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…
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,…
In 2003 I started to have pain in the muscles of my legs. A doctor’s visit found nothing wrong. As time went on I started to feel pain in other muscles. Down my back, back of my arms, calves, and back of my neck. OTC pain relievers did nothing. Trip to the doctor got narcotics. They did nothing. Tried muscle relaxers with no results. The pain kept getting steadily worse. The doctor finally me told…
Fibromyalgia itself is still very much a mystery. Although doctors now have more information, and many doctors now accept it as a “real” issue, we still have a LOT to learn about fibro and chronic pain conditions in general. I personally agree with doctors who believe that fibro is not a condition in and of itself, but the result of other traumas or illnesses. I was diagnosed with fibro in 2002 when I was in…