Frequently asked questions about fibromyalgia
What is fibromyalgia? Fibromyalgia syndrome is a disorder characterized by widespread chronic pain. There are other symptoms associated with fibromyalgia, such as debilitating fatigue, sleep disturbance, joint stiffness, difficulty swallowing, bowel and bladder abnormalities, numbness and tingling, cognitive dysfunction, depression, anxiety and stress related symptoms. Most patients will only experience a few of these symptoms, with chronic pain being the most common. Fibromyalgia is often compared to arthritis because they are both commonly associated with pain in the joints, although they differ because the pain from fibromyalgia doesn’t cause inflammation of the joints or tissues. www.freepainsolution.com
What causes fibromyalgia? While the causes of fibromyalgia are unknown, there are likely many contributing factors. It has often been associated with a physically or emotionally stressful or traumatic even, similar to post traumatic stress syndrome. It has also been connected with an illness or repetitive injury, as well as occurring spontaneously. Scientists are continuously researching the causes of fibromyalgia, and have recently connected it to the way a person’s genes and central nervous system process stimuli and perceive pain.
Who can get fibromyalgia Anyone can be affected with fibromyalgia, although about 85 percent diagnosed are women. It is estimated that fibromyalgia affects around 5.8 million Americans.
How do you diagnose fibromyalgia? The physiologic reason for pain is unknown, so there is no standard laboratory test to diagnose fibromyalgia. This makes it very difficult to diagnose, and patients are often misdiagnosed, or not diagnosed at all, as if the doctor doesn’t believe the pain is real. Those who are diagnosed usually have multiple doctors visits first, to rule out any other possibilities before diagnosing the cause of the pain as fibromyalgia.
How do you treat fibromyalgia? It can be very difficult to treat fibromyalgia. It is important to find a doctor that understands the disorder and is familiar with treating it. It is suggested that someone with fibromyalgia works with a pain management team for best results. The team could include your doctor, a physical therapist, nutritionist, your family and anyone else that can help. Many pain management and rheumatology clinics specialize in treating chronic pain disorders such as fibromyalgia using the team approach. The internet hosts a large fibromyalgia community online, and a lot can be learned from sharing stories with others about treating fibromyalgia. There are currently one three FDA approved drugs for treating fibromyalgia; duloxetine, milnacipran, and pregabalin. Duloxetine and milnacipran are drugs that are similar to antidepressants, and pregabalin is a drug developed to treat neuropathic pain. Pain-killing narcotics are often prescribed to treat pain from fibromyalgia. These drugs have heavy side effects and can be www.freepainsolution.com
extremely habit forming. Topical pain creams are also used to treat chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia, and don’t carry the same nasty side effects as orally ingested pain-killers. It is very important to maintain a healthy lifestyle when dealing with fibromyalgia. Diet, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle have been the most important factor for reducing pain for many that have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Alternative therapies such as massage and acupuncture have helped a lot of people as well. It is important to try to live a stress-free life and get the right amount of sleep each night. Those with an over-worked body and mind seem to be affected by the symptoms more than those who are well rested.
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