Yesterday evening, I was channel-surfing on TV when I came across a documentary program about fibromyalgia. What I saw sounded interesting to me, so I decided to go on watching the program and, when it finished, I thought I could make a little report for our blog. So here I am.
At first, what attracted most my attention was that the pain suffered in this disease was shown at a molecular level. TV showed how the different neurotransmitters jumped from a neuron to another through the synaptic space, taking information from one to another. This reminds me of the several lessons in which our Biology teacher has talked to us about all this neurologic topics.
I have looked for some information about this disease in the Internet and I have checked myself what was exposed in the documentary program: Fibromyalgia is a chronic, misunderstood disease that has recently been accepted as an illness by the WHO (World Health Organization). The reason for this late acceptation is that the pain provoked by the illness does not come from any lesion, wound or any sensible signal, the pain is absolutely subjective. This made doctors think that it wasn’t a real disease. Another reason is that fibromyalgia is usually suffered by women in their middle years and, due to the male chauvinism of those years, doctors used to think that the pain was just a call of attention from these women.
The symptoms of this illness are pain and stiffness in soft tissues throughout the body. Doctors have just two tools to diagnose fibromyalgia. One is to do research in your history of symptoms to find out something related with the disease. The other involves putting pressure on eighteen tender point sites (picture 1). If you feel pain in eleven of these eighteen sites, you are considered to have fibromyalgia.
The latest investigations explain that the pain may be caused by the low levels of serotonin, a brain chemical involved in the molecular mechanisms of pain, sleep, and mood. People who suffer from fibromyalgia seem to be always exhausted because they always feel their bodies painful and have sleeping troubles. As a result, they usually fall in a depression.
I hope that this report helps people to understand this illness. Fibromyalgia patients are usually treated as liars because people think they are making up their pain. This has to change and the first step to follow is to make them know that we understand their pain; we mustn’t act as they weren’t ill because this can make them think we don’t believe them. On the other hand, fibromyalgia patients mustn’t share their suffering just with their family and friends because they may get tired of them. So this people have to turn to professionals to discuss about their disease.
At first, what attracted most my attention was that the pain suffered in this disease was shown at a molecular level. TV showed how the different neurotransmitters jumped from a neuron to another through the synaptic space, taking information from one to another. This reminds me of the several lessons in which our Biology teacher has talked to us about all this neurologic topics.
I have looked for some information about this disease in the Internet and I have checked myself what was exposed in the documentary program: Fibromyalgia is a chronic, misunderstood disease that has recently been accepted as an illness by the WHO (World Health Organization). The reason for this late acceptation is that the pain provoked by the illness does not come from any lesion, wound or any sensible signal, the pain is absolutely subjective. This made doctors think that it wasn’t a real disease. Another reason is that fibromyalgia is usually suffered by women in their middle years and, due to the male chauvinism of those years, doctors used to think that the pain was just a call of attention from these women.
The symptoms of this illness are pain and stiffness in soft tissues throughout the body. Doctors have just two tools to diagnose fibromyalgia. One is to do research in your history of symptoms to find out something related with the disease. The other involves putting pressure on eighteen tender point sites (picture 1). If you feel pain in eleven of these eighteen sites, you are considered to have fibromyalgia.
The latest investigations explain that the pain may be caused by the low levels of serotonin, a brain chemical involved in the molecular mechanisms of pain, sleep, and mood. People who suffer from fibromyalgia seem to be always exhausted because they always feel their bodies painful and have sleeping troubles. As a result, they usually fall in a depression.
I hope that this report helps people to understand this illness. Fibromyalgia patients are usually treated as liars because people think they are making up their pain. This has to change and the first step to follow is to make them know that we understand their pain; we mustn’t act as they weren’t ill because this can make them think we don’t believe them. On the other hand, fibromyalgia patients mustn’t share their suffering just with their family and friends because they may get tired of them. So this people have to turn to professionals to discuss about their disease.
Gabriel Jurado
Entradas
8 comentarios:
This is the first time that I write in this blog since I have a bit more time before the selectivity and the FCE exam in June. When I had just read this report, I decided to look for more information in Internet, on the possible medical treatments, and doctors tend to use drugs like marihuana or cannabis to relieve it effects.
Nowadays, the fibromyalgia is being studied in depth and I think that we don’t give it enough importance. Last 12th May was the world day of fibromyalgia and here in Spain we only mention something in news.
Paco 2ºBach B
It's such great news for this blog - and for those who usually visit it - that more and more people have decided to give their opinions, suggestions, leave their comments etc on it, which contributes in one way or another to make it more dynamic and interesting for the rest of the people.
As for the illness itself, it seems to be one of those ilnesses which look very interesting at first sight but that, under the hood, it presents a rather big complexity.
Needless to say there're still tons and tons of diseases out there left to be discovered, that affect people, changing their lives - for the worse I guess - and that we don't even know they exist.
Our country, Spain, has been traditionally a 'backward' country in terms of environmental awareness. You only need to go outside and ask a couple of people what climate change is all about.
People are definitely more interested in other things, such as how well the economy is doing or how much they'll have to pay at the end of the month if inflation suddenly shoots up.
Thanks heaven, there're people who take very seriously these problems, like us, and we will work hard in the future to know more and more about what we call 'Nature'.
Hi, I'm Álvaro from 2º Bach B course, I have just read "Fibromyalgia" article and I'm surprised because I have understood it very easily, it's redacted very well. I think it has written by Gabriel Jurado, that's rihgt? In that case Congratulations.
Anyway, I like the fact this blog was written in spanish and english, because that encourage you to improve your english while you are writing (there is english everywhere).
A good iniciative, no doubt.
As you all may know, scientific English is quite easy. Moreover, Gabriel has a gift for languages. When we were in Vaggeryd (Sweden), he learnt enough Swedish to make correct sentences!
I hope that you will be able to enjoy this bilingual blog made in a bilingual school. And you may help us to improve it...
hola! bueno, yo voy a escribir en español, porque...he tenío que buscar unas cuantas veces en el wordreference para entender bien el texto. Y a eso voy, porque creo haber entendio, que los dolores esos lo sufren + q nada mujeres que son maltratadas ¿es verdad?, joé, pues si es así...a qué se debe? por qué el cerebro convierte el daño psicológico en físico? Es super curioso, y me gustaría saber xk hace eso, si lo he entendido bien...
Bueno gente, ná + Gaby, tio, eres la leche escribiendo en inglés, congratulationS!! Ire!!! ;-)
Ire, el dolor no lo padecen las mujeres maltratadas, sino que son las mujeres de edad media-avanzada las que suelen sufrir esta enfermedad, aunquen también la padecen algunos hombres. Lo que aparece en la entrada sobre el machismo es que los doctores solían aludir estos dolores inexplicables a "los desvaríos de las mujeres que siempren se quejan por todo y no saben de nada". Tampoco consiste en la transformación de dolor psicológico en físico, sino en una hipersensibilidad que presentan los pacientes en ciertos puntos a lo largo de todo el cuerpo que les hace sufrir constantemente. Esta hipersensibilidad podría estar causada por la combinación de un incorrecto funcionamiento de los neurotransmisores y de una hormona llamada serotinina que controla entre otras cosas el dolor, el sueño y el humor. Espero haber aclarado así tus dudas sobre la entrada ;-)
Si la fibromialgia se presenta muchísimo más en mujeres que en hombres, esto puede ser por algo relacionado con el sexo femnino y masculino, en consecuencia con las hormonas de cada uno?
¿Es cierto que tiene una importante parte psicológica?Quiero decir, que si lo sufren con más frecuencia personas que viven estresadas, que no disfrutan de mucho tiempo libre, que no practica deporte o tiene una vida demasiado acelerada?
La verdad que es un tema interesante, y del cual supongo que queda mucho por investigar y descubrir.
Enhorabuena por el texto Gaby ;)
Hi everybody! Mu name is Elena. As an English teacher I am really surprised to read such good English among students of Bachillerato. Congratulations to Gabriel and to the other students that made comments in English. As for the contents of the blog, they are very interesting. Keep working on it!
Publicar un comentario