Christopher: I am an early riser and as a woman with FMS and CFS my wife needs a lot more sleep than I do and I am still learning that even though she might wake up grumpy at first its only due to her pain and not to take it personally. When she is in a flair she doesn't sleep well at all and needs to wake up slowly and gently and she sometimes refers to herself as the tin woman. ...it is an adjustment learning when to and how to approach your loved one.

There have been a lot of failed relationships due to FMS & CFS… It takes understanding and tolerance to deal with FMS & CFS it makes you appreciate the good times when your wife's pain is lower and she can enjoy time with you…

Becca C.: I used to love backpacking. I have many fond memories from childhood of summer weekends spent with my family hiking to some beautiful alpine lake and camping out under the stars and sleeping soundly in the fresh mountain air after the day's exertion. I had to give that up about 20 years ago because I could no longer carry the weight and had to settle for day trips. Now, even that is getting too difficult for me. The saddest part is that my son is 18 now and I've never been able to share those experiences with him.

Brenda B.: …I am 41 and have two children 4 & 10. I use to work as a Lab Technician, but as the result of an injury to my right shoulder I developed FMS. I am no longer to able to do the constant repetitious movements my job required. Instead I stay at home praying that the Social Security Administration will understand my pain as my Supplementary Security Income will soon run out.

My family suffers my pain also. I am not able to keep up with the housework, so my husband has had to hire someone to come in once a week to help. He tries to understand my illness but it is hard to understand what you can't see. My children get the worst of it because my pain causes depression and frustration. Sometimes I just can't get them what they need because I am too tired to get up. Sometimes they can't play inside because the noise causes me to yell at them. I usually have no patience to sit and listen to them because I find it hard to concentrate. The good days are fewer than the bad ones but, I am blessed with them from time to time…

Michelle T.: …due to my health impairments, I am no longer able to work and have had to give up my children to be adopted since I do not foresee my ability to raise them to adulthood because I have major problems with some of the activities of daily living.

Bree: I was an out going gal. Loved to swim, fish, ride, go camping. As my pain grew and grew, so then did my life DIE.

My children did not understand my illnesses, nor did my husband. No one understood, as I "Looked Great"!!! No one felt my agony... I could no longer make a bed, cook a meal, do some simple dusting of my home~~~~~NOTHING, except sit or lie down.

Sharon R.: My daughter who is now 16, has seen me become a near invalid and I know that she is frightened that she is a prime candidate for this horrible disease. … In order to travel, I have to… be assisted with the use of a wheelchair. What was once a vivacious, active woman has become a burden (in my mind) on my family and friends.

Robert C. W.:There I was, propped against my bedroom wall, in an effort to become motionless, as I once again found myself in such a painful state, that just half an inch of movement could drop me helplessly to my knees.