Now retired, Ives-Acton began her lengthy adventure with what
was ultimately diagnosed as fibromyalgia in the early 1980s - before
it had a name or was recognized as a condition. It wasn’t until 1990
that the American College of Rheumatology laid out guidelines for
diagnosing fibromyalgia. The easiest way to explain fibromyalgia is
in relation to arthritis, a disorder people are much more familiar
with. Arthritis exists in your joints - fibromyalgia can be likened to
arthritis of your muscles.
“In some ways it (the diagnosis) has been very helpful…and
then there’s the pain,” said Ives-Acton.
Finding ways to manage that pain, and the other challenges of
fibromylagia became an important part of her journey. Ives-Acton
h