Defining an 'illness'

Is Fibromyalgia an illness?  A condition?  A syndrome?  A disease?  Or what?

Fibromyalgia is a collection of symptoms.  It's understandable that many think it isn't real.  The symptoms are many and varied.  The NIH defines Fibromyalgia:

Fibromyalgia makes you feel tired and causes muscle pain and "tender points." Tender points are places on the neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms or legs that hurt when touched. People with fibromyalgia may have other symptoms, such as trouble sleeping, morning stiffness, headaches, and problems with thinking and memory, sometimes called "fibro fog."

Each of the symptoms is variable, and changes not only person to person, but sometimes day to day within the same person.  It is supposedly not a 'degenerative' disease, meaning it doesn't get worse over time.  This is what I've been told, but I'm not sure I believe it.  How do some people end up bedridden for days at a time?  Did they always?  No.  So somewhere along the line, it got worse.  The trick is to find out what will help in your own situation.

The NIH web site goes on to state:

No one knows what causes fibromyalgia. Anyone can get it, but it is most common in middle-aged women. People with rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases are particularly likely to develop fibromyalgia. There is no cure for fibromyalgia, but medicines can help you manage your symptoms. Getting enough sleep and exercising may also help.

There seems to be some evidence that Fibro can be genetic, while others believe a sleep disorder lies at the base of the condition.  (Stated on About.com)

In my case, it is surely genetic.  Not that my mother was diagnosed, but as we go through the symptoms together, she has them worse than I do!  Anyway, I don't find that whether it's genetic or not amounts to much, other than the fact that I can pass on some tidbits of info to my mom to try and ease her issues.

I was diagnosed about 6 years ago, and I am a mild case study.  I get around, I am not on any meds other than Tylenol PM or Melatonin to help me sleep, and my energy level is generally pretty high.  So why am I writing this?  Because I am a homeschooling mom who faces the same issues that all homeschool moms face, but Fibromyalgia adds a new dimension, a new wrinkle if you will, to every day.

With this blog, I want to attempt to answer my own questions about how fibromyalgia affects how I homeschool.  I will also assemble a page with helpful links as I find them.