Dear Fibromyalgia

Category: Fibromyalgia Tests

Learn about the tests and diagnostic methods used to identify Fibromyalgia, including blood tests and physical examinations to rule out other conditions.

  • How come the Doctors say that patients who claimed to have fibromyalgia were just unhappy in their lives?

    How come the Doctors say that patients who claimed to have fibromyalgia were just unhappy in their lives?

    Maybe the doctor you followed some patients with the presumptive diagnosis of fibromyalgia. And maybe after years of following them, and checking for objective signs of disease- lab abnormalities, physical changes, etc. your doctor never found anything to document a medical illness.

    But the patients always had the same complaints, always complained of fatigue, not sleeping, muscle aches and not being able to work (I am not saying that this is a description of many patients with fibromyalgia).

    So your physician decided that there was nothing to this diagnosis because he/she could find none of the traditional signs of a disease, it responded to no treatments, and there was no progression to a measurable pathological state.

    Now there are diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia. The latest I can find is from the American College of Rheumatology 2010.

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    1. Widespread pain index score of 7 or more, and a symptom severity score of 5 or more. Or a different mix with lower WPI and higher SS score. So it’s kind of vague.
    2. Similar symptoms for at least 3 months.
    3. Other medical conditions that could cause your symptoms have been ruled out.

    Previously a “tender point” system was used, but it didn’t work well and the new system was instituted.

    Symptoms include, but are not limited to:

    So let’s see if we can use these criteria to diagnose people with fibromyalgia.

    So do you know of some people who complain about some of these things? I know… let’s see, pretty much everyone I know over the age of 40 has some of these complaints, and more of them the older they are. So these complaints are very common.

    Are these complaints associated with other conditions? Poor circulation, obesity, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme disease, AIDS, hypothyroidism, collagen vascular diseases, poor nutrition, sleep apnea syndrome, depression, cancer…etc. etc. So yes, these symptoms are very common in other diseases.

    Are these symptoms subjective? Let’s say I have a viral illness and I’m out of work for a week, because I am too fatigued and “achy” to work. You have the same virus, but don’t miss a day. We both fall off our bikes. Our injuries look exactly the same.

    You get up, go home, and put ice on it. I wait on the ground for an ambulance to take me to the ER. I miss working the next day. You show up. Did I “hurt” more than you did? So yes, all of these criteria are “subjective”. If you do the point tenderness test on me and every place you touch I say that pain is a “9”, is that real? How can you tell?

    There is a blood test being evaluated for Fibromyalgia, the FM/a test. This tests for elevated cytokine levels in your blood. However, elevated cytokine levels can be found in everything from Autism to Zoster. They can be found in high levels in depressed and suicidal patients.

    Any inflammatory disorder that activates the immune system will increase cytokine levels. If all other pathological conditions have been ruled out (could take years and 10s of thousands of dollars worth of tests) and this test shows that your cytokine levels are elevated, then your doctor can say you have an occult inflammatory condition in your body, Maybe it’s fibromyalgia. Maybe it’s a disease that will show up later.

    I hope you can see why some doctors are skeptical of the diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Because the doctor can’t diagnose it. Only the patient can. And that can sometimes be misleading.

    Disclaimer: This is not medical advice. This is a personal opinion based on the situation of a close one.

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    References:

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    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

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  • Declaring your Fibromyalgia, I hope no one you know ever has this awful syndrome.

    Declaring your Fibromyalgia, I hope no one you know ever has this awful syndrome.

    Seem like? I hope no one you know ever has this awful syndrome. It affects your muscles, your nerves, and your brain. The pain is intense and fluctuates with the only blessing being there is no visible tissue damage.

    The brain has much higher cortisone levels with less relief and the signals between neurotransmitters get glitchy increasing difficulties such as muscles losing reaction time or function but luckily these as temporary and intermittent. One minute you cannot feed yourself without dropping your spoon and an hour later you can make a puzzle.

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    It makes you look crazy and like you are faking. It is inherited and managed with great difficulty. The “fibro fog” makes even the most intelligent of us unable to come up with the correct words at times. Funny as this can be, it is scary to not be able to trust your own brain.

    Benefits include actually getting treatment, being given medication to help when the pain gets worse than childbirth and kidney stones (I have had both twice), and knowing that there really is some explanation for the difficulties faced on an hourly basis.

    It affects sleep, waking hours, productivity, and energy and robs sufferers of being able to predict ahead. Cannot plan activities or having to cancel last minute gets very tiresome and devastating.

    My great-grandmother lived to 99 with this wishing she could die every day. Nurses never believed her suffering. I have had symptoms starting mildly at 5 years old and progressively worsening over time. Now I cannot have more than a few minutes without some level of pain and other symptoms.

    It is a horrible experience to live with. I used to dance for 4 hours and now can push through for a song with several minutes of rest before and after. I look vibrant but feel elderly. I often need a cane from falls and ankles giving out. Even just to help me get back up. Sleep isn’t restful and every action is followed by intense recovery periods. It is like a huge workout just from taking a shower.

    But no scans or tests to prove anything… so of course, many Drs refuse to help.

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    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

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    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

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  • Regarding a Fibromyalgia Flare, how do we identify the Triggers?

    Regarding a Fibromyalgia Flare, how do we identify the Triggers?

    Keeping a journal is the single best way to identify your triggers. So, what kinds of things should you write down? Here are some of the most common flares:

    • Stress: What’s going on in your life? Is everything going well in your relationship? Any problems with your kids? Is your job hectic or overwhelming? Are you moving, remodeling, or redecorating? Have you lost a loved one recently? Think about anything out of the ordinary that might be causing you stress.
    • Sleep: Try to make your bedroom a place for intimacy and sleep…and nothing else. Make sure you take time to wind down for at least an hour before sleep…no devices. Write down the time when you turn off the light and get ready to sleep, and when you wake up in the morning. If you can’t sleep, write that down. Estimate how much sleep you get every night.
    • Diet: Write down the food you eat. Don’t worry about the amounts or calories, just the types of food so that you can notice if there’s a pattern related to, for example, dairy or caffeine or gluten.
    • Weather: Extreme cold, humidity, and barometric pressure changes can trigger a flare, so jot down the weather. Intellicast offers a graph presentation that includes barometric pressure.
    • Activity: Overdoing it and, strangely, not doing enough can both trigger flares. We fibromites have difficulty properly oxygenating our muscle tissue AND flushing lactic acid from our bodies, making us feel weak and sore. Overdoing it can exacerbate this. However, not moving around enough can cause stiff, tense muscles. It’s best to pace activity with equal rest breaks…15 minutes of chores, 15 minutes of rest, etc.
    • Overwhelm: Fibromyalgia includes both hyperalgesia (pain amplification) and allodynia (ordinary, non-painful things are experienced as pain). Sudden, loud noises and bright lights can be painful, as can any type of sensory overload. (Personally, I can’t walk down the cleaning aisle in the store unless I’m holding my breath; the smell is overwhelming and nauseating.)

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    Over my 16 years with fibromyalgia, I’ve found a few non-invasive things that have helped me immensely. Some of them are a bit pricy, others are homemade, and still, others are absolutely free.

    • This memory foam mattress topper allows me to remain comfortable during sleep. It eliminates pressure points, yet still provides support.
    • The memory foam bed pillows I made from these zippered pillowcases and this loose memory foam perfectly cradle my head and neck whether I sleep on my back, side, or tummy.
    • This TENS unit helps relieve muscle tension and reduces my pain level. You do have to be careful to not stick the pads on or near tender points!
    • Make a heating pad from uncooked long grain rice. I began with a simple one made by filling, then knotting a tube sock. Then, I sewed a larger one from a pillowcase. Double-stitch stripes the length of the pillowcase about 5″ apart, creating “tunnels.” Fill each “tunnel” with a half-cup of rice, then double-stitch about 5″ up from the short end, enclosing the rice. Repeat until you reach the opening of the pillowcase and double-stitch it closed. When you want heat, toss it into the microwave for a couple minutes, shake it up, and apply. (I use a second pillowcase as a sham to keep it clean.) Be extremely careful not to overheat it, as it will burn your skin.
    • Practice Jacobson’s progressive relaxation technique. I find it helps to play some soft instrumental music in the background.
    • Do gentle stretching exercises daily.
    • Try to avoid processed and fast food as much as possible. (I’ve found it helps to cook larger batches of meals that can then be split into portion sizes, vacuum-sealed, and frozen. Obviously, this doesn’t work for everything, but it’s great for things like beef stew, spaghetti sauce, soups and stews, chili, and lasagna.)
    • Try to avoid chemical cleansers as much as possible. (I clean with either bleach or white vinegar, watered down as necessary. It’s helped me a lot to rid my house of those multi-chemical cleansers. The smells of them alone were overwhelming.)

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    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

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    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

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  • Is Fibromyalgia just a throw-away Diagnosis when they can’t figure out what’s wrong?

    Is Fibromyalgia just a throw-away Diagnosis when they can’t figure out what’s wrong?

    I don’t know what it takes to make a fibromyalgia diagnosis because I don’t trust science’s model to describe and assess what the phenomenon really is.

    They do more harm when they label human beings with all kinds of “disorders”. Those assumed disorders become something that human beings wrongly identify with, later on in their lives, which render them unable to truly ever transcend their condition. Simply because they have grown to identify with it.

    I also understand, on the other hand, that it is the best we can come up with in terms of organizing humanity efficiently. But in my opinion, it does not serve the individual anymore, really.

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    And yes, in my view – after observing and experiencing the phenomena quite closely – it is clear to me that fibromyalgia is indeed a throw-away diagnosis. But perhaps, for the medical field – not at all.

    I have come to understand that science and the medical field alike, suffer from a disease called compartmentalization.

    That is, the label and invent names for anything that has the slightest difference in symptomatology and thus create more confusion than not. Rendering them unable to see the forest for the trees anymore.

    Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Lyme Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Huntington Disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy syndrome, PTSD, Parkinson, Alzheimer, Guillain–Barré syndrome, Autism, ASD, AFM, all other muscle dystrophy diseases and disorders, and I can go on and on filling pages of pages with sophisticated names that describe even the most minute detail indifference, just to justify a new name.

    They have lost their ways of being able to look at the human body as a holistic machine. Rendering them unable to see that all of those “disorders” come from a unified place in the body, but as each human body is unique and therefore different, those imbalances – by the time they come out onto the surface – they take a slightly different form in symptomatology.

    You will notice that the common denominator for all of these “disorders” has to do with electrical( action-potential) imbalances within our nervous system coupled with autoimmune “activity” that arises and takes place within the body.

    In other words, the byproduct of pain, spasms that we feel as a result, (but not only limited to) are a byproduct of locked action-potential electricity within our nervous system: either within the brain, extrapolated within the CNS ( Central Nervous System) – this is where we get the Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s’ stuff, or within the somatic and peripheral nervous system that is dispersed all around and within the body – where we get the fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, etc. All of that ensues as a result of a change deep within the body.

    As a result of that change, other systems such as our immune system, “doesn’t” recognize that said change as a positive change: That is, a change that coming from within the body, and so it thinks that this “change” is a result of an alien attack if I can use that language.

    And so, the immune system rises and attacks this change within the infrastructure. And what we get is the onset of the conditions associated with fibromyalgia and all other conditions stated above.

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    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

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    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

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  • My Doctor Diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia but refuses to put me on any medication for it.

    My Doctor Diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia but refuses to put me on any medication for it.

    I ask this question in our fibromyalgia support group, Many people are responding to this issue. Here we have collective knowledge on this question.

    SAM-e.

    I started with 200 mg once a day. I increased it every other day until I got relief which for me was until I reached the maximum dose of 1600 mg every 24° period (i take 400 mg every 6°). Do not take if you are on an antidepressant without consulting your doctor. Also, avoid if you use sr. John’s wort.

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    MSM.

    It does much the same thing as SAM-e so don’t take it & SAM-e together without a doctor’s ok. Either or should apply to these 2 supplements. MSM comes in a variety of strengths. The maxi has seen recommended is 1000 mg every 8 hours. No more. I started at the lowest dose once a day, & increased gradually every 48° until I got relief. Again, avoid if you’re using st. John’s wort.

    The warnings on these supplements above are because, to a lesser extent, they stimulate serotonin production. It’s very mild, but things like this add up. Often, a pharmacist will know more about them than a doctor, esp. if your doctor doesn’t hold with supplements.

    Another Rx pain med that slightly increases the availability of serotonin in the body is Tramadol (Ultram). If you are ever given an Rx for this, make sure the doctor is aware if you are using any or all of those 3 medicines (SAM-e, MSM, & St. John’s Wort). The issue between MSM & SAM-e is also that they work by increasing the availability of sulfur in the body, but too high levels of sulfur are as bad. It may be worse than too low levels.

    I have also found Boswellia Serrata to be of some help. 600 mg twice a day is the recommended max dose. It mostly helps with joint pain, which is common in fibro patients (I should know, I’ve had it since 1984).

    When we were living in Scotland, a woman who owned a natural food store recommended nettle tea for joint pain. I found it quite helpful. I was very surprised to discover few people in the US thought it was used for joint pain; many here in the US use it only for respiratory illnesses, including COPD, & had no idea it was used for joint pain. I have used it when I had a respiratory illness, & found it helpful for both.

    Also, these days, you can purchase 4% lidocaine topical lotion to rub into sore joints. Make sure you don’t strip the skin of its natural oils as that’s the medium through which it absorbs into the skin.

    Another thing recommended is DMSO. You’ll usually find it in the veterinary section if you want the cheapest prices, & in states that don’t allow its sale for human use, you won’t see anything but veterinary formulations in any online store. It’s a very common chemical byproduct & nontoxic.

    Don’t get a 99% solution, get something diluted & in gel form…. I’ve tried both & diluted 8n gel is more effective. The main issue is it can, for those with sensitive noses, smell like raw garlic…& it can leave a taste of garlic in your mouth – even though there is no common chemical I am aware of that DMSO shares with garlic. I find garlic difficult to deal with in food.

    I am very sensitive & large amounts are a huge turn-off to me. If I want to stop myself from eating too much, that’s a heck of an appetite suppressant for me. It’s also not cool with cereal at breakfast…the taste of, say, honey nut Cheerios & garlic just so does not work…but I found it helped with sore joints regardless of the taste.

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    I have recently found a formulation where DMSO is listed as an inert ingredient, the main ingredients being menthol & camphor…so you smell like linament on a horse or Ben-Gay on an older person. The DMSO can’t be anything but a base ingredient in some areas…areas though have yet to see any mention of its harming anyone. Anyway, it helps but doesn’t take away all the pain. Nothing does.

    As for antidepressants, pain & depression share many of the same pathways in the body, so antidepressants are used, with varying degrees of success, to help with the pain.

    You must realize that this war on opioids & the false blame opioids receive for the overdose crisis means that we may all, if we’re on pain medication, be forced off it…& those newly diagnosed with pain syndromes like fibromyalgia may never see an Rx for pain medication.

    I’ve seen tweets by people who have had major surgeries & their post-OP pain. Options are things like one, maybe 2, acetaminophen, extra strength (500 mg a pill), every 8 hours with 400 mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours for pain unrelieved by acetaminophen.

    Most hospitals are so afraid of the DEA raiding them that they won’t prescribe opioids at all for any reason whatsoever. The VA has pulled all veterans off opioids altogether, resulting in a rash of suicides due to being unable to live with severe pain from war injuries.

    I include in this WWII vets who had things like shrapnel buried in areas that precluded the removal of the shrapnel because of the risk of paralysis or even death. This is a jagged foreign object in the body, always tearing at something inside, often close to the spine or a major organ.

    Many have been on opioids for decades with no, only a few, increases in dosage over that extensive time frame. What a way to reduce the number of VA patients! What a way to say thanks to the men who were sent from farms & small towns all over the US to make sure the menace of the Axis countries never reached our shores!

    Many of these were called back up to active duty in Korea in the early 1950s, to yet another war. What a way to perpetuate the wrongs done to our Vietnam veterans, sent by conscription to fight an unpopular war & blamed for joining an army they didn’t ask to join but were forced to join.

    If you want me to write more about this I can continue…

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    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

  • Do doctors often misdiagnose patients with Fibromyalgia instead of conducting further testing?

    Do doctors often misdiagnose patients with Fibromyalgia instead of conducting further testing?

    Unfortunately not only is Fibromyalgia comorbid with other conditions, but its symptoms can also mask other issues. There’s no definitive test as it doesn’t show up in blood work so it’s diagnosed by clinical evaluation.

    When I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, I had been experiencing widespread pain (one of the symptoms/criteria) for years, but due to being a teenager, was told it was “growing pains”. It wasn’t. Other criteria they use are trigger points that, if pressed, cause intense pain.

    I ‘scored’ on 14 out of 16 trigger points. The other common symptom is “fibro fog” where concentration is poor and cognition can be affected (especially during a flare–up).

    I was relieved to finally have a diagnosis. I also have hypermobility which also causes pain, but a different kind of pain: fibro is more nerve pain and hypermobility is more joint pain (and frequent dislocations).

    At the end of the day, you can see why people with certain conditions (such as Ehlers Danlos) refer to themselves as Zebras. Doctors are taught “when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras”. Aka, don’t go diagnosing ‘rare‘ conditions when it could be a simple thing. Except instead we get fobbed off, being told it’s just back pain and everyone gets that. Oh, you’re only young you’re probably still growing.

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    Yes, some doctors misdiagnose it. And yes that can have a negative effect on people who do have it. But two people with the same condition can have wildly different experiences. I don’t have to use any mobility aids (i.e. walking stick or wheelchair) but many people with fibro do.

    That doesn’t make me not have fibromyalgia anymore or make me better than them. Because I might suffer more with the other fibro symptoms. Plus I have another condition which, when I have flare-ups of both conditions at the same time, can make it impossible to get out of bed.

    I’m 18 years old, I don’t want to have these conditions but I will live with them. I had to fight for 7 years to get a diagnosis. I can’t remember what it’s like to wake up and not be in some sort of pain. That doesn’t mean I’ll sit back complacent. It means I’ll go to physio and look after myself because I’ve got (hopefully) another 70-odd year with these conditions at least.

    Just think, if someone’s been fighting for doctors to recognize something is actually wrong with them for, in most cases, a decade (average time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis) then maybe once they have an answer that fits, they don’t want to fight anymore.

    Besides, it’s not even doctors that diagnose fibro most of the time, it’s rheumatologists (in the UK anyway) who you have to be referred to, which can take up to 6 months in some cases.

    Doctors: It’s a difficult condition to diagnose but saying doctors misdiagnose it can be harmful to people who genuinely have it and struggle with it every single day. Sure, it could be an indicator of something else but that’s down to the doctor’s not being informed. Or old school doctor’s thinking they know best.

    And lack of knowledge on treatment pathways…

    I know people with Fibromyalgia who are on cocktails of painkillers so strong that they are dependent (not necessarily addicted although that happens too) and cannot come off them without massive withdrawal symptoms – because doctors just keep upping the dosage instead of trying something different.

    Misdiagnosis is more often the doctor’s fault than anything else because it can only be diagnosed clinically rather than a definitive blood test.

    That being said, blame culture in medicine is detrimental to all involved and should be avoided where possible.

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    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

  • Is there a correlation between Fibromyalgia and Recurrent Miscarriages?

    Is there a correlation between Fibromyalgia and Recurrent Miscarriages?

    Yes. The underlying disease process causing the symptoms known as “Fibromyalgia” can include an increase in anti-cardiolipin antibodies known to increase the risk of clotting and thus miscarriages.

    For more information, Regarding “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”, “Fibromyalgia”, “Chronic Lyme” & other chronic diseases in which the patient is frequently told by their doctors that; “you look fine, I can’t find anything wrong with you despite all of the labs that I’ve run”.

    Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) refers to an immune system malfunction in which the immune system essentially has a broken “off” switch. Up to half of the general population appears to be genetically susceptible (shoulda’ picked better parents) to this disorder.

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    “Genes load the gun, exposure pulls the trigger”, what does “exposure” mean? It can be one of many things–anything that promotes a pro-inflammatory cytokine “storm” including sepsis, Covid, mold-related illness, and other issues. Mycotoxins, poisons secreted into the local environment by certain molds/fungi, Lyme Disease, Pfiesteria, Ciguatoxin, even exposure to certain vaccines such as the Lyme & Gardisil vaccine can create the surge of inflammatory cytokines that trigger the onset of the illness.

    The International Society of Environmentally Acquired Illness is a professional organization of practitioners experienced in treating this illness. Few physicians even recognize this illness other than calling it by the above names, much less have the awareness that it can be treated and reversed or the fact that while causing great suffering, it also frequently shortens lifespan.

    If this doesn’t work, get a good medical evaluation

    Lyme Disease, I am embarrassed to say that many of my colleagues “don’t believe” in certain diseases such as “Fibromyalgia” & “Chronic Lyme Disease” as if this was a theological or philosophical debate.

    It’s not, It’s “applied biology”, AKA “Medicine” just as “applied physics” is called “Engineering”.

    Sir. William Osler MD once said that “to know Syphilis is to know medicine” because syphilis (a disease that is caused by a spirochete–same family as Borrelia that causes Lyme) can affect so many different organ systems, causing great suffering and shortening lifespan with many types of clinical manifestations/malfunctions of virtually every organ system.

    The fact that with both diseases there’s a long “latent” (asymptomatic/relatively asymptomatic, or with such a bizarre assortment of intermittent, nonconstant symptoms) doesn’t help.

    Add to that the fact that most current lab technology has a false negative rate greater than 50% (over half of the folks with the disease test negative–as if they don’t have the disease).

    In most infections, there’s a clear presence of “cure”. Chest X-rays after pneumonia clear up after infection resolves, blood counts return to normal, blood cultures become negative–the patient is “cured”.

    Not so with Lyme; with most/many labs and imaging reports being normal with the disease–how do we know for certain when “cure” has happened.

    Furthermore, there are two major professional organizations that weigh in on Lyme. The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) is very stringent with its diagnostic criteria and when to use antibiotics to treat.

    The International Society of Lyme-Associated Diseases (ILADs) has much more “liberal” criteria regarding when to “call” the diagnosis as positive and for how long to treat with antibiotics.

    State Medical Boards have also been known to persecute (yeah, not prosecute, persecute) practitioners who recognize the serious nature of Lyme and treat it aggressively.

    It’s a confusing illness, hard to diagnose, IMHO very undiagnosed with a H U G E portion of our population suffering due to it. There’s also strong evidence that it was genetically altered by the Dept of Defense to increase its virulence as a biological weapon with research done on Plum Island CT.

    That’s the “short take” on “What’s the deal with Lyme disease”.

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    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

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    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

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  • How can I raise awareness for Fibromyalgia?

    How can I raise awareness for Fibromyalgia?

    For those of you who don’t know what Fibromyalgia is, simply put Fibromyalgia, aka fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), is a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body.

    As to answer the question

    “12 Easy Ways to Raise Awareness for Fibromyalgia Awareness”.

    There are many ways that you can help to raise the profile of fibromyalgia including:

    • Getting on social media to share facts, stats, figures and life stories about fibromyalgia.
    • Getting involved in a local fibromyalgia awareness event.
    • Hosting your own fibromyalgia awareness event to raise funds for research.
    • Donating to a fibromyalgia charity or non-profit organization.
    • Hosting a Facebook page for locals with fibromyalgia.
    • Joining or hosting a local support group.
    • Contacting your senator or congressman to talk about extra funding for fibromyalgia research and treatment.
    • Becoming an advocate for fibromyalgia and speaking out to the medical world and the media.
    • Printing out support posters and putting them up at your place of work/school/college
    • Wearing a fibromyalgia purple ribbon and talking to people about the disease when they ask why you’re wearing it.
    • Creating your own YouTube video to explain what it’s like to live with fibromyalgia.
    • Selling fibromyalgia wristbands to friends, neighbors, and colleagues.

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    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

  • Who tests for fibromyalgia?

    Who tests for fibromyalgia?

    Traditionally, rheumatologists do the testing to find fibromyalgia. That is because originally, nobody knew what fibromyalgia was and they assumed, as it was linked to pain in joints and muscles, that it should fall under the department of rheumatology.

    So, in a lot of countries, they are still the ones that do the testing. The way you test to see if you have fibromyalgia is in two stages: the first one is the clinical diagnosis, which includes trigger points on your body, a review of all your symptoms, and sometimes a questionnaire to see how your fatigue and pain affects your daily life.

    The second one is an “exclusion diagnosis”, which means that you have to be checked for every disease that presents similar symptoms (MS, Spondylitis, rheumatoid polyarthritis…). So, they will make you take MRIs, blood tests, sleep tests, and a bunch of other stuff that takes ages, just to be sure you don’t have of one those other diseases.

    Once you’re “officially diagnosed” with fibromyalgia, you can stay at your rheumatologist, although most have a certain disdain for the disease, or you can seek someone who gives a shit. It can be a neurologist or a physiotherapist. In any case, once the diagnosis is official, you need someone asap that you can trust and feel is in your corner. This is vital. If the doctor you have in front of you is “fibro-skeptic”, run.

    Also: there are now tests to objectively “see” fibromyalgia in a patient but they aren’t commonly used. However, if someone says “there is no way to biologically see if you have fibromyalgia”, it’s a lie. We can now see altered responses to pain stimuli in the brain on cat scans, or high levels of nerve capillaries in the hands through a biopsy.

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