Eva J. H.: My husband is my care giver, homemaker, and emotional support when I'm unable to function due to extreme mental and physical exhaustion combined with chronic debilitating pain. It grieves him to watch me take seven different medications daily (some addictive) just to tolerate the illnesses.

We used to be very intimate even though we have been married twenty years. Now, my husband has to hug me gently for fear of hurting me. He's kind and patient, but I know he longs for the kind of intimacy we always shared.

Our grown children are cautious when around me. I must sit down before I'm allowed to hold my grandbabies. In my mind I understand their concerns, but in my heart I ache because I'm only 54 years old and should be able to play with and enjoy my grandbabies and family.

Anonymous: (Mother of a PWC) At 15 years old, it robbed her of her high school and college education. The years that a person matures and settles into a career and eventually finds a mate to marry and start a family. That would be called a "normal life," which we take for granted.

She had a great freshman year--rising early… making new friends, learning Spanish, going to dances and becoming a young woman. … But in her Sophomore year, everything turned upside-down. She couldn't get up anymore and she could barely concentrate. She had trouble carrying her books and going to classes. When school was out, she went to bed. I had to help her with her homework, wash her hair, dress her and drive her to school.

She eventually stopped going to school after a long battle, a diagnosis and a tutor recommendation. She did graduate but with nothing. No friends, no college admissions, and no income. Her "normal life" was gone. I have no life either- because I have to provide food, shelter, clothing and support for my daughter as she suffers with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Joanne C.: I always worked very hard and enjoyed it. Being able to provide for my family as a single parent made me very proud. I was diagnosed nine years ago with FMS. It was always a family joke when I never showed up for a planned get-together. I always canceled at the last minute saying I was ill. My children still think I am a hypochondriac, and nothing I say changes that. I have lost the respect of both my children and my friends. My support system is my husband and others with FMS… I worry that the medications I take are hurting my liver and kidneys. I look in a mirror and see someone I no longer know. … If the FMS were in a perfect world I would be accepted, I would receive the medical help as needed…

Mary C.: The disease led to a fundamental shift in my lifestyle, goals, and dreams. My health needed to become my top priority and governs my daily activities.

One of the most profound effects fibromyalgia had on my life was altering my employment opportunities and goals. Prior to my illness, I was in an upwardly mobile position at an internationally renowned accounting firm working 40-60 hours per week. Currently I am able to manage working 10-20 hours per week on a consulting basis…

…I can no longer sit through long dinners at a restaurant or through a two-hour movie at a movie theater. Road trips, which I once enjoyed, have now become difficult and unpleasant.

Before my illness, my date book was filled with work deadlines and appointments with clients. My date book now also chronicles the stages and symptoms of my symptoms and doctor appointments.