What is Fibromyalgia and How Does it Affect a Person’s Work?

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Sascha Gallardo June 15, 2022

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Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness that involves widespread pain or pain that can be felt all over the body. It also causes fatigue, headaches, sleep and digestive problems, brain fog, and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

The severity of symptoms may vary, with some patients experiencing mostly mild, while others moderate or severe. Patients may also have good days, which seem to be symptom-free, and then suddenly followed by flares where almost all of the symptoms can be felt.

There is, at present, no cure for fibromyalgia. Patients, instead, can take medications for specific symptoms such as for pain, sleep problems, and depression. Aside from prescriptions, patients are also advised to practice management strategies and undergo therapies.

Fibromyalgia can affect anyone regardless of age, but it is more commonly detected among individuals between 30 and 40 years old.

Considering that this period falls within the working age, fibromyalgia can definitely have a huge impact on a person’s work. Below are some of them.

Risk of overexertion

People living with chronic illnesses should always be mindful of their condition whenever they perform strenuous work. While lack of physical activity can make a person weak, too much exertion can worsen the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

In a focus group interview involving employed fibromyalgia patients, respondents shared that physical symptoms such as pain, exhaustion and fatigue worsen because of overexertion. [1]

Specifically, work demands such as having to walk long distances, having to lift heavy items, and not being able to move for a long period of time make the symptoms worse. [2]

Absenteeism

People living with fibromyalgia will definitely need to devote time to care for themselves, including both to visit their doctor as well as to take some rest because of their symptoms.

Getting necessary treatment for the symptoms was among the causes of greater difficulties encountered at work by fibromyalgia patients. [3] In fact, a study of a National Insurance Survey showed that fibromyalgia was the prevailing reason for sick leave among 635 long-term sick-leavers. [4]

Need for flexible work arrangements

As mentioned earlier, the different demands at work can worsen the symptoms of fibromyalgia. This is not to say, however, that patients should forego their jobs to avoid this risk. First, not everyone has the financial capacity to do so. Second, even if they do, many patients prefer to continue working especially when they love their job so much and have been doing it for a long time.

There is a need, however, for certain accommodations so that people living with fibromyalgia can continue working while at the same time taking into account their needs related to their condition.

Bossema et. al. interviewed fibromyalgia patients who were or have been employed to find out the different factors that will make work suitable for them. [5] Some of the characteristics they mentioned include:

  1. being able to take a break if necessary,
  2. being given an appropriate workload, whether physical or mental
  3. availability of help both from colleagues and management
  4. being able to enter into formal arrangements with the management such as reduction of workload

Summary

As a chronic condition that usually affects people in the working age, fibromyalgia can definitely have an impact on a patient’s life. This includes the risk of overexertion as well as absenteeism at work. There are, however, different ways that will help patients remain productive in their jobs despite this chronic disease. Communication between the management and the patient to discuss arrangements can be a great help to people affected by this condition.

References:

[1] Mannerkorpi, K., & Gard, G. (2012). Hinders for continued work among persons with fibromyalgia. BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 13, 96. Hinders for continued work among persons with fibromyalgia | BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders | Full Text

[2] Mannerkorpi, K., & Gard, G. (2012).

[3] Mukhida, K., Carroll, W., & Arseneault, R. (2020). Does work have to be so painful? A review of the literature examining the effects of fibromyalgia on the working experience from the patient perspective. Canadian journal of pain 4(1), 268–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/24740527.2020.1820858

[4] Mukhida, K., Carroll, W., & Arseneault, R. (2020).

[5] Bossema E. et. al (2012) Characteristics of suitable work from the perspective of patients with fibromyalgia. Rheumatology 51(2), 311–318. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/ker312

—–Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive online communities for individuals affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Our Living with Fibromyalgia Community aims to provide online support to people affected by fibromyalgia. If you think you would benefit from our community, we invite you to sign up here.

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Hi Sascha - nice concise article, thank you!

I’d like to add that certain physiotherapy types and supps helped me get back to work (at 40%), and sorting out trigger foods helps IBS etc… In contrast, no meds helped, they increased my symptoms considerably (as did some supps), and pain management and therapy I’ve always done, so weren’t helpful to improve work.

Two most important parts for getting flexible work arrangements are being able to identify, explain and alleviate my triggers and to try to get disability.

For the triggers and their accommodations I was able to do vocational rehab, after 10 months of sick leave, increasing from 20% to 40% etc., aiming for 100%, and realized

  • I had to keep at about 40% of what I used to be able to work (as well as do physically outside of work), so I had to keep the rehab there and finally abort it. I also had to keep other activities down more, altho that was detrimental to my health.
  • I needed to start work at or after 9:30 (commuting there at 8:45)
  • It was trialling new treatments that then still could cause sick leave.
  • I couldn’t work much more than one hour stints, depending on the strain, hardly any of my normal work - which is a strain.
  • even in less straining situations like home office, stress and increased workload caused by this summed up and showed itself later, not necessarily the same day or week.
  • new kinds of work (home office) or other changes (changing people I work with) increased strain whilst I found workarounds to cope with it.

So working 40% in my job was then only possible with the help of various kinds of disability, which I found out and followed thru with all the various organizations and counsellors I could get hold of.
Luckily my bosses also made it possible for me to start work after 9:30, which isn’t normal in my job - the first reaction was: No, tough luck. If they’d’ve stuck to that, that alone would have prevented any further tries.
40% was also too much, 30-35% would have been comfortable. Also the work load came in waves seasonally, and not necessarily when my body is up to it.

Now additional fatigue from the MCAS has brought my activities down to 10-20%, no longer 4h/day, but 1-2h (at the moment 1h).
So I can no longer commute to work and have been on long-term sick leave once again since December. At the same time I’ve been working from home when I was needed and could manage, which usually worked out.
Understandably I’d now soon be put on early retirement, because working despite sick leave is of course not an official option. Working from home isn’t either in this job (except in lockdown). And I’m not able to work stably as much as I’m getting paid, even from home. I’m now pulling out an ace I hadn’t used yet: loads of overtime, instead of sick notes. No one was sure if it’d be possible, but it is. And working a small (or bigger) portion from home, as a special arrangement.
Changing my workplace isn’t viable for me in this job, so I could only try going self-employed a bit, or doing some voluntary work.

I didn’t know exactly what a “focus group interview” is, had to look it up, interesting: The interviewer feeds a small group with stimulus suggestions which gets talks amongst the members going.

Am I correct in thinking that [1]=[2] and [3]=[4]?

I’d be interest in others’ stories!

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Ohhhh Jay, MCAS sounds like a terrible condition to have to deal with, especially on top of FMS. I’m sure that your commitment to adhere to a strict diet must help. Are there certain foods that will set it off?

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Yes, you’re dead right, having full diet control anyway means I just have to adapt my strategies. More than before it means I can start by “eliminating” certain foods I can look up in lists: high histamine foods and histamine liberating foods. Then adding those foods again bit by bit, to broaden my diet again. Introducing a variety of titbits and also rotating these are new techniques.
What is good about this development is that it’s “wheted my appetite” to look for and try new foods (like bak/pok choy/choi).
What is daft is that there are foods like walnuts which are very healthy for me and I love, but can now cause problems due to their high histamine content.
What is complicated is that the histamine lists differ greatly, so they are only are rough first orientation, and then we’re our own guinea pigs once again.
Getting used to it all means I again spend a great deal of the time researching this new stuff. But it’s still interesting to me and I do make sure I have different phases, like I just now needed to do a lot for work and before that a lot of music. Just now I don’t feel like either, because it drains more energy than researching does. It’s a calming, restful pastime for me, satisfying curiosity and helping myself and others at the same time.

The big problem is that using diet and supps I’ve actually got all MCAS-symptoms under control, except when a trial goes wrong. Apart from the fatigue which has brought my physically active life down to a minimum. This as the overbearing symptom I can’t seem to influence by food at all. Chinese acupressure is helping and harming at the same time, by stimulating cortisol. But I’m increasingly hoping I can balance that out with more GABA and cold showering, praps cryotherapy again. That may increase my energy from 10-15% back to 20-25-30%, which would be an improvement of 100%… ;-). I’d been there before the last flares, from overdoing it, and am hoping to learn to decrease the backlashes, now I’ve found out what triggered the flares. I “just” need to find out how to stabilize the effect of the acupuncture more.

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Yes, you’re dead right, having full diet control anyway means I just have to adapt my strategies. More than before it means I can start by “eliminating” certain foods I can look up in lists: high histamine foods and histamine liberating foods. Then adding those foods again bit by bit, to broaden my diet again. Introducing a variety of titbits and also rotating these are new techniques.
What is good about this development is that it’s “wheted my appetite” to look for and try new foods (like bok choy/pak choi) and I’ve at last found a tasty 85% dark chocolate.
What is daft is that there are foods like walnuts which are very healthy for me and I love, but can now cause “burning” due to their high histamine content.
What is complicated is that all histamine lists differ greatly, so they are only are rough first orientation, and then we’re our own guinea pigs once again.
Getting used to it all means I again spend a great deal of the time researching this new stuff. But it’s still interesting to me and I do make sure I have different phases. Like I just now needed to do a lot for work and before that a lot of music. Just now I don’t feel like either, because it drains more energy than researching does. It’s a calming, restful pastime for me, satisfying curiosity and helping myself and others at the same time.

The big problem is that using diet and supps I’ve actually got all but one MCAS-symptoms under control: Fatigue has brought my physically active life down to a minimum. And this as the overbearing symptom I can’t seem to influence by food at all. Chinese acupressure is helping and harming at the same time, by stimulating cortisol. But I’m increasingly hoping I can balance that out with more GABA and cold showering, praps cryotherapy again. That may increase my energy from 10-15% back to 20-25-30%, which would be an improvement of 100%… ;-). I’d been there before the last flares, from overdoing it, and am hoping to learn to decrease the backlashes, now I’ve found out what triggered the flares. I “just” need to find out how to stabilize the effect of the acupuncture more.

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It’s like you’ve got twice the headache now, finding ways to function, Jay. But, you are very determined in your quest! I know if anyone can conquer this, it is you! :star2:

We do need to be kind to ourselves and appreciate what we can do, rather than focusing on the things we can’t do - This is sometimes hard for me. I see myself moving slower, calculating things slower, forgetting more words - FMS, combined with being over sixty, is not fun! And, I’m completely worn out right now from caring for my hubby while he recuperates. But, I owe him this, and so much more. He has been there for me through many surgeries, and does so much to make every day better for me. I guess we need to remember to see the best in our partners, as well.

Thanks, Jay, for setting the mark that many of us will not reach, but, we see you doing it, and that brings us hope!!! :heart:

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A.M. - wish you all the best for that :hugs: - your workload was more than enough already… Hope he’ll recover well, so you can too. Seeing the best in our partners I also find a good precept, helps lift spirits and give energy and cheerfulness.
My wife suffering “more than me” from seeing my “suffering” also makes me wish she’d worry much less. In her case she can’t do that much for me anyway. But I do try to give her “things to do”, so she can let off steam… :hotsprings: :steam_locomotive:
I try myself when she suffers (sciatica at the moment) to empathize, but de-dramatize, by carefully trying to cheer her up, and be generally cheerful. Just daft, when both are down of course, but I’ve got used to pulling myself out of quicksand and usually manage to avoid getting there…

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Hi AussieMom I agree with you having FMS and being over 60 and in my cace over 70 is not easy. At least I don’t have to think about work. People often tell me to be kind to myself and not to keep pushing myself too much and thinking about the things that I cannot do and should be doing! But I am learning to thank God for every little thing I do and I am getting better at it!!!

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Jay, I have always been able to tell from your posts how much you and your wife genuinely care for each other. Sometimes, showing kindness isn’t easy, especially when you are suffering, but you two always seem to find a way :heart:

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Hi, sweet Rosebud74!
You are such an inspiration! We are very lucky to have you on this site. Thank you for the many times you have been an encouragement to me and the optimism you share. The good thing about getting older is that we tend to get a little wiser, too! And our suffering helps us empathize with, and relate to others. :purple_heart:

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