# Fibromyalgia **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863 "2011-10-26T15:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/1 "2011-10-26T15:28:18Z")
What’s the deal with fibromyalgia? I’ve heard at least one doctor quoted as believing there was no such thing, at least as a purely physiological problem. That was a good ten years ago, and maybe he was an outlier even then. What’s the current best medical thinking about fibromyalgia? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/2 "2011-10-26T15:45:48Z")
Trashcan diagnosis when you’ve ruled everything else out. “Pain for no reason we can figure.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/3 "2011-10-26T15:57:23Z")
Well, the American College of Rheumatology believes it’s real: [American College of Rheumatology](http://www.rheumatology.org/practice/clinical/patients/diseases_and_conditions/fibromyalgia.asp) . ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/4 "2011-10-26T16:13:29Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Well, the American College of Rheumatology believes it’s real: [American College of Rheumatology](http://www.rheumatology.org/practice/clinical/patients/diseases_and_conditions/fibromyalgia.asp) . Right, which says, in effect, what I said: > [@](#): > > Fibromyalgia is diagnosed based on patient symptoms and physical examination. There is no laboratory, radiographic, or other diagnostic test, but these can be used to exclude other conditions. > [@](#): > > The causes of fibromyalgia may be different in different people Once you’ve ruled out everything else, the term Fibromylagia describes the symptoms – mostly pain and exhaustion – that don’t have any better explanation. ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/5 "2011-10-26T17:47:38Z")
Not exactly. [It is a real disease, and one that is physical and not merely psychological](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2811/what-is-fibromyalgia). ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/6 "2011-10-26T21:23:24Z")
This disease was once called fibromyositis. When it was called that, it was a diagnosis by exclusion. When I last worked on Social Security disability cases, I read some medical literature on it. (That was 10 years ago.) The medical literature then indicated there are certain “trigger points” (alluded to in the Rheumatology link, but much more specific). Those trigger points were definite points in the anatomy, and IIRC, there are 18 such points. If 11 of the 18 are positive, and no other diagnosis is confirmed by diagnostic studies, the diagnosis of fibromyalgia is made. It is not psychological. As \*paperbackwriter’s \* link implies, it is closely related to chronic fatigue syndrome. Some complainants were eligible for Social Security disability benefits based solely on that impairment. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/7 "2011-10-27T02:24:33Z")
> [@paperbackwriter](#): > > Not exactly. [It is a real disease, and one that is physical and not merely psychological](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2811/what-is-fibromyalgia). I don’t see that what Cecil says about it proves that it’s "a real physical disease’. ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/8 "2011-10-27T02:36:00Z")
Cecil didn’t say that, I did. And if you’re looking for proof, check the references. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/9 "2011-10-27T16:27:14Z")
FWIW, [Jesus says](http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0005224) that fMRI shows differences in pain response in the brains of fibro sufferers compared to healthy volunteers. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/10 "2011-10-27T16:39:17Z")
Recent research is showing a link between depression and inflammation. This is particularly interesting when considering that some of the causative theories of fibromyalgia are that dopamine and/or serotonin malfunction is involved. ---
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/11 "2011-10-27T17:11:40Z")
Isn’t fibromyalgia, like IBS, correlated with females and [childhood trauma](http://louisville.edu/psychology/sephton/publications/Weissbecker%20et%20al.,%20PNE%2031%20312-324,%202006.pdf)? Just an interesting observation. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/12 "2011-10-27T17:13:42Z")
I was diagnosed with that at sixteen. At the time, **I** was even convinced it was real. Um, the cure? Stop wallowing in self-pity and narcissism. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/13 "2011-10-27T17:23:07Z")
> [@paperbackwriter](#): > > Cecil didn’t say that, I did. And if you’re looking for proof, check the references. I don’t have much in the way of a medical background. Could you summarize the reasons to accept it’s a physical ailment? For example, how would it look different if it were “all in the mind?” I am inclined to believe it’s a physical issue, but I can’t defend that point of view. ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/14 "2011-10-27T17:27:56Z")
I’m running out the door, so I will have to post a more thorough list later. That said, the one-sentence summary would be that fibromyalgia shows changes in externally-verifiable diagnostic signs that wouldn’t be present in “purely” psychological syndromes. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/15 "2011-10-27T19:51:09Z")
> **[Why Tender Points Are No Longer Used to Diagnose Fibromyalgia](https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-are-fibromyalgia-tender-points-189768)** > > Tender points are 18 anatomical pain points characteristic of fibromyalgia. Though once used in the diagnosis process, this is no longer the case. > **[Fibromyalgia: Treatment, Symptoms, Causes, Medication, Diagnosis](https://www.medicinenet.com/fibromyalgia_facts/article.htm)** > > Fibromyalgia symptoms include sleep disturbances, tender points, and fatigue. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes body-wide muscle pain. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/16 "2011-10-27T20:59:43Z")
One doctor’s opinion. My wife had unexplained pain. The doctor couldn’t find anything specific. He thought fibromyalgia was a possibility. He gave her a prescription for a one week course of prednisone and said that that was diagnostic. If the pain disappeared instantly, then that was what she had. Had she had it, he would have given her prednisone for a longer, but strictly limited period. It would clear up eventually by itself. That really doesn’t sound like what other people are talking about on this thread. In the event, the pain didn’t clear instantly, but it did eventually fade away with still no diagnosis. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/17 "2011-10-27T21:35:57Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > He gave her a prescription for a one week course of prednisone and said that that was diagnostic. If the pain disappeared instantly, then that was what she had. What you’re describing is said to be virtually diagnostic of [polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR)](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001452/) (in a patient with a consistent story and the “right” age). I doubt that your doc was referring to fibromyalgia. Are you misremembering, perhaps? ETA: Look at the concluding words of the first sentence in [this article on PMR](http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/731956_14). ---
**Author:** ![Reverend\_Meade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Reverend\_Meade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverend_Meade)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/18 "2011-10-27T21:44:18Z")
I am not a Doctor, but I think it’s real in the way that Epilepsy’s real. It’s a diagnosis of exclusion that exists because we don’t know everything about how the body works. All we know is that we have reoccuring syptoms caused by something so we need a name for it. If we had better knowlege we could probably break them both down into dozens of different conditions, but medicine isn’t there yet. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/19 "2011-10-27T21:52:00Z")
> [@Reverend\_Meade](#): > > I am not a Doctor, but I think it’s real in the way that Epilepsy’s real. I’m not sure I get your analogy. Epilepsy is associated with objective changes in the EEG (brain waves), especially during a seizure, and in many cases can be traced back to discrete lesions in the brain (and even cured in some cases by excision of said lesions). How is that like fibromyalgia? ---
**Author:** ![Reverend\_Meade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Reverend\_Meade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverend_Meade)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863/20 "2011-10-27T21:59:48Z")
If you suffer from recurring seziures that can’t be attibuted to any of the other known causes, you have Epilepsy. That how they make the diagnosis. If you suffrer form pain thaat can’t be attibuted to any other cause, you have Fibromyalgia. They’re both cases of doctors saying “We know something’s going on. We just don’t know what.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fibromyalgia/600863.md?page=2)