Question
First: what is a manga author?


Second--does anyone mention fibromyalgia or any other such "garbage pail" term? Does your pain take a specific form (sharp, constant, achy, etc)?  I know this is not a question that sounds as though it is for myself but it is part of a ..sort of -very-informal survey i am compiling, in an attempt to help some people i know. i appreciate your answering this and am fine if you aren't comfortable doing so.Chronic pain-especially unexplained-is a terrible thing to bear.  My heart goes out to you and I hope you find what it is you need.  

Answer
Cole,

Thanks:) I find it very interesting that you're doing a survey. I've always wanted to do that, to attempt to create a symptom list that is as accurate as possible.  Unfortunatly, it is unfeasible right now; it's all I can do to keep up with the hectic pace of college!

You asked what a manga author is. Manga is basically (and I mean very basically, because they are *very* different) a Japanese comic book. In America, they are more often than not called graphic novels.  Manga are printed novel-style (it's called a tankuban in Japan) in black and white, and often have much more thoughtful, mature (not pornographic, mind you, just more serious or thought-provoking)plots and story lines than do typical American comics.  A manga author typically both draws the art and writes most of the story. Sometimes an independant writer will do the story, though. I realize that wanting to become a manga author is probably an unattainable goal, since very few American artists have ever been able to become successful at it. But still, I'm very passionate about it, as you can probably tell by the length of this reply^_^

On to your second question. My pain-as well as the pain of almost all of the others I have talked to with this illness-tends to be a total body pain. The pain can fluctuate up and down the pain scale, as well as switch between the different categories of pain; it might be sharp in one part of the body, achy in the next. However, most people tend to consistantly have constant, achy pain, very similar to the type you feel when you have a bad case of influenza. It doesn't go away, and it tends to be much worse when the weather is bad or the barometric pressure changes. Sometimes, medicine helps; sometimes it doesn't. There does not seem to be one particular thing that helps everybody. Most of us try one thing, and then move on to another until we find something that affords us a little relief. The pain very rarely disappears; most people live with it for the rest of their lives, though some have reported that it will mysteriously vanish when they reach menopause (women, of course-after all, the vast majority of chronic pain/"fibromyalgia" sufferers are women). Interestingly, most of the people I've talked to always seem to have one trait in common, even if there is nothing else: they sustained some type of physical trauma, usually accidents or severe illnesses. I had the latter; I came down with the flu four years ago March 20, and never really got over it. It really does tear down your life, and forces you to built it up again.
I hope I have been of some assistance to you, although I know it is very difficult to catalouge pain:) I hope that your friends are able to find relief, and most importantly, to continue with their lives to the best of their ability. It is very important that we not let this illness beat us down! Good luck!

Sincerely,

Celeste