Because of a multifaceted treatment approach that involves medications and lifestyle strategies, the prognosis for people with fibromyalgia is better than ever before. But first, a doctor needs to make an accurate diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Are you wondering how that's done?
Unfortunately, fibromyalgia is regularly misunderstood. Despite all the latest information about fibromyalgia with its severe muscle pain, unrelenting fatigue and sleep problems, and feelings of anxiety and depression, doctors are still misdiagnosing this common pain disorder. As a result, some patients are getting a diagnosis for the wrong condition -- for example, systemic exertion intolerance disease (previously called chronic fatigue syndrome), arthritis, or some other pain problem.
Fibromyalgia is a perplexing and often debilitating disorder, but treatment can help. Lyrica, a medicine used to treat patients with seizures, pain from shingles, and nerve pain from diabetesand spinal cord injuries, is offering new hope to those living with the pain of fibromyalgia. Here is what you need to know about the use of Lyrica to manage fibromyalgia, from the drug's benefits to its side effects.
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome with multiple symptoms that commonly occur together, including widespread pain, decreased pain threshold or tender points, incapacitating fatigue, and anxiety or depression.
Why Is Diagnosing Fibromyalgia Difficult?
Fibromyalgia consists of symptoms that are also found in many other conditions. A doctor must rule out these other conditions before making the diagnosis of fibromyalgia. There is no simple test to diagnose fibromyalgia. Many people go from doctor to doctor without receiving a medical diagnosis for their fibromyalgia symptoms. Many wonder if their painful symptoms are simply imagined.
In the past, millions of fibromyalgia patients were misdiagnosed as having depression, inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid or lupus, chronic myofascial pain, or systemic exertion intolerance disease. There are, of course, a few similarities between fibromyalgia and SEID and between fibromyalgia and arthritis. But fibromyalgia is different. It is a distinct condition that needs an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
What Tests Are Used to Diagnose Fibromyalgia?
Most laboratory tests are not very useful by themselves for diagnosing fibromyalgia. There is a blood test -- called FM/a -- that identifies markers produced by immune system blood cells in people with fibromyalgia. One study showed the test can also help distinguish fibromyalgia from other conditions that can have similar symptoms, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.
Your doctor will often make a diagnosis after doing a physical exam and discussing your symptoms with you. The reason for this is that a diagnosis to large extent is based on the way you feel. For instance, even though your doctor may notice tender points during the physical exam, you still need to tell him or her about the pain you feel in those areas.