Fibromyalgia: Real or Imaginary?

M. Nergis Alnigenis (Yanmaz), M.D., and Peter Barland, M.D.

Dr. Alnigenis is a Visiting Fellow in the Division of Rheumatology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y.

Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS), is an illness that causes pain, stiffness and tenderness throughout the body. Sufferers complain they have trouble sleeping and tire easily. 80%-90% of FMS victims are women and most are between 30 and 60 years old.

Though FMS may not be well understood, it is far from uncommon. A recent study found that 2% of all North Americans suffer from FMS, 3.4% of women and 0.5% of men.1,2,3,4,5 It is the second most common problem seen by rheumatologists in North America.6,7,8

Some doctors believe that FMS is not a real condition, but, instead, is psychological. What do we actually know about FMS?

big improvements in health after long term antibiotic therapy

My theory is that perhaps fibromylagia might be caused by the hormones, preservatives and other artificial chemicals put into food.

this revelation is sure to cause dismay for those using the dubious fibromyalgia claim as a way to feed their opiate habit.

I don't know what its like in the US,but you will be hard pressed to find a Dr in Australia who will prescribe opiates for FM.

"I mean, who doesn't feel tired a lot of the time & have various aches and pains? It's part of getting older, as is life.
Just my two cents. "

While I doubt you meant that with any sort of venom or ill will, it is that type of statement that make the blood boil of people who do have fibro.

There is no comparison between fibro and the normal aches and pains of aging or normal fatigue.
It is very hard to describe to someone a bone deep exhaustion that seem to have no reason to feel.
The frustration of trying to explain to someone the pain that makes your life miserable and prohibits the simplest tasks can be overwhelming.

Two sisters and I were all initially diagnosed with fibro, before it was discovered we did indeed have Lupus, along with severe abdominal adhesions from multiple OB/GYN surgeries. My 2 sisters have a different mother than I, and I can well remember their emotional pain from a mother who just thought they were hypochondriacs. She told them it was just part of life, they had to learn to deal with it.

One sister was hospitalized, and her mother and our father felt she was just trying to get out of taking care of her kids and working. They told the doctor and the nurses on the floor that there was probably nothing really wrong with her, it was all in her head. They believed the parents, sent her for counseling, etc.

Then she almost died from kidney failure.
Big turnaround in their thinking.

Now their mother has the same problems, plus others, and has apologized for her attitude in the past.

Please do not assume that just because you cant see why they are sick, that they are not.

Just because doctors do not know what the problem is either does not mean that there is not one.

After all, 40 years ago it was believed by doctors in the USA that menstrual cramps were a figment of women's imaginations.

this revelation is sure to cause dismay for those using the dubious fibromyalgia claim as a way to feed their opiate habit.

my ex doc is convinced that it does not exist, but turns right around a writes it as a diagnosis when he can't figure out what's really wrong. a cop-out. as I mentioned before, he was thrilled with the advent of lyrica - it gave him a perfect way to derail those he considered seeking drugs by claiming fibromyalgia.

I've asked before and gotten opposing answers. Is there some sort of test that proves the existence or absence of fibromyalgia? how about lupus?

many women at work claim to have fibromyalgia, and a couple of them claim lupus. all of them women. they seem to embrace their maladies lovingly, referring to them as "my lupus" and "my fibromyalgia".

I know this post makes me sound more doubtful and smart-assy than I really am, I just don't understand either disease, or the questions of it's existence in these modern times.

would be interesting to add a poll, real or imaginary?

"I mean, who doesn't feel tired a lot of the time & have various aches and pains? It's part of getting older, as is life.
Just my two cents. "

While I doubt you meant that with any sort of venom or ill will, it is that type of statement that make the blood boil of people who do have fibro.

There is no comparison between fibro and the normal aches and pains of aging or normal fatigue.
It is very hard to describe to someone a bone deep exhaustion that seem to have no reason to feel.
The frustration of trying to explain to someone the pain that makes your life miserable and prohibits the simplest tasks can be overwhelming.

Two sisters and I were all initially diagnosed with fibro, before it was discovered we did indeed have Lupus, along with severe abdominal adhesions from multiple OB/GYN surgeries. My 2 sisters have a different mother than I, and I can well remember their emotional pain from a mother who just thought they were hypochondriacs. She told them it was just part of life, they had to learn to deal with it.

One sister was hospitalized, and her mother and our father felt she was just trying to get out of taking care of her kids and working. They told the doctor and the nurses on the floor that there was probably nothing really wrong with her, it was all in her head. They believed the parents, sent her for counseling, etc.

Then she almost died from kidney failure.
Big turnaround in their thinking.

Now their mother has the same problems, plus others, and has apologized for her attitude in the past.

Please do not assume that just because you cant see why they are sick, that they are not.

Just because doctors do not know what the problem is either does not mean that there is not one.

After all, 40 years ago it was believed by doctors in the USA that menstrual cramps were a figment of women's imaginations.

The only doctor who should be diagnosing fibro is a rheumatologist

Now, she uses her fibro as an excuse NOT to exercise, clean, drive, or even get out of bed some days.