“Fibromyalgia” will not be part of their daily conversations, and so - that’s how we are - we just tend to think it does not exist and even if, it does not concern us. Well, utterly wrong!

At least 2 % of the US population suffers from Fibromyalgia syndrome; the estimated number of unknown cases could actually be much higher though. So if you feel tired and worn out, if you can observe some ongoing dull aching pain in your muscles and tissues, chances are that you suffer from Fibromyalgia syndrome.

The term Fibromyalgia was coined only about 40 years ago, until then it was considered as some kind of rheumatism - and that means your grandmother surely never talked about it. And that in turn makes it difficult for us to understand it: our perception of “sickness” mostly is determined during childhood and through our close relatives. If they never mentioned “Fibromyalgia” or “chronic fatigue” we tend to think it is exotic and we never get it.

And of course an illness is never “new” - new is always only the way our doctors describe and define it.

The Fibromyalgia syndrome was recognized by the American Medical Association as an illness and a cause of disability as late as 1987. Insofar it indeed is relatively “new.”