Fibromyalgia Facts

Fibromyalgia has always been regarded as a disease which is very mysterious. Little was known about it and it was and still is difficult to diagnose. In fact, fibromyalgia is categorized as a syndrome and not a disease. Fibromyalgia is a syndrome that carries a lot of symptoms. Some of the symptoms like migraine can be an illness on its own. But there are also times where they are related to fibromyalgia. As these symptoms may lead to the diagnosed of other health issues, it is difficult for a doctor to be sure when he is diagnosing for fibromyalgia.

There is no way to test and confirm on symptoms to make a conclusion that this syndrome is suffered by a particular patient.

Out of so many symptoms, the most common one for fibromyalgia is the pain that patients suffer isn various tender points of their body. With this in mind, two specific criteria have been set by the America College of Rheumatology to determine the presence of fibromyalgia. For the fibromyalgia to be present, there must be pain in 11 out of the 18 tender points of the body which has lasted for at least 3 months. Pain at tender points of the body is a very important sign that can lead to the diagnosed of fibromyalgia.

3 main symptoms that always comes with the pain are fatigue, lack of sleep and memory abilities decreased. By observing the patient, you can see that they look tired all the time and cannot even complete simple task. They may have difficulty remembering new information. If they get distracted, they will have a big problem. The term 'fibro fog' is used to describe the problem off getting to sleep and staying awake amongst patients. There are also other symptoms which includes dizziness, numbness and tingling in various areas of their body, difficulty to find balance as well as weak muscles. Some conditions that may co-exist with the syndrome are depression, headaches, bowel problems, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis.

The levels of the symptoms are uncertain as they may be serious some days and light on other days. The length of the pain will also vary from a few hours and sometime lasting the entire day. This cause tremendous trouble for fibromyalgia patients because they will be unable to have a normal schedule because the symptoms might suddenly attack them. They can't plan an activity, as they can't predict whether they will be able to carry it out or not. The pain can sometimes be so excruciating that the person is unable to engage in any activity. You feel pain throughout your whole body. It can be felt in every muscle and joints and tendons in your body. Changes in weather, over use of strength and stress are the things that may trigger the pain. Hence, you need to take the correct fibromyalgia treatment to treat your symptoms.

Approximately three to five percent of the American population suffers from fibromyalgia. People are more likely to suffer fibromyalgia even when they are just entering adulthood. However, studies have shown that this syndrome can happen to any age group. It is not gender specific although it occurs more often in women than in men. There is also the genetic factor which may lead the passing on of the syndrome from one generation to another. The possibility of getting fibromyalgia increases if you are already a patient of rheumatoid, arthritis or lupus. About twenty-five percent of the people who are diagnosed with it are too disabled to work. Treatment has also been difficult. Even with extensive fibromyalgia therapy, it can be hard to treat your fibromyalgia pains. It wasn't until 2007 that the FDA approved the first drug, Lyrica, for treatment of the syndrome. There are no other medications yet on the market except Lyrica. Neurotin has sometimes been successful and Vioxx has also been prescribed for pain relief. In addition, Pozac and Elavil are also effective in treating the symptoms.

Comments? Questions? Email Here

© HowtoAdvice.com

How to Advice .com