The symptoms can be similar, but people with fibromyalgia are more likely to experience depression, irritable bowel syndrome, and widespread, persistent pain. Symptoms more common with MS include weakness, vision problems, muscle spasms, and bowel or bladder issues.
Migraine is commonly confused with MS, as are other medical conditions such as cerebral small vessel disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, or autoimmune conditions like neuromyelitis optica or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease.
It's unlikely that you'll need an MRI for a diagnosis of fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome unless your particular set of symptoms is similar to that of a neurological illness that requires evaluation with an MRI. You may also need an MRI at some point to diagnose an injury or a different illness.
Of the 497 people who completed the questionnaires, 121 (24.3 percent) had fibromyalgia, based on the ACR criteria. But only 104 (20.9 percent) were actually diagnosed with the condition by a physician. In all, physicians failed to correctly diagnose 60 (49.6 percent) of those who met the ACR criteria for fibromyalgia.
A diagnosis of fibromyalgia can be tricky, because fibromyalgia isn't the only condition with widespread pain. Besides pain, another major symptom of fibromyalgia is chronic fatigue. But patients with other conditions also have chronic fatigue. There are other symptoms that may occur in fibromyalgia.
Unfortunately, fibromyalgia is still a somewhat controversial diagnosis, because it is not yet fully understood and its symptoms can overlap with many other conditions. Some people even say that it's a “garbage can” diagnosis that's only given when no other one can be made.
Several rheumatic diseases can mimic fibromyalgia. These include sero-negative rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Lyme disease, polymyalgia rheumatica and lupus. They have symptoms of widespread pain along with joint involvement.
Fibromyalgia is diagnosed based primarily on having pain all over the body, along with other symptoms. Currently, there are no specific laboratory or imaging tests for fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia often co-occurs with other types of arthritis such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and ankylosing spondylitis.
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.
Key Differences Between MS and Fibromyalgia
MS is an autoimmune disease caused by a problem within the immune system that causes damage to the layer covering the nerves. Fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by abnormal levels of chemicals in the brain.
Fibromyalgia is often diagnosed and managed by a rheumatologist, which is an internal medicine doctor who has specialized training in joint and musculoskeletal diseases. Multiple sclerosis is diagnosed and managed by a neurologist, which is a doctor who specializes in treating disorders of the brain and nervous system.
"In fibromyalgia, the misfiring and irregular engagement of different parts of the brain to process normal sensory stimuli like light, sound, pressure, temperature and odor, results in pain, flu-like sensations or other symptoms.
Devic's disease/NMO most often affects only the optic nerve and spinal cord at first. With MS, changes in memory, reasoning, problem solving and depression are also common. Vision loss with MS usually affects one eye at a time, but Devic's disease/NMO may affect both eyes at the same time.
An MRI scanner uses a strong magnetic field to create a detailed image of inside your brain and spinal cord. It's very accurate and can pinpoint the exact location and size of any inflammation, damage or scarring (lesions). MRI scans confirm a diagnosis in over 90 per cent of people with MS.
MS can be present even with a normal MRI and spinal fluid test although it's uncommon to have a completely normal MRI. Sometimes the MRI of the brain may be normal, but the MRI of the spinal cord may be abnormal and consistent with MS, so this also needs to be considered.
Researchers found that fibromyalgia, a condition involving widespread musculoskeletal pain, was more than three times as common in people who were later diagnosed with MS.
The FM/a ® Test analyzes your immune system's white blood cells for their chemokine and cytokine protein patterns. Those who suffer from fibromyalgia will show an abnormal pattern of these protective proteins.
It occurs in people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. If you have other diseases, especially rheumatic diseases, mood disorders, or conditions that cause pain, you may be more likely to have fibromyalgia. These diseases include: Rheumatoid arthritis.
Other health conditions that cause similar symptoms must be ruled out before a fibromyalgia diagnosis can be made. Medical tests that may be ordered during the diagnostic process include blood and lab tests, imaging studies, and nerve function tests.
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. an infection, such as Epstein-Barr virus or Lyme disease.
A fibromyalgia flare is a temporary increase in the number and/or intensity of symptoms. Some flares only last for a day or two but others may continue for several weeks or even months.
The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy are usually constant, while those of fibromyalgia tend to come and go. Fibromyalgia is believed to result primarily from pain-processing problems in the central nervous system. As far as we know, the peripheral nerves are not damaged in any way.
Fibromyalgia (fi·bro·my·al·gi·a) is a condition that causes pain all over the body, also called widespread pain. Fibromyalgia also causes sleep problems, fatigue, and emotional and mental distress. People with fibromyalgia may be more sensitive to pain than people without fibromyalgia.