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| Fibromyalgia: is
currently believed to be an autoimmune process where the
patient has an unusual sensitivity to pain. Many
believe that it begins after a traumatic event or after
being intubated for general anesthesia. For many
cases their is no identifiable event preceding the
diagnosis. The manifestation of symptoms runs the
gamut from annoying to debilitating and everywhere in
between. As with all autoimmune disease processes,
fibromyalgia tends to affect more women than men.
The primary reason for this is the the immune systems of
women are vastly more complex. Biologically, this
is necessary for the female to carry a pregnancy to
term, as the primary function of the immune system is to
"destroy" any entity perceived to be other than self.
As with all systems, the more complex, the greater the
potential for a component to fail. There are still
many practitioners who dismiss fibromyalgia syndrome as
"all in the patient's head". I can tell you, from
personal experience, it is not all in your head.
It is considered a syndrome because the causes are
unknown and primarily there are few, if any diagnostic
tests to confirm the diagnosis. Diagnosis
frequently takes years. The diagnosis is made when
all other causes have been "ruled out" and no other
explanation exists for the chronic pain. The one
constant appears to be the finding of pain in a number
of "pressure points" at the intersection of various
muscles and bones.
In the future, I will be
adding internet and other resources for those suffering from
fibromyalgia. |
©WoodsideCottage.com.
Last updated 18 March 2008
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