Learn how Fibromyalgia is diagnosed, including key symptoms, diagnostic criteria, and the tests used to rule out other conditions.
I frequently find myself either bitterly acting out or saying this to those around me. Apologizing to those whose lives are affected by my illness, as though it is something I did or like or want or don’t suffer horribly from myself. As hard as Fibromyalgia is to manage, the guilt on top of everything else is ridiculous! Do other chronic illness sufferers feel the same way or is this particular to our condition because…
I attended the birthday party of a good friend last night. Just an intimate and impromptu get-together at her house, I found myself given the opportunity for the first time since I have taken up the proverbial Fibromyalgia cross to promote my condition and raise awareness, the new charge of my life. But I was at a loss as to how to explain it without launching into 20 minutes of background information to answer each…
Fibromyalgia has come a long way since I was diagnosed in 2006. The FDA approved Lyrica a year later and overnight it went from “being in your head” to a real condition…for some medical professionals. Not all jumped on the bandwagon because there is still no definitive test to confirm the diagnosis, but it was mildly legitimized. At least there was a sector that believed us, that we were hurting, throbbing, on fire inside, crushing…
At the end of July, I had 2 strokes. Old news to most, new news to a few. I was diagnosed with a treatable and reversible form of Vasculitis, put on Prednisone, and sent home to recover. Now I will utilize modern medicine for many things but prefer to go as natural as possible as much as I can. Pancreatitis, give me the drugs. Vasculitis, bring ’em on! VICD, you bet ‘cha I will crush…
Like an ‘invisible illness, Fibromyalgia is difficult to diagnose. The symptoms of Fibromyalgia overlap with many other chronic pain conditions, which is why receiving an official diagnosis is often problematic. If you have Fibromyalgia, you will experience widespread pain. This may be felt throughout the entire body or could be worse in certain areas, such as the back or neck. The pain is likely to be prolonged and unpredictable; there will be times when it…
Dear Alexa I was involved in a road traffic accident following which I initially suffered from a whiplash injury with pain to my neck and back. It has now been 9 months since the accident and the pain has spread so that I have pain all over my body. I am convinced that I am suffering from fibromyalgia as I seem to suffer from the majority of symptoms in addition to the widespread pain including…
Fibromyalgia and celiac disease are two debilitating conditions that prove to be extremely difficult to live with. Some symptoms of both conditions overlap and are very similar. In this blog, we look at the connections between the two conditions and how they may be related to one another. Fibromyalgia is a complex, long-term chronic condition with a multitude of different symptoms, including widespread pain all over the body, and without a single known cause.Many people…
An illness like fibromyalgia permeates every aspect of your life – it forever alters the trajectory of your story. For this year’s Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, I wanted to reflect on how my diagnosis changed my path, both in negative and positive ways. I have written about my story before, but here I want to talk about the impact my diagnosis had. Initially, all I could see afterward was a loss in every direction, as if…
In twenty-four years working clinically with fibromyalgia patients I have yet to meet one that does not have some lumps, bumps, and/or water-filled swellings also known as lesions just below the skin. What are these and where do they come from? They most often are not painful trigger points. They are areas of swollen tissue. With excess phosphate and calcium in fibromyalgia patients’ cells, the body is unable to evacuate these and other chemicals. These…
Fibromyalgia, meaning muscle and connective tissue pain (also referred to as FM or FMS), is a disorder classified by the presence of chronic widespread pain and a heightened and painful response to gentle touch (tactile allodynia). Daily variations are interwoven in combinations from the following list of the most common symptoms. Central Nervous System – Fatigue, irritability, nervousness, depression, apathy, listlessness, impaired memory and concentration, anxieties, suicidal thoughts, insomnia, frequent awakening from pain resulting in…