Fibromyalgia is a syndrome involving debilitating pain, sleep disturbance, jaw pain, irritable bowel, headaches, and difficulty with concentration, anxiety and/or depression, and fatigue. In the United States, this condition affects nearly 4 million people, or 2% of the population; twice the number as those with rheumatoid arthritis. The primary symptom, pain, which often migrates through the entire body, usually occurs between the shoulder blades, on the forearms and outer thighs, and throughout the neck and back.
Fibromyalgia should be suspected in any patient with muscle and joint pain when no identifiable cause has been found. The 18 fibromyalgia tender points are located throughout the body. At this point in time according to the American College of Rheumatology, a diagnosis of fibromyalgia requires widespread body pain pluslocalized pain in 11 of these 18 specific points.
Read more here > Fibromyalgia Diagnosis
Fibromyalgia syndrome is common, affecting 0.5% to 5% of the general population, and is either the second or third most common diagnosis in a rheumatology practice. Importantly for internists, a diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome should be made in 10% to 15% of primary care patients. The high prevalence alone demands diagnostic recognition.
Read more here > New developments in the diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome: Say goodbye to tender points?
ScienceDaily (June 6, 2010) — The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) is proposing a new set of diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia that includes common symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive problems, as well as pain. The new criteria are published in the May issue of the ACR journal Arthritis Care & Research.
To develop and test the new criteria, researchers performed a multicenter study of 829 previously diagnosed fibromyalgia patients and a control group of rheumatic patients with non-inflammatory disorders using physician physical and interview examinations. The data were processed by the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases.
The tender point test is being replaced with a widespread pain index and a symptom severity scale. The widespread pain index score is determined by counting the number of areas on the body where the patient has felt pain in the last week. The checklist includes 19 specified areas.
Read more here > New Criteria Proposed for Diagnosing Fibromyalgia
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Time Thief, Thanks for keeping us abreast of the most recent news on the Fibromyalgia frontier. It’s good they are expanding the diagnosis to include these other factors. I wish someone had told me early on about the overlap between fibromyalgia and chemical sensitivity. I might have curtailed my exposures to chemicals instead of taking a further nose dive. Too bad they aren’t including that too!
I personally believe that programs based on neural plasticity and forming new neuronal connections like the Amygdala Retraining and the Dynamic Neural Retraining hold the most promise for this disorder and its related disorders. Martin Pall’s research and treatment protocol – The Tenth Paradigm – is also provocative, although I myself cannot tolerate the supplements that are the protocol.
Thanks again.
I struggled with the notion of injecting my own experiences into this blog and realized I didn’t want to. To me expanding the criteria for diagnosis is a no-brainer. I’ve had these overlapping conditions and syndromes for over 20 years and I find that although I follow the research I really don’t place any hope in becoming “cured”.
This is all I know about Dr. Pall. I haven’t read his book. I’ve only read reviews of his work.
Dr. Pall believes elevated nitric oxide levels – which he terms the “Tenth Paradigm of Disease” – explain the symptoms of such traditionally ‘unexplained’ and often overlapping illnesses as myalgic encephalomyelitis/‘chronic fatigue syndrome’ (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).
He published his NO/ONOO- cycle theory of disease in 2007 in his book Explaining Unexplained Illnesses. Proposed treatment regime nebulized glutathione and vitamin B12, and approximately two dozen nutritional supplements believed to be synergistic in down-regulating the nitric oxide cycle.
I checked the supplements out. I can’t tolerate them either. I know eating food grown without pesticides and without petrochemical additives reduces chemical illness. It does cost more but has much higher nutrient levels, lower pesticide residues, and more antioxidants. The best I can do is eat organic foods and even then there are limitations with regard to which foods I can tolerate and which ones I can’t. Yoga and traditional natural therapies like massage were already part of my life prior to developing these syndromes and I give thanks for that.
Best wishes to you Sandra and thanks for the visit. :)
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Informative piece of article. Like RA, occurence of fibromyalgia is very high in females compared to males.
Yes it is and that gives us all pause to wonder why that is. I have spent 20 years with this disease and will be taking it to the grave with me. I have a sister who also has it and has developed Lupus SLE. It does seem that there may be a genetic connection but I strongly suspect there is an environmental component too.
Thanks for the information here. I am fairly newly diagnosed with fibromyalgia but notice that I too have an overlapping condition called mitral valve prolapse syndrome. Many years ago, I was diagnosed with MVP syndrome. I was having symptoms of fatigue, heart palpitations and chest pain, anxiety and panic attacks, headaches and many others. I learned that it is an autonomic nervous system imbalance. The connection with the heart valve being because at the time the nervous system is being formed, before we are born, so are the heart valves. It also creates a heart “murmur”. I have read many books on this syndrome and joined a support group at a local hospital when I was at my worst.
Now, come to find out that I have fibromyalgia with many similar symptoms as the MVP syndrome. Like you, Timethief, I have had this my whole life and will die with it too. It is a matter of coping with the symptoms. I have found that they have come and gone through the years–sometimes being very severe and then easing up so that I hardly know I have it.
I can’t bring myself to go on Lyrica that my doctor wanted me to try. After reading the side affects, I just couldn’t do it! I have a background of yoga and meditation too and being a vegetarian since I was 19 years old–I am now almost 59. I am going to continue with more natural remedies and see how this works for me.
I also have tested positive for Epstein-Barr which can be a cause of chronic fatigue. I did have mono as a teenager and suppose this is one of those viruses that can lie dormant in your body and then flare up to create symptoms of fatigue, etc. and can be a precursor to lupus too, from what your sister suffers.
Thanks again for the information here.
Bodhirose
@bodhirose
I’m amazed to find that we share so much in common. I do have mitral stenosis, an actual leaky heart value. I developed it as a child after I had rheumatic fever. I had a “flu” years ago that never went away. For two or three weeks I was fine and then I was so sick I could not function. I still have cyclic symptoms and flare-ups and associated conditions too. My joints swelled up and the pain was horrid and they still do that. Sometimes I’m okay and sometimes I’m not. I cope and I adapt. But I flatly refuse to take drugs and become a pharmaceutical guinea pig filled with false hope for a cure, while suffering side effects that are horrendous.
I wish you all the best and send you this warm {HUG}. Thanks so much for visiting and for sharing your experience.
I salute you sister!
All my love,
TiTi
My heart valve is leaky too but apparently not bad enough to require surgery or any other treatment–I’m happy about that.
Because of some trying life circumstances, my panic attacks have increased recently and I did agree to go back on an anti-depressant that I had been on while married–after divorcing, I found I didn’t need them anymore. No surprise there! But anyway, they are helping me calm down and cope better.
This is a most interesting phenomena isn’t it? Coming and going, becoming severe and then easing off.
I was happy to share. My best to you and others who are traveling this path.
With love,
Bodhirose