Occupational therapist sheds light on Fibromyalgia

AFTER noticing an increase in the number of friends and associates who were being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Helen Roome, an occupational therapist who supported adults with persistent pain and fatigue, decided to start a support group.

With the month of May being Fibromyalgia Awareness Month, we spoke to Roome about this condition: the symptoms and diagnosis.

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Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome characterised by persistent widespread pain. The pain may be aching or burning (or a combination of both) and can vary in severity from day to day.

According to Roome, FM is not considered life-threatening or progressive, but it can have a major impact on your quality of life.

“It affects more women than men, and it varies greatly from one person to another and from day to day. I noticed how much it impacted people I am close to, and when they sought help, they were either met with disbelief, dismissal or misunderstanding.

“Receiving the diagnosis took too long, years even. Also, once diagnosed, there was very little information on how to manage it, and the information that could be found was inaccurate. Most of them believed that their only option was a lifetime of taking medication,” explained Roome.

So, as a concerned healthcare professional and friend, Roome decided to start a group that could be both informative and supportive for people with Fibromyalgia and their families.

The pandemic interrupted their gatherings, but they relaunched at the end of last year.

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The group is now co-hosted by Roome and Susan Mercer – who has lived with Fibromyalgia for many years.

“We try to share a combination of advice from our clinical and personal experience, and group members learn a lot from each other, too.”

The group meets approximately every six weeks in Hillcrest and averages about 15 attendees each time. The group is free of charge, and family members are also welcome.

“We have just honoured International Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. Anyone diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, and their family members, are welcome to join us. The group is free of charge,” she said.

Roome also shared other insights about the condition – read below:

What are the symptoms?

FM is one of the ‘invisible illnesses’, ie, symptoms are not usually outwardly visible. As mentioned already, persistent widespread pain is the main symptom. The other main ones are fatigue, mood disturbances and poor sleep.
Other symptoms can include:
• Poor concentration and forgetfulness (fibro-fog/brain-fog)
• Headaches
• Irritable or uncomfortable bowels
• Multisensory sensitivity (to cold, sounds, light, touch)
Many people have flare-ups when the symptoms suddenly worsen for a while. These can be triggered by environmental, emotional or physical stressors.

What causes Fibromyalgia?

There is no single cause of FM. Research shows there’s an interaction between different physical, psychological and contextual/environmental factors that creates a malfunctioning pain system. Pain is one of the protective systems used by our very clever brains! It works like an alarm system:
The nerves all over our bodies create an intricate detection system. When there is a ‘break-in’ (injury), the alarm goes off and your security company’s central command (your brain) responds quickly. Protective and healing forces are sent to repair the breach and tighten security, if necessary. This is how a good alarm system and security company works. This is how your brain responds to acute injuries/damage – whether they are physical, such as whiplash, or psychological, such as emotional abuse.

How is Fibromyalgia diagnosed?
Because it varies so much from one person to another – and because some people have other conditions along with it, eg, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, Lupus and chronic fatigue syndrome – a comprehensive individual assessment is important. You may start by seeing a GP or specialist doctor who will take your history and eliminate anything else that could be responsible for your pain, fatigue and other symptoms. The lab tests, scans and other investigations they do cannot prove you have FM – they can only possibly rule out other conditions.
Then the history you provide and the findings of a physical examination will be compared to specific diagnostic criteria for Fibromyalgia. Counting the number of ‘tender points’ you have is not considered important anymore – it’s more about whether your pain is generalised rather than isolated to some parts.

For more information, email: h.roome@gmail.com.

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