A Salford support group has spoken out about an isolating condition, which affects 2% of the population, to raise awareness as people do not understand how it affects sufferers.

May is Fibromyalgia awareness month and Salford’s Fibromyalgia Support group aim to use this month to raise awareness for the condition, which little people know about.

Val Derbyshire, who runs the support group, says more needs to be done to raise awareness for fibromyalgia. She said: “Fibromyalgia is an extremely debilitating condition. It brings an array of symptoms which can vary from day to day and is totally unpredictable, making ordinary life very difficult indeed.

“Because there are no visible signs of illness, no plasters or scars to see, people often get ignored or misdiagnosed or are not offered the help they need.”

Member’s of Salford’s Fibromyalgia Support Group, raising awareness

Fibromyalgia is a long-term condition which causes pain all over the body, and may also cause severe fatigue and muscle stiffness.

Val continued to say: “It can be quite an isolating condition and people generally have no knowledge of Fibromyalgia. Even some health professionals are sceptical about it,  but believe me Fibromyalgia is very real.

“We need to raise the profile of Fibromyalgia so that people can understand exactly what problems  this condition brings for sufferers.”

You can find out more about fibromyalgia, below:

Charlotte Wilton, a full-time student at Salford University, said: “I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2016, it was a bit out of the blue. I didn’t know about it, I didn’t know what fibromyalgia was and didn’t know anyone with it.”

Despite being in constant pain with the condition, Charlotte regularly has fundraising events at her universities Student’s Union, for Fibromyalgia Action UK.

Charlotte Wilton, left, is a sufferer of fibromyalgia

Charlotte, 24-years-old, continued to say: “I ended up having a depressive episode when I was 15, which doctors  think is all to do with my health.”

To hear Charlotte’s story in full, see below:

Ricki Dissing, is also a sufferer from fibromyalgia, and said: “I was diagnosed in October 2016, it took some time to sink in.

“I am constantly tired and I’m constantly in pain. Sometimes I get nasty comments from people who do not understand the condition and that’s why awareness for fibromyalgia is so important.”

We did a survey on social media and asked people if they knew about fibromyalgia:

 

A shocking 60% of people did not know what fibromyalgia is, emphasising the importance of the awareness month.

If you need support for fibromyalgia, the Salford Fibromyalgia Suport group are next meeting on Thursday the 17th of May between 1pm – 3pm, at Eccles Gateway.

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