Woman's Agonising Condition Feels Like '50 Electric Shocks A Day'

A woman in the UK has opened up about her agonising condition that feels like '50 electric shocks a day'.

Lydia Remick, from Newquay, Cornwall, was diagnosed with chronic pain condition fibromyalgia almost eight years ago.

The 43-year-old's symptoms vary, but the mysterious and incurable condition dominates her life.

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She said: "I can sleep all day and night and still be tired. Your brain just doesn't function properly, and that has a really big impact on the rest of my body.

"My whole body aches. My limbs feel heavy and my worst parts are my lower back and my hips. It's a constant pain. It's like having fifty electric shocks a day.

"I explain it to people as being always in pain, but the pain varies. It's like your body is screaming out and there is just no relief from it.

"Some pain medication takes the edge off but the pain never leaves you. You have to learn to live with it.

"People look at you doubled over in pain and think what's wrong and there is no rhyme or reason to any of it. The electric shocks are like your muscles constantly twitching so on days like that you can't concentrate on anything else."

Fibromyalgia is 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; but in truth, not a great deal is known about it and it can be tricky to diagnose.

Thankfully, Lydia has good days as well as bad days - but flare-ups can be unpredictable.

Lydia, who works as a worship coordinator at the Diocese of Truro, said: "Most days I'm alright, some days I'm great, but other days I can hardly move. This is the joy of fibromyalgia.

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"The worst days I literally cant get out of bed and it's a struggle just to get across to the bathroom.

"Those are the really bad days and I just try to sleep through them and be as comfortable as I can. Then some days I feel like I can come for the world but then as a result I tend to suffer if I do too much on those days.

"It's the most bizarre condition and thankfully I have some brilliant friends who understand that just because I did something one day doesn't mean I can do it again, but I have also lost friends because I have had to cancel plans numerous times over the years."

Now Lydia is fundraising so she can buy a mobility scooter, which will enhance her quality of life.

She said: "It's about acknowledging the things I can do, rather than the things I can't do. When I first got a stick it made me realise how I needed it and that's what getting this scooter is about.

"I'm only 43 and I'm going to get a mobility scooter and that is really hard on me mentally, but then I think about all the things I will be able to do that I can't do now, and for me and my husband, that makes it worth it."

You can visit the fundraiser here.

Topics: Interesting, Community, Health

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey