Do you ache all over and wonder why? Have you had a variety of tests done looking for the cause of your pains that have all come out negative? Have you begun to think maybe its all in your head? You might have Fibromyalgia.
Many think Fibromyalgia is a diagnosis of exclusion. This means you’re Doc has ruled out everything else that could be causing pain all over your body, so this is what’s left. Actually, Dr. Mark Brodsky, Medical Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine and Wellness at the Tully Center in Stamford (http://www.stamfordhospitalintegrative.com) sees a lot of people with this condition. He says it is a very misunderstood syndrome that is quite real, and quite debilitating to those who suffer with it. It impacts many people and leaves them with significant pain in many simultaneous areas, along with a host of other annoying problems impacting many body systems. It is actually a syndrome or cluster of symptoms which include persistent pain in the muscles and the flesh around painful joints, fatigue, and tenderness that shows up at distinct locations in the body. In order to be diagnosed, a person has to demonstrate pain in at least eleven of eighteen distinct sensitivity areas, called “tender points”. These have to have lasted for at least three months and affect all four quadrants of your body simultaneously. Check out this website to see all the body-mapped areas where people with Fibromyalgia feel pain. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/9758.htm
