Learn about the tests and diagnostic methods used to identify Fibromyalgia, including blood tests and physical examinations to rule out other conditions.
We still don’t know what causes fibromyalgia. But we often treat it with a class of drugs that are usually used to treat disorders like seizures. While these drugs can help manage the symptoms of fibromyalgia, they can also cause a range of side effects, including dyskinesia. Dyskinesia is a condition that causes frequent, uncontrollable movements of the limbs. And it can become very difficult to manage if you suffer from it for a long time.…
Achalasia is a rare disease. So rare in fact, that you may never have heard of it. But for people who suffer from the condition, it’s very real and often extremely painful. And it actually has a fair amount of relevance for people with fibromyalgia. That’s because people with fibromyalgia often deal with persistent heartburn. and achalasia can mimic many of the symptoms of that condition. So it’s possible that if you have fibromyalgia and you’re dealing…
This will be the first Christmas that Tammi Hale spends without her husband Doug in over 30 years. The 53-year old Vermont man, who suffered chronic pain from interstitial cystitis, committed suicide in October after his doctor abruptly cut him off from opioid pain medication. “His primary care provider kept trying to wean him off his opioid therapy, which worked at higher doses,” says Tammi. “My husband ran out (of medication) early a few times,…
It’s a trickle at present, but the conversation around chronic pain between doctors and patients is no longer one way only. Over the past few months, the constant messaging suggesting chronic pain patients are dying in dramatically increasing numbers because of opioid overdoses has been questioned. Understand, the messaging was indeed clever. Chronic pain patients weren’t directly and specifically named, but the messaging caused listeners and readers to believe it was pain patients whose lives…
Fibromyalgia, a widely misunderstood illness, confuses and frustrates both patients and doctors alike. I know because I’ve seen it from both sides—as both a physician and a woman with the illness myself. This common chronic disease is characterized by widespread muscle pain, fatigue, and brain fog. It’s estimated that 5 million Americans currently suffer from the disorder, and close to 90 percent of those diagnosed are women. Still, there remains a lot of confusion about what the…
Results released from a national survey of U.S. women with fibromyalgia, illustrate the private and prolonged physical and emotional struggles patients with this condition face, underscored by delays in diagnosis, which a majority of respondents report as being one year or longer. As a result of fibromyalgia, two thirds (67%) of respondents say they are unable to keep up with household chores, nearly half (47%) report that their work-life or career has been negatively affected, and…
Fibromyalgia symptoms can mask the presence of chronic inflammatory disease affecting the joints of the pelvis and spine, according to new research. The study, titled “Prevalence of Axial Spondyloarthritis Among Patients With Fibromyalgia: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study With Application of the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society Classification Criteria,” was published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research. It highlights the importance of vigilant management of fibromyalgia symptoms by doctors and patients, taking into account the possible underlying presence of inflammatory…
I stood in my closet this morning, looking around as though I’d never been there. I couldn’t remember what I was doing, why, or what I should do next. So I stood still, waiting for it to come to me. Moments before I had been violently panting like a wild animal, bent over in pain and hugging my own body. I’d simply gone upstairs to get dressed for the day, but just as it does…
Millions of people get affected by this disease in the USA annually. Although it is not a well-known syndrome and its diagnosis can be very difficult, Fibromyalgia is a very painful and serious problem. The causes and the symptoms of this disorder are not very clear and most people including medical professionals are not sure about what leads to its development and how are the symptoms related to the causes. Fibromyalgia continues to baffle researchers and…
People with fibromyalgia and other disorders of chronic fatigue must consider their insurance or lack as the Affordable Care Act is in effect now. Under this act insurance companies must have to accept any person regardless of their pre-existing conditions. That cost related to treatments is not to be paid by the company that is prior to the insurance. From 2014 onwards, insurance companies are obligated to cover any and all expenses that are related…