Johanna Baynard Interview for Fibromyalgia Awareness Month

Today My Several Worlds has an interview with Johanna Baynard and it’s just in time for fibromyalgia awareness month. Fibromyalgia advocates celebrate all year long, but in May, we’re always celebrate loudly in purple and talk as much as we can to bring awareness to this devastating and painful disease.

I’d like to introduce you to fibromyalgia advocate Johanna Baynard. Johanna has had a rough time this year with surgeries, so I’m extra appreciative that she found the time today to help us out with awareness this month. I’m sending healing vibes to Johanna and hope she is feeling a bit better next month. Let’s move on with our interview.

MSW: Hi Johanna! Thanks for being with us today. I’m so excited to introduce you to my readers today! Let’s start with a short introduction about you. What would you like us to know about you?

JB: Hi! Thank you Carrie. I’m excited to be here. I want to say that I feel as if I am very lucky. I didn’t realize how terribly sick I was until I was about age 56. Of course, I was exhausted constantly, but that’s what happens when you have children, work and school. LIFE, right?

I love writing.

I adore my grandchildren.

MSW: Would you mind telling us a bit about your health journey especially in regards to fibromyalgia and chronic pain?

JB: Well my car accident was in 1979…Since then pain. Chiropractors, a smart doctor, physical therapy exercises and various other methods helped me to manage the back and neck pain.

I wasn’t sick with fibromyalgia until after 2000. The issue was always exhaustion, the pain was intermittent, but the exhaustion was not. I thought that my epitaph should read “she was tired”.

MSW: I can totally relate to that. The fatigue that fibromyalgia advocates is profound. I’m one of those patients who has extreme pain and extreme fatigue and I can’t decide which is which. It depends on the day, I guess. How have your experiences with fibromyalgia affected you on a personal level?

JB: I filed for disability at 58 and won my case when I turned 60. Even then I had no idea how sick I was. It’s been difficult to accept myself as a disabled woman.

I don’t want to be that, but that is who I am. And I have to accept again and again because it is easy to slip into denial “I’m a healthy woman!”

MSW: Acceptance is such a hard thing. The further we move into illness, the more we have to accept. It’s such a hard thing to describe. I want to blame it on age, and I suppose that is a factor, but honestly, mostly I feel that this disease continues to take a toll on is and it grinds you down every day. It’s tough to keep going! So what kind of things do you like to do to cope with what you are going through? Do you have tips for our fibro friends?

JB: Acceptance, acceptance, acceptance.

MSW: Indeed! I think every fibro patient reading this is nodding their head in agreement. I know you are a gifted writer and a blogger. Would you mind telling us a bit about your writing? How long have you been writing? How does writing help you?

JB: Writing is such an important part of my life. It’s like breathing. I have to write, I can’t stop. Thank you for the lovely compliment.

My blog “Life According to Johanna” started as my last kid was leaving the house. I felt that I was not done giving them all of the wisdom that I had.

The kids were done with me, so no one was listening. That was fourteen years ago.

I started blogging in 2009.

MSW: What kind of tips or advice would you offer to patients?

It took me a minute to accept my illness. I read a lot and researched endlessly.

Learning pain management techniques is key in the beginning. I did a lot of experimenting to find things that worked for me.

MSW: I love to say we’re all scientists to an extent as we have to experiment with all sorts of things to find what works! What are some things that you’d love people to know about living with fibromyalgia?

JB: Don’t be afraid to try anything! Try it all and find out what works for your fibromyalgia. You don’t like gabapentin – don’t take it. You can’t handle the exercise – don’t do it.

There are endless options, so don’t give up until you find what works for you.

MSW: Finally, where can readers find you and learn more about you?

JB: What a sweet question. You can also find me at www.themammablog.com.

I’m not selling anything, I am just ruminating.

MSW: Is there anything else (a question) that you want to add to this interview that I haven’t thought of?

JB: Carrie, thank you for this lovely opportunity.

MSW: It’s my absolute pleasure, Johanna. Take care and thank you so much for your time and friendship.

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