In order to best answer this question I have gone to the experts. Following you will find their replies as to what exactly FIBROMYALGIA is..... From the sufferers themselves.

To me, Fibromyalgia is feeling like the muscle aching you have when you have the flu.... except it never goes away. Some days it's better, other days it's worse, but it is always a constant in my life.

A pain one feels almost everywhere, that never seems to leave your body...hehehe!!! better than saying a pain in the arssssss...hehehe!! Sorry....

It's so different for everyone...hummmm...for me it has been an overwhelming feeling of pain and weakness in muscles, with constant trigger pain shooting from one muscle to the other... can't really have FM without the fatigue either...so that has been hard to adjust to... but for me it's been a real journey of learning how to cope with a body that just doesn't have the getup and go it once had... pain level of over 7 most days...

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In pain nearly 100% of the time. All over the body, but especially in the shoulders, neck, and face, if I'm foolish enough to work at my W.P. or even sit and read a book for a while. Fatigue! I wonder how some people have the energy to do all the things they do, when I'm already wiped out as soon as I step out of bed in the a.m. They tell us to exercise, that it's good for our health. Right! Some days the most exercise I get is to open my mouth very wide and screammmmmm!

Like having the worst case of flu you ever had (the muscle aching all over kind) that never stops; you ache so much it's hard to move-- let alone think... that's it in a nutshell, or do you want a bigger explanation?

I would say that it is like waking up with a bad case of the flu every morning and never really getting rid of it. It depletes your strength your will and can really get depressing. Being positive is the best way to start combating this junk. {Between you and me I am positive I want to get rid of this s&%[.}

It's a big pain all over, and has more side-effects than any drug on the market!! And it makes you feel twice your age before your time! LOL But seriously.....
My version: It is a chronic pain condition that affects one's muscles and the surrounding tissue, causing your muscles to feel like you overdid it at the gym the day before......but, the pain never ceases; it is there 24/7, but at varying levels-- you get up to it, and you go to sleep with it, day after day......and it moves all around your body during the day, so you never know what is going to hurt next! OK, I'm done! :-)

in short terms so they can relate: it would be Arthritis of the muscles... otherwise I would explain it as a condition of Connective tissue fibers, & Muscle pain. Flare-ups are widespread musculoskeletal pain, non-restorative sleep, fatigue, stiffness, skin hypersensitivity and multiple tender points pain. In addition to headaches, sinus conditions, vertigo, irritable bowel and bladder and digestive problems, Raynaud's, short-term memory impairment, vision changes, Heart-attack like pain, muscles twitching, numbness, tingling, burning sensations, weakness, exercise intolerance, and cold and heat sensitivity.

Fibromyalgia is... like a bad case of the flu that never completely goes away. Some days it's severe and some days it's mild, but... it's always there.

The severe days include very painful muscles. Even the touch of a sheet can hurt the skin. The head aches, the vision blurs, the weakness is such that fixing something to eat is just too much effort.

The mild days relieve the pain to a low degree, the headache is gone and the vision is pretty good. Those days can include cooking, light cleaning, fun with friends, a movie or most activities IF done in moderation so the fatigue doesn't take over once again. Always aware that it is never completely gone.

Mel, I have been thinking about that since your post. I liked what someone posted long ago about having the person name their 10 favorite things to do and realize that in all probability they can never do them again. I would add that in flares, even simple things we take for granted like brushing our hair are too painful to accomplish.

I would say, that FM is a chronic muscular pain disorder for which there is no cure. It affects many people of all ages and status, there are often many accompanying symptoms or syndromes that go with it, and unless the person is in a really bad flare, you often can not tell they are sick.

That's a tall order... It's an inflammatory process that goes on in connective tissue, primarily muscles and tendons, that causes pain in the joints and muscles, and also a flu-like aching all over. Nearly everyone who's affected has fatigue as well. But for some people the pain is combined with extreme fatigue that keeps them from being able to do simple daily tasks and also from being able to work. It is thought that there is an auto-immune component to the illness. That's as simple as I can get it. And I haven't said anything about the conditions that often go along with it: the IBS, migraines, osteoarthritis, sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, or fibro-fog, either!

arthritis of the muscles with sleep deprivation and constant pain.

It's like having surgery, without any anesthesia

a never ending case of the flu with extra pain thrown in at times.

I have fibromyalgia... it is an all over pain, with many hot spots of tenderness; it also causes exhaustion; pain is very tiring. There are at least 11 spots on the body that are tender to touch with four pounds of pressure, which is a light touch. It can debilitate a person completely; it can also have remissions...

It is painful, life-changing and not believed by most docs. Going through this disease means a life of frustration, misdiagnosis, loss of self, friends, jobs, and some loved ones. Living day to day on a regimen of many drugs is torture and a lot of times useless. It is emotionally, physically and financially draining. This is not the life we planned to have.

It is like putting on a suit of armor and then tightening it down two sizes and told to go about your day.

Fibromyalgia is for me: Constant pain throughout my body. Muscles hurt like charley-horses, burning and stiff. Joints ache like a headache only is in the bones. Memory is very bad, no concentration. Loss of strength, for me it is in my hands. Loss of one's self, loss of confidence. It is as if the illness devours me a piece at a time. No tolerance to light or noise anymore. Depression off and on. Fibromyalgia is not who I am, it is something that has changed my body, mood and outlook on the future. It won't kill me, and what doesn't kill me makes me stronger. I am in here, even if I wear the face of a Fibromyalgia sufferer. Fibromyalgia can not totally take over every aspect of my life.

When you wake up you feel like a truck ran you over and you did not get any sleep. You prepare mentally and force yourself out of bed.

Your knees and elbows and ankles and wrists snap and click. You try to excersise but you know tomorrow you will feel like a truck ran over you so you take it slow. You apply ice, you try a heating pad. You can feel the rain coming in your body because you ache all over. Sometimes the pain feels like you are having a heart attack (back and chest muscles are tensed so much). You are fatigued every day. You ache all over, sometimes it is hard to type or write your hands are so stiff. Sometimes your foot drags when you walk too much. It is uncomforatable to sit for too long, to walk for too long, to lie down for too long. Everyone thinks you are fine because you look fine. You may be so distracted by the pain you miss conversation. It causes anxiety and you feel like you cannot handle some situations so you avoid them. You miss out on a lot of activities with your family and friends because of it.

It causes depression.

I have lived with Fibromyalgia for 16 years now. It is like having Tendonitis all over my body, and the pain never really goes away. It's the inability to sleep or actually be able to get any sort of restorative rest. Not to mention the constant state of being exhausted. The exhaustion can range anywhere from the inability to lift my arms or walk across a room, to the extent to not being able to keep up my daily hygiene. What other people take for granted, it a victory for some of us.

There is the balance problems, headaches, sensitivity to medications, light, sounds, moving objects, and the cold or heat. The forgetfulness, the inability to think of words that use to come to me so easily and the inability to spell correctly.

The pent up stress of having to live with these symptoms daily and knowing that the Medical Community hands' are tied, since they have no idea why so many people are effected by this disease or what causes it. Thus, leaving us to look into the tunnel with no light at the end. Worst of all, it is mourning the lost of what I use to be and seeing the disappointment and exasperation in the eyes of my family and friends.

It's like my Medical Doctor told me when I was diagnosed, "Fibromyalgia will not kill you, you'll just wish it would sometimes".

I would like to just ditto everyone else's responses. And to add that it has changed my life. People don't understand. Our leaders and physicians don't understand. Some of my so-called friends and my family are disappointed in me. I cannot do the things that I once did easily.The pain and flu-like symptoms causes depression and anxiety and I am so tired all of the time.
signed.....Mississippi Susan