Hearken the good tidings my friends, they have found the cause of Fibromyalgia! With rapt interest I poured over the scientific studies and research papers to try and understand what had been discovered. Most of them seemed to start with the disclaimer that a large portion of the medical community believe Fibromyalgia is psychosomatic. Until now. I'm not going to lie, that pissed me off pretty good. Like now that they "know" there is something real going on they can admit they thought we were all a bunch of loonies inflicting sick on ourselves. But I suppose I knew that would happen... I am still excited to find out what exactly descended on my reality like a hell-storm eight years ago and stole my life so I kept reading. Turns out it all goes back to...the blood vessels in my palms? Huh? Are you kidding me? Blood vessels in my hands are responsible for fatigue, insomnia, a depressed immune system and pain so profound I wanted to die? I'm sorry, but it seemed so unbelievably trivial I couldn't understand why everyone was making such a glorious fuss. So I kept reading.
Slowly it started to make sense. The body is a system dependent on many different parts to complete it's basic duty, living. When one of these parts malfunctions the sky is the limit on how many other components of the system are affected. That is precisely what is going on. Basically artery shunts in the hands of Fibro patients have an "extremely excessive" or "staggering amount" of sensory fibers. This excess interferes with the regulation of blood flow throughout the body, especially to the deep tissues and muscles. Amazingly enough "this mismanaged blood flow could be the source of muscular pain and achiness, and the sense of fatigue which are thought to be due to a build-up of lactic acid and low levels of inflammation in Fibromyalgia patients. This, in turn, could contribute to the hyperactivity in the brain," which may lead to insomnia. Medical Daily
Voila! There you have it. Except...I now have even more questions than I did before. Like how did I get this? Why? Is it genetic, trauma induced, related to damage to the CNS from other illnesses or infections? What can I do about it? Is there a treatment or cure? When will they begin testing all patients? What about the blood test showing an immune dysregulation? Are they compatible, related discoveries or do they contradict each other? Is this the true cause of my illness, or does something else cause this? Does this account for my obvious immune deficiency? The questions are endless and I don't know where to get answers. I already know far more about this condition than all my doctors combined. As a skeptic of modern medicine I believe it will still be years before anything conclusive that actually changes the reality of living with this illness for patients comes about. And years beyond that for medical doctors in practice to become hip to this change from psychosomatic to the palm of my hand. Nevertheless this is a big one for us, fellow-Fibro patients. A wonderful step forward in legitimizing an illness those who suffer from already know is painfully real.
Thanks for joining,
Leah
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