ALWAYS TIRED, ALWAYS IN PAIN
IT FIRST started 11 years ago with severe fatigue and permanent pain shooting from her hip down her leg. But some time would pass before Rita Meyer would be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a condition that’s poorly understood but more common than most people think.
“I found the constant fatigue and pain overwhelming. And then I started having trouble sleeping, headaches and irritable bowel syndrome. Eventually, there were emotional consequences – depression and anxiety,” says Rita, a former welfare worker from Mpumalanga who’s since become a psychotherapist who helps others suffering from fibromyalgia.
Rita’s diagnosis was a long time coming.
“All the tests for rheumatoid arthritis were done, all possible blood tests that might explain why I was so tired, X-rays of my whole body. And eventually I was diagnosed with
