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About Fibromyalgia

Hello and welcome to learning about fibromyalgia - from a fibromyalgia expert speaking in lay terms. (I, Elaine, will be referring you to other experts who have to be expert, technical and professional.)

People with bodies with fibromyalgia are like beautiful china dishes... that were used for food and so got dirty.
When the food is removed and the dish is cleaned it is back to it's beautiful state.
As food is to a dish, fibro symptoms are to a person. We need to see the person as separate from fibro symptoms.


Vintage china WP9
Fibromyalgia seems so mystifying and complex so we will use an analogy of a plate and food:
  • Once anything gets on a clean plate it is dirty. (Has symptoms)
  • The plates keep getting dirty. (Chronic condition)
  • Each dish has a variety of foods, colors and tastes. (Multiple and various symptoms)
  • The food can be eaten to nourish us. (Symptoms notify us that something is wrong so we can get well again)
  • Plates have varying amounts of food and/or debris. (Number or severity of symptoms)
  • Different foods can be identified. (Symptoms such as pain, chronic fatigue, fibro fog, depression, etc)
  • Sometimes the food is so mixed together that it is hard to tell what it is. (Difficult to diagnosis)
  • Over time food left on a dish can get moldy, stink or get dried on and hard to clean. (Symptoms get worse)
  • Dishes are different sizes. (Affects all ages)
  • People can decide to wash the dirty dishes or throw them away. (People can help fibro patients get well or abandon them)
RememberNo matter how dirty, stinky, moldy or disgusting the food on a plate can get- IT DOES NOT CHANGE THE PLATE. A plate is cleaned to restore it's beauty and be useful for serving food again. (When someone is sick with fibro we need to help them get rid of the causes of the symptoms so they can feel fresh, clean, healthy, useful and beautiful again.)


For more excellent information about fibromyalgia - Fibromyalgia-Symptoms.org