So you have Fibro.

What in the world does that mean and what happens to the life you knew? Chances are you've seen the commercials on tv for a medication called Cymbalta which is used to treat Fibromyalgia (Fibro). There is one commercial that goes through some of the symptoms and feelings that a person with fibro does have. Some of the symptoms include the feeling of being tired all the time, an overall ache that won't go away, and sometimes periods of time where your memory or brain function feels "fuzzy". This is also known as brainfog.

In the past, these symptoms were often treated just when they presented themselves and often led the doctors to misdiagnose the patient. It wasn't until 1990 that an official set of criteria was developed to help doctors determine if a patient had Fibromyalgia. This disease has been a controversial one since the findings of the first clinical, controlled study was done in 1981. Even as recently as 2009, some doctors refuse to believe that the disease is anything other than a psychosomatic illness (an illness brought on by thinking on it without any physical deformity). As I'm neither a scientist nor a doctor, I can't tell you which is right or wrong. All I can tell you is that the pain, stiffness and brainfog are very much real and present for me every day of my life. This is true for me whether I force myself to think positive, healing thoughts or not.


So what are all the symptoms of Fibromyalgia? A widespread pain is usually at the top of the list. This isn't a sharp, stabbing pain. Rather a person with Fibro feels a dull, constant ache akin to a sore muscle. When I say widespread, I don't just mean in one or two places. I'm talking all over including arms, legs, back, neck and even fingers or toes. Another major symptom tends to be an interrupted sleep pattern. Most often sleep is interrupted by the pain. You just can't find a comfortable position no matter how hard you try! Waking up tired and not getting enough sleep adds to the decreased brain function, brainfog. It really becomes a vicious cycle. I often call Fibro a companion sickness. I don't know the exact statistics, but I firmly believe that people who are diagnosed with Fibro also have one or more other illnesses. In my case, I have the psoriatic arthritis, fibro, anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome, and high blood pressure. Oh yeah!


Unfortunately, there isn't a single definitive test that will show whether person may or may not have Fibro. As I mentioned above, there was a set of criteria developed in 1990 to help select people for a study about Fibro. This criteria, also known as the ACR 1990, has become the guide for diagnosing patients. Even now there is a certain level of controversy as some of the criteria can be viewed as subjective and open to a doctor's interpretation. This list of criteria include the presence in a patient's history of  

• Widespread pain that has lasted more than three months and has affected each of the body's four quadrants (both left and right sides, above and below the waist), 
• Pain present at 11 of the 18 established "tender points" when subjected to increased pressure.

These tender points include the following;

• Arms (elbow region)
• Buttocks (upper hip region)
• Upper chest
• Knees
• Lower back
• Neck (near collar bone region)
• Rib cage
• Shoulders
• Thighs  

With those two criteria met, my doctor also ran a series of blood tests to check for arthritis levels, liver function and a whole lot of other things just to be sure. All this combined led my rheumatologist to diagnose me with Fibromyalgia. 

In all honesty, there isn't a known singular cause for Fibro. While I hope there are studies and research being done to find a specific cause in hopes of a cure, I can't say for certain there are people working on it at the time of this writing. From what I have gathered in researching for this post, there are a few possible triggers. They include physical or emotional trauma (including post-tramautic stress disorder), infections, and genetics. This disease affects each patient differently. Some patients wake up feeling as though they haven't slept and ache all over. Some feel fine upon waking but feel the stiffness increase as they go about their daily routines. Some hurt all day, every day.  For some, the pain gets worse when they attempt to exercise, during cold or damp weather and when they are feeling high levels of anxiety or stress. Common complaints among patients with Fibro are often sleep problems, depression and overwhelming fatigue.

These are all the basics of what Fibromyalgia is and can bring to a person's life. Living with it is no picnic but you don't have to stop living if you're diagnosed with it either. There a number of treatments that have shown to work for people with Fibro. It just takes patience and willingness to try them until you find the one that's right for you. You have to be stubborn to kick this disease's butt. In my next post about Fibro, I'll go into detail on those treatments.

Until next time,
Kay