Bank holiday - helpline closures

Benefits Helpline will be closed Friday 25/05/18 and Monday 28/05/18.   It will re-open on Friday 01/06/18

National Helpline will be closed Monday 28/05/18 and re-open Tuesday 29/05/18

Steph Skelton's fundraising quest for fibromyalgia

Steph Skelton is giving up chocolate and cake and is raising funds for FMA UK. Steph told us her story and why she is raising funds for Fibromyalgia Action UK: ‘’From the very first unexplained pain symptom back in 2004 to final diagnosis in 2017 I have suffered a long and debilitating journey, only now am I starting to become more aware of my pain triggers, and how far I can exert myself before I break. 

A typical day in my life goes something like this: Wake up after 3-4 hours of broken sleep. Sleep is usually disturbed by pain, anxiety or both. It takes around 10-15 minutes to enable me to get out of bed. Usually wait to see where I feel pain to be it’s most severe before I decide the best course of action for pain relief. E.g. if it’s a dull ache or a light throb I tend to start my day with 2x paracetamol & duloxetine along with 2 drops of turmeric infused CBD oil. If it’s particularly bad I take tramadol as well and repeat this 4 hourly. 

Shaun (my other half) usually has to lift our two year old from her cot in the mornings as my joints are stiff and weak. Then I get up and go to work. I usually drive because walking can be really painful in my feet and lower body joints, having said that I am trying to slowly increase graded exercise as this should help make the joints stronger and decrease the weight gain caused by medications, hormone imbalances and inactivity. 

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Sisters Christine and Angela Crawford raised over £2,000 because their Mum lives with fibromyalgia

Sisters Christine and Angela Crawford raised over £2,000 for Fibromyalgia Action UK because their Mum lives with fibromyalgia. The sisters raised just over £1,000 via JustGiving and the rest was match-funded by Barclays. Christine told us: ‘’Our mum Angie, was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 2003 at 42 years old.  When she was eventually given the diagnosis, there was a sense of relief as she was experiencing so much pain & fatigue for a long time and no one could explain why so it was nice to have something we could put a name to. 

An amazing Mum to my sister Angela & I and a wonderful Granma to Aimee our wee Mum is known for being a bubbly, outgoing, fun & loving woman who loves spending time with her family and friends.   With her amazing smile, Mum looks “ok” on the outside and most of the time people don’t see how much pain & discomfort she is in & how this restricts her from doing so much on a daily basis. In order for her to do things and have a normal life, she often needs to have countless days of rest before and after going places for her body to recuperate. 

Our mum has always loved to go out walking and we have so many happy memories of walks along the Clyde cycle path, but fibro limits how much she can do this now. On the rare sunny days we have in Glasgow, she often can’t bring herself to go out even though she would love to and it’s hard for people to understand why she can’t just get up and go. 

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Russell Davies's inspirational story: How I beat my fibromyalgia

Russell Davies will walk a challenge of his lifetime, TheCuthbert's Way which is 64 miles over 4 days, in the summer to raise awareness of and funds for Fibromyalgia Action UK. Russell told us his inspiring story: ‘’I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia 15 years ago and I thought my Life had ended. It took a lot of help from my wife and her giving me a good kick up the bum to make me realise that fibro is not the end. It is manageable with time and understanding you can live a good life.

I started to set goals to do things small at first then bigger ones. My biggest so far is a 64 mile walk in June from Melrose to Holy Island. I don’t want people think I’m preaching because that’s not the point of this. I’m trying show what you can do with a little positive attitude and an ability to see that you can doing things with fibromyalgia.

I’m 19 stone and was looking at a wheelchair at 40 because I’d lost hope. My wife said to me “I’m not pushing you in a wheelchair”. It’s things like that that get your motivated to do better. If you don’t have someone in your life like that, look at finding a group or a community app on your phone something to get you going. It could be one of your goals and remember it’s ok to ask for help.

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Gary Robert's fundraising challenges for fibromyalgia awareness

Gary Roberts is undertaking two challenge events to raise funds for Fibromyalgia Action UK    because his wife lives with fibromyalgia. These events are: Para 10 Tab in September 2018 and the Yorkshire Marathon in October 2018. Gary told us why he will do it: ‘’My close friends will be aware that my wife Nicola suffers from the condition of Fibromyalgia.

Nicola is a fun loving girl who like many others likes to do things with her family, to socialise, attend concerts, dance, and ride pillion on our motorbike. Nothing unusual there you say? But the Fibromyalgia condition does not always allow.

Fibromyalgia is a medical condition that refuses to be categorised. It is more common than Rheumatoid arthritis, yet our understanding and awareness of the condition is limited.

So what exactly is Fibromyalgia? This question is perhaps not as straightforward to answer as it seems. Sufferers experience both chronic physical pain throughout much of the body, as well as psychological stress; intense fatigue and even cognitive dysfunction are not uncommon. It’s wide and diverse array of symptoms make it difficult to diagnose, and many sufferers may not even be aware that they have it. 

The consequence can vary. Nicola, like many is always in some form of pain, sometimes so intense that it is hard to get out of bed, can you just imagine how that would affect you?

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National & Benefits Helpline Closed 7/05/18

Please note that the National & Benefits Helplines will be closed on Monday 7th May 2018