The Best Way I Can Describe What It's Like to Have Fibromyalgia

People have asked me from time to time what it’s like to have fibromyalgia, and I have always struggled to express how it feels. Saying “it’s like having the flu” doesn’t really describe how it truly feels. One night it just came to me, so I shared it with my fibromyalgia support group; they thought it was pretty accurate.

• What is Fibromyalgia?
• What Are Common Fibromyalgia Symptoms?

I have decided that fibromyalgia can be described as such:

“Running on the spot as fast as your body will allow for an undetermined amount of time. Your muscles screaming from pain and exhaustion, feeling lightheaded and unable to think coherently due to your exhaustion and fatigue. When you finally give in and fall like a heap on the floor, your body feels like jello, all your muscles on fire from pushing them further then they would normally allow. Unable to move, feeling helpless and vulnerable, yet unable to do anything about it.”

It can be frustrating when people tell you “just get up and move,” “you just need to push through it” or “you don’t look that sick.” The worst is when I’m having a bad day and someone tells me to “just smile,” like smiling will make it all go away.

Sometimes I wish that people who say these things could spend just one day in our shoes. I admit, I really don’t wish this on anyone, but letting someone just have one day so they can see what we deal with, that I might wish. Let them experience things from our point of view, how much we actually struggle to get though some days. Maybe then they would truly understand, and be a little more supportive and sympathetic when we are struggling though a flare-up.