Twenty years ago fibromyalgia was virtually unknown to both the general public and to the medical community.
People suffering with this condition were given puzzled looks and then shuffled from one test to the next and subsequently, one treatment to the next.
Has much changed since then? Unfortunately the looks and the shuffles are still very much the same.
The only thing that is quite different is that fibromyalgia has left the realm of the obscure and to much chagrin, is being diagnosed in a very large number of people.
I am not a sufferer of this condition but I, like many others, have personally witnessed the terrible pain and misery that fibromyalgia brings to those afflicted by it.
Although I do not have it, I have read a great deal about the condition's symptoms and treatments.
I have read about the treatments used by the traditional medical community as well as alternative remedies that have been embraced as a means to get at least some relief.
Most recently, I had the opportunity to take an unofficial "poll" if you will, about the incidence of fibromyalgia.
During a 3 day church fair that attracted hundreds of people (exact number is unknown - but remember this is really just anecdotal in nature), I had more than 45 people stop at my fair booth reporting single and sometimes multiple individuals afflicted with fibromyalgia.
I was astounded that it was so prevalent.
These people told me about their terrible suffering.
They also spoke of trying one treatment after the next- many of which gave just temporary, little or no relief at all.
They admitted to becoming a very skeptical bunch - eyeing any new remedy with caution and much cynicism.
Many of them voiced grave disappointment with the medical community as a whole.
One woman threw her hands up in the air and loudly scoffed at the possibility of getting helped.
She held up her pain as a "red badge of courage".
She almost appeared proud of the burden she bore.
Why is this? I believe it is because fibromyalgia has been labeled INCURABLE.
Fibromyalgia is not death sentence but a diagnosis of it, is tantamount to saying you will have a lifetime of suffering.
It will be a suffering that abates for temporary intervals only.
The people I met have been suffering for years.
Of course, they are skeptical.
Of course, there will be some individuals who are proud of themselves for putting up with such a burden.
But the resultant anger, pride or skepticism that comes from accepting the "incurable" label can be very dangerous.
The danger is that people will become so skeptical and so cynical that they stop trying to think outside the box.
I witnessed this first hand.
You see the reason I placed a sign on my church fair table was to help a friend of mine build up clientele for his business.
I put a sign up asking simply, "Do you suffer from fibromyalgia?" When people came over and said "yes", I told them about the incredible success my friend had achieved for permanently ridding people of their fibromyalgia pain.
He was willing to provide free services to any individual who would in turn provide a testimonial for him.
There was no cost involved what so ever.
I told them that since so many people were interested that he probably would only give free help to the first ones who called him on Monday.
When I told him about the weekend's events, I indicated that he should be prepared for an avalanche of calls.
No one called.
Not even for free help that already had a track record of success.
Afterwards, I found someone who in a local online forum, was begging for information about alternative remedies.
I answered with the same free help offer.
No reply.
What do I make of this? I think people put on blinders when they accept the INCURABLE label.
It makes them refuse to think outside the box - lest they become disappointed again.
This confuses me completely.
Is it better to live with the pain than to be disappointed? It is understandable that they might be unwilling to try if money were involved - but it was not.
Just this past weekend, my friend helped yet another fibromyalgia patient - a young fitness instructor who has been suffering for 5 years.
She is so thrilled that she already referred three fellow suffers.
This is exactly the type of behavior one would expect - until you become aware of the portion of the fibromyalgia population that is becoming even more negative and cynical - all because of the added burden of being labeled "incurable".
I am not sure, but I would guess that this friend of mine no longer needs to exchange free service for testimonials.
Hopefully, this article will free those who suffer, from the shackles of being deemed "incurable" and help them to seek successful alternative remedies.