Learn how Fibromyalgia is diagnosed, including key symptoms, diagnostic criteria, and the tests used to rule out other conditions.
This is the 64 million dollar question. I wish I could answer it but fibromyalgia is complicated and so are its causes. However, I will say that I’m sure it’s connected to the evil quad that is causing so many people to be sick these days: antibiotic use, too much sugar in the diet, a sterile, nutrient-free, toxin overloaded food supply (thanks to agribusiness) and bad chemicals in all the plastics our foods are packaged…
Fibromyalgia is primarily a neurological brain disorder. It is seven times more likely to strike women than men, and it doesn’t matter what nationality you are. The hypothalamus part of the brain acts as a circuit breaker/fuse box for the rest of the brain and body. It’s like the battery for the entire body. There are several things that typically cause Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome to manifest, but basically high amounts of stress are what…
As everyone else said, it does suck, but how it feels to live with chronic illness varies as much as people vary. People react to their new limitations, lifestyle, and the overall new “suckiness” of their life differently, based on personality, previous experiences, support network, mental health, and a million other variables. I, for example, handle it really well. I’m 100% disabled. My autonomic nervous system doesn’t work properly which causes heart rate and blood…
I’ve had it for about 29 years now. In a word—-Pain. Never-ending, constant pain. Your shoulder will suddenly start to hurt, which can last for a few seconds to days. That can happen in any part of your body. When it quits, it will start in some other place, again for only a few seconds to days. One day I woke up, got up to go to the bathroom, and fell on my knees with…
I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 1992, long before it was trendy and before many physicians even acknowledged it as a true medical condition. I was 16 and couldn’t understand how people could play sports, roll down hills, or perform any of a million other activities that they seemed to take for granted but I couldn’t imagine voluntarily engaging in, much less enjoying. Click here to Get this or Visit Fibromyalgia Store My Fibro journey…
I’ve had fibromyalgia since the 1980s. It came on gradually, with a lot of muscle pain. I knew something was wrong and had a course of physical therapy, and started working out, which put me at about 95% of normal. Then I was in a car accident, which caused a fibromyalgia flare. I had a nerve pinch from my neck down my arm, which was a 7 + on the pain scale and lasted a…
Fibromyalgia is a nightmare. I have had it for approximately 25 years. My GP, at a time when it was at its worst, gave me Tramadol. It was a miracle drug for me, but it is very difficult to come off of, so I stopped taking it. I finally went to a doctor for emotional issues and he recommended Cymbalta. It worked immediately to lessen my pain. I also take Wellbutrin. Between the two I…
It’s like having your nervous system turned up to 11. All the time. With no end in sight and only minor times where it is lessened. You feel everything that is touching you (even your clothes and light breezes) all the time, which can range anywhere from fairly irritating to “why am I being rubbed with coarse sandpaper?” Every joint and muscle feel like you’re just completed a marathon when you’ve just been sitting still. Click here…
Imagine being beaten and having huge bruises over your entire body, with a full-body sunburn on top of that, and having someone taking a stick and repeatedly poking all your tender spots while you are trying to run a long marathon. For someone with Fibromyalgia, everyday tasks are just as exhausting as running a marathon. Even simple things, like taking a shower, requires 5 times the amount of energy for someone with Fibro and CFS,…
The best way is to accept it and moderate it in a moment-by-moment exercise. The stress of the “fight” will only make the pain worse for most with fibro. My new normal is that I am in pain every second of every day. I avoid unnecessary stressors which include movies and tv shows that are too intense. If a sporting event causes “tension and release” that is excessive for me, I stop watching. If a…