Is Fibromyalgia A Disease, A Collection Of Symptoms Or Is It All
In Your Head?

For weeks you have been aching from head to foot You have no
energy, you can’t concentrate and you can’t remember the last
time you got a good night’s sleep You have been to the doctor a
few times already and all he can tell you is what you DON’T
have You have read about fibromyalgia and even talked to others
that have been diagnosed with the disease Yet, so far, no one
can tell you whether you have it or not?
Sound familiar?
Well welcome to the world of fibromyalgia diagnostics It is bad
enough that there is no cure or significantly effective
treatment for this condition, but it is even more frustrating
when it takes so long for anyone to tell you that the problems
you are having are caused by fibromyalgia
There is no debate as to the validity of fibromyalgia as a
disease In fact, the World health Organization has recognized
the disease for many years It is the diagnosis that is
debatable
Fibromyalgia is a very confusing and misunderstood condition It
has been known by many different names for well over a century
but was not termed “fibromyalgia” until the 1970′s The term is
derived from the actual experience of the condition “Fibro” -
which represents the fibrous tissues affected (ie ligaments
and tendons); “Myo” – representing the muscular system; and
“Algia” – meaning “pain,” which is the dominant manifestation of
this disease Essentially, fibromyalgia means being in pain
almost everywhere
Fibromyalgia must be diagnosed through a process of elimination
In other words, before a complaint can be labeled fibromyalgia,
it must first be determined that there is not some other cause
If your appendix is inflamed, you have appendicitis If you fall
and bang your head a CT scan will indicate if you have a
concussion But if you ache all over and suffer from chronic
fatigue for months on end, have trouble focusing and struggle
with anxiety and depression, it must first be determined what
you DON’T have rather than what you DO have Because if you have
fibromyalgia, there is no test that will indicate that you have
it
In other words, diagnosing fibromyalgia is difficult
This process is very contrary to the health care system as
currently structured The optimal level of testing and analysis
to reach a confident diagnosis of fibromyalgia can be cost
prohibitive As a result, the symptoms of fibromyalgia can be
conveniently dismissed as psychosomatic Conversely,
fibromyalgia can become the catchall diagnosis when there is
resistance to traveling the long road to a conclusive diagnosis
Either way, the patient loses
Sometimes, a patient receives great relief when they are told
what the problem is, even if a solution is unclear Receiving a
confidant diagnosis of fibromyalgia may not provide relief but
at least it allows the sufferer to move forward to explore
treatment alternatives
The American College of Rheumatology has made this diagnostic
process easier for patient and physician by developing criteria
for fibromyalgia that can be used in diagnosing the disorder
According to the criteria established by the ACR, a person is
considered to have fibromyalgia if he or she has experienced
widespread pain for at least three months in combination with
tenderness in at least 11 of 18 specific tender point sites
While this may not be as definitive as a blood test or X-rays
for other conditions, at least there is guidance that results in
diagnosis with a high degree of confidence
As for treating fibromyalgia well that’s another story!
(I’ll deal with treatments in a subsequent article Stay
tuned)

Tags | anxiety, appendix, concussion, depression, elimination, fatigue, fibromyalgia, fibrous, ligaments, muscular, organization, process, tissues, validity