The shortest and most accurate answer to “What is Fibromyalgia?” is that it’s a syndrome dealing with widespread and persistent pain. The pain can be described as shooting, stabbing, aching, or even like a very severe sunburn. To get an accurate diagnosis or treatment plan you’ll need to talk to your doctor.
There are several theories about what fibromyalgia is and how to treat it. However, there isn’t a known cure and there are three different medicines for treatment. It’s not actually related to the joints although often there is pain and stiffness there.
Getting Fibromyalgia Syndrome Diagnosed
The process for getting diagnosed can take a while depending on which doctor you start with and what your main symptoms are. You can ask for the trigger points test. These are painful spots throughout your body that will show up when your doctor runs a finger over them.
Fibromyalgia can look like several other chronic illnesses and some of them are more serious or more easily treated. When I was diagnosed in the mid-1990s I was told this was a disease of exclusion. I asked what that was and was met with the reply of “We diagnose you with everything else first and if we rule them all out then you have fibromyalgia”.
It took me two years to get to an incorrect diagnosis of Crohn’s disease. Then it was three years after that until I was correctly diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I don’t know how many dozens of other illnesses were discussed in that time as potential possibilities.
Outlook for the Future of Fibromyalgia Diagnosis
I had hoped that the diagnostic process had become more advanced than what was basically the process of elimination. The medical texts that I have been reading though still state that it’s a diagnosis of exclusion.
Now there is the tenders points test which I hope helps to get to the diagnosis quicker. However, I am glad to know that I don’t have more serious conditions with similar symptoms so I understand why the process goes the way it does.