Fibromyalgia is a disorder whose chief symptom is pain, the kind of pain that is called musculoskeletal pain (in the muscles, bones and joints).

The other significant symptoms of Fibromyalgia are intense fatigue, difficulty sleeping, problems with memory and severe moods (either swinging between highs and lows or even a vague depression).

Fibromyalgia is a very complicated disorder. Sometimes it evidences itself after a physical or emotional trauma, sometimes it shows up after a medical procedure, and sometimes there appears to be no “trigger”.

You could be at risk for Fibromyalgia if you have rheumatic diseases. Fibromyalgia is more prevalent in women.

Diagnosing Fibromyalgia:

Fibromyalgia can be tricky to diagnose. In general, fibromyalgia will be suspected if you experience pain, often in the form of a dull ache, pain that does not go away for at least three months. The pain needs to be experienced in multiple locations, on both the left and right sides of the body and both above and below the waist.

Treating Fibromyalgia:

At Michigan Spine and Pain, we are aware that Fibromyalgia treatment must be individualized. We cannot eradicate Fibromyalgia, but we can work together to try to keep the symptoms at bay through therapies, medication and maintaining a good level of general health, through proper diet, exercise and restorative sleep schedules.

Medication can be as simple as over the counter pain relievers, prescription pain relievers, certain anti-depressants, medication to aid in sleeping better or certain anti-seizure medication. All of these substances need to be monitored and part of regular conversation between you and your health care provider, so we can be sure that the medication is effective and is not creating other unwanted side effects.

Medication and healthy life style maintenance are two parts of the puzzle. Often times, other interventions can be quite helpful, too, including psychological counseling to find strategies to decrease stress, physical therapy to learn gentle stretching exercises that can help, acupuncture and massage therapy.