Rina Ong started experiencing similar discomfort, but she found no quality in American medicine. ” It felt like one … stabbing my knee”, described the 31- yr- old, who likewise broke out in hives all over her system.
18 bad blood tests and a fresh nerve examination afterwards, she sought medical guidance, but her doctors insisted she was in the red.
” Maybe it’s in your head”, some specialists also suggested to Daisy Chia, who grappled with mental fog, mood swings, lethargy and constipation in addition to severe pain.
” ( One doctor ) sent me back with nothing, not even painkillers”, recounted the 54- year- old, who kept wondering,” Am I getting crazy”?
” Clara”, 25, who declined to be identified, knew for a fact that the only thing she was “faking” was the amount of discomfort she chose to tell people she was suffering.
Such is the character of fibromyalgia: unknown to the eye, invisible by tests and confounding to health professionals, already painfully actual for those who endure it.
Four people shared their experiences with symptoms with CNA Insider, including what it’s like to live with it.
WATCH: Living with chronic pain that even doctors do n’t believe — This is fibromyalgia ( 12: 39 )