Fibromyalgia- Why Your Doctor Could Be Wrong

Why your Doctor Could be Wrong!

The presence of chronic pain, tenderness to touch, moderate to severe fatigue, needles and pins, muscle aches, prolonged spasms, chronic sleep disturbance and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, are all symptoms often overlooked by your doctor who wrongly diagnose arthritis.

It is a common mistake, Fibromyalgia is not commonly known in the medical community.

Perhaps, you do not realise you have Fibromyalgia yourself.

Many sufferers experience 'brain fog' or fibrofog', which is identified by impaired concentration, memory loss, slow reactions and being unable to multi-task. It is also a possible link to sleep disturbances.

Other symptoms associated with Fibromyalgia, linked to a comorbid disorder, include a myofascial pain syndrome. Although Fibromyalgia is classified based on the presence of chronic widespread pain, sufferers have experienced localised pain in shoulders, neck, low back, hips and other areas.

Sensitivity to light, eye pain, blurred vision and fluctuating visual clarity, can also be symptoms of the condition. Resulting in sufferers changing their lens prescription more frequently.

The onset of Fibromyalgia, may at first be slow, often misdiagnosed in childhood as 'growing pains. Symptoms are often aggravated by changes in weather conditions and unrelated illnesses. On some occasions, the conditions, although not life threatening, prevent sufferers from leading normal activites such as driving or walking up stairs.

Although the disorder does not cause inflammation as in Rheumatoid Arthritis, some non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs may reduce pain symptoms temporarily in some patients, in the long term of have little or no use in pain management.

The cause of Fibromyalgia is unknown, several possible links have been made to:

Genetic Factors
Stress
Sleep Disturbance
Dopamine Abnormality (restless leg syndrome)
Serotonin Inbalance
Human Growth Hormone
Cormorbidity Disorder

So how do you diagnose 'Fibromyalgia'?

Doctors use a set of classification criteria informally known as 'the ACR 1990' which define fibromyalgia according to the presence of the following:

History of widespread pain lasting more than 3 months- affecting all four areas of the body- sides above and below the waist.
Tender points- 18 designated points- using 4 kgs of force (enough to whiten a thumbnail), force is applied to those points. The patient must feel pain at 11 or more points, for fibromyalgia to be considered.

Treatment.

Hormones
Analgesics
Muscle Relaxants
Tricyclic antidepressants
Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Anti-seizure medication
Dopamine agonists
Combination therapy
Central nervous system stimulants
Cannabis

Other non drug treatments

Fitness
Massage
Acupuncture
Whirlpool Therapy
Diet.

Fibromyalgia can effect every aspect of a persons life, in the UK it has been recognised as a condition for claiming benefits and assistance, due to its effects in sufferers being unable to maintain full - time jobs. It is most prevailant in the ages between 20 - 50 years old, although onset can be traced back to childhood.

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