May12th.Org – the go to website for Fibromyalgia Awareness Day next week


Fibromyalgia Awareness Day 2015

Fibromyalgia Awareness Day 2015

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a website called May 12th. You can visit them here.

The reason that I’m mentioning them today is four fold.

Firstly the blindly obvious fact that they are bothering to promote next week’s Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. I’ve been doing a few things myself which you can check out here. Not much but it is a start.

Secondly they are putting together a list of of events which mark Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. You can see them here https://docs.google.com/document/d/10Gi4ZR_2DMv6TxlQOMBdYpCHDbRwTCVHmVilZnk9naM/edit. It is a Google document which means that anyone can edit it. So we would be very grateful if you could update it with any events you are involved in, on or offline, which mark FMS Awareness Day. It would also be great if you would share this is family, friends and all members of the fibro and chronic pain community.


The other reasons is that the site itself does not limit itself to just fibromyalgia but also provides information and awareness about a number of closely linked but very much ignored medical conditions such as Gulf War Syndrome , Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It is great to see an awareness site with the blinkers off and looking at the relationships between medical conditions.

The final reason I would love it for you to visit the site, and share it, is that it is not written by an overmighty NGO but rather by us. People who live with, and care about, our medical conditions and health. For me this is the future of healthcare and wellness in the long run. Not the tinkering about with a system with does not work for us.

PS If you have any FMS awareness resources you would like to share please feel free to use the comments box below to share with our readers!

Fibromyalgia – Have you suffered from stigma attached to your Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia and stigma

Fibromyalgia and stigma

Over the last few years this blog has look a few times at the kinds of discrimination face by people with various medical condition. Indeed according to our poll run last year over 70% of our readers have faced dicrimination at work because of health problems.

So I was very interested to read an article published earlier this month in Communities Digital News entitled “The fibromyalgia stigma: When law enforcement, not pain management, wins” You can read Paul Mountjoy’s article on their site here.

He argues ” A patient who mentions the “F” word, or fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), to most primary care physicians, hospital residents, specialists and even pain management clinics, is liable to be labeled as a ‘drug seeker’and not a serious patient.”

Certainly this has been the experience of many patients with fibro, diagnosed or undiagnosed.

But i was wondering to what extent it applies to our readers. It would be great if you could take our poll where we look in more detail at the question of a stigma associated with fibromyalgia.

It would be great if you could use the comments box below to share your story in more detail.

Many thanks in advance.


Fibromyalgia. have you had to stop driving because of your fibromyalgia? Please take our poll!

Driving and fibromyalgia  - tell us more

Driving and fibromyalgia – tell us more

Mobility issues are, of course, of prime importance to people with fibromyalgia or any kind of arthritis.

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For my grandmother who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis not be able to drive a car had a massive impact on her lifestyle and general feelings of wellbeing.

So we are very interested in find out to what extent are people with fibro ( or indeed any other arthritic condition) are able to use a motor car.

Firstly it would be great if you could take the poll below.

Secondly if you could use the comments box to share your story about fibro and driving that would be brilliant.    By telling your story you can help other people with FMS in a similar situation.

Many thanks in advance