Week 4 lecture

Question 1

What is Fibromyalgia (FM)?

Answer 1

a syndrome characterized by widespread musculoskeletal PAIN and multiple tender points as well as high levels or self-reported disability and poor quality of life

Question 2

How is FM diagnosed?

Answer 2

by process of elimination of other illnesses

Question 3

What is FM seen as in terms of illness?

Answer 3

an Invisible disease!
- hard to diagnose with traditional medical testing

Question 4

When doing medical testing for FM, how does the patient appear?

Answer 4

NORMAL!

Question 5

What gender is most affected by FM?

Answer 5

WOMEN!

Question 6

Do many patients with FM seek multiple doctors to get help to validate their pain?

Answer 6

Yes

Question 7

Are many patients experiencing symptoms dissrespected because they seem fine by test but they are in pain?

Answer 7

yes

Question 8

How does the process look like at the start for FM?

Answer 8

• typcially 30yrs old
• often a trigger (having a virus, car accident, etc.)
• CHRONIC PAIN
• diffuse (throughout) or localized (specific point) pain
• persistent pain (3 months +)

Question 9

What is the pain like?

Answer 9

• VERY INTENSE
• feeling of knotted muscles
• feeling of swelling of extremities
• feeling of paresthesia
  -painful points at tendinous insertions
• increases when cold, fatigue or stress

Question 10

What is another functional sign of FM?

Answer 10

sleep problems

Question 11

What is the 2 classification criteria for FM?

Answer 11

1. generalized, diffuse pain for over 3 months
2. tender points sites on digital palpation in 11 of 18 indicated spots

Question 12

What is Metasynthesis?

Answer 12

take all qualitative data and you analyze it into different themes to which you are studying

Question 13

What were the 4 themes from the article (Sim & Madden)?

Answer 13

1. Experience of symptoms
2. Searching for diagnosis
3. Legitimacy
4. Coping

Question 14

What is the theme “Experience of Symptoms”?

Answer 14

• PAIN is DUALITY! (constant and variable, localized and diffuse, etc..)
• invisible to others therefore hard to describe
  -lack of sleep more disruptive than pain
• lack of energy = impact personal relations and daily activity
  -depression
• cognitive difficulty –> impact employability

Question 15

What is the theme “Searching for diagnosis”? (3 stages)

Answer 15

1. Pre-diagnosis
   - consult many
   -array of tests
   - fear
2. Receiving diagnosis
   -relief
   -validation –> makes them credible person
3. Post diagnosis
   - trying many treatments
   - very little relief

Question 16

What is the theme “Legitimacy”?

Answer 16

-disagreement between appearance and ability to accomplish activities
- illness and person with illness in question (CREDIBILITY)
-stereotyping occurs
-some hide diagnosis and act normal like before

Question 17

What is the theme “Coping”?

Answer 17

• adapt rhythm of activities (depends on person)
• social and family network are supportive
• professional help
• re-evaluation of your life
• can be +ve or -ve

Question 18

What is essential to coping with FM?

Answer 18

the ability to UNDERSTAND their own illness!

Question 19

What is the importance of the life course perspective?

Answer 19

-Helps us understand their life experience to better understand the experience of disability
- Early years lay down the foundation for health over a life course (CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES)

Question 20

What is Life-course approach?

Answer 20

• discusses disability across generations and across the many transitions between life stages
  -very interdisciplinary from birth to death
• placing a person’s life in a meaningful context

Question 21

What is Life Trajectory?

Answer 21

looks at life stages longitudinally (0-death) or cross-sectionally (specific point in time)

Question 22

Are life transitions important?

Answer 22

YES!
- create EXPECTATIONS in life about when stuff should happen
-when having a disability this can mess up these expected timelines and take a toll on a persons life

Question 23

What are the central themes to the life-course approach (x4)?

Answer 23

1. Family
2. Health
3. Politics, legislation, services
4. Self-determination and participation

Question 24

What is the central theme of Family?

Answer 24

• family relations
• advantage = exchange of resources (less able taken care of by more able)
• disadvantage = burden to natural caregivers

Question 25

What is the central theme of Health?

Answer 25

• examine the health changes a person with a disability may experience over a lifetime
• CHILDHOOD EVENTS influence it!
• a person with a disability can be HEALTHY and FEEL healthy

Question 26

What is the Central theme of Services?

Answer 26

-interactions between people with a disability and formal services for the disability
- can be +ve or -ve
- disadvantage = STIGMATIZING –> if your normal you will get better quickly but if you have a disability you require excessive dependency on these services

Question 27

What is the theme of Self Determination and Participation?

Answer 27

• a person’s own will to make their own decisions and maintain/improve their quality of life
• positive results = better jobs, inclusion, physical and psychosocial health
• youth and adults with disability are LESS of this theme

Question 28

GO LOOK AT THEMES IN RELATION TO LIFE ON SLIDEHSOW (slide 14- 30)