Fibromyalgia and Japan...

[honoraryjapanesegirl]

Hey, guys!!

In my other thread, 'Fugu!', I mentioned about the disease my Mother and I have. It's called Fibromyalgia. It's very sketchy, and not many people have information about it, being that you cannot see it, nor will it come out in any blood tests or anything. So, in this thread, I wanted to know is any people either, have it, or heard of it. I also wanted to know if anyone knew of its 'popularity' in Japan. Is there any help for those who do have it? Is it well 'publicized'? Do people know about it?

Well, here's a little tutorial about what it is, and the few treatments that are out there for it:

What it is: It is a chronic pain disorder that is similar to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and Mayofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS). Fibromyalgia is (from what little we know) genetic, yet triggered by trauma, or blunt force. Meaning, you will have dormant genes for the disease, but there will be some kind of either physcial trauma (blunt force), or enviornmental/emotional stress that will trigger its surfacing. For example, my Mother didn't know she had it, until she was hit by a construction truck as a pedestrain, she then noticed symptoms that were relavant beyond the intial pain, and injuries. And, for me, I was beaten up on a lot as a kid, and so that triggered mine.

It is a syndrome that involves the film covering the muscles, causing much pain for the muscles, as well as other parts of the body. There are things called "Trigger Points" where the pain is most present. These areas usually include: Inner Elbow, Inner Knee, Upper Ribs, Top of the Arms, and numerous other points. Fibromyalgia (FM) not only affect the muscles, it causes many other ailments such as muscle weakness, making it potentially fatal (the heart becomes too weak and it will stop), "brain fog", where the person has a hard time thinking of what they have to do, say, or otherwise, fatigue, depression, and just overall all-day-long pain.

FM will get worse as time goes on. I used to only have a little bit of pain every once in a while, but now it's constant. *This is a truism no matter what Doctors say! This has been proven patient after patient*

Treatments: There have been two medications that have recently been approved by the FDA to help with FM pain. Those two are Cymbalta, and Lyrica. My Mom takes both, as well as other significant medications, and it does not take the pain away completely. There are no other treatments that are known, and there is no cure for FM.

Why the attention now?: Doctors used to say to patients who complained about these symptoms that it was all in their head, and that they just needed some kind of psycological treatment. My Mother had Doctors say this to her, and it pained me to hear it. She would suffer all day long, and no one would do anything about it. Only recently have Doctors been realizing that this is a real pain disorder, and that the symptoms were actually being felt by the patient.

I was curious to know if any of you have this disease, or know of anyone who does. Also, like I mentioned above, how much is this known in Japan?

Thank you for your time and support!

You can read more about it here:

Welcome To Fibromyalgia Network News

Have a great day!!

~Honorary~

[WingsToDiscovery]

First off, I don't want to say I'm sorry because I'm sure you don't want to feel pitied, but I respect you for your bravery to spread awareness of something a lot of people aren't familiar with.

I did a quick Google search and found this website:
Statistics by Country for Fibromyalgia - WrongDiagnosis.com

Unfortunately, it's extrapolated data, meaning the average rate for cases in the US were cross referenced to the Japanese population, giving an average estimate that could be higher or lower. With that data, however, the website gave a rough estimate of just over 1,700,000 people who could potentially have fibromyalgia in Japan.

I could only figure that since that number is fairly small in comparison to the overall population (and that the data is proportionate), you may face about the same climate as you would asking back home.

This is all speculative, of course.

[honoraryjapanesegirl]

Originally Posted by WingsToDiscovery

First off, I don't want to say I'm sorry because I'm sure you don't want to feel pitied, but I respect you for your bravery to spread awareness of something a lot of people aren't familiar with.

I did a quick Google search and found this website:
Statistics by Country for Fibromyalgia - WrongDiagnosis.com

Unfortunately, it's extrapolated data, meaning the average rate for cases in the US were cross referenced to the Japanese population, giving an average estimate that could be higher or lower. With that data, however, the website gave a rough estimate of just over 1,700,000 people who could potentially have fibromyalgia in Japan.

I could only figure that since that number is fairly small in comparison to the overall population (and that the data is proportionate), you may face about the same climate as you would asking back home.

This is all speculative, of course.

Thank you for caring, WTD, it really means a lot with all that we've been through. ^_^

Ah, thank you for this. I appreciate your speculation! Speculation is what got the world into venturing into space!! Never forget that, WTD! Lol...XD

I will take a look at it, and see a little for myself.

Is there anyone who has this disease? Or knows someone? Or...is in the medical field in Japan, and knows about it? Thanks!

~Honorary~

[manganimefan227]

Yeah, you're really strong, you and your mom, for living like that. . . . Inspires me to try harder!!

National Fibromyalgia Association: FM Conditions in Japan

[honoraryjapanesegirl]

Originally Posted by manganimefan227

Yeah, you're really strong, you and your mom, for living like that. . . . Inspires me to try harder!!

National Fibromyalgia Association: FM Conditions in Japan

Thank you for your support. I'm just happy to spread the awareness, and to continue living on this Earth. Keep at it, kiddo! When life hits you the hardest it means you're close to somethin'!! XD

Wow!! Thank you so much for that link, manganimefan227!! It's great!!

~Honorary~