Fibromyalgia is a very strange disorder that seems to break a lot of the rules of medicine. There is no specific test to determine whether you have it, there will be a lot of blood work and other testing to rule out many other diseases and conditions. There are very few medications that have been developed specifically to control fibromyalgia pain and they are expensive. Fibromyalgia has other conditions that piggyback it such as irritable bowel syndrome, neuropathy, chronic fatigue, and some cognitive difficulties as well.
Here are some of the main symptoms of fibromyalgia:
Chronic pain in the muscles
Difficulty sleeping and chronic fatigue
Tender points at certain parts of the body
Concentration/memory problems
For more information, see www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia. I've gotten a lot of good information from there when I really didn't know where to start looking. Although it's a great resource, it's not a substitution for your doctor. You really need to have a good relationship with your doctor to successfully control fibromyalgia. I had a very difficult time with my first doctor and had to go elsewhere. I'm now lucky enough to have a good doctor who will listen to me. I'll get more into doctors and the medications I've tried in my next post.
