FACT: Fibromyalgia is a neurological disease affecting a person's sensory processing system. Fibromyalgia does not involve inflammation or damage to joints. Brain imaging and studies have shown that fibromyalgia is a disorder of the central nervous system.
Neurological symptoms such as paresthesias, blurred vision, numbness, and weakness are commonly reported by FM patients, with numbness present in up to 84% of individuals (1, 4, 7–9).
Many neurologists have an understanding of fibromyalgia, but like rheumatologists, they're not all familiar with it. The pain from fibromyalgia is what typically prompts people to visit a neurologist, and this specialist may prescribe medications to control your pain.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic (long-lasting) disorder that causes pain and tenderness throughout the body, as well as fatigue and trouble sleeping. Scientists do not fully understand what causes it, but people with the disorder have a heightened sensitivity to pain.
Fibromyalgia, also called fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), is a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body.
While MS and fibro may have some symptoms in common, they are ultimately distinct conditions with very different causes and treatments. Fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis are both chronic diseases with no cure. Fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis can both cause some of the same symptoms.
Fibromyalgia is often triggered by an event that causes physical stress or emotional (psychological) stress. Possible triggers include: a serious injury, such as after a car accident.
The Social Security Administration recognizes arthritis and fibromyalgia (FM) as qualifying disabilities for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI).
Fibromyalgia can cause pain, disability, and a lower quality of life. US adults with fibromyalgia may have complications such as: More hospitalizations. If you have fibromyalgia you are twice as likely to be hospitalized as someone without fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a condition characterized by widespread pain and other somatic or physical symptoms like headaches, tender point pain, irritable bowel syndrome, fatigue etc. There are psychological features like depression, sleep disturbances and mood changes as well that arise with fibromyalgia syndrome.
Traditionally, fibromyalgia falls under the scope of rheumatologists. But today, primary care doctors, podiatrists, osteopaths, psychiatrists, neurologists -- plus nurse practitioners -- are overseeing long-term fibromyalgia treatment.
Today, both rheumatologists and neurologists treat fibromyalgia.
An MRI may be able to detect brain activity connected to fibromyalgia pain. For patients dealing with fibromyalgia, the widespread musculoskeletal pain they feel is made worse by the frustration and misunderstanding that usually accompanies the disorder.
“Physicians do not have adequate and homogeneous knowledge of the fibromyalgia diagnostic criteria. Approximately half of physicians did not adhere to the criteria. Poor knowledge and adherence … may increase diagnosis delays and misdiagnoses.
Certain infections including hepatitis C virus, HIV and Lyme disease have been temporally associated with the development of FMS. There is some evidence for the possible role of vaccinations in triggering the development of FMS and related syndromes, however this association remains to be established.
Fibromyalgia was formerly classified as an inflammatory musculoskeletal disease but is now considered to be an illness that primarily affects the central nervous system.
Rheumatoid arthritis causes visible damage to joints. Fibromyalgia does not. Rheumatoid arthritis also gets progressively worse, causing swelling and sometimes deformities. The pain from fibromyalgia is more widespread, while rheumatoid arthritis is concentrated initially to hands, wrists, knees and balls of the feet.
Results: There were four parent stages of FM identified and labeled: 1) regional FM with classic symptoms; 2) generalized FM with increasing widespread pain and some additional symptoms; 3) FM with advanced and associated conditions, increasing widespread pain, increased sleep disturbances, and chemical sensitivity; ...
Fibromyalgia on its own does not make you eligible for the NDIS. To qualify for NDIS support and funding you must be living with a permanent and significant disability which has been diagnosed by a medical expert.
Is Fibromyalgia a Disability? Can you get disability for fibromyalgia? The short answer is yes, you can, but the Social Security Administration (SSA) has established rules that make it difficult to receive financial assistance for the medical disorder.
As a result, patients with fibromyalgia may lose their ability to walk faster or their capacity to maintain balance while standing as their gait changes, according to a study published in Frontiers in Human Science. They may also have difficulty moving about due to pain and stiffness.
Yes. Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition that affects some six million or more Americans, can run in families. In fact, one of the most important risk factors for fibromyalgia is a family history of the disorder.
Fibromyalgia can be associated with ocular symptoms (foreign body sensation, irritation) and visual disturbances (blurred vision), coexisting with dry eye syndrome and reduced corneal sensitivity. Cases of scleritis, including the necrotizing form, accompanying fibromyalgia have been reported.
Fibromyalgia can make you extremely sensitive to pain all over your body, and you may find that even the slightest touch is painful. If you hurt yourself, such as stubbing your toe, the pain may continue for much longer than it normally would.