What Is Fibromyalgia, The Disease That Andrea Levy Has?
Recently, City Councilor for Culture, Sports and Tourism and spokeswoman for the municipal council of Madrid, Andrea Levy, spoke publicly and sparked criticism among viewers and users of social media. Her reading lacked fluency, and she seemed to be stuck. Reason? According to Levy himself, it is fibromyalgia.
Although the disease is a real condition affecting many people, the World Health Organization did not recognize it until 1992. To date , it affects 5.4% of the general population and 92.7% of patients are women, according to data from the Fibromyalgia Association.
Some have questioned whether this is the reason why Andrea Levy’s performance is not as expected. So let’s take a look at what fibromyalgia is and what symptoms people with this condition can present.
What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic disease that to a greater extent tends to affect middle-aged women. The cause is unknown, but observations show that it causes symptoms that may explain what happens to Andrea Levy in public speeches and many other aspects of her life.
According to some studies, the disorder is associated with problems involving a state of burnout. That is, it involves acute and intense stress that makes it difficult to perform the usual tasks. This is not because they constitute specific signs, but because of reduced quality of life.
The symptoms can be aggravated by various factors:
- Emphasize
- Lack of sleep
- Temperature changes
The most characteristic symptom of fibromyalgia is continuous and generalized pain throughout the body, both in muscles, joints and tendons in the upper and lower body. Andrea Levy comments that this pain can be “almost paralyzing” and affect her night’s sleep.
In general, discomfort, lack of sleep, fatigue, lack of energy and other discomforts, even when medications are taken to cope with them, affect the quality of life. Thus, it also affects performance in a work context. A study in the journal Clinical Rheumatology suggested more than 10 years ago that this condition is a cause of temporary sick leave among workers.
What are the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia?
According to scientific literature, the main symptom of Andrea Levy’s disease is pain. Although theories have been developed to explain the origin, it is not entirely certain. The role of autoimmune problems, genetics and oxidative stress in metabolism has been assessed.
The symptoms associated with fibromyalgia are the following:
- Stiffness: Especially morning stiffness. It is difficult to move your fingers, stretch your legs and bend your back. This stiffness can be gradual and diffuse and cause new pains, such as tension headaches and changes in the peristalsis that lead to colic.
- Temporomandibular joint dysfunction: Along with stiffness and muscle contractions in the face, the jaw loses functionality.
- Hypersensitivity and chronic fatigue syndrome: This is extreme fatigue that prevents the person from performing daily activities. Even when the person is resting, they do not feel that they are recovering.
- Fibrous fog: Intense mental exhaustion that causes chronic pain in these patients. At the same time, concentration and short-term memory problems develop.
- Anxiety and depression: Typical of all the stress that accumulates in the person with chronic pain who does not feel able to perform daily activities. It has also been suggested that some cases of fibromyalgia are secondary to mood disorders and not the other way around. It is clear that the prognosis can worsen in these situations.
Symptoms that affect one’s quality of life
Based on the above, fibromyalgia is understood as a disease that not only affects the quality of life, but also a person’s social development. Therefore, it would not be wrong to consider this as the cause of various difficulties at work.
Andrea Levy, who states that she was diagnosed with this pathology in July, says that coping with the discomfort is a struggle in itself.
Treatment of fibromyalgia is a battle with several open fronts
There is no cure for fibromyalgia, and treatment can only relieve the symptoms that the patient presents. Non-opioid analgesics, application of local heat, physiotherapy massage and physical exercises are included in the therapeutic arsenal.
Stress management and any prescription for antidepressants is the key to improving your night’s sleep. It is a battle on several fronts, as it requires not only coping with the physical discomfort, but also the emotional stress that fibromyalgia causes in patients.
The Spanish Ministry of Health, Consumer and Social Welfare emphasizes the following:
If you or someone you love suspects that you may be suffering from fibromyalgia, consult your GP.
