In an article, "Fibromyalgia - An Emerging But Controversial Condition," Don L. Goldenberg, M.D., of the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, described the symptoms, laboratory findings and treatment results of 118 patients with fibromyalgia. Here are excerpts from his article:
Fibromyalgia is one of the most common diagnoses in ambulatory practice. Recent estimates of the instance of fibromyalgia in the United States have ranged from 3 to 6 million ... Common symptoms noted in our series and other recent reports have included neck and shoulder pain, morning stiffness, sleep disturbances and fatigue.
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Seventy to 90% of patients have been women, and the mean age for diagnosis has varied from 34 to 55 years. The average duration of symptoms at the time of diagnosis has been five years. Most patients reported little change in their symptoms (while taking various medications) ... and continue to have symptoms whatever medication is used.
In a later article published in 2002, Dr. Goldenberg affirmed that some of the confusion around the difference between fibromyalgia and CFIDs may not be terribly important:
For example, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic headaches and low back pain are all, I believe, interrelated conditions that may share a number of overlapping symptoms. I try to make people understand that I'm not as concerned about differentiating fibromyalgia from, say, chronic fatigue syndrome, as I am about excluding more defined and potentially dangerous conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, hypothyroidism and others.
The symptoms of fibromyalgia are elusive because they can change between one visit to the doctor and the next. That elusiveness probably contributes to the difficulty in reaching a diagnosis.
Pain is by far the most prominent symptom of fibromyalgia. Some people describe it as "knife-like" or a "muscle cramp." Most people say the pain never goes away, and it can be aggravated by stress, anxiety, physical overexertion, weather changes, hormonal changes and depression. Of course, that pain disrupts sleep patterns for 75% of the sufferers and results in extreme fatigue for 90% of the people with fibromyalgia.
Symptoms
Among the other symptoms (in alphabetical order) are:
- abdominal pain
- bladder irritability or spasms
- blurred vision
- chest pains and pressure beneath the breast bone
- cramps
- dry eyes and mouth
- falling
- fatigue
- gastroesophageal reflux (heartburn or acid stomach)
- general aches and pains
- hearing loss
- intermittent hearing problems and low-frequency hearing loss
- memory and reasoning problems ( brain fog )
- migraine or tension headaches
- morning stiffness
- muscle twitching
- nighttime grinding of teeth (bruxism)
- pelvic pain
- pre-menstrual syndrome
- skin sensitivity to temperature
- sleep problems, insomnia
- temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ)
- tingling or numbness in arms, legs, feet or face
- a water retention or swelling, especially in the hands, face and feet
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