Apr 12, 2018

A MOTHER who suffers from the same chronic pain condition as pop icon Lady Gaga has credited a vitamin supplement with giving her a new lease of life.

Karen Crosby, 56, was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2002 and has spent years suffering. Karen's fibromyalgia symptoms include pain in her wrists, knees, ankles and back, fatigue, sleeplessness and a mental tiredness known as ‘fibro fog’.

However, within four weeks of trying Bio-Quinone Q10 supplements, she was doing household jobs, going for long walks around her home in the picturesque Scottish Highlands and “sleeping like a baby”.

“It’s been an absolute revelation,” said Karen, a stress management consultant and qualified yoga, meditation and reiki master/teacher.

“It’s made such an amazing difference to my life, to my love of life and to my energy levels. I know it sounds a bit of a cliché but I really feel like a new woman. I have noticed no side effects at all, and I am so pleased with the results, I will take this supplement for as long as I can!”

Middlesbrough-born Karen had been suffering from pain in her joints for 30 years before she was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2002.

She explained: “I had had it for a long time before that – I had widespread pain, I had problems sleeping, I was tired a lot and when I did things like aerobics I was in a lot more pain than I should have been. I also suffered from what I call ‘fibro fog’ which is where your mind just stops a little while and you forget things before it kicks into gear again. At first, the doctors didn’t know what was wrong and it was only when a GP sent me to a rheumatology specialist that I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and it was like a light had been switched on – that was why I was feeling so bad.”

Fibromyalgia

Also called fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), is a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body. Fibromyalgia symptoms may also include increased sensitivity to pain, extreme tiredness, muscle stiffness, irritable bowel syndrome and problems with memory and concentration. The exact cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, but it's thought to be related to abnormal levels of certain chemicals in the brain and changes in the way the central nervous system processes pain messages carried around the body.

The profile of the condition has been heightened recently after Lady Gaga was forced to cancel the remainder of her world tour in February due to her “severe pain” caused by fibromyalgia.

Karen said: “I can see why she had to cancel part of her tour – she has a punishing physical schedule and it will affect her much more than us mere mortals so I can really sympathise with her. Someone like Lady Gaga who is famous around the world and who’s admitted that she has fibromyalgia brings much more of a high profile, which hopefully increases people’s understanding of the condition. When I was first diagnosed, fibromyalgia wasn’t as well known as it is today and for years some people treated me like I was a hypochondriac. There was a lot of scepticism about the condition - people thought it didn’t really exist and I did come up against a lot of bigotry about the condition with people thinking it was all in my mind.”

As well as dealing with adverse perceptions of her condition, Karen also encountered difficulties in treating fibromyalgia symptoms.