What Is Fibromyalgia?

snip off-topic stuff


I think you posted this in the wrong newsgroup by mistake. This is
alt.support.diet.low-carb.
--
Peter
270/215/180
Before/Current Pix:
http://users.thelink.net/marengo/wei...htlosspix.html


There are folks out there that have fibromyalgia, and are also low carbing. So,
no its not off topic. Not a mistake at all.

Low carb dieting improves symptoms of fibromyalgia. If you don't like the post.
You are more than welcome to delete it.

Fibromyalgia is what you have when you can't really identify what you have.
Even my doctor agreed with that. I have a lot of pain from my waist down.
If they can't diagnose anything specific then it might just be
fibromyaligia. I didn't qualify, however, because I don't have any pain
above my waste. With fibromyaligia you have to have some pain in the neck
area and so on.

Randy

"George Parton" wrote in message
...
Clipped from the following location:

http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/f...rofs.htm#fib_a

What Is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia syndrome is a common and chronic disorder characterized by
widespread muscle pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points. The word
fibromyalgia comes from the Latin term for fibrous tissue (fibro) and
the Greek ones for muscle (myo) and pain (algia). Tender points are
specific places on the body—on the neck, shoulders, back, hips, and
upper and lower extremities—where people with fibromyalgia feel pain in
response to slight pressure.

Although fibromyalgia is often considered an arthritisrelated condition,
it is not truly a form of arthritis (a disease of the joints) because it
does not cause inflammation or damage to the joints, muscles, or other
tissues. Like arthritis, however, fibromyalgia can cause significant
pain and fatigue, and it can interfere with a person's ability to carry
on daily activities. Also like arthritis, fibromyalgia is considered a
rheumatic condition.

You may wonder what exactly rheumatic means. Even physicians do not
always agree on whether a disease is considered rheumatic. If you look
up the word in the dictionary, you'll find it comes from the Greek word
rheum, which means flux—not an explanation that gives you a better
understanding. In medicine, however, the term rheumatic means a medical
condition that impairs the joints and/or soft tissues and causes chronic
pain.

In addition to pain and fatigue, people who have fibromyalgia may
experience

* sleep disturbances,
* morning stiffness,
* headaches,
* irritable bowel syndrome,
* painful menstrual periods,
* numbness or tingling of the extremities,
* restless legs syndrome,
* temperature sensitivity,
* cognitive and memory problems (sometimes referred to as "fibro
fog"), or
* a variety of other symptoms.

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome rather than a disease. Unlike a disease,
which is a medical condition with a specific cause or causes and
recognizable signs and symptoms, a syndrome is a collection of signs,
symptoms, and medical problems that tend to occur together but are not
related to a specific, identifiable cause.

Who Gets Fibromyalgia?

According to a paper published by the American College of Rheumatology
(ACR), fibromyalgia affects 3 to 6 million - or as many as one in 50 -
Americans. For unknown reasons, between 80 and 90 percent of those
diagnosed with fibromyalgia are women; however, men and children also
can be affected. Most people are diagnosed during middle age, although
the symptoms often become present earlier in life.

People with certain rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis,
systemic lupus erythematosus (commonly called lupus), or ankylosing
spondylitis (spinal arthritis) may be more likely to have fibromyalgia,
too.

Several studies indicate that women who have a family member with
fibromyalgia are more likely to have fibromyalgia themselves, but the
exact reason for this—whether it be hereditary or caused by
environmental factors or both—is unknown. One study supported by the
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
(NIAMS) is trying to identify if certain genes predispose some people to
fibromyalgia. (See What Are Researchers Learning About Fibromyalgia?)

What Causes Fibromyalgia?

The causes of fibromyalgia are unknown, but there are probably a number
of factors involved. Many people associate the development of
fibromyalgia with a physically or emotionally stressful or traumatic
event, such as an automobile accident. Some connect it to repetitive
injuries. Others link it to an illness. People with rheumatoid arthritis
and other autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, are particularly likely to
develop fibromyalgia. For others, fibromyalgia seems to occur
spontaneously.

Many researchers are examining other causes, including problems with how
the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) processes pain.

Some scientists speculate that a person's genes may regulate the way his
or her body processes painful stimuli. According to this theory, people
with fibromyalgia may have a gene or genes that cause them to react
strongly to stimuli that most people would not perceive as painful.
However, those genes—if they, in fact, exist—have not been identified.

(More information at the above site)

George

In article ,
"guitarprincess" wrote:

So where's the part about it being the same as hypochondria?

If only that was true. Then I'd know how to treat it. In the meantime,
LC is the only regimen that helps. Well, for me but not every fibro
patient.

Aloha...Sue

guitarprincess wrote:
So where's the part about it being the same as hypochondria?

And this is where what my wife calls the Fairness Fairy comes by and waves
her wand and makes you live a week in the body of someone with
fibromyalgia.

Like other conditions that can cause pain and profound fatigue without
many outward symptoms, and where one's condition can vary from day to day,
sometimes the hardest struggle just to be taken seriously by doctors,
friends, and even family.

Dan
325/211/180
Atkins since 1/1/02 (yeah, it was a New Year's Resolution)
Besetting sins: good beer, German bread, and Krispy Kremes

I was only kidding. There's just so much controversy on this subject.

I know people who have been diagnosed with it. I know doctors who say it's a
farce.

I am in the healthcare industry.

The doctors I know, say that the fibro symptoms are usually caused by other
diseases and ailments, not "fibromyalgia".

But I'm not a doctor, so I mock what I don't know

--
Sheli

"Sue Larkin" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"guitarprincess" wrote:

So where's the part about it being the same as hypochondria?

If only that was true. Then I'd know how to treat it. In the meantime,
LC is the only regimen that helps. Well, for me but not every fibro
patient.

Aloha...Sue

Sheli wrote:
The doctors I know, say that the fibro symptoms are usually caused by other
diseases and ailments, not "fibromyalgia".


Many people with fibromyalgia are actually misdiagnosed and find that they have
a different disease. The symptoms are the same and so the doctors are at first
confused.

Those of us with fibro do wish that it is a misdiagnosis. So that we have
something that is curable, instead of a chronic life-long disease of poor
sleep, pain, fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction.

Yvonne

Sheli wrote:
The doctors I know, say that the fibro symptoms are usually caused by other
diseases and ailments, not "fibromyalgia".


Many people with fibromyalgia are actually misdiagnosed and find that they have
a different disease. The symptoms are the same and so the doctors are at first
confused.

Those of us with fibro do wish that it is a misdiagnosis. So that we have
something that is curable, instead of a chronic life-long disease of poor
sleep, pain, fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction.

Yvonne

In article ,
"guitarprincess" wrote:

I was only kidding. There's just so much controversy on this subject.

I know people who have been diagnosed with it. I know doctors who say it's a
farce.

I am in the healthcare industry.

The doctors I know, say that the fibro symptoms are usually caused by other
diseases and ailments, not "fibromyalgia".

Stress...physical and/or emotional...seems to be a common "cause". I'm
fortunate to have a doc (rheumatologist) who is both knowledgeable
about fibro AND supportive of me low carbing in lieu of drugs.

Aloha...Sue

In article , "Randy"
ranjorathotmail.com wrote:

Fibromyalgia is what you have when you can't really identify what you have.
Even my doctor agreed with that. I have a lot of pain from my waist down.
If they can't diagnose anything specific then it might just be
fibromyaligia. I didn't qualify, however, because I don't have any pain
above my waste. With fibromyaligia you have to have some pain in the neck
area and so on.

"Tender Points" seem to be the key. And many of them are above the
waist. Possibly that's why you didn't qualify? Regardless, I hope you
find the cause. Undiagnosed pain is such a...well...pain, isn't it.

Aloha...Sue

In article ,
yteme (Cailleachschilde) wrote:

Many people with fibromyalgia are actually misdiagnosed and find that they
have
a different disease. The symptoms are the same and so the doctors are at
first
confused.

My doc said that fibro is diagnosed by ruling out other conditions such
as lupus. There is no definitive lab test or xray for fibro but, the
aforementioned "tender points" theory seems to be the closest the docs
can come at this point.

Those of us with fibro do wish that it is a misdiagnosis. So that we have
something that is curable, instead of a chronic life-long disease of poor
sleep, pain, fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction.

Yvonne...does low carbing help your symptoms?

Aloha...Sue