Lady Gaga’s chronicles her struggles in her career and with chronic pain. Her vulnerability , honestly and unpredictable future with chronic pain shows others suffering the pain epidemic they are NOT alone.

Lady Gaga’s New Netflix Documentary Hits Home To Those Who Suffer From Chronic Pain.

Fibromyalgia appears to make that problem worse, and being a pop star in chronic pain certainly doesn’t seem easy. One scene shows her having her makeup done for a performance while sitting in a doctor’s examination room.

Pain doctors who specialize in treating fibromyalgia say that the disorder is under-treated and that its sufferers have been stigmatized as chronic complainers.

In general, fibromyalgia patients complain not just of chronic pain but of many other symptoms, Dr. Wolfe said. A survey of 2,500 fibromyalgia patients published in 2007 by the National Fibromyalgia Association indicated that 63 percent reported suffering from back pain, 40 percent from chronic fatigue syndrome, and 30 percent from ringing in the ears, among other conditions. Many also reported that fibromyalgia interfered with their daily lives, with activities like walking or climbing stairs.

“I use the word ‘suffer’ not for pity, or attention, and have been disappointed to see people online suggest that I’m being dramatic, making this up, or playing the victim to get out of touring,” she wrote. It’s not the first time she’s been doubted or criticized about something that her body has gone through. When hip surgery made her cancel her 2013 tour, some folks accused her of faking her injury because of underwhelming ticket sales.

According to the National Institutes of Health, 80 to 90 percent of those affected are women, and since it has traditionally been difficult for women to be heard in our culture, women with this illness may have to speak a little louder in order to really be heard.

Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes muscle pain and fatigue (feeling tired). People with fibromyalgia have pain and tenderness throughout the body.

People suffering fibromyalgia may also have other symptoms, such as:

• Trouble sleeping
• Morning stiffness
• Headaches
• Painful menstrual periods
• Tingling or numbness in hands and feet
• Problems with thinking and memory (sometimes called “fibro fog”).

Stars in pain:

• Montel Williams: multiple sclerosis
• Sinead O’Connor: fibromyalgia condition.
• Jillian Michaels: suffers from endometriosis and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).
• Marcia Cross: suffered from debilitating migraine at 14 years old, which negatively affected her life and work.
• Elizabeth Taylor: Born with scoliosis, which can cause an unnatural curvature of the spine, and she suffered back pain for years.
• Morgan Freeman: Diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
• Kathleen Turner: rheumatoid arthritis—an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks the soft tissue & joints.
• Jennifer Grey: suffered chronic pain for years after a neck injury from a 1987 car accident.

Resources:

www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/09/lady-gagas-illness-is-not-a-metaphor/540369/
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health_info/fibromyalgia/fibromyalgia_ff.asp
waveformessays.wordpress.com/readers-responses/leslie-jamisongrand-unified-theory-of-female-pain/
www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/health/14pain.html?_r=2&oref=login&oref=slogin
https://www.everydayhealth.com/pain-management-pictures/stars-and-chronic-pain.aspx
www.vogue.com/article/lady-gaga-netflix-documentary-gaga-five-foot-two-chronic-pain-fibromyalgia-joanne-tour-canceled