Join us for an interview with Lasse (pronounced Lars) and discover how he has been able to manage through his journey with debilitating fibromyalgia. This is Lasse’s Healthful StoryTM. Please note that the video may only play in landscape mode on a mobile phone.
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“I am not my disease… I do not have to lose myself in pain… I am a father, a husband, a dog-owner, a web-comic owner… I lost a decade of my life… I don’t want to lose anymore…”
Navigate Lasse’s Journey with Fibromyalgia
00:11 My friends call me Lasse – that’s the Swedish nickname for Lars
01:33 I was jumped and beat up by three or four people
02:05 I was nearly beaten to pulp
02:45 But it took a couple of days before I realized something was wrong
04:07 I started getting these nosebleeds every day and it was a lot of blood came out
04:28 I fainted
04:33 But I don’t remember that because first thing I remember is waking up in the hospital
04:45 I had surges of pain all on my body and I was shaking my hands were shaking
04:52 My legs were shaking
05:20 and they found out I had probably had a TIA (transient ischemic attack). That’s a mini stroke.
05:53 Next year was that I was in the hospital I could not walk I was sitting in a wheelchair and I couldn’t use my hands the fine
06:19 I had to try to learn how to walk again and try to use my hands just for simple things like eating
07:21 After 10 days they released me home because I was able to walk
07:43 I couldn’t take care of myself so I had to go back to my hometown and live with my mom for a few weeks
08:25 I’ve been together with my wife for nearly a decade and have three kids who are ages one, five, and seven
08:58 So I was sent to different doctors, experts. They did a lot of exams
09:21 Tests continued for a couple of years or four or five years before I came in contact with a chronic pain expert and she just had a look at me look at my records anything and said you have fibromyalgia. It’s a chronic pain diagnosis
10:11 The first step then was to go to physical therapy and regular therapy to try and find a way to not solve it but to live and how I should be able to handle day-to-day life and it’s been it’s been a rough couple of years
10:57 Most of the information I have gathered over the years comes from different foundations and websites and some of it come from doctors but they never really have time to talk
11:20 My tremor is Parkinson’s related. That means that it’s treated in the same way that Parkinson’s Disease is but it’s not degenerative so my muscles won’t wither
11:37 So I take levodopa medication for that
11:40 But for my fibro I have my painkillers at first but it doesn’t really help that much you might relieve some of the worst making the sharp edges it’s just a little numb but I try to avoid pain medication
12:15 I’m always exhausted
12:22 I take muscle relaxers so I can sleep at night without cramps or muscle spasms
12:28 I also take antidepressants just for the chemical balance because it’s very easy to become depressed if you have a condition like this
12:55 I never know in the morning how I’ll feel late in the afternoon it’s like a roller coaster
13:23 Some days I have a hard time getting out of bed
15:00 We don’t know what triggers fibromyalgia
18:56 If I go into the mall, I can be out for two three days after
19:06 I get brain fog and I just don’t know what to say
19:42 I was born a storyteller I need to tell my stories and it’s just pure entertainment
19:51 Sometimes I can go weeks where I can’t draw
20:00 I have to relish those few moments that I can and I just love telling stories and writing and drawing
21:33 When I feel fine I try to do things that makes me happy like writing a webcomic, playing video game or just talking to my wife because she loves talking
22:33 Because every day hurts
22:56 I can be a grouchy old man
23:14 My moods can swing a bit
23:17 I try to become the best version of myself
25:01 I don’t have to be my illness
25:16 I’m not my disability
25:21 I am a father a husband a dog owner a web comic artist
25:50 You’re not your disability you’re an awesome person who happens to be disabled and we have to keep fighting to keep
26:04 I lost a decade of my life. I’m not gonna lose anymore
27:04 I want to be someone my kids can be proud of, someone who my wife can say that she loves