog,” trouble sleeping, or waking up unrefreshed, and medical professionals who, still today, tell patients it’s all in their heads. Classified not as a disease but rather a syndrome, fibromyalgia is a set of symptoms that occur together with no known cause. Doctors and researchers haven’t been able to agree on whether it’s genetic, whether it’s triggered by another condition, a virus or trauma, or whether it’s primarily an immune, neurological and/or psychiatric illness — or a combination of all of the above. What is clear is that fibromyalgia affects 2 to 4 percent of the American population, mostly women in the prime of their career and mothering years, and costs patients $10,000 to $16,000 every year in lost earning potential and out-of-pocket expenses, according to a recent study in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy. It takes its toll emotionally, physically and financially. But research has begun to untangle the illness, pointing to possible neurological and physiological abnormalities that might explain its causes and lead to a cure. In response to the 100 million American adults afflicted with chronic pain — more than the total affected by heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined — the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services commissioned a study in 2010 that urges a “cultural transformation to better prevent, assess, treat, and
Did you know?
Fibromyalgia affects 2 to 4 percent of the American population, mostly women in the prime of their career and mothering years, though men and children are increasingly diagnosed — at a cost per patient of $10,000 to $16,000 annually in lost earning potential and out-of-pocket expenses, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy.
understand pain of all types.” New medications and therapies are being studied that can help patients manage their symptoms, and others are promising to dramatically reduce or even eliminate fibromyalgia pain and brain fog. That’s good news for new patients, but years too late for people like Dawn Plummer, a Saratoga Springs mother who spent eight years searching for answers after her pain confined her to bed. “I spent several years in bed,” she says, “unable to lift my head or get up to get a bowl of cereal. Going to the restroom was a planned event.” Doctors tell patients they’re exaggerating, they’re depressed, or that their pain can’t be all that bad, says Plummer, who says her mother and two sisters have also been diagnosed. One of her doctors, she says, “told me get out of bed and stop whining and start exercising more. I said, ‘Are you kidding? Most days I can barely lift my arms up.’” Eventually, she says, “I found a doctor who agreed to learn more about it and work with me.”
Kicking Off Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Free to Attend!
5TH ANNUAL
Ladies Night Out!
Wednesday, October 2nd • 5:30-8:00pm Italian American Community Center, 257 Washington Ave. Ext., Albany
Samples • Activities • Vendors • Demonstrators
www.guilderlandchamber.com I 518-456-6611