What is Fibromyalgia Syndrome? What Does It Mean?

Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) affects as many as 6 to 10 million men, women and children in the United States alone, yet it is not a disease entity that is easily understood, classified or treated. Part of that may be because of the shroud of confusion regarding the illness.

Fibromyalgia is recognized as enough of a legitimate medical problem that the Social Security Administration sees fit to classify it in cases of disability within the language of their regulation 99-2p.

Note: people who meet that criteria were originally intended to be ones suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), but as the regulation’s wording implies, it was extended to cover Fibromyalgia, too. (*See 2 through 8 at the end of the regulation for more information. If you intend to file for SSA or SSI disability, print out a copy of the regulation and study it. You must meet the exact qualifications to be classed as having a disability.)

To meet the statutory requirements for disability…
(17 min 13 seconds)

An individual must be unable to engage in any SGA (substantial gainful activity) by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which is expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months. Thus, the existence of an impairment for 12 continuous months is not controlling; rather, it is the existence of a disabling impairment which has lasted or can be expected to last for at least 12 months that meets the duration requirement of the Act.

Even with such an entity as the Social Security Administration legitimizing the language and criteria of Fibromyalgia as a serious medical condition, the medical profession remains confused in part about how to classify the illness and the people who suffer with it.

I’m sure that you read about and experience medical authority figures who disbelieve that Fibromyalgia is real. That to me is wild because their sick patients are standing right before them!

But many doctors do discount people who claim to have Fibromyalgia. I’ve even experienced medical professionals making fun of individuals who are truly suffering. I’ve read online jokes at their expense! To me that’s not demonstrating compassion or upholding the Hippocratic oath to do no harm. I’m wondering if you agree. (Comments welcomed.)

The only thing I can figure out is that they believe that Fibromyalgia is a made-up, fabricated condition, maybe even a total figment of peoples’ imaginations because they don’t want to work or can’t face life.

If someone doesn’t believe that you’re truly ill with Fibromyalgia, how can they possibly help you?!?

To be classified with having Fibromyalgia Syndrome one must meet specific diagnostic criteria that is self-reported yet verifiable upon physical examination. Doctors who specialize in Rhematology, Rheumatologists, laid down the criteria to classify the specific symptoms some time ago.

From the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (part of the National Institute of Health): Fibromyalgia syndrome is a common and chronic disorder characterized by widespread pain, diffuse tenderness, and a number of other symptoms. The word “fibromyalgia” comes from the Latin term for fibrous tissue (fibro) and the Greek ones for muscle (myo) and pain (algia).

Although fibromyalgia is often considered an arthritis-related condition, it is not truly a form of arthritis (a disease of the joints) because it does not cause inflammation or damage to the joints, muscles, or other tissues. Like arthritis, however, fibromyalgia can cause significant pain and fatigue, and it can interfere with a person’s ability to carry on daily activities. Also like arthritis, fibromyalgia is considered a rheumatic condition, a medical condition that impairs the joints and/or soft tissues and causes chronic pain.

Like me, you may have heard of a few doctors who disparage treating Fibromyalgia patients. There are many more who take their work seriously and do the best job that they can. Unfortunately the healing tools that doctors have available to them are inadequate to truly fix (cure) this condition in most people.

*Certain healthcare practitioners choose to use different, alternative, healing tools and methods. They often have more success than the average medical doctor.

Why such poor results? Because no available prescription drugs cure Fibromyalgia. The compounds only modify or alleviate some of the symptoms while they are active in the body. Even so most doctors resort to prescription drugs because there are so few methods that have undergone scientific rigor and testing. Some of the more suggested and tried modalities come from the alternative medical field, but scientific researchers have not the done the studies to prove exactly how much these methods can affect a positive change in a person’s symptoms. (Hint: if you want to know more about the recommended prescription drugs, put the terms Lyrica, Savella, etc., into the “search” box on this website and you’ll find more information about these medicines.)

As bad as this sounds, there is a worse problem. There exists a wide range of opinions about whether Fibromyalgia is a) one disease entity, b) a cluster of symptoms producing a syndrome, or even worse… c) no illness at all!

a) The people within the first group believe that anyone with Fibromyalgia probably has more than one illness going on. This attitude probably comes from the fact that most patients have such a wide range of symptoms that wax and wane and that there is no one way that people get sick in the first place. It doesn’t help that no cause is attributed to FMS, but there are many known causes (from other illnesses) that cause like symptoms. This confusion can lead to misdiagnosis on both sides: either someone with another illness being classed as having Fibromyalgia or, in more cases, people with Fibromyalgia being diagnosed with something different entirely.

b) The people in the second group believe that Fibromyalgia isn’t any kind of real illness at all and that people who say they have it really only have a condition with many symptoms. I’m supposing that they believe there is no disease-type cause at all. If new research proves true, these individuals will have to retract that attitude and move on because they will be proved wrong! (In the meantime, take at look at the Fibromyalgia Network’s report of a Wall Street Journal article. http://www.fmnetnews.com/basics-news-archives-respond.php)

c) The people within the last class of skeptics that I’ve mentioned here consider the origin of FMS symptoms to originate from mental and emotional problems that pre-exist the illness.

1) Most people who come down with Fibromyalgia lead healthy, active lives before getting ill. They are not “mental” cases waiting to get sick. They are healthy people who get stricken with a bad, chronic illness and their lives are turned upside down. (I often find that the precipitating factor for the illness is trauma, either physical, mental, emotional or sexual trauma. We all experience degrees of trauma during periods of our life. The energy from traumatic events has the capacity to change us physically.)

2) Most doctors who classify people with Fibromyalgia as having mental problems are seeing patients at their very worst: tired of being so sick, panicky and unsure of where to turn and, possibly, at their wits end.

And finally…

3) Most doctors who say this about people with Fibromyalgia never had their own lives turned upside down by the illness. They themselves don’t suffer with the symptoms, have it ruin their careers or face losing everything to total disability. Nor do they go through the pain and life turmoil of facing it with a wife, daughter or son. (It’s true that males rarely get Fibromyalgia, but it does happen.)

It anyone who ever disparages someone with Fibromyalgia would walk in their shoes for a day, a week or (gasp!) a few months, they would never say another harmful word about these brave people. They would believe in Fibromyalgia as a condition that merits their attention, respect and professional expertise in managing its symptoms for their patients.

-Yes, it is true that some people really get caught up in being so sick. They get stuck in some pretty serious ruts and can’t see their way out. They don’t believe that they can get better, so they don’t really try.

If that sounds like the way that you feel, I encourage you to open up your heart and mind to the possibility that staying sick forever does not have to be your destiny. It doesn’t have to be your pre-destined future forever. Investigate the possibilities of moving on and figuring how you can get well. If I can help you with that, just ask. Email me by clicking here.

Any medical authority figure will tell you that much of getting any better from Fibromyalgia is in the attitude because having the right attitude means you’re thinking about wellness, not illness. You’re affectively setting yourself up to achieve a positive outcome.

Not that you’re causing your illness… not that you’re a mental case. I’m not saying that. But what you think and believe about your relationship to being ill is crucial. It can make the difference between really knowing what Fibromyalgia is and figuring out how to move on with your life and leave it behind you.

Thanks so much for dropping by the Health Matters Show today. Feel free to visit the blog often or sign up for the automatic RSS feed to come safely to your own mailbox. And, of course, each Friday afternoon at 3 pm EST their is a recorded podcast by me, a guest or a combination of people. I have some very good guests scheduled to be with us very soon. That is exciting!

Have a great and healthy weekend,
Cinda Crawford, your host

Tagged as: arthritis, drugs, Fibromyalgia, Fibromyalgia Syndrome, prescription drugs, rheumatologists, Social Security disability, trauma