This ebook will teach you how to implement processes and systems to utilize in developing an effective individual Fibromyalgia treatment program. Start managing your Fibromyalgia the smart way!
Fibromyalgia for most patients begins with pain and confusion. Pervasive and persistent pain appearing with no apparent cause and not responding to typical treatments can leave the patient and care providers frustrated. Diagnostic parameters of this disorder are poorly defined due to its inherent nature. Diagnosis frequently boils down to the elimination of other possibilities, a process that can be both long and confusing. No specific medical tests apply, and no established set of symptoms exist that provide a definitive diagnosis. Confusion and doubt have been central to fibromyalgia throughout its history. This is our purpose: To develop an individualised treatment approach, confusion must be replaced with understanding so that specific actions can be focused toward the reduction of symptoms.
Excerpt:
First observed in the nineteenth century, fibromyalgia was originally referred to as fibrositis and fibrositis syndrome. It later was referred to as fibromyositis and muscular rheumatism. Dr. Philip Hench coined the term “fibromyalgia” to refer to the disease in 1976. Fibromyalgia is diagnosed by examining the severity of each patient’s pain across 19 specific areas on the body, as well as the severity of their associated symptoms (such as sleeping difficulty, cognitive dysfunction, and fatigue).
Over the years, fibromyalgia has carried a legacy of negative stigma within many realms of the medical community. Originally disregarded as a “psychosomatic” illness, many clinicians believed that people with fibromyalgia simply imagined their symptoms. Others believed that fibromyalgia itself was not a singular disease, but rather a combination of symptoms from a group of related conditions. In addition, other clinicians have refused to acknowledge the disease altogether, considering it an illegitimate condition and simply treating each specific symptom in the absence of a formal diagnosis. This lack of acceptance by the medical community has made patients feel ostracized, confused, and frustrated. In addition, this lack of acceptance has also made it difficult for patients to explain their symptoms to family and friends. When the American College of Rheumatology established definitive diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia in 1990, the disease finally received the credibility it deserved and gave patients the ability to receive a true diagnosis. However, despite the existence of these diagnostic criteria, some clinicians still refused to accept that fibromyalgia is a true condition and continued to insist that its symptoms were the result of another physiologic condition or simply psychological in nature. Despite the continuing resistance from some in the medical community, fibromyalgia has become more widely accepted as a true medical diagnosis, thereby enabling patients to get the care they so desperately need and so greatly deserve.
For far greater detail relative to defining and understand the many aspects of fibromyalgia, please refer to our website – www.fibromyalgia-treatment.com. The sections in the primary header labeled “What is Fibromyalgia?”, “Fibromyalgia Treatment” and “Fibromyalgia Symptoms” contain comprehensive information related to all aspects of fibromyalgia. You will find individual articles detailing specific treatment options, from various pharmaceutical drugs to complementary and alternative therapies such as acupuncture and yoga. There you can also read detailed articles on the many symptoms associated with fibromyalgia, such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, and morning stiffness, as well as find summaries of the latest research surrounding fibromyalgia.
Demographics
Although fibromyalgia most often affects Caucasian women, it does not discriminate. Anyone, including men, can get the disease. A 2005 Internet-based survey conducted by a team of leading fibromyalgia researchers, in conjunction with the National Fibromyalgia Association, found that of the 2,569 respondents, 96.8% were female and 91.5% were Caucasian. The average age was 47 and most were moderately overweight. Half of all respondents had average household incomes between $20,000 and $80,000. Click HERE for a full article on this research study into the demographics of fibromyalgia.
Symptoms
The most common symptom associated with fibromyalgia by far is chronic, widespread pain. The pain is often described as being deep, muscular pain as well as pain in the connective tissues (“myofascial pain”). Individual descriptions of pain sensations vary among fibromyalgia patients, with some describing it as aching, throbbing, or sharp/shooting. Others describe it more as a burning or tingling sensation.
The pain associated with fibromyalgia causes sufferers to ache all over. Certain "Tender Points” on the body may continue to ache regardless of the therapies a patient tries, and muscles may feel constantly overworked. The pain of fibromyalgia can concentrate around the joints of the neck, back, shoulders, and hips, which can make sleeping difficult and restrict mobility. Furthermore, fibromyalgia pain is frequently made worse by changes in weather, temperature, loss of sleep, fatigue, excessive physical activity or lack thereof, and stress/anxiety. Fibromyalgia pain differs from acute pain (that which originates suddenly and resolves over a period of time, such as with a broken bone), in that it is chronic, persistent, and ongoing.