I often wondered how many euphemisms there could be to say, "You're a hypochondriac." I went from doctor to doctor and they all said basically the same thing....there was nothing wrong with me. Except there was - I was in daily pain, sometimes severe. I thought at one point that maybe they were right and I was a mental case waiting to snap. My medical folder got bigger and bigger while my pain and frustration got bigger right along with it. About 10 years into this mess came a referral to an internal specialist. It took her less than 30 minutes to accurately diagnose me with fibromyalgia. That was in 1988; today I have been classed as a case of severe fibromyalgia. Along with osteoarthritis (in all my joints), costachrondritis (chronic inflammation of the rib cage cartilage), hypertension (high blood pressure), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (fatty liver), degenerative disk disease, and a warped sense of humor. We recently discovered that I also have a fracture of the L5 facet joint. (The L5 is supposed to be the lowest vertebrae in the back before the sacrum, but my sacrum didn't fully fuse when I was a child, and I have six lumbar vertebrae.) So my sacroiliac joints have small bone shavings, etc., from the extra vertebrae (with no disk to cushion it) rubbing against the sacrum.

Only one thing keeps me fully sane.....okay, several things (and not everyone would classify me as fully sane!). The first and foremost item on my list is my faith in God. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) and have often found solace only in prayer. Another is my DH - my dear husband. He, too, has a warped sense of humor and keeps me laughing. He is my best friend and we have been married over 25 years. Yet another sanity saving item is my full time job. When I am immersed in making web pages work well, I tend to be able to forget (on days when the pain is not severe) that I am "disabled" and need help from outside myself. Last, but certainly not the least, item is my association with the ASA newsgroup. I found the newsgroup a couple of years ago when I was trying to figure out why I hurt so much (I didn't know that fibromyalgia could be the cause of so much pain). I found an arthritis site that listed the newsgroup, went there and was instantly accepted into my second family. I truly do love the people on that newsgroup....some of whom I have met face to face and some I have not. They have been there, done that, and have really helped me keep a perspective on being disabled and accepting help from others while still being able to offer help to others when I can.

So, gentle reader, this is my story. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have thought up about fibromyalgia or any of the others of my "problems" at any time you'd like. Just send me an email. I have three email addresses:

1. ke3iu@hotmail.com
2. bdtaggart@earthlink.net
3. taggart@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov

http://home.earthlink.net/~bdtaggart/index.html
http://lep694.gsfc.nasa.gov/lepedu/FrontPage.html
http://www-lep.gsfc.nasa.gov/imp8/imp8_hm.html
http://lepmfi.gsfc.nasa.gov/mfi/windmfi.html
http://lep694.gsfc.nasa.gov/lepedu/696/branch.html
http://lepmfi.gsfc.nasa.gov/wg5/main.html