http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2936568&BRD=1134&PAG=461&dept_id=150853&rfi=6 Cameron woman eases own pain by helping others cope Most people wake up each morning, stretch and yawn, hop in the shower, grab some breakfast and scurry off to work, knowing they'll breeze through the day lacking any physical pain, barring a stubbed toe or stress headache. For Vicki Bignell and other sufferers of the mysterious disease fibromyalgia, such a scenario is unrealistic. There is no such thing as a pain-free day, only questions of when the pain will strike, what area of the body it will affect, and how severe it will be. Bignell established her Fibro Friends program in 1999 to help other sufferers of fibromyalgia cope with the complexities of the disease. Bignell, also the founder of the nonprofit organization Sexual Abuse Survivors Support Year-round, Inc. (S.A.S.S.Y., Inc.), is stricken with the debilitating disease as well. Much is being learned about the disease every day as doctors and researchers examine what triggers the onset of the disease. According to information provided by the National Fibromyalgia Partnership, fibromyalgia is a complex, chronic condition which causes widespread pain in the body's muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues. Its severity varies from day to day, and different parts of the body tend to be affected at different times. The pain can be extremely severe and disabling, or it may cause only moderate discomfort. There are numerous symptoms that may accompany fibromyalgia, including but not limited to the following: fatigue, stiffness, head or facial pain, abdominal or pelvic discomfort, numbness or tingling, cognitive disorders, light-headedness, hypersensitivity, and chest wall pain. Bignell is plagued with irritating migraines, degenerative arthritis, Irritable Bowel Disease, Rayneaud syndrome, a bladder condition, and soft tissue difficulties. She was misdiagnosed for 12 years as doctors struggled to get to the root of her health problems. Her chronic pain continued to increase, and it wasn't until she made a house visit to one of her S.A.S.S.Y, Inc. clients that she discovered the source of her pain. According to Bignell, the client described the pain she was going through, which was similar to many of the symptoms that Bignell was experiencing. When the client revealed that she had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, Bignell knew she was onto something. Bignell approached her doctors about her discovery. Still, the physicians were apprehensive in making a diagnosis. "There's no magic test to know you have it," she says. Eventually the specialists administered an 18-point tender point examination, which determines points on the body that are overly subject to pain. The exam was developed by the American College of Rheumatology. With the help of this exam, she was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and her long search for answers was over, but her battle against the persistent disease was just beginning. One question that bothered Bignell and hampers other fibro sufferers is the following: What causes this painful affliction? Research has proven that trauma, car accidents, surgery, and genetics often lead to fibro. The unpredictable disease may affect a variety of the body's systems, including the muscular, skeletal, neurological, circulatory, nervous and cognitive systems. Bignell's road to fibro began at a young age. She is a childhood abuse survivor and formerly a battered wife, which she says are two of the primary factors causing the illness. She is also the mother of two children and two stepchildren. Bignell operated the management and finance departments of the family logging business, and took college courses to obtain a second degree in psychology and counseling. She booked many speaking engagements for S.A.S.S.Y., Inc. Each of these time-consuming duties added unnecessary stress to her daily routine, which only tightened to the painful disease's grip on her life. Upon the diagnosis of fibromyalgia, doctors also added Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDs) and shingles to Bignell's serious health condition. Doctors ordered cutbacks in Bignell's lifestyle, or told her she may risk living in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Doctors remained mystified by the disease, experimenting with over 20 medications to regulate Bignell's pain, and eventually overmedicating her before finally helping her reach a manageable point in her recovery. Bignell relinquished many of her responsibilities in her hectic schedule, lightening up her class load and giving up some of her duties in the family business. Perhaps the best therapy has been helping others deal with the disease, which was her purpose for adding the Fibro Friends program to her S.A.S.S.Y., Inc. organization. "When you help someone else, you're helping yourself," explains Bignell. "It's been a positive way for me to not concentrate on my own pain so badly. I know there are people who are far worse off than me." Bignell established Fibro Friends with an emphasis on the second word in the title because she realizes how some people perceive sufferers of the illness. She claims she has forfeited many professional and personal relationships because people just don't understand the disease. She says most people just don't know how to deal with a person with fibro. "You find out who your true friends are," Bignell points out. "Everybody deserves respect, no matter what disease they may have." Bignell, who channels much of her energy into helping others with fibro, receives emotional support from her husband, Bruce, who she describes as a wonderful stronghold, and their children, Tessa, 10, and Travis, 22, who she says have been extremely helpful and understanding. Bignell credits her strong Christian faith, as well, for leading her through the tough times in her life. Shalla Acker is a physical therapist at the Spooner Health System. She, too, suffers from fibromyalgia and has devoted much of her work load to researching fibro and treating patients with the condition. She explains that retraining the body's nervous system is a key to enduring the discomfort. Acker says she attempts to get her patients to use breathing and muscle relaxation techniques to ease tension in their bodies. She tries to retrain fibro sufferers to move their bodies with less stress and pain. Acker also emphasizes lifestyle changes by pacing oneself, prioritizing daily activities, and conserving energy throughout each day. "It takes persistence, but you can improve life functions over time," Acker suggests. "You can't continue to be superwoman, though." About 70-80% of all fibro diagnoses are women, Acker states, but some men are underdiagnosed. Mimi Trudeau has been offering a fibromyalgia and CFIDS support group in the River Falls area since 1992. She found the need for a support group after being diagnosed with fibro in 1990. Her group's motto is "We're climbing mountains to wellness." She says she encourages her group members to keep trying new treatments for the illness. She mentions that a combination of alternative medicine and prescribed medications have seemed to work the best for many sufferers. Trudeau also emphasizes that finding a doctor who believes in you and your pain is extremely crucial in successfully treating the disease. No matter how people deal with the condition, Trudeau maintains that life sacrifices must be made. "People have to learn to give up half of their life," she declares, because overexerting themselves will assuredly cause the symptoms to resurface. She states that she's heard doctors explain that fibro sufferers possess an "energy envelope," and if they push that envelope, serious symptoms will only get worse. Refining her lifestyle has been one of the most difficult aspects of coping with fibro for Bignell. "It's frustrating not being the same Vicki anymore," expresses Bignell. Prior to her fibro diagnosis she described herself as wanting to help everyone and satisfy their needs before her own. Now she admits that she has to put herself first sometimes, a situation with which she's obviously not completely comfortable.. "I'm still the same me, I'm just a little different," she says. The days of riding a bike, driving a stick-shift, and playing freely in the park with her children are probably gone, she concedes, but Bignell has substituted some of the unforgettable family activities with reading times and board games, functions she can accomplish more comfortably. Bignell offers her Fibro Friends support group out of her home between Cameron and Rice Lake. Meetings are held from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Bignell provides a comfortable setting for any meetings, group or individual. Sufferers may enjoy the comfort of her couch in the living room, but may get a lapful of fur, as her friendly dog Scooter and two cats, El Tigre and Yappy Kitty, provide an affectionate release from the pressures and pain. Acker and Bignell both point out that seeing a family physician is the first step in discovering if a person indeed has fibromyalgia. The doctor will then refer a suspected fibro patient to a rheumatologist, who usually makes the official diagnosis, according to Acker. For more information on fibromyalgia or attending a Fibro Friends meeting, contact Vicki Bignell at P.O. Box 727, Rice Lake, WI 54868. She can be reached by phone at 234-8445, or visit the website http://www.sassyinc.org, and click on the Fibro Support Link Pages.