To hide, or not to hide?

As a person with an invisible disability, it can be frustrating if not infuriating to try to explain what's wrong, to feel at your very worst, and to hear "but you look fine!" Almost as frustrating is the hopeful, well-meaning acquaintance who remarks, "you look good/better today." It's enough that sometimes, it doesn't seem worth it to try to explain.

How do we deal with that frustration? One way is to resolve to "look fine" all the time, and never even mention that we're ill. If we need a little more rest to get things done, or are a little slower sometimes, so be it. Of course, this can cause problems when we hit those periods where it's obvious to all and sundry that there's something wrong with our bodies.

Another way to deal with it is to give in and stop making any effort to hide how we're feeling. One down side to this is that we're seen as hypochondriacs and whiners. Another is that it's boring. Being ill becomes our one focus.

A decent middle ground is to not make it a topic, but to be honest with people as you start to know and trust them enough to converse with them personally. Generally, people are understanding and won't make a big deal of it if you don't. My "fallback" middle ground is to make a joke of FMS and arthritis--"this is all my Fibromyalgic ass can take right now."

What do you do, or say? Who around you knows you have Fibromyalgia?