They say diagnosing Fibromyalgia is very difficult due to the different tender and painful points you can experience across your body. They are also now taking into consideration a number of other symptoms and possible links that are related to this condition. In the past according to Medical News Today Fibro was diagnosed according to a set of criteria that identified 18 tender points on the body. However, there were multiple issues with these criteria. They now know that Fibro is not simply a pain condition.
Fibro can cause cognitive symptoms, including memory problems, concentration problems, mental slowness, anxiety, and depression. In 2010 The American College of Rheumatology updated their diagnosis of this condition to reflect that this condition is not just about pain.
Pain in Fibromyalgia according to the NHS can be continuous, or it can be better or severe at different times. Painful attacks of Fibro, or ‘Fibro Flares’ can be triggered by temperature weather change, lack of sleep, exhaustion, or diet changes.
Webnd writes that pain seems to be just under the surface of the skin. In particular over the neck, back, chest, elbows, hips, buttocks and knees. The place that is most tender is usually very small, about the size of a penny. They look for pain in at least four or five areas : Left upper region, including shoulder, arm, or jaw. Right upper region, including shoulder, arm or jaw.
One big factor in Fibro is the extreme tiredness (fatigue)and sometimes disrupted sleep, which can interfere with occupational, personal, social and educational activities. You can have Fibro and still do aerobic exercise or run a marathon all of which can help the condition but the general rule is that if you have extra or unusual pain for more than two hours after exercising then you have done too much.
Women’s Health writes that the average age range at which fibro is diagnosed is 35 to 45 year old, but most have had symptoms that started much earlier in life. It is also more common in women than men.
The Mayo Clinic writes that there are likely many factors that lead to Fibro which includes Genetics, because it tends to run in families. It could be an severe illness or infection that trigger or aggravate Fibro and it can sometimes be triggered by a physical event, such as a car accident, or traumatic event. Prolonged psychological stress may also trigger the condition. Viruses and infections like Ross River virus or glandular fever could be another trigger.
People with Fibro often experience pain during intercourse say Healthline. It could cause muscles around the pelvis and lower back to cramp, causing sharp, uncomfortable pain which means for many the pain overrides the pleasure of intercourse.
Pubmed write that studies have described oral problems associated with Fibro including sicca, oral ulcerations and orofacial pain.
Other uncommon signs writes Healthline include excessive sweating, skin lumps, muscle spasms, and digestive issues like IBS, constipation and bloating. Summit Pain Alliance write that people with Fibro often experience gastrointenstinal problems which include abdominal pain, and again bloating and constipation. Headaches and migraines can also be a symptom of Fibro.
Medical News Today writes that a healthcare provider may also use a symptom severity scale (SS), which takes into account other symptoms, such as fatigue and depression. They will rank the severity of each symptoms on a scale from 0 to 3, with 0 indicating no symptoms at all and 3 indication a severe presentation of this symptom. On the same scale, doctors will also rank the presence of non-pain symptoms. Receiving a score of 0 indicates no other symptoms, whereas a 3 would suggest a large number of symptons.
They will then combine these SS scores and establish a final score our of 12. Some doctors used modified criteria in which they rank the presence of other symptoms as a yes or no choice, rather than having their patients describe the severity of these symptoms.
Healthline writes that many people with Fibro have gone undiagnosed because they didn’t have tenderness in 11 spots at the time of their physical exam. A tender point test is still a helpful guidepost for Doctors.
Pub Med also writes that The term fibrositis was coined by Gowers in 1904 and was not changed to fibromyalgia until 1976. My Mum used to suffer from fibrositis back in the 1970’s and it was in the mid 1970’s that I also started to suffer from fibrositis as well. The pain was only in our neck and shoulders.
The new diagnostic criteria for Fibro is unrefreshed sleep and fatigue as an equal weight for it and include depression and other minor symtoms. Although the tender point examination has been embedded in the culture of Fibro diagnosis over the past three decades it is no longer accepted as a reliable clinical finding and is not included in current diagnostic criteria.
Creating your own symptom report for your visit to your GP is the best way to get this condition diagnosed. This happened to me personally when a spinal surgeon asked me to keep a diary of all my symptoms over a six week period. After reading it he was so sure I was also suffering from Fibro that he sent me to see a Rheumatologist who diagnosed me with it.
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Source: PubMed Womens Health NHS Healthline WebMD The American College of Rheumatology PubMed Medical News Today The Mayo Clinic Summit Pain Alliance
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