Pam and her Fibromyalgia
Pam, a 50-year old office worker and mother of two grown up children, suffered a severe bout of flu last autumn which left her feeling generally achy and constantly tired. She continued to work as normal but found it increasingly difficult to keep her usual routine and began staying in more to ‘recharge her batteries’ and found herself withdrawing from her social life. After 6-months feeling increasingly weak and tired with constant aches and pains in her back and shoulders, headaches, and not sleeping at all well, Pam consulted her GP. She was initially thought to have chronic fatigue (ME) but after a referral to a Rheumatologist she was given a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia Syndrome and put on anti-depressants and pain killers.
Another 6-months on and Pam decided to consult an Osteopath as she was starting to feel dependant on her medication and wanted to try and be more pro-active in her treatment. At the initial consultation she revealed that a road traffic accident 10 years ago had left her with chronic neck pain. She also mentioned having a 4 year history of lower back pain which had never been properly treated. And lastly she talked of a significant loss in the family when her otherwise healthy father had died leaving her with ‘very difficult times’.
By talking these important ‘life’ events through with Pam she began to see how she had never really resolved the trauma of her traffic accident, leaving her with recurring neck pain and overly sensitive muscles. Even though her body had compensated very well up till then, with the onset of a common back problem from her desk job, plus the loss of her father, her body began to struggle to cope with everyday strains until a common virus struck wiping out her ability to compensate further. This meant she was susceptible to tiring quickly from jobs she would normally have breezed through, her immune system was less able to fight off bugs leaving her open to infections, and normal exertions would cause considerable pain.
Initially Pam had 6 weekly sessions to improve the resilience of her tissues and begin to ease some of her niggling strains. She was then given a structured exercise regime, well within her current capabilities, and began to develop a better level of fitness. She was also given advice on her diet and natural ways to improve her sleep. After 6 monthly sessions Pam was feeling much better within herself and eager to rekindle her social and family life. She was still getting relapses of tiredness and pain but felt better equipped to cope and content that she was more in control of her symptoms, which she felt would improve with time.