Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that is very hard to diagnose as it resembles a combination of many medical conditions. Fibromyalgia commonly manifests itself with frequent exhaustion, widespread pain in muscles, ligaments and tendons, and many tender points where slight pressure causes pain. It occurs in approximately two percent of the population and out of those two percent it is mostly women who develop this medical problem. The instances also increase with age and most often develop after some sort of traumatic incident.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/ds00079

Doctors are not aware of the cause of Fibromyalgia but the consensus is that it involves a variety of factors all working together to cause this condition. These factors include genetics, infections and physical or emotional trauma.

Genetics: Fibromyalgia is usually found in more than one member of a family therefore doctors think that there may be a genetic mutation that makes certain people more prone to developing the disorder.

Infections: there are some illnesses that tend to trigger or aggravate the onset or the symptoms of Fibromylagia.

Physical or emotional trauma: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been linked to the development of fibromyalgia.

The Fibromyalgia condition is fairly new medical issue to doctors that is still being studied, although it has been around for many years. The current theory is that people who develop this condition have a lower threshold for pain due to the brain signals having an increased sensitivity to pain. They think that the repeated nerve stimulation causes the brain to change and the abnormal increase in levels of specific chemicals causes the brain to signal pain (neurotransmitters). Each instance causes the brain to become more sensitive to the pain and overreact to the pain signals.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079/DSECTION=causes

Fibromyalgia develops more often in women than in men, usually develops in mid-adulthood and is most often found in people who have some other relative with the disease. It is often found in people who have disturbed sleep patterns such as night-time muscle spasms, restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea. If you have Rheumatic arthritis or lupus you may be at risk to develop this condition.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079/DSECTION=risk-factors

Although fibromyalgia does not lead to any other medical conditions or diseases it may lead to depression and lack of sleep due to the pain. The frustration of dealing with a disease that is often misunderstood may lead to other complications of the condition.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079/DSECTION=complicationshttp://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/default.htmhttp://www.medicinenet.com/fibromyalgia/article.htm#1whatis

The fibromyalgia disease is often difficult to diagnose as the symptoms are often very similar to any number of other medical conditions and diseases. Before seeing a doctor you should make a detailed list of all your symptoms, list any medical problems that you have had in the past, list the history of medical conditions that are or were diagnosed for other family members and write down any questions that you will want to ask your doctor. Your doctor may want to test your reflexes, your muscle strength and muscle tone, your sense of touch and sight, your coordination and your balance. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079/DSECTION=tests-and-diagnosishttp://www.medicinenet.com/fibromyalgia/page2.htm

There is a standard that is used for diagnosing a possible case of fibromyalgia; these criteria include widespread pain that has lasted more than three months and that there are at least eleven tender points on the body. Although fibromyalgia cannot be confirmed from blood tests, your doctor will likely want to take a blood test in order to rule out any other conditions that manifest themselves with similar symptoms. These blood tests should include a complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and a thyroid function test.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079/DSECTION=tests-and-diagnosis

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has similar guidelines that are used to diagnose a possible case of fibromyalgia. These guidelines include widespread pain throughout the body for three months. This widespread pain is not limited to one side of the body and must be above as well as below your waist. There are eighteen tender points on the body that should be tested and at least eleven of these need to be considered to be actual tender points.

What makes it even more difficult to diagnose fibromyalgia is that these symptoms are not exclusive to the disease and are not a fool-proof way of diagnosing the condition. There may be many other symptoms that may be caused by fibromyalgia such as chronic stomach aches and headaches that are combined with other pain.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia-symptoms/AR00054

Your doctor may want to test you for the following diseases in order to ensure that the symptoms are not caused by any of these: rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis and sleep apnea.

It is important that you find a doctor that you are comfortable with and build a good relationship with him or her. It is also very important that you take good care of yourself by managing your stress level, take time for yourself, relaxing, eat a healthy diet with a variety of fruits and vegetables and to get lots of sleep.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia-symptoms/AR00054/NSECTIONGROUP=2http://www.medicinenet.com/fibromyalgia/page3.htm

There are a number of way that fibromyalgia is treated. This includes the use of medications and taking good care of your body in order to minimize the symptoms of the disease. The medications include analgesics, antidepressants and anti-seizure drugs:

• Analgesics that may be prescribed are acetaminophen to ease the pain and stiffness, Tramadol (Ultram) to relieve the pain, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen (example: Advil, Motrin), or Aleve. The NSAIDs are generally prescribed with other medications as they have not proven to be effective on their own. • Antidepressants such as amitriptyline may be prescribed to help with sleep, Fluoxetine (Prozac) may be used in addition to amitriptyline, duloxetine (Cymbalta) is used to help with the pain and fatigue, and milnacipran (Savella). • Anti-seizure drugs such as drugs that are used to treat epilepsy may be prescribed as they may help in reducing pain. Gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica) are commonly used.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

There are specific exercises that are recommended for people who suffer with fibromyalgia. These exercises generally restore muscle balance to reduce the pain, stretching techniques and hot or cold treatments.

Behavioral therapy via counseling is often recommended to help teach methods for dealing with the stresses that are associated in dealing with chronic pain.

There are also alternative treatments that may be considered including acupuncture, chiropractic care and massage therapy. Acupuncture would be used to change the blood flow and the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain and the spinal cord, a chiropractor would do a spinal cord adjustment or manipulation in an attempt to improve function and decrease pain, and a massage therapist would manipulate the body in order to improve blood circulation to the muscles, increase the flow of nutrients and eliminating waste products, reduce the heart rate, relax the muscles, improve the range of motion of joints and increase the production of a body’s natural painkillers. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079/DSECTION=alternative-medicine

The most important thing for anyone who is suffering with fibromyalgia is to educate themselves about the disease, make sure that family members also understand the disease in order to provide as much support as necessary and to know that there are many other people with the same disease. Joining a support group such as the Arthritis Foundation or the American Chronic Pain Association can be very helpful.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079/DSECTION=coping-and-supporthttp://www.medicinenet.com/fibromyalgia/page4.htm