Valerie’s Story
Seattle, WA

No one could figure out what was wrong, and I just got worse.

A friend said, "You know, you might have fibromyalgia." And I replied, "Oh, I know people with fibro and I’m not that bad." Well, it turns out I was.

My doctor referred me to a rheumatologist, who did an examination, which included a tender point exam and diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. When I asked him how many tender points I had, he said, "Well, all 18."

There’s a stigma about fibromyalgia. People are afraid it's all in their head. But
it’s not.

Fibromyalgia impacts my life on a daily basis. But it isn’t my life. My life today is actually better than it was. It's a different life, but it's a better life.