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Fibromyalgi- a housewife's curse

Fibromyalgi is a cronic diease that affects many women in Sweden. On of them is Ann-Christine Nilsson 42, a housewife from Sidensjö.

Constant visits to health centre
The diease came ascending when Ann-Chrsitne expect of her second baby. She got muscel inflammation on her right axle, aches and bleedings. Beacuse of all that was she almost sick-listed the whole pregnency. That time nobody knew what was wrong. When her daughther Jospehine was 9 month so the diease broke out. It got hard to breath, constandly tired, went numd in arms, legs and face. This involved constant visits to the health centre and physiotherapist. It was a hard time before eweryone knew what it was. It took many years befor she got the diagnosis fibromyalgi. She have twochildren. Emma, 19 years old and Josephine, 17 years old.

Constant visits to health centre
The diease came ascending when Ann-Chrsitne expect of her second baby. She got muscel inflammation on her right axle, aches and bleedings. Beacuse of all that was she almost sick-listed the whole pregnency. That time nobody knew what was wrong. When her daughther Jospehine was 9 month so the diease broke out. It got hard to breath, constandly tired, went numd in arms, legs and face. This involved constant visits to the health centre and physiotherapist. It was a hard time before eweryone knew what it was. It took many years befor she got the diagnosis fibromyalgi. She have twochildren. Emma, 19 years old and Josephine, 17 years old.

Ann-Christine Nilsson with her dog Ruth.

Doesn't work any more
She doesn't work any more. Ann-Christine have early retirement penison 75% and
have temporary sickness benefit on 25% She worked 25% before but not now. At
the time Ann-Christine worked she was an employee at a retiremant home in Sidnejsö
She never knew from day to day how she was gonna feel. Ann-Christine is very sensitive
to changes in the weather,for exampel when it is very warm on the summer. She feels that
she can'nt live like she whant to live, she are limited. She describes it's like she is an inmate
in her own body. ”I would like to open a zipper and creep out like a healthy Ann-Christine”
There is no remedy. She is eating a medicine that gives her what her body misses. It makes her muscles ache and give her a hard time to breathing. Her heart is a muscle, her eyes is a muscle
and even her urin bladder is a muscle. The whole body is affected, so the docktor can't do
anything more about it. The are many reasons to why the diease came ath the point in her life.
She problably had it in her body alredy. It may have been laying latent all the time. If something traumatic happens in her life just might pull the trigger and she gets sick

The death of her father made it worse
Ann-Christines father died when she was 18 years old and a couple of years later her uncle
took his life. Her grandmother had the same diease so it might bo nereditary. There is many
reansons that could have made her sick. People that never belives in them selvs and lack of comfident often gets this diease. She says it destroyed her life. She can't live the life she whants and considers the sickness to be her worse enimy. Her biggest wish is to be healty. When she feels like hell her whole family gets punished. She also feels like it's messing with her head and often go to people that listens and give her the help she needs. Like a person she feels she's not good enough. Sometimes she feels better and sometimes feel really bad. She was so ashemed beacuse of her diease before, but now she feels stronger. She knows other people who have the same diease. The'll meet in a small group to talk. Then there is a association for rheumatic and she meets new people there.

Believed it was ALS
She tought she was going crazy before Ann-Christine knwe that sje had got the fibromyalgi. She had constant pain everywhere and strange things happen to her body. She had hard to breath, to see, sleep problem, The body was in chaos for one moment. Ann-Christine belived she got heart attacks, cancer, ALS. She was frightened for many years. When Ann-Christine feel the worst it feels like she have a temperature of 40 degrees.
Her body is hot, her feets get red and itch. It's aches over the hole body but some days it is much better. She sometimes gets a pain that and for that she can eat medicine. She is never free from medicine but it the pain your get when you exersise. But it comes in periods. Sometime she got pain for weeks. Stress is a big factor in Ann-Christines life. Today she feel fairly good and she takes care of days like that. When she feels good she like to go to the gym, listen to cd-books,rest and the summer she take care of her garden. She love her family they are the best thing that's ever happen to her. Without their support she never would made it.