The first thing to do with anything you are trying to learn more about is to define what you are looking at. With that in mind we have to ask ourselves what is Fibromyalgia?
The Mayo Clinic defines fibromyalgia as, “disorder characterized by musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues.” According to the CDC, approximately 4 million adults in the United States is affected, or approximately 2% of the population.
Most researchers can agree that the disorder effects the way the body processes pain signals. What they can’t agree on is the cause. Most of the symptoms appear gradually over time and have little to no single event that triggers fibromyalgia.
Most people have many of the same symptoms, full body and joint pain lasting longer than 3 months, many of these are known as fibro points because they occur in specific areas of the body, tension headaches/migraines are common, as is TMJ issues, IBS, SIBO, anxiety and depression, as well as forgetfulness (fibro fog) and extreme fatigue.
The CDC lists the following risk factors: age, family history, lupus/RA, female sex (2x more likely than males), Stressful/traumatic events such as car accidents and PTSD, Illness, obesity and repetitive injuries/stress on the joints.
Sound familiar? I am sure it sounds like a lot of other thing such as chronic pain, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and even allergy symptoms. So how do we diagnose fibromyalgia? Well currently there isn't a test specifically for fibromyalgia. This disease, and yes it is a disease, has been a diagnosis of ruled out. For instance, when I was tested I was tested for Lyme's disease, common allergies, low vitamin/mineral levels and thyroid disease. Thankfully my doctor was sure he was dealing with fibromyalgia but wanted to make sure something else wasn't hiding under the surface. I do have food allergies but these were already known (hello nightshade sensitivity), and when I choose to I know how to deal with this.
Now that we have defined this disease we will look at testing methods, modern medicine treatment methods, and whole body wellness methods in the coming weeks. I hope this blog has given you an idea of what Fibromyalgia is and if you have it or wonder if you have it you can start talking with you doctor.
References:
Center for Disease Control. www.cdc.gov
Mayo Clinic. www.mayoclinic.org
Comentarios