Is fibromyalgia a real disease??

That's very good .. and absolutely right .. I've had this dratted syndrome for a couple of decades now .. I can tell the weather is about to change approx 48 hours before it starts to change .. I am very sensitive to barometric changes .. physical activity causes me a lot of pain and muscle problems .. I always suggest to folks that they visit www.fibrohugs.com .. it's an excellent web site and explains much of the problems we can have with fibromyalgia .. And depressants may not work or can even make you worse .. people who have fibro are often sensitive to medications and great car needs to be taken with dosage

I can sense the barometric changes also. I've never really thought of it relating to Fibro until you mentioned it.

I hadn't read anything about a link with weather, but now that you mention it, my husband loves that I can predict when it's going to rain because my knees start to hurt.

When making a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, a practitioner would take into consideration the patient's case history and the exclusion of other conditions such as endocrine disorders, arthritis, and polymyalgia rheumatica. * A history of widespread pain lasting more than three months — widespread as in all four quadrants of the body, i.e., both sides, and above and below the waist. * Tender points — there are 18 designated possible tender points (although a person with the syndrome may feel pain in other areas as well). During diagnosis, four kilograms-force (40 newtons) of force is exerted at each of the 18 points; the patient must feel pain at 11 or more of these points for fibromyalgia to be considered. Four kilograms of force is about the amount of pressure required to turn fingernails white or to feel pain sensations on the forehead. This technique was developed by the American College of Rheumatology as a means of confirming the diagnosis for clinical studies. It is also used in the United Kingdom. Pressure on nearby areas rarely elicits any reaction. Fibromyalgia patients also have elevated levels of Substance P in the body, which increases the levels of pain and intensity. However, it should be remembered that this diagnostic criteria was originally established as an inclusion criteria for a research study and was not then intended for general diagnosis. The number of tender points that invoke a response can vary as the condition flares and eases. Patients have also been known to start off having Fibromyalgic symptoms in only one half of their body. The tender point test also depends on a good medical practitioner and good communication between doctor and patient: if the doctor misses the tender point site, then a false negative reponse could be noted; the doctor might not apply the right level of pressure to the tender point; if the patient has some tender points that hurt less than other points they might not mention them even if they do hurt; and some doctors do the test without telling the patient to say when it hurts, so if the patient conceals when some points hurts then a false negative response could be noted.

Forgive me, I meant to say there is no cure. You can treat the symptoms and some medicines help some people. A rheumatologist can run the tests to help determine if perhaps you have fibromyalgia. There's a pressure point and a blood test, or at least there was the last time I was tested. Even then, it really just turned out that I had a nasty viral infection that mimicked fibro. My mother has it however and I know how rough it can be.

Thank you so much for your offer. I just recently heard about it, and when I talked to my mother about making a doctor's appointment, she basically discouraged me telling me that they would just tell me to eat better and exercise more often. But this is all starting to affect my husband and kids.. because I get moody and I hurt all the time, not to mention that I'm ALWAYS tired.

From what I've read and heard though, they say that Fibro is a fall back if they can't come up with anything else, and that it doesn't affect that many people. Perhaps your sister or her friends have something else, because it seems strange that so many people who know each other would have it.

Fibro is real. My sister has it and a few of my friends have it. It is very painful. I don't know how any doctor can say it isn't real. I see what these people go through.