My husband and I were out to lunch with our daughters. My daughters were talking about their fingernails. I started telling them how you can tell someone's health by their finger nails, not just that they bite their nails. The curvature of the nails and the ridges on them can tell you things, for example, ridges going across the nail are signs of very bad illness (but I don't remember what!) and the ridges that are deep that go the length of the nail are very common in people who have Fibromyalgia.
Well, a the mention of Fibromyalgia, there was eye-rolling from all.
My point is this -- if I had Cancer, and everybody in the family knew I had Cancer, just as the family knows I have Fibromyalgia, if I had said that a certain fingernail formation signaled Cancer, they would have nodded in appreciation of receipt and understanding of this knowledge. I wasn't bringing it up so I could discuss Fibromyalgia, I just thought that the fact that fingernails can signal different health issues was interesting -- and they did too, until the word FIBROMYALGIA came up.
True, Fibro's not going to kill me, but I just want some understanding of YES I have it, it's not just an imagined illness I enjoy discussing. It's not like I faked my low Vitamin D and positive ANA test. I am not lazy, I feel like SHIT, and your attitude makes me feel even worse.
Fibromyalgia is recognized as a distinct and REAL medical issue by the American Medical Association and the World Health Organization, among many others.
When will this illness be "good enough" for us all to accept it exists?
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