I was only 27, when I started forgetting things all the time. I was really worried to be losing my memory at that age. I'd been suffering from tingling in my hands and feet, too. It felt like pins and needles. But my GP didn't have any answers either.
Soon, the tingling had turned into a sharp pain. Whether it was getting up from a chair or turning over in bed, I was in agony. One day, when I was four months pregnant, the pain was so awful I couldn't move.
My partner Stuart called an ambulance and I was rushed to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. After a week of tests they sent me home, still not knowing what was wrong. Five months later, in January 1996, I gave birth to Dionne. In 2001, I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I was told it causes fatigue, serious pains, weight gain and memory loss.
It was such a relief. At last I knew I wasn't losing my marbles. But the bad news was that fibromyalgia is incurable. I could only take tablets to ease the pain. Stuart and the girls have been so supportive. As long as I've got them, I can cope with anything.
Hayley Jones, 36, Pontypridd, South Wales
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