Archive for the ‘ Fibromyalgia Symptoms ’ Category

Fibromyalgia Pain Syndrome – How Tough Is It For You To Bear It?

Oct 02, 2008 in Fibromyalgia Symptoms

fibromyalgia Pain Syndrome affects millions of people in the United States and around the world.  It is a chronic pain disorder in which the patient bears mild to severe pain on a daily basis.  Eighty to ninety percent of the patients are women, although it also affects men as well.  Unfortunately, no one is immune to the syndrome, as it affects people of all ages and races.

fibromyalgia Pain Syndrome, because of the pain involved in it, has been typically classified as a type of arthritis, even though the pain is in the muscles, ligaments and tendons rather than the joints.

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There have yet to be found common denominators that show one person to be more predisposed to the condition than another.  However, researchers have found that there is a certain genetic predisposition to the syndrome as the majority of patients have a relative that has had it as well.

Researchers have also found that patients with Fibromyalgia Pain Syndrome tend to have a lower pain threshold than average, which points to a miscommunication in the brain in regards to pain.  It also hints that there are two aspects involved with the syndrome – psychological and biological.

Diagnosis

Today, one of the biggest advancements made in Fibromyalgia Pain Syndrome research is the development of a diagnostic tool to help doctors evaluate whether a person is suffering from the syndrome or a disease that it mimics.

The diagnosis has two main parts, each involving the evaluation of the widespread pain from which the patient is suffering.  The first part is evaluating whether the patient is suffering pain in each of the four quadrants of the body.  If the pain is not in all four quadrants, the patient is unlikely to be afflicted with Fibromyalgia Pain Syndrome.

If the pain is indeed in all four quadrants, then the diagnostic tool moves to the second part: the tender point test.  There are eighteen tender points in the body where the muscles and tendons join together.  These points are found in the upper body: neck, shoulders, back, waist and ribs.  In the lower body they are found in the buttocks and knee area.

In order for a patient to be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia Pain Syndrome, eleven of the eighteen tender points must be in moderate to severe pain.  The doctor tests these points with the same amount of pressure (about 4kg) in order to establish the amount of pain found in each area.

If both diagnostic tests come out positive, then the patient is considered to have the syndrome and the diagnosis moves to the more specific symptoms so that discussion can move to Fibromyalgia Medications appropriate for the patient.


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Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) – All the Misconceptions And Rumors

Sep 30, 2008 in Fibromyalgia Symptoms

fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) has been around for a long time, although it has not been recognized as a biological syndrome with physical symptoms to be treated until fairly recently.  There were and still are myths floating around about the syndrome that are simply untrue.

Until these myths are dispelled, individuals with the syndrome will continue to be misdiagnosed and subjected to treatments that do not help, increasing their frustration and distress.

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Psycho Syndrome?

For a long time, Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) was considered to be a psychosomatic illness.  When individuals went to their doctors for help with the symptoms they were experiencing, they were sent to a psychologist to solve the issue.  Although there are psychological symptoms related to Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS), such as depression, anxiety and sleeping disorders, these to not address the entirety of the issues caused by the syndrome.

Another misconception was that women were the only ones who had the symptoms.  Since that was the case, linked with the belief that the syndrome was psychosomatic, it led to calling the syndrome ‘hysteria’ or a ‘woman’s disease.’  Doctors and scientists did the community as a whole a disservice by lumping the syndrome into the psychosomatic category without further research since the syndrome is not just found in women, but in men and children as well.

One benefit of this incorrect diagnosis was that behavioral therapy was used to help with the symptoms, which is still found to be useful in patients today.  By addressing stress and modifying beliefs about stressful situations, the patient is better able to relax, sleep, and gives his body time to mend.

Rare, Damaging, and Fatal?

Although Fibromyalgia Pain Syndrome is damaging on an emotional and physical level as far as what the patient has to deal with on a day to day basis, Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is not progressively damaging to the body.  In other words, it does not harm other organs, nor does it progressively tear down the muscle tissue.  The pain of Fibromyalgia can get worse over time, but on a biological level, it does not tear down the body’s systems nor is it fatal.

Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) was also thought to be a rare syndrome, but is found in about six percent of the population today, meaning millions of Americans are affected by it.  As mentioned, it was though to only be found in women, but it is now known that men, women, children and the elderly are all susceptible to the syndrome.



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Fibromyalgia Symptoms – How To Deal With The Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia

Aug 14, 2008 in Fibromyalgia Symptoms

There are four main symptoms related to fibromyalgia and while they may not all occur at the same time, just one of these symptoms is enough to affect a sufferers life quality.

Diagnosis of fibromyalgia isn’t instant. It’s not a matter of going to your doctor and being tested for it. The symptoms of fibromyalgia also relate to various other conditions yet in most cases, when a person continually suffers these symptoms over an extended period of time without any long term relief it’s likely the probable diagnosis will be fibromyalgia.

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Fibromyalgia And Women In Their Forties

Why women in their forties are the most likely to suffer symptoms is not really known. Women at this time of life are already contending with or preparing to face nature’s reproduction shutdown in menopause so being affected by fibro symptoms at the same time is like getting a double whammy.

Fibromyalgia symptoms can last for years and really the only way to combat it is through good management techniques. A sufferer needs to take the first step an adjust their current lifestyle and making this first decision is crucial in living with it.

Fibromyalgia symptoms usually vary in intensity with one of the problems being they occur independently of one another. In other words, a sufferer could suffer fatigue on one day while the next day, they may be struck by pain. Then again, they could go through extreme bouts of tiredness despite getting what is deemed an appropriate amount of sleep.

To many sufferers, at times it may seem like there is little respite from symptoms with a different one affecting them each day. Being mentally strong when coping with fibromyalgia symptoms may seem like a cliche but it’s so important.

Without a steely resolve, symptoms like depression and anxiety will be invited to nurture within a sufferer and this can only weaken their overall defense and management of symptoms. With good management techniques, the symptoms of fibromyalgia can be handled successfully and once it’s diagnosed, sit down with your doctor to explore all of the avenues of treatment instead of accepting it as just something you need to live with.


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Fibromyalgia Symptoms – What Are The Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia?

Jun 18, 2008 in Fibromyalgia Symptoms

There are several giveaways you may be suffering from the syndrome fibromyalgia. However, if you have only just started to experience these then determining that fibromyalgia is you daignosis is a little premature.

The standard time is three months or more. In fact, it’s suggested a person who suffers widespread pain for three months or more with no apparent diagnosis of any other condition is a candidate as a fibromyalgia sufferer.

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Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia

Let’s take a look at the symptoms of fibromyalgia. You may be suffering from one or all of these symptoms and it’s important to press home – don’t suffer them in silence…see a doctor.

Here are the symptoms of fibromyalgia:

- The first symptom is known as diffused musculoskeletal pain. This is a chronic condition and in a nutshell, a person suffering this will feel muscle pain.

- Despite sleeping your required amount of time you will still wake up feeling tired. In fact, fibromyalgia sufferes report waking up after a supposedly restful night’s sleep only they aren’t rested. They say in many instances they wake up feeling a lot more tired than before they went to sleep. This symptom is known as non-rejuvenating sleep.

- Fatigue is a major symptom of fibromyalgia. In fact, it’s one of the more debillitating symptoms because not only does a sufferer not feel like getting up and about, it impacts their lifestyle and will affect work, play and recreational activities. Pain is not usually associated with fatigue but more a shift in lifestyle priorities.

- Muscle stiffness is another common symptom of fibromyalgia. A person may suffer stiffness in the muscles but the lag time is not usually great. However, the stiffness can re-occur at various stages during the day.

- The following symptoms will vary in different persons. Symptoms such as headaches will occur in association with the above symptoms. Depression and anxiety is another concern for fibromyalgia sufferers while some report a tingling sensation or a prickly feeling and the term used for this is paresthesia.


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Fibromyalgia Diagnosis – How Do You Diagnose Fibromyalgia

Jun 18, 2008 in Fibromyalgia Symptoms

So is there an official diagnosis for fibromyalgia? How does someone who suspects they may be suffering from it actually have it confirmed it’s arrived in their life?

Well, self diagnosis is never recommended for anything medical – even doctors who diagnose their own ailments are sometimes frowned upon. If you suspect the symptoms of fibromyalgia are at play then get a professional opinion. That is, make an appointment to see you doctor.

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Can Doctors Diagnose Fibromyalgia?

This is a very tough question to answer. Reason is, because of the sometimes mysterious nature of fibromyalgia and becuase there doesn’t seem to be anything tangible to diagnose such as with a disease, many doctors may overlook it as a cause of the symptoms you’re suffering.

They will obviously explore other causes first and that’s only natural so be patient. Sooner or later fibromyalgia will be put forward as a reason for the symptoms you may be suffering.

Criteria For Diagnosis Of Fibromyalgia

One of the best explanations on how to diagnose fibromyalgia has been put forward by the American College of Rheumatology.There is a summary of what are known as the tender point locations.

Fibromyalgia can be diagnosed if:

- A person suffers widespread pain over a period of three months or more.

- Widespread pain meaning pain in all four corners of the body but not necessarily all being affected at the same time. For example, pain could be experienced in the upper or lower half of the body or the left or right half.

- It’s been determined that there are at least 18 trigger points in the body. A person would need to be suffering pain or soreness in at least 11 of these trigger points.

- The trigger points are distributed at various positions on the front and back of the body. The main concentration is around the neck and shoulder area where there are at least nine. Other areas where trigger points are located are the buttocks, back and front of the knee area and there is also a trigger point located in the arm.



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