Jonathan Ross recently revealed that his 30-year-old daughter Betty Ross has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic condition that causes pain and fatigue all over the body, and for which there is currently no cure, according to the NHS.
Betty has since taken to Instagram to give an update on her battle, and she has recently experienced a “flare up” of symptoms.
She wrote: “I’ve had like three days now where I’ve stayed in pyjamas all day, have had a lot of my symptoms really flare up, and haven’t been able to do anywhere near as much as I normally do.
“This isn’t a forever thing – sometimes it can feel so scary to think, ‘Is all my progress lost? Am I back to square one?’ But I think this one is just a blip for me and I’ll be back to my still-very-ill-but-functioning-a-lot-better self soon and chances are you will too. Idk who needs to hear this today, but if you’re chronically ill and have a few bad days back to back it doesn’t necessarily mean things are going downhill and it’ll be like this forever. You’ve got this and I’m proud of you.”
Betty originally opened up about her diagnosis in a previous post on Instagram. “Fibromyalgia? I hardly know her!” she wrote in a caption. “This is me letting y’all know I got a Fibromyalgia diagnosis. Shout out to the 4 people who all said they thought I had fibro, turns out y’all were right. There’s always a lot of weird feelings that come with a new diagnosis, but this one overall feels like a relief. It feels like my pain is being acknowledged, and that with this diagnosis I can better find ways of managing my pain.
Betty opened up about her diagnosis on Instagram “To all my fellow fibromyalgia baddies, feel free to drop your fave fibro tips in the comments (I’ll be putting some in there, but I’m still new to the game so idk how helpful mine will be).”
According to the NHS, “the exact cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, but it’s thought it be related to abnormal levels of certain chemicals in the brain and changes in the way the central nervous system processes pain messages carried around the body”.
It adds that “there’s currently no cure for fibromyalgia”, but there are certain treatments that can relieve some symptoms “and make the condition easier to live with”. These include medicine such as antidepressants and painkillers, talking therapy such as CBT and counselling, and lifestyle changes such as exercise programmes and relaxation techniques. Symptoms of the condition include: increased sensitivity to pain, extreme tiredness, muscle stiffness, difficulty sleeping, problems with mental processes, headaches and irritable bowel syndrome.
Source: hellomagazine.com
I have fibromyalgia and Asthma. I choose to fight by using herbal remedies, exercise and my inner strength. sometimes when the pain is severe enough i take robacacet and ibrouphen. I have many little fingers that FM puts out to other body parts so it it a challenge. But this to shall pass. I square dance, bowl and i live.
I wish I could still dance, I used to be a Ballroom dancer. Now I walk (not very well) with 2 sticks, it takes me 3 to 4 mins to get up the stairs to the bedroom, most people do it in 15 seconds. Somedays I can bearly lift my head off the pillow. I also suffer chronic osteoarthritis, that I just have to put up with.
I wish her well. Fibro is different for everyone. Many many of us cannot tolerate meds. Ive been diagnosed for 29 years now (half the time Ive been alive) and mostly unmedicated most of that. I do have a bottle of cyclobenzaprine that I use when my job becomes to much. That medication at the lowest dose will leave me so exhausted and out of it that I have to make sure I can take a day off if I need to. I do teas andbherbs, magnesium on my legs and feet and Aches & Pains from Vitality esp for my back.
Life will change. Be prepared for that. It will become slower & smaller. Dont worry if the dusting doesnt get done. Thats a small thing (unless your asthmatic). Figure out what you CAN do. And do it well. Learn to conserve your energy.
Set up your medical team carefully. Many will gaslight you – so ask around. Which drs in your area come highly recommended? Who listens and who will work WITH you. Do your own research while you can and ask questions.
Start journaling your experience – this can be used to keep drs updated, for you to refer back to (to see what’s helped and what happened), to track your medication so you can see if that’s making you worse or if it’s actually helping you. And in the future it may help you when you go to trying to get disability if you need it. There is an app for chronic illness that’s fairly new I have not looked at it yet but it might be an option for you if you prefer to type versus write.
Lastly, be prepared for other things to pop up. I’ve got degenerative discs in my back and I personally think that’s where most of my pain comes from. I’ve been diagnosed with that for about 4 or 5 years now and while it makes life tough with work it is doable if I’m careful. I was just diagnosed about 2 weeks ago with neuropathy which explains where a lot of the severe leg pain has come from the last 6 years. I’ve already found a doctor that I absolutely love for the neuropathy. It’s still early days though with a neuropathy so it’s going to be interesting to see where that goes. I have friends who have Raynalds (sp) Disease and many other things. Some are bedridden. Like many other people with fibro I don’t sleep well. Tired again the harder it is to function. I’ve been told from friends that they can tell when I’m having a hard time or am really tired because I “check out”.
There’s so much that goes into a diagnosis with fibro. Stay positive. Stay upbeat. Pick your friends carefully. Don’t talk their ear off about fibro.
Sorry about the typos everyone. My phone goes overboard on the autocorrect lol.