Background and purpose: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by diffuse widespread pain and fatigue. The purpose of this study was to search for a deeper knowledge of the way patients with FMS experience their symptoms in everyday life.
Method: Qualitative interviews, applying the phenomenological method, were used. The respondents were interviewed twice and asked to describe a typical day. Eleven Swedish women, aged 24-54 years, fulfilling the ACR criteria for FMS participated in the study. The duration of pain ranged from three to 20 years. Three patients worked full-time, six worked part-time and two did not work outside the home.
Results: The effect of perceived symptoms on everyday life was considerable. Four different patterns of perceiving and managing symptoms were identified: Struggling: respondents who perceived that they managed their everyday life by mobilizing their physical and psychological strength to fight their pain and fatigue; Adapting: respondents who perceived that they managed their everyday life by planning their activities on the basis of their assumptions of limitations; In despair: respondents who were in despair as they could no longer cope with their pain and life situation; Giving up: respondents who had given up many activities of everyday life and felt that their symptoms dominated their life.
Conclusions: The study illuminates qualitative differences in FMS patients' experience and management of their symptoms in their everyday life. These differences ought to be considered when planning physiotherapy treatment.