LADY GAGA – HER EXPERIENCE WITH FIBROMYALGIA AND CHRONIC PAIN

I just saw A Star is Born, the fabulous movie with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Both of their performances were incredible, I thought.

There is no doubt that Lady Gaga is an interesting person. She is also well–known for her openness about the many difficulties in her life – despite a soaring career.

One of the problems in her life is pain, severe and disabling. She has opened up about her diagnosis of fibromyalgia and chronic pain. Together, they have made it necessary for her to cancel a major European tour. Pain And Loss.

An article in the Guardian,  by Dr  Nick Fallon, gives us the details. Dr Fallon is a scientist using EEG and MRIs to help us find out what fibromyalgia and chronic pain are all about. He knows what he is talking about. Here are some excerpts from The Guardian article.

Earlier this month, (2017) Lady Gaga announced the cancellation of the upcoming leg of her world tour due to her ongoing battle with fibromyalgia syndrome.

Her behind-the-scenes Netflix documentary, Gaga: Five foot Two , charts her journey to Superbowl half-time show stardom, but also offers an intriguing glimpse into the challenges faced by someone living with chronic pain.

For the millions of fibromyalgia patients out there this is a life-changing condition, which leads us back to my first point – why have so many people never even heard of fibromyalgia?

Perhaps the answer lies in some uncomfortable details. Although men also suffer, fibromyalgia mainly affects women, whose gender-specific medical needs have typically been marginalised throughout history.

It is an invisible illness, lacking a clear physical representation to ‘cue’ the pain to onlookers and elicit the normal empathy response. It is invisible in the doctor’s office too; there is no blood test or scan to quantify the condition in numbers, which can lead to suspicion and doubt.

The complex interaction between psychological and physical suffering deserves our attention, and we need to acknowledge this is not an admission of guilt or a sign of weakness or malingering. It doesn’t mean that the pain is ‘all in your head’, or any less real or debilitating

But it’s not all doom and gloom. For the first time, millions of fibromyalgia patients have in Gaga a truly global voice who actively wants to bring much needed attention to their plight. Her story will help to raise awareness and tackle ignorance for this invisible illness.

Thank you again to Dr Fallon. Dr Nick Fallon is a Research Fellow in Psychology at the University of Liverpool. His research uses neuroimaging to investigate the mechanisms of chronic pain and interactions with psychological factors. He is on twitter @nick_fallon.

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Mike