Fibromyalgia, Help Please.

Hi i have fibromyalgia too there is pain help groups out there ask your local hospital this site is graet for advice hope you get the help your looking for best wishes willie

just type in fibromyalgia in google search engine and start from there
go on ebay and have look see if any books available, i learnt more about fibro from reading forums and then joined to ask my own questions, they are very friendly and everyone understands as all going through same thing
sorry to hear you have this awful condition, took 18 months for someone to listen to me...i get high rate dla and low rate care......
bye for now and do lots research and dont over do yourself, thats the hardest part for me not going mad on better days !!!...
xx

Hi, Once again thank you for all your replies and advice i have sent of for a information pack from one of the links posted. Thank you and best wishes

There IS a test for Fibromyalgia. It is called the "Tender Point Count". It was developed by the American College of Rheumatology in 1990.

There are 18 specific sites on the body which when pressed produce pain out of proportion to the amount of pressure applied.

This is what distinguishes it from any other rheumatic or painful condition.

Diagram here:

www.nfra.net/Diagnost.htm

If your doctor starts talking about "trigger points" then alarm bells should ring that they have no idea what they are talking about.

Trigger points are found in Myofascial Pain Syndrome. They are lumpy bits of painful muscle anywhere in the body and can be injected. People with FM often have this as well.

Fibro is now seen as a neurological condition (due to many abnormalities in the functioning of the central nervous system) rather than rheumatological.

Hope this helps.

Yes Evaness, you can be diagnosed via the 'tender point' test but that is not conclusive. Some people could say it hurts and it doesn't!

You're also right in FM now being classed by some as a neurological rather than rheumatological illness, (but AFAIAA, people are continuing to be referred to Rheumatologists for diagnoses.) This is due to the fact that some tests have revealed that the brains of FM patients have an excess of 'Substance P', a neurotransmitter responsible for pain. It is thought that FM patients have about 3-4 times the amount of this neurotransmitter and therefore causing them to feel more pain than a 'normal' patient.

FM patients though can have trigger points and tender points:

www.ukfibromyalgia.com/treatments/trigger-point-therapy.html

Libra45 wrote:

Yes Evaness, you can be diagnosed via the 'tender point' test but that is not conclusive. Some people could say it hurts and it doesn't!

You're also right in FM now being classed by some as a neurological rather than rheumatological illness, (but AFAIAA, people are continuing to be referred to Rheumatologists for diagnoses.) This is due to the fact that some tests have revealed that the brains of FM patients have an excess of 'Substance P', a neurotransmitter responsible for pain. It is thought that FM patients have about 3-4 times the amount of this neurotransmitter and therefore causing them to feel more pain than a 'normal' patient.

FM patients though can have trigger points and tender points:

www.ukfibromyalgia.com/treatments/trigger-point-therapy.html

substance P first found in cockroach I think

as a matter of interest when suffering pain from FM do you find your heartbeat is fats as "P" is also a Corazonin which I think if I remember it speeds up heart beat