north shore news HEALTH Working through the Sarat Woodend Contributing Writer WHEN Aileen Mathieson goes to bed at night she hasn’t planned for the day to come, she is just thank- ful for sleep. Mathieson suffers from Fibromvalgia Syadrome -~ 3 systemic syndrome causing chronic pain and fatigue. Her husband, — fohn Emerson, has suffercd with her. * He has watched his wife go from an active and ener- getic senior to a moody, uncomfortable woman who cooks him breakfast one day, but is unabie to get out of bed the next. Mathieson —_ remembers ‘when she met Emerson six years ago and they used to step-dance and attend parties. “When he met me I could dance all night, J could do anything.” | She says the worst thing about fibromyalgia is putting on a front for people who don’t understand how serious the disease is. Roy Lanaway, communica- tions director for The Arthritis Society, B.C. and Yukon Division, said fibromyalgia is generally accepted as the most preva- Jent form of arthritis, even more common and painful _ than rheumatoid arthritis. It is,also one of the most ~ misunderstood because of its unknown origin. The only person who sees Mathieson on her bad days, when she says she’s like a “raving lunatic,”. is her hus- band, so her friends often think her pain is all in her head. “All of a sudden J changed and I would have to pretend. We would be invited out to dinner and have to phone at the -last minute and cancel, making up an excuse.” So, she has stopped mak- ing plans and left her bridge club because she felt bad call- ing at the last minute to can- cel. She is in’ constant pain. “I’m never without it, but you learn to live with the pain. In fact I’m having a good day but my movements are still jilted.” The aches are the worst in her neck where they start, then “wander” through her ‘whole body. The most irritating pain she encounters is in her feet which get excruciatingly cold. “John can’t feel them cold but they're just like icicles,” she said. He bought her a pair of wool work socks as a joke, but she wears them saying they are one of the best things he has ever bought her. Ten years ago Mathieson had been living in Bermuda with her four children, work- ing as a journalist, when an accident claimed the life of her son. She needed a new start so she picked up and moved > research by Dr. f fibrom Wa e569 : a! NEWS photo Mike Wake‘iein AILEEN Mathieson is never without pain from fibromyalgia. home to Canada, settling in West Vancouver. Her life seemed to be back on track until she began suf- fering aches and pains in her back and neck. Then, four years ago, her youngest daughter died unex- pectedly. Ever since the pain has been unbearable. She remembers one day not being able to walk the four feet from her bed to the washroom without falling. When she asked for help the doctors couldn’t give her the answers she was looking for, saying she simply needed to grieve. But the pain never went away. One year tater Mathieson wept in her living room feeling frustrated and depressed. ; Then she picked up an edi- tion of Health Watch Canada and found the answers she had been searching for in an article entitled Joint Venture. The article described her symptoms in talking about new developments in arthritis Edward Keystone at Wellesley Central Hospital in Toronto. She immediately made her way to Toronto, booked an yaigia appointment and was diag- nosed with fibromyalgia. Now she is on morphine for the pain. She has tried co ease the agony through mias- sage and acupuncture which are “absolute heaven while they’re happening” bur then the pain always returns. Mathieson stretches daily and swims to help loosen her muscles. She also watches her diet to ensure she gets enough potassium and antiox- idents which are said to help. She finds a concoction her grandmother used to cleanse her body does wonders for her sore stomach. She drinks a mixture of honey, vinegar (high in potas- sium) and water instead of plain water and finds that it soothes flare-ups in her stom- ach caused by fibromyalgia. Her husband says all these painkillers do not present a cure. “No cure is involved. They just mask the pain, not getting at the root of the problem.” He feels that with more research his wife couid be pain-free to live a normal life. Very little is known about fibromyalgia. It affects 2.1 to 5.7% of the general popula- tion and women are more likely to develop it by a ratio of four to one, according to The Arthritis Society. There is speculation that it’s genetic or brought on by emotional or physical trauma or a secondary chronic condi- tion such as insomnia. Though her symptoms range from day to day, Mathieson suffers from a medium case of fibromyalgia. Doctor Marguerite Stolar of Vancouver said pain occurs in varying degrees from mild to severe. She said in 1990 the American College of Rheumatology classified the characteristics of fibromyalgia making it easier to diagnose. “The majority of those diagnosed can continue to function normally while mak- ing adjustments and a small portion are considered dis- abled,” Stolar said. Dr Csilla Gyovais DENTIST ANNOUNCES NEW HOURS E * Every second Tuesday and every other Saturday is off ** Open 1 monday per month. First work day of the week noon - 8pm. 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