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reason to the pain cycles. The flares can last hours, days or months.

Recently the FDA approved, Lyrica, the first medication to help treat the symptoms of FMS. It has been met with mixed reviews as it has side effects that some FMS patients cannot tolerate. FMS patients need many different modalities of care, including physical therapy, biofeedback, medication, acupuncture and support.

Mentally, because the stability of the pain is so unpredictable, it wreaks havoc on the patient's entire life. There are no outward signs of the person being in pain, like a cast, brace or surgery scars, so it makes it hard for family, friends and co-workers to understand the pain. Depression, sadness and the feeling of failure are dominant emotions for FMS patients.

Emotionally, fibromyalgia robs the quality of life from the patient. Suicidal ideation is not uncommon. The strain of the disease becomes overwhelming. The support or lack thereof from family, friends, work and the medical community all play a roll in the emotional fight for an FMS patient.

An extremely important factor to an FMS patient is to have a support group. Studies have shown women with breast cancer have greater survival rates using support groups than those who don't. There are several good FMS support groups such as www.mdjunction.com/fibromyalgi a and www.fmaware.org. These groups provide tremendous support that is difficult to find in mainstream society.

FMS has gone from a garbage can "mental" illness to a recognized physical disease in the last decade. Continued research into trauma injuries and other suspected triggers of FMS will eventually lead to a solution to this complex disease. In the meantime, FMS patients struggle to find balance in their lives from a disease that inherently causes imbalance.

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