She pounded on the heavy gray door of her dark cell, shouting, then crying for rescue from the isolation and physical pain. She didn't sleep.
Tennille Morrow cuddles her miniature poodles Kira (left) and Cartman. Morrow has fibromyalgia, a comp
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Dr. Jon E. Bentz says pain and depression follow common neuropathways.
Over weeks, then months, her panic turned to anger, then desperation. Finally, she sank to the floor, and put her head to her knees in defeat.
At least that's what it felt like for Tennille Morrow, 32, of Lancaster. As her unexplained pain, shortness of breath, sleeplessness and fatigue progressed, she sought help again and again from her family physician, to no avail.
Getting through the workday at her full-time job was a challenge. She could no longer climb the stairs with a basket of laundry without struggling for breath and her tired muscles burning. She flinched in discomfort from her husband Kevin's embrace.
But not being heard is what frustrated Morrow the most.
"You got the impression that you're a female, so you're overreacting," she said. "[Doctors] kind of just wanted you to come in and they give you a little something and you move on."
She suspects her family doctor finally referred her to a rheumatologist "to get rid of me," she said.
This led to more tests, X-rays and office visits. Results? Zip.
Unwilling to risk more of the same from her physician, she went to a nurse practitioner in a last-ditch plea for help.
Armed with research about conditions that present her sypmtoms, "I just walked in and said, 'You'll probably think I'm crazy, but here it is. I need to know what's going on,' " said Morrow.
Then, finally, a diagnosis: fibromyalgia, an autoimmune disease about which little is known.
More importantly, she was heard.
"I was going out of my mind. I was so miserable and yet these people don't want to listen," she said.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic and complex disorder characterized by a range of symptoms including: pain and stiffness in soft tissues, extreme fatigue, poor sleep, breathing problems, depression and anxiety.
It is difficult to diagnose because the combination of symptoms vary from patient to patient and mimic other conditions.
The cause of fibromyalgia is still unknown, but experts are investigating possible links to injury, illness, sleep quality and body chemistry.
While there is no cure for this chronic, sometimes debilitating condition, there are treatments available to help patients cope. Finding what works best for a particular patient can be as evasive as a diagnosis.
The Lancaster General Fibromyalgia Program takes a holistic approach.
After referral by a rheumatologist or family physician, a patient arrives for a day-long evaluation by a nurse, an occupational therapist, a behavioral psychologist and a physical therapist.
The same day, these professionals gather to share insights and develop an individualized plan of therapy for the patient.
Other conditions commonly accompany fibromyalgia, not the least of which is depression.
Behavioral psychologist Dr. Jon E. Bentz, director of the Lancaster General Behavioral Medicine and Neuropsychology Department, evaluates participants in the fibromyalgia program. "It's not that depression causes fibromyalgia," he clarified. But it's possible, he said, that fibromyalgia could be caused "by brain malfunction that heightens sensitivity to both physical discomfort and mood changes."
He explained that pain and depression share common neuropathways in the brain, and that the neurotransmitters serotonin and noradrenaline play significant roles in each.
"Pain and depression feed on themselves, changing both brain function and behavior," he said.
Bentz said pain often leads to isolation, which increases depression, which heightens pain. The cycle is sometimes minimized by treating the pain, the depression, or both.
Through strategies provided by the program and regular followup with her nurse practitioner, Morrow made progress managing her symptoms.
Learning to pace herself has also helped. She spreads out her household cleaning chores through the week, for example, instead of tackling most of them on Saturdays.
Morrow said, "It affects everything — something as stupid as going to the grocery store."
It threatened her marriage, too. "We had been so close and when I withdrew so dramatically, that was so hard," she said.
"She's my best friend," said her husband. "I don't want her to suffer.
"As hard as the communication was to start again," he said, "if we hadn't done it, that would have been the end of the marriage. It's a journey we've taken together. I didn't alienate her. I didn't let her do it alone."
"There's nothing that empowers somebody more — who is extremely sick — than just letting us know, 'We're here for you,' " Tennille Morrow said.
Please see www.lancastergeneral.org/content/Fibromyalgia_Program.htm for more information.
Jeannette Scott is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact her at jscott@lnpnews.com or at 291-8689.
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