So You've Got Fibromyalgia

By Vasily Pugh

        Had enough of Self-Help books on Fibromyalgia? Want to be assured that you're not alone when you experience increasingly strange symptoms? Welcome to this short and witty journal of Vasily Pugh's own battle with Fibromyalgia over the past decade

Fibromyalgia affects millions around the world and yet so little is really understood about the condition. An endless array of self-help books have assisted, but don't you sometimes just want to read something that proves you aren't going insane?

 

        'So You've Got Fibromyalgia' is a short book by acclaimed author Vasily Pugh that looks at the more unusual aspects of the illness. The ones that few people talk about. The ones that make you think you are all alone

With his typical dry wit, self-deprecation and needlessly verbose style, Pugh tackles the battle for a diagnosis, the tests, the fatigue and the guilt, reassuring fellow sufferers of the condition that they are not alone

       

          Not just an ideal shot for those going through Fibromyalgia, but an affirmation for those with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and M.E. - you'll get through this. In the meantime, laugh at the sheer absurdity of a writer's battle with the illness with the exciting name and the distinctly unsexy symptoms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Midland Monkey
• Release date: Dec 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393884897

Book preview

This book is dedicated to my wife whose patience and love throughout our marriage is something I am barely worthy of.*

*and who sits next to me as I type this, knife pointed to jugular.

QUICK INTRODUCTION

Good day, my name is Vasily Pugh and I have had Fibromyalgia for over a decade.

There.

That wasn’t difficult.

While I don’t subscribe to this modern trend of treating any illness or condition as a badge of honour, something that makes you one of the Cool Kids, I am equally against the shame that you are often expected to feel. This book is, therefore, a humorous (at least I think so) take on some of the absurdities that go along with Fibromyalgia, not to mention conditions like M.E. and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. You will see that I have a pitiless and jet- black sense of amusement regarding it and this should not be taken as me mocking anyone with the aforementioned conditions. My own ailments are not tremendously severe though my life has been greatly affected. I take on these with an irreverence that might seem odd to some, but natural to others. I think, in its extreme form, it is what is labelled ‘Gallow’s Humour’.

I wrote this book as the one thing that I need on a bad day is the reminder that my experience is not unique. Of course it isn’t. But it isn’t the condition itself that I need reassurance on; it’s the endless list of weird and wacky symptoms that seem to come from Fibromyalgia. Symptoms that appear to defy logic. These are the times that I need to read or hear that I am not necessarily paranoid nor am I an attention-grabber. Most of my family or friends will never read this book – nor do I want them to. Naturally, if they want to buy it and not read it, that’d be great too. The point is that this isn’t a plea for clemency or appreciation from those around me, most of whom know nothing of my Fibromyalgia and just consider me ‘odd’. I can deal with that. I like odd. If I’m just that weird guy who seems to be tired and in pain a lot but wants to be left alone, that’s absolutely perfect. There are many worse things my contemporaries have to cope with.

Hopefully, therefore, this short book will be useful to some of you. It will be something to flick through and be reminded that, however ludicrous the ailment all seem, there are many who share your crazy sensations. When no-one around you understands what you are talking about, you’ll have this silly little book that is of no real consequence to the world. Way to sell a book, eh?

It should be noted that the cover image is not modelled on me, but references the more common demographic of the Fibromyalgia sufferer, namely women. It is they who have, invariably, pushed for answers and refused to be silenced. Also, I didn’t want the image of a pasty and bloated man-ape like me on the cover, face grimacing in pain. I actually hope to sell a few of these you know!

DISCLAIMER

It should be first pointed out that this work is in no way a 'Self-Help' book. There are hundreds of Fibromyalgia books to tell you what to eat, what to drink, what exercise to get and what trousers to wear – admittedly, the last one is a little more niche. Their effectiveness varies, and I have availed myself of a few of these and found some interesting and productive while others are less so. I am not the person to give sage advice on how to combat the aches and pains of this most mysterious of ailments. This book exists simply to make those who suffer Fibromyalgia, those who think they have Fibromyalgia and those who live with someone in the first two categories leap to their respective feet and go 'Ah-ha! I thought I was the only one who experienced that!' Because nothing is quite as maddening about Fibromyalgia as the strange physical maladies that suddenly appear when you least expect them. Nothing quite makes you question your sanity as the sudden twinge in a hitherto undisturbed part of the body. 

It also needs to be noted that Fibromyalgia is a gloriously bespoke illness, never giving the sufferer the same experience as their contemporary. It's like the delicious smorgasbord where you can fill your plate with just about every form of food available while still looking over enviously at your fellow diner as they