Introduction
1) Imagine having a pain that is so deep, that your bones ache. It’s not just in one particular area of your body, sometimes it’s in your arms, sometimes it’s in your hips. Just imagine not knowing where or even why you are hurting. Where did this come from all of a sudden? What’s going on with my body? Why do I hurt so badly? I’ve had this pain and I’ve asked myself these very same questions.
2) Many people suffer from fibromyalgia and the treatments vary from doctor to doctor.
3) My name is Leslie, and I have fibromyalgia. In 2009 I was in a car accident. After going to physical therapy and being on pain medications for 4 months it just seemed like nothing would help, like my pain was deeper, in my bones. My doctor and physical therapist explained to me that the is nothing else that they could do, they did all of the tests and it would heal overtime. In 2011 it seemed unbearable, I finally explained to my doctor that something else was going on, that my bones ached and it wasn’t just in one area, it was my entire body. He finally did a tender point test on me and diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. Of course just like anyone would, I did tons of research. I searched online and found some great sources, including the Mayo clinic, WebMD, and the Fibromyalgia Network.
4) Some doctors feel as though the pain is all in your head, that fibromyalgia is not real. But I’m here today to tell you that it is real. Over the past 9 years the American Fibromyalgia Syndrome Association (AFSA) has funded 23 research projects to find a cure. Which is amazing since in 1993, there was none funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). (Fibomyalgia Network)
5) I’m going to go over what fibromyalgia is, the symptoms, the causes, testing and diagnosis, and the treatments available.
Body
1) What is Fibromyalgia?
a) Fibromyalgia is a musculoskeletal condition that causes widespread pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Sometimes symptoms begin after a physical trauma, surgery, infection or significant psychological stress. Women between the ages of 25 to 60 are more likely to get this and are 10 times more likely to get this than men.
2) Symptoms
a) Anxiety or depression
b) Decreased pain threshold or tender points, locations include back of the head, between shoulder blades, top of shoulders, front side of neck, upper chest, outer elbows, upper hips, sides of hips, and inner knees.
c) Fatigue
d) Widespread pain, to be considered widespread you must have pain on both sides of your body, above and below your waist.
e) Headaches
f) Morning stiffness
g) Numbness and tingling in hands, arms, feet and legs.
3) Causes
a) Doctors really don’t know what causes fibromyalgia but believe that it is caused by a variety of factors working together, they include:
i) Genetics ii) Infections- some illnesses appear to trigger or aggravate fibromyalgia iii) Physical or emotional trauma- Post-traumatic stress disorder has been linked to fibromyalgia
4) Testing and Diagnosis
a) Two criteria for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia included:
i) Widespread pain lasting at least three months ii) At least 11 positive tender points-out of a total possible of 18 iii) No other underlying condition that might be causing the pain.
b) Blood tests. Your doctor has to run blood tests to rule out there conditions that have