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Quotations about Fibromyalgia
Away as dust from my feet,
Be dead to the pangs of flesh,
And to pain's unceasing beat,
Methinks I should tread on air
And rival a care-free bird,
That my unbound voice should thrill
Forever one grateful word...
~Sara L. Vickers Oberholtzer, "A Sufferer's Impromptu," Come for Arbutus, and Other Wild Bloom, 1882 [Her affliction is actually unspecified, but it seems to fit quite well on the Fibro page.
I am tired, so tired, and dulled with pain,
My courage flags from endless strain.
I wonder if 'mid life's clouds and rain
The sun and blossoms will break again.
I am half dissatisfied and distressed,
Worn with anxiety, starved for rest...
~Sara L. Vickers Oberholtzer, "Weariness," Come for Arbutus, and Other Wild Bloom, 1882 [Her affliction is actually unspecified, but it seems to fit quite well on the Fibro page.
There are many peculiarities in the general appearance and life-history of so-called "rheumatic" individuals which seem to indicate the existence of some constitutional anomaly. Even when, as often happens, they are outwardly robust, they seem unduly prone to functional derangements. They prove markedly susceptible to atmospheric disturbances — they swiftly and constantly react to environmental influences to which other persons, though placed in precisely the same circumstances, remain indifferent. Subjects complain much of headache, lassitude, fatigue, torpor, neurasthenia, mental irritability, and often depression of almost pathological degree. A state of painful fatigue is induced as well as gastro-intestinal derangements. Digestion of carbohydrates is impaired, gases in larger amounts are liberated, and intestinal bacterial flora undergo changes. Some researches by Brown in the Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin dealt with myalgia, by which term is understood "diffuse pain affecting certain muscles or groups of muscles, probably due to certain changes in their fibrous constituents." In some types the disorder features a restlessness in bed. The legs are attacked as a veritable anxietas tibiarum is produced. The patient incessantly changes his position, until, spent with fatigue, sleep overtakes him. ~Drs. LL. Jones Llewellyn and A. Bassett Jones, Fibrositis, 1915 [altered
In some types there is no indication whatever of any local affection, the subjects complaining of nothing beyond a vague feeling of malaise, best described as the non-committal term "febricula," or, to use the expression most in vogue among the laity, an "influenzal" of "feverish" cold. Attacks of arthritic, muscular, and nerve manifestations of fibrositis are often preceded by a sore throat. This malaise is attended by more or less severe aching pains in the back and limbs — of the muscles, bones, joints, or tendinous structures. The fleeting aches in the trunk and limbs, no less than the sense of malaise, render it irksome to the patient to be up and about, and he gladly resorts to bed or assumes a recumbent posture, pending the passage of this acute phase. In less severe cases the patient is able to pursue his ordinary avocation, though feeling listless and much plagued by a sense of unaccountable fatigue, which disinclines him for any effort or exertion. At the same time the floating toxins often irritate the fibrous coverings of the nerves, and fitful neuralgic pains add to his general discomfort. With this general body uneasiness there is associated a feeling of mental depression. Sometimes there is nausea or the bowels are sluggish. ~Drs. LL. Jones Llewellyn and A. Bassett Jones, Fibrositis, 1915 [altered
Indeed, to our mind there is little doubt that, if the primary onset of all cases of fibrositis were more narrowly investigated, it would be found that the subjects, though often considering themselves in perfect health, had for some time prior to the full development of the attack experienced symptoms clearly denoting functional disorder. ~Drs. LL. Jones Llewellyn and A. Bassett Jones, Fibrositis, 1915
How frequently do we see persons, previously immune, suddenly fall a prey to the affection on changing their mode of living, more especially in respect of diet! How well established is it that these subjects after unusual, though not necessarily excessive, indulgence at the table almost inevitably suffer from diffuse aching and stiffness in their fibrous tissues! Veterinary authorities have also noted the same swift response to dietetic indiscretions, of muscular rheumatism in horses, dogs, cattle, etc. ~Drs. LL. Jones Llewellyn and A. Bassett Jones, Fibrositis, 1915 [altered
Substitution of the Term "Fibrositis" for "Chronic Rheumatism." — This suggested change in the nomenclature is the direct outcome of the observation, by no means modern, that in "chronic rheumatism" the basal anatomical lesion is one of inflammatory overgrowth, or hyperplasia of the white connective tissues. As far back as the beginning of the nineteenth century, Craigie, on anatomical findings, enunciated this dictum. It is therefore, we think, somewhat singular that the significance of this masterly conception was apparently lost sight of, until Sir William Gowers, in a notable contribution on the subject, re-emphasized the essential pathology unity of all the different forms of chronic rheumatism. In other words, the underlying condition is identical for the fibrous investments of a joint, the connective-tissue envelope of a nerve, or the interstitial tissues of a muscle. While the causal factors are diverse, their pathological influence is expended on the same anatomical structure — the fibrous elements. "Fibrositis" gives the condition "a local habitation and a name." For, shorn of the term "rheumatism," a more eclectic frame of mind is engendered to advance and clarify our knowledge of this common everyday affection. ~Drs. LL. Jones Llewellyn and A. Bassett Jones, Fibrositis, 1915 [altered
The fact is, that in the present stage of our knowledge, no specific cause can be adduced. In regard to drug treatment, we have not advanced much beyond our forebears. Treatment includes oral health; intelligent dieting directed towards modifying the character of the intestinal flora by means of a judiciously selected and varied diet; reduction of body-weight in obese subjects; wearing light, loose-fitting, and absorbent garments; hydrotherapy and hot-air baths; massage to improve circulation and promote a general feeling of well-being; active exercise proportionate to the age and strength of the patient, avoiding excessive exertion or a sedentary habit. Gradually increase exercise to the capacity of the particular individual; it must not be forgotten that the evil effects of fatigue or overexertion are readily induced, often with grave consequences. ~Drs. LL. Jones Llewellyn and A. Bassett Jones, Fibrositis, 1915 [altered
Editor's note: Here are some names I've seen in vintage medical literatures for fibromyalgia and similar complaints — chronic rheumatism (1700s), chronic pseudo-rheumatism a.k.a. pseudo-rheumatic affection, gout with a difference, fibrositis (Gowers, 1904), chronic myo-fibrositis a.k.a. chronic muscular rheumatism, neuro-fibrositis a.k.a. fibrositis of the nerve sheaths, myalgia without anatomical lesion, neuralgic rheumatism, fibromalasia, psychogenic rheumatism, the invisible disability or the invisible illness, disorder of pain amplification, rheumatic pain syndrome, the irritable everything syndrome (Smythe, 1985), tender lady syndrome, and syndrome of the nineties (i.e., 1990s). In more current writings it can be called fibromyalgia syndrome, FMS, FM, or fibro. Some of the earlier terms overlapped with true rheumatisms and other conditions. The three main types of fibrositis diagnoses in the early 1900s were categorized as gouty or pseudo-rheumatic fibrositis, infective fibrositis a.k.a. toxic fibrositis, and traumatic fibrositis, with further subtypes depending on the body areas affected, etc.
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published 2018 Oct 30
revised 2019 Jun 20
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