Erin deals with Fibromyalgia, endometriosis, PCOS and a skin condition. Everyday. There is no getting away from what her body is putting her through. Even still, she is funny, eloquent and so upbeat.
She suspects the Fibro started in her early twenties, but it’s only been diagnosed recently. It started with headaches and pain she couldn’t give a reason for.
Erin was diagnosed with Endometriosis first after she had her two children. It likely would have started to grow in her body when her periods first started. Frustratingly Endo and Fibro symptoms are similar. So it took her going off all her meds to dig deeper. In 2020, she finally got the diagnosis she needed.
Fibromyalgia.
This is a disorder that amplifies painful sensations, by affecting the way your brain and spinal cord process that pain information. It causes widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. It’s not easy to live with day to day.
Erin describes her pain “I start to feel like I’m turning to stone. All my muscles hurt. It’s like a deep ache, like growing pains, but I’m way past growing.”
It was once she had had a hysterectomy for her Endo that she could define what was Fibro pain. Which essentially just takes pain up a notch from normal. For a Fibro sufferer, a cold will feel like the flu.
Unfortunately, for conditions like Fibromyalgia, diagnosis can be slow, as it’s more a process of elimination to get to the real cause. Especially as the symptoms can be so general; it’s hard to label them quickly.
Erin says her Fibro may have come from a couple of trauma situations as a teenager. She was hit by a car at 16 and had glandular fever while completing year 12. Along with emergency cesarian births, Fibro could flare up from the accumulation of these events.
Erin’s story is very much her own, and throughout our interview, I was amazed at her jovial nature, even though she was dealing with so much. She is living this every day while raising 2 kids in country Victoria.
Listen to Erin’s full interview:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mia-de-rauch/episodes/Fibromyalgia-with-Erin-Robbins-e2dfc6l
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chronic-convos/id1721095141