Fibromyalgia: Celebrities who Suffer with the Silent Illness
Celebrities with Fibromyalgia
When a person states that they have fibromyalgia, most people do not think about the everyday pain in which the person is dealing with. Fibromyalgia can often lead to bouts of depression, as the person feels as though their life is over.
The pain and tiredness they feel may make them believe that they can no longer do the things they once did. However, that is not true, and we can see this in everyday life! Consider this fact: around one in every 20 people that you meet has fibromyalgia!
There are several celebrities who suffer from fibromyalgia, and they are not letting this stop them from having the careers and the lives that they want.
This can give normal people some hope. They will find that they can also have a normal life—a life full of physical activity or whatever they want out of life!
Morgan Freeman: Speaks Out About the Disease
Morgan Freeman, known for his voice-over jobs, along with numerous acting roles, is one celebrity who suffers from fibromyalgia. Mr. Freeman was in a car accident several years ago that was very severe.
However, this seemed to be the catapult for his development of fibromyalgia. When being interviewed by a magazine, the writer noticed that Freeman would often grab his shoulder and wince in pain.
However, this was not a light pain, as the author noted that he would stumble and seem to be in excruciating pain. The amazing thing is Morgan Freeman never gave in to pain. He simply said that it was the fibromyalgia acting up, with the pain shooting up and down his left arm.
Freeman did go on to state that the pain has made it difficult to do some of the things that he once did. For example, he does not feel comfortable taking his boat out on his own, as he never knows when the pain may flare up.
However, Freeman does not seem to be letting this stop him. He is still performing and doing what he loves as a career.
Janeane Garofalo: Still Laughing
Garofalo is known for her stand-up comedy days on Saturday Night Live and for her social activism and creativity.
She is also one of those celebrities who is progressive in her line of thinking, has been outspoken on the wars in Iraq, and is often considered a feminist.
She announced that she has struggled with fibromyalgia, along with the mental issues associated with this issue, such as depression and anxiety. Most of those who have fibromyalgia know that these two illnesses go hand in hand with fibromyalgia.
Despite dealing with fibromyalgia on a daily basis, Garofalo is still speaking out about what is important to her and still making people laugh. This is another prime example of how fibromyalgia does not have to rule your life!
Michael James Hastings: Retirement, then Acting
Do you live the TV series “The West Wing”? If so, you are not alone! But, did you know that “Captain Mike” on the series, played by Michael James Hastings, has fibromyalgia?
Hastings started his career as a school teacher but had to give this up due to his fibromyalgia! He then started working as an extra in Hollywood to make some money and was then cast as Captain Mike.
Once Hastings left the series, he started to become a fibromyalgia advocate to help raise awareness of this disease and find a cure, or at least find a way for people to deal more easily with this within their daily lives!
Sinead O’Connor: A Realist
Dealing with pain for several years of her life, once she realized and was confirmed to suffer from fibromyalgia, she took a break from her work.
However, once she had become accustomed to what this illness brings with it, she returned to the stage.
Sinead is of the belief that fibromyalgia may not have a cure, but it can be managed with success via various different techniques.
Her realistic attitude towards fibromyalgia is what makes her a champion of this illness.
Rosie Hamlin: Outspoken on the Illness
Rosie Hamlin had a very promising musical career. However, once she realized that fibromyalgia was the cause of her pain and suffering, she took a step back from the spotlight.
However, this did not stop her from using her career to bring this illness to light. She has become an important spokesperson for finding a cure and ways to manage it.
While her singing career may be out of the question, she found her artistic outlet in painting.
Susan Flannery
Flannery has been an actress on The Bold and the Beautiful since 1987. She left the show in 2007 due to treatment for fibromyalgia, which made headlines everywhere.
However, she later returns to the show to take on her character, Stephanie Forrester.
According to those who know the actress, she is taking her illness one day at a time, as most ordinary people worldwide do.
A.J Langer
While many people may not realize who A.J Langer is, those who do know her as the BFF to Claire Danes in the 1990s TV series “My So-Called Life”.
But, those who know her may not realize that even during this series, Langer was suffering from the pain and tenderness associated with fibromyalgia on a daily basis!
In reality, it was this disease that made her go into acting instead of playing ball like she wanted, as the illness made it too hard to do anything physical.
What was interesting is that Langer thought the pain she was feeling was due to how hard she played sports and worked out on the field. However, it took years to get an accurate diagnosis of the issue.
Since then, Langer has married and is now considered British royalty. She has also found a health routine that is meant to lower the pain she feels as much as possible.
Jo Guest
Guest starred in modeling in England and has since been in numerous media in the country.
However, she went on an early morning show in Britain and stated that she had been suffering from an illness for a little over four months in 2008.
It was a little over a year later that she confirmed that it was the help of the viewers that she got the fibromyalgia diagnosis. Nowadays, most people do not see much of Guest, as she seems to have stepped away from the spotlight.
Florence Nightingale
While Florence Nightingale may not be a celebrity in today’s time, her work throughout history has always been noted.
What is interesting is that the personal accounts of Nightingale show that she suffered from symptoms that we now know to be fibromyalgia.
However, there was no diagnosis for what she was feeling during her time. Thus, the treatment was non-existent for her, but she kept working and changing the route of the world for the better!
These are just a sampling of those celebrities who have come forth and stated that they have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
There are several others who are suspected to have this illness, though they never have come and admitted this. It is important to note that many celebrities may often show signs of fibromyalgia, but this actually is one of the illnesses that are similar in nature to fibromyalgia.
For example, Paula Abdul, probably best known for her role on American reality shows, has often been accused of having this issue. However, she has a disease that is similar and affects her in much the same way as fibromyalgia.
What are Celebrities Doing for Treatment?
Even though these are celebrities, they often use the same treatment that almost everyone uses. These treatments can include:
- Over-the-counter pain medications in order to help with the pain and tenderness that is associated with fibromyalgia.
- Physical therapy helps ensure that they retain mobility in their bodies, which is sometimes an issue for those who are dealing with fibromyalgia.
- Exercise is a must for almost every celebrity out there, as they often want to look their best when they are in the public eye. For those who have fibromyalgia, exercise is a must in order to ensure they remain strong and healthy and this illness does not take over their entire life.
- The use of prescription medications such as antidepressants and the like are being used in order to help celebrities cope, just as they are used for common, everyday people as well. New prescriptions are being found on a daily basis and tested for their safety and ability to help those who take them!
- The use of hot and cold can be a great way to get the inflammation that is felt to go down, something that many fibromyalgia patients suffer from.
- Many of these celebrities will make regular appointments at spas or massage salons. Massage and spas have many benefits, including relaxing people and making them feel better overall.
- Many celebrities utilize specialized diets in order to help with their flare-ups. For those who have studied diet and fibromyalgia, there are certain foods that can cause fibromyalgia to be worse, and this is something that every sufferer needs to keep in mind. Many celebrities are on strict diets due to the nature of their career. However, the additional benefits of this illness are great.
- Several herbal treatments are available that many celebrities and common people are utilizing to treat their symptoms.
- Water activities are becoming highly popular for those who suffer from fibromyalgia, thus many celebrities are installing their own pools and heated pools to help them deal with the pain that they are suffering with.
- Meditation is becoming more mainstream in Hollywood for those who are dealing with fibromyalgia. It is thought that meditation can help center the body and mind to get past the pain that the person is suffering from. Whether or not this works truly depends on the person. However, it should be noted that meditation is something that you must work at, and it may take a while to achieve total success.
- Relaxation is a common treatment for those who suffer from fibromyalgia. However, relaxation is often harder to find for those who have a job to get to every day. Celebrities may take months away from their home and relax, which helps them to function with their illness more.
What is important to note is that celebrities are dealing with this in much the same way as those who may not be famous.
The difference is that they often give themselves more time to get over the flare-ups than a common person. However, the pain and inflammation they feel are still the same as anyone else’s.
Special Treatments that Celebrities Utilize
While celebrities are often tight-lipped about what they are doing to deal with fibromyalgia, there are always rumors that are going around.
Celebrities often have unlimited funds when it comes to their health, thus they may have more access to treatment options than the common person.
One such treatment that many celebrities claim works is having a holistic healer reverse their Chi. This is very otherworldly in terms of health care.
However, many celebrities put a lot of stock into this type of healing. These healers are super expensive, meaning that most common people cannot afford to use their services, whether they work or not.
Celebrities also have access to some herbal remedies that many people may not. For example, celebrities often travel the world, so what is not found in one country can easily be found in another.
Their ability to have access to herbs that may not be legal to use in some countries has been proven helpful to their road to recovery and treatment.
Overall, celebrities often have more money to spend, along with time to invest in their treatment. The ability to use private trainers and professionals who have spent their adult lives studying this issue will show.
Therefore, many celebrities often look like they do not have as many issues with this illness.
It is not that they have no issues with this issue; they can simply afford and try those methods that common people are not privileged to do.
Celebrates Speaking Out
Despite the fact that many celebrities want to ensure that they have the reputation of being fit and healthy, there are several who have owned up to suffering from fibromyalgia and who go out of their way in order to support this cause.
Several organizations were developed to spread the word about this illness and encourage science to find new treatment methods and, ultimately, a cure.
While many celebrities are stating that a cure will not be found, they are huge proponents of the new methods and studies being utilized to treat this illness. So, what are these celebrities doing?
Many are helping to raise money to fund studies and tests to be performed to find something more effective for the average patient.
However, the best thing celebrities can do for this illness is open up when they are sufferers.
When more people recognize this illness for what it is, when they realize that it greatly changes the lives of those who suffer from it, then it will be even more desirable to find cures and ensure that this is something that can be managed.
Therefore, many common people are happy to see these celebrities showcasing that they have this and what they are doing to battle it.
Fibromyalgia is something that a person has to deal with on a daily basis. While celebrities often hide this better, it is still a painful illness for them.
It has led many of these celebrities to step out of the spotlight to gain a reputation as being hard to work with since their illness may affect their ability to act or even sing on stage.
However, they should not be penalized for having an issue affecting their entire bodies in the way this does.
If anything, these celebrities should be supported for their bravery in coming forth about this illness!
It is hoped that as more people learn about this illness, more awareness is seen.
And ultimately, this illness will be considered more than something that is simply in the mind of those who suffer!
I find your articles informative. I’m learning everything I can about this debilitating disability I got diagnosed with a few month’s ago.
Lady Gaga recently shared that she also suffers from Fibromyalgia. She had to cancel several concerts. Hopefully it will get some additional attention.