Lesson 1: Exactly What is Fibromyalgia?
If you've been dragging around, aching and exhausted, and no one can seem to find a cause. then your problem may be fibromyalgia. Since some doctors don't recognize fibro as a real medical malady they may dismiss your complaints as being "all in your head." This lesson will give you the ammunition you need to help get a proper diagnosis. Compare your symptoms to those most common with fibro. See whether your doctor is using proper diagnostic techniques or simply humorinh you. Finally, find out what the common causes of fibromyalgia are and then think back on your own life and whether you have experienced any of the usual triggers.
Not all fibro sufferers display all symptoms, and so they will be discussed in order of their common appearance.
What is Fibro?
This is probably the most important question that you can ask, if you think you may have fibromyalgia. Not all doctors recognize it as a legitimate illlness, and define it instead as "general aches and pains with no apparent cause." But fibromyalgia is real, and has some very specific symptoms that qualified medical professionals can identify. It is a problem with the central nervous system which appears to affect our connective tissues, cause extreme sensitivity to pain and creates sleep disturbances that cause lack of concentration and short-term memory problems.
To get down to basics, fibromyalgia is not a disease. Its full name is Fibromyalgia Syndrome, commonly referred to as FMS. A syndrome is a collection of specific symptoms. Scientists are investigating the theory that the malfunctioning of our immune systems causes Fibro pains. But until medical science determines what causes fibro, it remains a syndrome rather than a disease.
Fibro, to define it more fully, is a widespread musculoskeletal pain and fatigue disorder for which the cause is still unknown. Anyone who spends most of their days feeling like they've got the flu, with aches everywhere and a total lack of energy, is a good candidate for a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
Today it is recognized as central pain processing disorder., which makes it a neurological disroder. We feel pain differently than the average person.
The set of symptoms most commonly associated with fibro are muscular aches and burning, fatigue, sleep difficulties, irritable bowel syndrome (yet another collection of symptoms!), chronic headaches, facial and jaw pain and hypersensitivity to sounds, lights, and odors, and specific tender points. And these are only the most common symptoms. Let's look at each in detail before we move on to the others.
But first, you may want to take this Symptoms Survey to see how you stack up against others with FMS.
Just a reminder - if you find this course helpful you may also want to consider taking Coping with Depression - since most of us fibromites find ourselves dealing with that at one time or another.
Another good class is Creating an Online Support Group - reaching out to others who share our problems lightens the burden for all of us.
