Common Fibromyalgia Misdiagnoses Columbia SC
Common Fibromyalgia Misdiagnoses
Fibromyalgia is notoriously difficult to diagnose, even though it affects about 10 million Americans. The National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) describes it as a complex chronic pain disorder. Unfortunately, there are currently no clinical tests to diagnose the condition and the NFA reports that it may take as long as five years for a patient to get a formal diagnosis.
The most common symptoms of fibromyalgia are pain, stiffness, fatigue and weakness. For now, the only way your doctor can tell if you have this health problem is through your own list of symptoms, your medical history, a physical examination, and assessment of tender points on your body. According to the NFA, the criteria for determining if you have fibromyalgia are:
- widespread pain in all four quadrants of your body for at least three months;
- pain or tenderness in no less than 11 of the 18 specified tender points when pressure is applied.
Part of the difficulty in determining if a person has fibromyalgia is that other illnesses share some of the same symptoms. These include:
Rheumatoid Arthritis
This autoimmune condition causes inflammation or swelling, stiffness and pain in multiple joints in the body. It can also cause fatigue and weakness. In advance stages, rheumatoid arthritis can also affect internal organs.
How to tell the difference. Rheumatoid arthritis can be determined through a series of blood tests that check for chemical indicators of the disease, such as tumor necrosis factor, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide, and C-reactive protein...
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