Fibromyalgia affects millions of people in the United States, but as a condition with wide-ranging symptoms and no tests available yet for diagnosis, it remains one of the most difficult to identify and treat. When Claudia Craig Marek was definitively diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1991, she found very little information, advice, or support for coping with her condition. Marek decided to take charge of her health and educate herself on every aspect of fibromyalgia -- by reading medical and scientific books and journals, talking with doctors, and networking with other people who have the condition. Now, as a "patient-expert," she shares her unrivaled experience and knowledge, walking those newly diagnosed step-by-step through their first year with fibromyalgia. By providing reliable, useful, empathetic, and up-to-date information you need to know when you most need to know it, The First Year -- Fibromyalgia is an indispensable resource for everyone learning to cope with this condition. Book jacket.

Claudia Craig Marek, M.A., is a medical assistant who has counseled fibromyalgia patients for more than a dozen years. She lives in Los Angeles