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  |  General Health  |  Diseases and conditions  |  Fibromyalgia explained
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Fibromyalgia explained

continued from page 2
Of course, many of these symptoms can apply to a variety of diseases. To resolve the ambiguities, the American College of Rheumatology developed two specific criteria for diagnosing FS in 1990:
  • Chronic, widespread, musculoskeletal pain of longer than three months duration in all four quadrants of the body
  • Multiple tender points throughout the body -18 have been identified by the ACR and a patient must have 11 of the 18 for a diagnosis of fibromyalgia to be considered (a tender point is found by palpation - pressing the area with the fingers)
In addition to sleep problems, researchers have found other links between various health problems and FS:
  • FS may arise following an injury or trauma to the central nervous system -some whiplash victims develop FS
  • An infectious agent may trigger FS in susceptible people. Lyme disease is under study as one such trigger in the US - a study found 10-25 per cent of patients with Lyme disease develop fibromyalgia. Another study found a link between small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth and fibromyalgia, with about 78 per cent of patients with fibromyalgia and intestinal symptoms having such an infection. Patients whose infection was completely eradicated with antibiotics experienced an improvement in FS symptoms.
  • FS is also associated with autoimmune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus. However, women with fibromyalgia who develop Raynaud's phenomenon, characterised by extreme sensitivity to cold in the extremities, may be misdiagnosed as having lupus or scleroderma.
  • There are especially strong links between irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia, and between chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. More than half of women with IBS or CFS also have fibromyalgia symptoms.
Diagnosis
Fibromyalgia is difficult to diagnose because many of the symptoms mimic those of other diseases. The doctor reviews a patient's medical history and makes a diagnosis of fibromyalgia based on a history of chronic widespread pain that persists for more than three months. In addition, symptoms tend to come and go and there are no clearly defined diagnostic tests. Lab tests may also be ordered to determine whether you have another condition with similar symptoms, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.


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