Survivors of abuse
25 Members
Created by Misty Roberts

Fibromyalgia and abuse ~NFA~

The prevalence of sexual abuse in women with fibromyalgia

Arthritis Rheum. 1995 Feb;38(2):229-34.
Taylor ML, Trotter DR, Csuka ME.


OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of sexual abuse in women diagnosed as having fibromyalgia (FM) compared with controls.


METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire designed to obtain information regarding demographics, health care utilization, and history of sexual and physical abuse was completed by 40 women with FM and by 42 women who had no evidence of connective tissue disease or other major medical condition.


RESULTS: Women with FM reported more physical symptoms and were significantly different on multiple indices of health compared with controls. Twenty-six FM subjects (65%) reported sexual abuse, in comparison with 22 controls (52%). The prevalence and type of abuse were not significantly different between groups. Sexually abused FM subjects reported significantly more symptoms than did non-sexually abused FM women, but did not differ in the number of symptoms for which they sought medical treatment.


CONCLUSION: Sexual abuse does not appear to be a specific factor in the etiology of FM, but is correlated with the number and severity of associated symptoms.

 
25 months ago
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  • Jen

    I've honestly always blamed myself for having fibro. I was physically, sexually, and mentally abused by an ex-boyfriend and I developed fibro a year or so after leaving him, but it was diagnosed for another year after that... Thank you for posting this article. Maybe this will help me convince myself that I'm not the cause.

    25 months ago

  • Misty

    Jen, I honestly thought I was to blame for my disease too because I always pushed myself too far. I also thought my job was to blame because it was so stressful.



    Now that I know more about it I understand that it wasn't just my fault or my job's fault, but the evironment I was raised in. Please read all the old posts on here because there are great comments and stories posted here from members who are no longer members of the forum, but they had a lot of knowledge in this area.



    That makes sense that you had your first flare after leaving him. You may have actually started having it while you were with him and didn't realize because of the pain he was inflicting on you. Abuse is never our fault, and it takes us a long time to realize that. I am so glad you are away from him.



    I would love to help you more, so please post more stuff that you may have questions or comments about! :0)

    25 months ago

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