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 The Unique Pain Of Fibromyalgia Syndrome The experience of pain appears to be a complex phenomenon with humans. Thereason for the occurrence of pain can be physical, psychological, or a combinationof both of these causes. And how one defines or describes the intensity of the painthey experience varies as much as the types of pain that exist. Although the originmay be the same from one person to another, the experience of pain is, in fact, asubjective emotional response to the sensation and perception of the pain itself. This is why the syndrome of Fibromyalgia is so difficult to define objectively andtreat for health care providers, who are usually primary care physicians.Rheumatologists have said that Fibromyalgia Syndrome is the second most commonmusculoskeletal diagnosis after osteoporosis.Fibromyalgia is a very controversial syndrome. Some doubt it is as prevalent asothers believe (3 to 6 percent of the population, some have determined). About 80percent of the sufferers that are diagnosed with fibromyalgiaare women.Furthermore, fibromyalgia is not a disease- it is a syndrome. A syndrome is whatyou call something that has multiple symptomsthat occur together. A disease,however, is an actual dysfunction of one’s physiology in some manner.Fibromyalgia syndrome is considered a muscle condition that involves varyingintensities of chronic pain for a prolonged period of time. As a result of this painwhich is rather brutal with many sufferers, their physical function becomes limited.In addition, the location of the pain associated with fibromyalgia is determined bythe health care provider according to at least11 of 18 defined tender points atvarious locations on the human body.Regardless, fibromyalgia is misunderstood by the medical community overall. Tofurther complicate the subject of fibromyalgia syndrome, some have suggested thatthe pharmaceutical companies that make the only two medications actuallyapproved for the treatment of fibromyalgia, which are the drug giants Pfizer withtheir drug Lyrica, and Eli Lilly, the maker ofCymbalta, have conducted what is knownas disease mongering.Disease mongering is when others expand the diagnostic criteria for a particularmedical issue though various ways of informing the public of the potentialundetected cases of such an issue through advertising, primarily.Also, another method of disease mongering is though the funding of various relatedassociations and societies through educational grants to be the voice for those whoconduct disease mongering with deliberate intent to increase the profit of theirmedications. There is evidence to support this claim- with more funds from thesecompanies dedicated to advertising much more than grants.
 
 Yet it is clear that fibromyalgia syndrome exists, as there are so many diagnosedwith this medical issue that share the same symptoms, which include othersymptoms besides pain alone. And it often takes a great deal of time for a patientthat has fibromyalgia to receive the correct diagnosis due to the absence of anyobjective diagnostic testing to assess this syndrome. The fibromyalgia patient oftengoes through numerous other diagnostic testing, such as blood work and X-Rays, astheir doctor orders such tests to rule out other diseases and disorders that may bepresent with the symptoms expressed with fibromyalgia syndrome.Variables associated with those diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome includethose patients with a history mental illness. They also tend to be overweight andlive an inactive lifestyle, overall. Also, there seems to be an association with thosediagnosed with fibromyalgia and these patients being in a state of lowsocioeconomic status.Also in over 50 percent of those diagnosed with fibromyalgia, the patients areexperiencing mental stress, emotional distress, as well as some sort of familyconflicts as well. In fact, this stress amplifies the symptoms of fibromyalgia if theseemotions are expressing themselves in the fibromyalgia patient. Insomnia isassociated with fibromyalgia as well. It appears that mean age of onset of Fibromyalgia is around 40 years old, yet fibromyalgia syndrome can occur at anyage.Aside from systemic pain of varying degrees with the fibromyalgia patient, thepatient experiencesaffective disorders typically. Since the symptoms of fibromyalgia also could indicate other disease states in 25 percent of the patients,usually X-Rays and blood work are examined to rule out other possible causesfor thesymptoms. The Journal of the American Medical Association gave these symptoms the name of Fibromyalgia in the mid 1980s, as well as this association publically acknowledgingthat it is a disabling illness There is evidence the cause is neurological. Upon examining the spinal fluid of afibromyalgia patient, their serotonin levels are low, which is a neurotransmitter thathas multiple emotional functions, as well as elevations of the neuro-chemicalprotein called substance P, which is the catalyst for pain. The patients also haveelevated levels of what is called nerve growth factor (NGF). NGF is a proteinmolecule that, when elevated, is also associated with Alzeimer’s disease, and,believe it or not, one falling in love.Furthermore, some fibromyalgia patents have had their brains scanned forabnormalities that may be present, and their brains in fact have shown varyingdegrees of structural dysfunction with their brains due to fibromyalgia.
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