Health patterns of women with fibromyalgia.

Using diaries, eight women documented how they were living with their fibromyalgia on a daily basis for 3 months. Aches and pains were the most common symptoms experienced on nine to 81 of the 84 days of data collection. Cross-correlations revealed significant patterns related to pain, sleep and weather conditions for individual women. The narrative portion of their diaries supports that pain is physical and mental, knowing the self helps to control the intensity of the illness, and distraction helps to decrease the associated discomforts. Use of diaries and active listening (validation) are supported as interventions for these women.