In 2001, I woke up and tried to raise myself out of bed to find I couldn’t move. I was unable to move my legs suffering with a sharp pain and stiffness in my knees. As the months passed, the pain became worse: not only did it occur in my knees but the stiffness and pain also moved into my wrists, elbows, ankles and neck. Depression and lack of sleep became a problem also.

Constant visits to the doctors: surgery left me feeling more depressed as they had absolutely no idea as to what I had. They plastered me with anti-inflam tabs which made no difference whatsoever.

It took a year and many hospital visits and tests of all kinds to reveal I had Fibromyalgia, something I had never heard of. People tried to convince me that it was all in my mind or I was exaggerating. But believe me, the pain was and still is very real. Five years down the line I am still a FM sufferer. I live on pain killers and anti-depressants. Hot water bottles and deep heat have become my closest pals as they help a great deal.

Unfortunately, I have been signed off work indefinitely as the pain is so unpredictable. I have my good days when the pain doesn’t keep me in bed, but even the good days could be better.

I have a 12 year old son who is very understanding and helps me when he can, but the guilt of not being able to do as much as I can for him is very strong. He is now classed as my young carer and is supported by social services. They help to take the pressure off of him by allowing him to join groups of other young carers so they get their own social time.

I’ve been told that the pain will one day disappear without warning in the same manner it appeared, but the time limit cannot be predicted. The pain could go in a week or years from now; all I can do is wait. Not very comforting news from a GP, but that’s as good as it gets.

Without certain websites for information, I would be still stabbing in the dark as there is hardly any information locally available. I am now 36 years old and I hope and pray that I will be able to be as active as I can as soon as possible so I no longer miss out on my son’s life and being “NORMAL” again.