Health Pedia

When I started my medical practice over two decades ago, fibromyalgia was so commonly missed that by the time the average person was finally diagnosed, they’d been seeing various physicians for nine or ten years. Today, the pendulum seems to have swung the other way, and it’s likely that a lot of people are being misdiagnosed with this condition. It has unfortunately become a convenient catch-all for a variety of complaints. However, there’s no doubt that fibromyalgia is a very real, painful, and sometimes debilitating health condition. It’s estimated that 2 to 4 percent of the U.S. population has fibromyalgia, and nine out of 10 are women. Unfortunately, there is still no specific diagnostic test that is conventionally appreciated to diagnose someone with this condition. Rather you will have to meet certain clinical criteria — the most common one being hypersensitivity to pain. Signs and Symptoms of Fibromyalgia One of the most important criteria to determine whether o...

Young and middle-aged fibromyalgia patients report worse symptoms and a poorer quality of life than older patients, according to a new Mayo Clinic studythat suggests the disorder plays out differently among different age groups. The research is being presented at the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting in San Diego. Fibromyalgia most often strikes women, and is characterized by deep tissue pain, fatigue, insomnia, memory and mood issues. About 5 million Americans suffer from the disorder. Researchers studied nearly 1,000 fibromyalgia patients and divided them into three age groups: those 39 or younger, those 40 to 59, and those 60 or older. “Among the three age groups of young, middle-aged and older, symptom severity and quality of life differs,” says senior author Terry Oh, MD, a physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Although the younger and middle-aged patients had a shorter duration of fibromyalgia symptom...

There are definitely a number of different treatments that people may see as “out of the ordinary” when it comes to fibromyalgia treatment. This is likely because the pain can be such a difficult thing to deal with, and as a result, we’re willing to try almost anything in order to try and feel better. One of the more unique types of therapy that is out there for fibromyalgia symptoms is known as cupping therapy. But what is this therapy and what can it do for your symptoms and your pain? Let’s take a look. Exploring Cupping Therapy and its Roots This form of therapy has been used since the days of early Chinese medicine, meaning that it’s definitely something that has been around a good long time. That being said, the age of it shouldn’t worry you – honestly, it should make you feel a bit more confident in the possibility that it can help you, because it continues to be used and people continue to state that it has made a significant difference in their lives. Th...

Three years ago, my doctor said the F-word… that’s right, fibromyalgia. I ignored her. But for the last year I have been in constant pain and I find it really hard to focus on anything other than finding pain relief or finding a new treatment that might actually make a difference.  I haven’t really been writing about the pain. Everyone in my life knows that I have neck pain and headaches. Some people think it’s my back that hurts. Even though we have all had pain and sore body parts, the fact is that anyone who hasn’t experienced non-stop widespread pain for weeks or months or years really has no idea what this experience has been like.  I have felt that writing about it would end up being a whiny piece of writing about boo hoo, poor me, I hurt. Or that the intention behind writing it would be to seek sympathy. I also worry that I don’t know how to fully explain my experience in a short and concise way. I worried that it would get boring and repetitive and too long t...

While doctors prescribe a lot of different medications for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS), none of them is FDA-approved for the condition. Just as this condition affects everyone differently, so do the medications used to treat it. It’s essential that you work closely with your doctor to find what’s right for you. You should be familiar with the possible side effects and let your doctor know about any you may develop. If you’re on more than one medication (prescription or over-the-counter), let your doctor and pharmacist know so you can avoid negative interactions. Classes of Drugs Several categories of drugs are used to treat ME/CFS. They include: Antimicrobial drugs (includes antiviral, antibiotic) Antidepressants (SSRIs/SNRIs and tricyclic) Anxiety or anxiolytic agents Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) Blood-pressure medications Experimental treatments Because all of these medications are used for off-label purposes (mea...

A symptom that I suffer from that really worried me for the longest time was fibromyalgia chest pains. The pain is in the ribcage and chest area and can feel like a sharp poke or aching stabbing and sometimes a burning pain. If your chest pain is making it difficult to sleep, work or even breath easily, it’s important to talk to your doctor about this condition and have it checked just incase it’s not fibro related. If you do however realize this is fibro related I can tell you one thing it does take some of the worry off your chest. The first time I had chest pains I literally felt scared to death. I thought I may have been having some form of a pre-heart attack. I started crying because my husband told me that it was probably due to blood pressure levels rising constantly and that high blood pressure could cause a heart attack which is true so you can only imagine how scared I really was. I called my doctor and made an appointment only to show up and find out that after I’d taken...

Pain. You are rarely or never without it. Sometimes it seems as though it takes on a personality that overwhelms your own. With it comes depression and fatigue. The light at the top of the pit you are in seems to be farther away all the time, but it’s possible to learn to live with your pain and lead a happy, full, and fulfilling life with fibromyalgia. Take a personal vow.  Word it in a way that is meaningful to you. Be determined to live a full and happy life. Survival is not enough. You may have to renew your vows to yourself every day, but make each day as productive as it can be. You may only accomplish one thing, but you did accomplish it! 2 Understand and accept that you will have bad days and that this is not giving up, or being defeated.  Tomorrow will not necessarily be as bad, but even if it is, just do what you can and look for some beauty and success in each day and move on. 3 Understand and accept that you may need to make some s...

Dealing With Noise Sensitivity As I write today’s article, I’m sitting in my living room in total silence. This is a rarity for me; there’s normally the sound of people in the house or the TV in the background, and if I’m home alone then I’ll normally play some music while I work. Today though, I wanted to see how I felt writing in silence — especially as I’m writing about the impact of noise on fibromyalgia. It felt eerily quiet when I turned off the TV, but before long the sound of the traffic outside and the people in the flat next door were all I could hear. In fact, those background noises jumped to the foreground and they were suddenly very loud. Right now I’m contemplating putting the TV back on just to drown out those other sounds. Noise has a big impact on a lot of fibromyalgia patients. We experience heightened sensitivity to touch, light, smells, temperature and noise. Noise can increase our pain, cause headaches and leave us feeling exhausted. So w...