This is a letter that I received on Facebook from my friend Mike, who is studying to become a geneticist. (He is very smart)

“So I was reading up on my fibromyalgia knowledge (causes, symptoms, treatments, etc. whatever came from google’s top list of hits) and I started to get a little worried. Not from anything bad, but because i saw depression on the list. I was like “what? A depressed Farrah could not possibly exist.” But, I knew with a cane and all you missed the things you couldn’t do anymore so I decided to make an effort.

For starters, fibromyalgia isn’t the end of everything. You could even see it as just a postponing. I was reading about things you could do without medication to help ease things and probably make you stronger. They were stuff like exercise regularly and stretch and do things you love. The first two are for the physical part, and the third is for the mental. They said that stress can cause flare ups. They also said that doing too much on good days could cause you to have more bad days, so its good to be balanced.

They said that it can be frustrating, since no one really knows the cause. They know there’s some heredity involved, but its causes can be in the nervous system as well as with muscles/tendons/ligaments.

I don’t know the severity, but they also said there’s medicines that help people deal with it. One such was just approved specifically for fibromyalgia, but tylenol can help as well. I’m a little sketch with drugs and pharmaceutical companies, but I’m sure there’s at least one company out there that’s good. Anyways, even with the frustration, you still got Stephan, your family, and us (your friends) to help ya out.

Like I said though, there is hope. Maybe you’ll be able to get rid of that cane in the future. they did say it wasn’t progressive, so you don’t have to worry about other diseases or illnesses, but they did say that people who had other diseases (usually nervous or lymphatic) showed signs of fibromyalgia, but i think you’re in the clear there as those were usually noticable and diagnosed well before. I got most of this stuff from mayo clinic though. It was pretty well detailed, and i know they’ve been around for a while so they should know something. Anyways take care of yourself. You’re always missed.

Oh, and congrats on the nose ring! I lost my earring last year and never replaced it, so its healed over now. I’m sure your ring looks great though “

^__^ I do have the most wonderful friends, don’t I?