FibroLads 

A subgroup of Rugby Fibromyalgia Support Group

A report by Maurice S Clarke - founder

The concept of the group is based on the fact the majority of sufferers with Fibromyalgia are women of various ages.

A few years back I set up the web site fibromyalgia-support.net which has a steady audience including contacts from abroad.

Through our Rugby based Support Group, set up by Mary my wife and I in 2008 we hold meetings twice a month for sufferers and their carers. Plus we have a lending library of books, CDs and DVDs and back copies of “Family Magazine” published monthly by Fibromyalgia UK with whom we are affiliated.

The group also organises events and has talks at the evening meetings. There is a telephone support service and the group enjoys regular press coverage in local newspapers. 

Due to it's central location the group attracts members from not only Warwickshire but adjoining counties of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. There are other support groups at Leicester, Northampton and Coventry.

My wife Mary is chair of the Rugby group and now has 50 or so members. The group has a small management committee and is well funded from grants obtained.

FibroLads was set up by me in August 2009, which we believe was a record breaking concept as no other men’s carers support group exists in the UK, and potentially worldwide.

I also set up this page specific for the FibroLads Care group at http://fibromyalgia-support.net/fibrolads/

Men who "care" for women sufferers of Fibromyalgia are welcomed to join and post on the forum, regardless of whether they belong to any support group or not.

A later survey suggested many men who live with sufferers did not see themselves as carers, or wanted to be called a carer, so the name "carer" is now phased out and we are called FibroLads.

We currently hold MONTHLY meetings in Rugby and to stimulate the growth of the group locally and also encourage other support groups to consider starting similar MEN groups in other areas as extensions of FM support groups for sufferers.

The web site and forum is designed to provide opinions, experiences and statistics and further its aim to help men who are caring for their wife or partner who is a Fibromyalgia Sufferer.  

The story so far

Prior to the first meeting held on 25^th August 2009 I circulated details of the idea and meeting to all members of the Rugby support group and contacted known carers. 

The first meeting included men who care for women sufferers who are members of the Rugby Support group. 

Some men carers where NOT interested in the men’s group at all, although their partner sufferer thought the idea was good and they "should" be interested. 

Some men carers had not previously been to general meetings of the support group, although their partner does. 

The remainder were active men carers who regular attend the support meetings with their partner sufferer.

Rugby Meeting Tuesday 25th August 2009

The first meeting went well, and certainly the idea was welcomed, we spent 2 hours getting to know each other, we all met at least one stranger, despite all being part of the same support group.

Another is planned for next month and we hope to expand the number attending, perhaps getting people from outside the group to come along.

We feel numbers should be small 5-10 perhaps ideal since any bigger members have less chance to participate, or we would need to break into small groups. Its all about sitting round a table with a drink, relaxing and chatting. With us the format worked well and we covered a lot of issues and I hope all came away with not only new found friends BUT new knowledge and a better perspective on our role as carer for our partner or wife.

Rugby Meeting Tuesday 23rd September 2009

Numbers remain disappointingly low, and the feedback suggests many men felt they were not carers OR wanted to be called carers. The group now drops the term carer and uses the following:

Please feel free to Contact Me if you are interested in attending the Rugby group or setting a FibroLads group up in another area.

• Maurice S Clarke : Founder

• FibroLads Group

• 3 St George's Avenue

• RUGBY

• Warwickshire

• CV22 5PN

http://www.fibromyalgia-support.net

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