Is fibromyalgia caused by depression?
930807
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a neurological disorder of hypersensitization - it definitely is NOT caused by depression. Joint pain would be arthritis, or a related condition :-)\n\nBecause there isn't one test that says, "Hey, you definitely have fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS)!" the diagnostic process can be pretty long.\n\nIf you've experienced pain in all four quadrants (above your waist on the right side, above your waist on the left side, below your waist on the left side, and below your waist on the right side) for more than three months (some doctors insist on six), and you've tested negative for everything else that would explain full-body pain (arthritis, scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, lupus, lyme disease, ankylosing spondylitis, multiple sclerosis, etc.), a rheumatologist should do a tender point examination. \n\nNo more than 4kg/1.54km2 of pressure is applied to 18 specific points on your body (don't confuse these with trigger points, which are different). That's a very little bit of pressure - if you push your finger against something, just as the skin under your nail starts to change color, it's a little less than that much pressure. That's how it was explained to me.\n\nSomeone who has fibromyalgia will experience significant pain in at least 11 of the 18 points. (There's some controversy on that at the moment, because symptoms can vary from day to day, but that's the official criteria right now as established by the American College of Rheumatology.) I felt like screaming with all 18. \n\nThere are people who say, "Oh, I think I have fibromyalgia!" just like there are plenty of people who walk around claiming to have chronic fatigue syndrome or who say they have "allergies" to everything under the sun when they really mean they don't like your perfume. Unless someone has been officially diagnosed by a rheumatologist, AFTER having everything else ruled out, call bullshit on any claims to having fibromyalgia. It's too often used as an by hypochondriacs.\n\nUnfortunately it's also used as a "wastebasket" diagnosis by doctors who are too lazy to find out what a patient's real problems are. Fibromyalgia is considered incurable, so it's easy to say, "Oh, you've got FMS, nothing I can do for you, get used to it." If you run in to that kind of doctor, fire him!\n\nThat kind of nonsense makes it very hard to get fibromyalgia, which IS very real, taken seriously. I speak as someone diagnosed with it in 1993. My daughter was diagnosed in 1999 (she's just 16 now). It's a nasty thing, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. If you have it, there are plenty of things you can do to improve your life. I've made it one of my missions in life to share what I've learned about it with others :-)\n\nOn the depression issue: People who have fibromyalgia often feel depressed, but that's understandable considering the symptoms we live with :-)\n\nAs for whether or not being depressed can cause a fibromyalgia flare - well, any stressor can make fibromyalgia symptoms worse. Most depressed people don't take care of themselves as well as they would otherwise, and studies have established that depression causes us to perceive any kind of irritant as more annoying than it would be otherwise. So the fibromyalgia is going to get to you more when you're depressed, and being depressed is going to make you less likely to take good care of yourself to alleviate your fibromyalgia symptoms. It's a pretty nasty feedback loop.\n\nI wish you luck in dealing with fibromyalgia and/or depression, if you or someone you care about are. Please let us know how you're doing.
906564
Have you discussed Fibromyalgia with your doctor?  There is no specific test for fibro, but a diagnosses is made when all other causes are ruled out.  A chiropracter would not help the symptoms of fibromyalgia, it affects the soft tissue not bones.  I ask because you conplaine of pain in the trigger points, fatigue which are common in fibro.  The pain is usually a deep muscle ache and spasms that can involve any part of the body.  Joint pain is common also.  Sleep disturbances are usually associated with fibro as well as restless leg syndrom, stiffness especially in the morning, anxiety and depression, pain worsening when there are changes in the barometric pressure before and after a storm, cold and humid weather also make the pain worst.  The trigger points become hard and hurt to touch.  If your doctor is not familiar with fibromyalgia I would suggest seeing someone who is qualified.  Its a complicated syndrome and there are many aspects that need to be treated in order to be able to function.  I was diagnossed 10 yrs ago and my doctor didn't know enough to treat me properly.  I am now disabled and have to take narcotics to aleviate the pain to a point where I am able to function with some normalcy.  I would think that a spinal xray would show a tumor, but I would ask for an MRI to rule out the posibility of a buldging or herniated disk or anyother problem with the spine.  The pain of fibro is much like rhumatoid arthritis but it doesn't cause the deformaty.  I hope this helps.
32185
I have had fibromyalgia for over 10 years and when I first got it, I felt pretty much how you described.  \n\nIt took me years of research and application to find what works best for me.  Every person is individual, so you will have to go by trial and error, but here is some of what I do...\n\n1. Take an antidepressant. I've tried many prescribed by my doctor and found that even St.John's Wort works very well.  The antidepressants raise your seretonin levels, (the feel good chemical in your brain,) and you just generally feel better all over.\n\n2. Get some exercise every day. Not too little, but not too much.  Too little will allow your muscles to become stiff and sore but too much will make them ache like crazy.  I find yoga and walking to be the two best exercises for me. I do them every day and my body feels 1000% better.\n\n3. Eat a healthier diet.  Too much sugar, white flour, fat and carbs, seem to exasperate the condition.  Try to stick to natural foods, whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables.\n\n4. Get enough sleep and rest.  Try to get 8 hours of sleep each night if possible. If you have what I do, and wake up each night and toss and turn, try taking a herbal sleep remedy.  Valerian and passionflower worked very well for me. They sell sleep remedy blends in health food stores and I find they really help. \n\n5.  Mediation and relaxation...even if it's only for 5 minutes a day, will make a big difference.  I know you said you have 4 children, and I have 5, all boys, so I know it's really hard to get any time to meditate or relax, but it's really, really, important if you are going to be any good to them.  You have to take care of yourself.\n\n6. Journalling. Again, I know this takes time, but it is the best way to get your feelings out of you.  If you don't have someone you can share you feeling with, then write about them.  Holding all your feelings inside causes a lot of tension, and I believe that's where and how Fibromyalgia starts.  Once I started writing, and crying, releasing some of my pain and withheld emotions, I really started feeling better.\n\nI wish you all the best of luck. You are living with a difficult chronic condition.  Take good care of yourself.  That's always the best place to start.\n\nTake care.\n\nKathy
978579
It is a relatively new diagnosis with lots of controversial opinions. Mainly it is pain without any association to injury or arthritic condition.  Fibromyalgia has insurance companies scrambling for answers as they really do not want to pay for treatment of something that has yet to be clearly defined by the medical profession. \nThe following wikipedia description clearly states that the nature of it is not understood.\n\nFibromyalgia (FM or FMS) is a debilitating chronic syndrome (constellation of signs and symptoms) characterized by diffuse or specific muscle, joint, or bone pain, fatigue, and a wide range of other symptoms. It is not contagious, and recent studies suggest that people with fibromyalgia may be genetically predisposed[1]. It affects more females than males, with a ratio of 9:1 by ACR (American College of Rheumatology) criteria[2]. Fibromyalgia is seen in 3% to 6% of the general population, and is most commonly diagnosed in individuals between the ages of 20 and 50. The nature of fibromyalgia is not well understood, with many frustrated physicians driven to accusing their patients of feigning illness. There are few, if any, treatments available[3], and there is no cure, but the disease is not life-threatening.
145097
Here is a study that explains why people with Fibromyalgia are always in pain.\nFibromyalgia pain, isn't all in patients' heads new brain study finds.\nJune 7, 2002 fMRI scans give first objective measure of mysterious ailment, provide road map for future study\n\n\n\nANN ARBOR, MI - A new brain-scan study confirms scientifically what fibromyalgia patients have been telling a skeptical medical community for years: They're really in pain.\n\nIn fact, the study finds, people with fibromyalgia say they feel severe pain, and have measurable pain signals in their brains, from a gentle finger squeeze that barely feels unpleasant to people without the disease. The squeeze's force must be doubled to cause healthy people to feel the same level of pain - and their pain signals show up in different brain areas.\n\nThe results, published in the May issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, the journal of the American College of Rheumatology, may offer the proof of fibromyalgia's physical roots that many doubtful physicians have sought. It may also open doors for further research on the still-unknown causes of the disease, which affects more than 2 percent of Americans, mainly women.\n\nLead authors Richard Gracely, Ph.D., and Daniel Clauw, M.D., did the study at Georgetown University Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health, but are now continuing the work at the University of Michigan Health System. In an editorial in the same issue, Clauw and U-M rheumatologist Leslie Crofford, M.D., stress the importance of fibromyalgia research and care.\n\nTo correlate subjective pain sensation with objective views of brain signals, the researchers used a super-fast form of MRI brain imaging, called functional MRI or fMRI, on 16 fibromyalgia patients and 16 people without the disease. As a result, they say, the study offers the first objective method for corroborating what fibromyalgia patients report they feel, and what's going on in their brains at the precise moment they feel it. And, it gives researchers a road map of the areas of the brain that are most - and least - active when patients feel pain.\n\n"The fMRI technology gave us a unique opportunity to look at the neurobiology underlying tenderness, which is a hallmark of fibromyalgia," says Clauw. "These results, combined with other work done by our group and others, have convinced us that some pathologic process is making these patients more sensitive. For some reason, still unknown, there's a neurobiological amplification of their pain signals."\n\nFurther results from the study were presented last year at the ACR annual meeting. The project will continue later this year at UMHS, joining other fMRI fibromyalgia research now under way.\n\nFor decades, patients and physicians have built a case that fibromyalgia is a specific, diagnosable chronic disease, characterized by tenderness and stiffness all over the body as well as fatigue, headaches, gastrointestinal problems and depression. Many patients with the disease find it interferes with their work, family and personal life. Statistics show that far more women than men are affected, and that it occurs mostly during the childbearing years.\n\nThe ACR released classification criteria for fibromyalgia in 1990, to help doctors diagnose it and rule out other chronic pain conditions. Clauw and Crofford's editorial looks at the current state of research, and calls for rheumatologists to take the lead in fibromyalgia care and science.\n\nBut many skeptics have debated the very existence of fibromyalgia as a clearly distinct disorder, saying it seemed to be rooted more in psychological and social factors than in physical, biological causes. Their argument has been bolstered by the failure of research to find a clear cause, an effective treatment, or a non-subjective way of assessing patients.\n\nWhile the debate has raged, neuroscientists have begun to use brain scan technology to identify the are
180139
There is getting to be more evidence that chemical imbalances, especially trace mineral deficiencies, may be a cause for SOME fibromyalgia.  This is because treating the symptoms by using balanced mixtures of nutritional minerals seems to help the symptoms in many people.  \n\nYou can look on pubmed (just use yahoo to search for pubmed, it is run by the National Institute of Health) for "minerals fibromyalgia" and you will find several studies.\n\nI know people with fibromyalgia who have reported great success with a particular vitamin and mineral supplement.  If you are interested, email me (jstmother) at yahoo and I will point you at how to get it.
792161
Sounds like depression.\n\nDepression is a very common condition that is believed by many experts to be the number one cause of disability in the world. In the U.S.,17% of people will experience depression at some point in their lives. An estimated 19 million people in the U.S. are currently suffering from depression. Depression is more common in women then in men, with 25% of women suffering from depression severe enough to warrant treatment at least once during their lifetime. \n\nIt’s important to remember that depression is an illness that affects both the body and mind. It is not something that we can just wish away or “snap out of”, nor is it a sign of a weak character. The good news about depression is that almost everyone suffering from this condition can be helped with treatment, so it is important to recognize the signs and symptoms of depression. \n\nAccording to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the main symptoms and signs of depression are the following:\n\n-Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood \n-Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism \n-Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness \n-Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed, including sex \n-Decreased energy, fatigue, being "slowed down" \n-Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions \n-Insomnia, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping \n-Appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain \n-Thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts \n-Restlessness, irritability \n-Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain \n\nIf you have been experiencing several of these symptoms to a degree that they have impaired or affected your life, talk to your doctor. He or she can help you find out whether or not you are suffering from depression and direct you to appropriate resources for treatment and recovery.\n\nTreatment of depression may include antidepressant medication, professional counseling such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, or a combination of the two. \n\nProfessional counseling may be all that you need for mild to moderate depression.\n \nIf your early symptoms are severe, your initial treatment most likely will include both antidepressants and professional counseling. \n\nHospitalization may be necessary if you show warning signs of suicide, such as thoughts or plans about harming yourself or another person, detachment from reality (psychosis), or excessive use of alcohol or drugs.
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http://www.doctormurray.com/conditions/Fibromyalgia.asp
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hi there ,, this is what i could bring to u about fibromyalgia ,,,,, hope it's useful \n\nFibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that causes widespread pain and tenderness in the muscles and soft tissue ,,,\n\nsymptoms of fibromyalgia :\n\nMost people with fibromyalgia endure cycles of muscle, soft tissue, and back or neck pain, \nsleep problems, and \noften debilitating fatigue. \nFibromyalgia is also characterized by the presence of up to 18 specific tender points on the body—these are painful only when you press directly on them.\n\nAlthough less common than pain, fatigue, and sleep problems, a variety of other symptoms may occur as well. These include headaches, morning stiffness, difficulty concentrating, a circulatory problem that affects the small blood vessels of the skin (Raynaud's phenomenon), and irritable bowel syndrome. As with many conditions that cause chronic pain, anxiety and depression are common in people with fibromyalgia and may make symptoms worse.\n\nSymptoms tend to come and go. Periods when they are constant (flares) may be followed by periods when they are absent (remissions). Some people find that cold, damp weather, emotional stress, overexertion, and other factors make their symptoms worse
502999
it is possible that your fibromyalgia is the key culprit to the deterioration of your body, I hate to hear that you have that because from what I have read about it, it is a terrible disease. I hope you find out what the cause is but my guess would be the fibromyalgia. Take Care and God Bless
1063559
i think its true. to me, depression is causing it. i dont eat well, always sleepy, tired and no drive to do anything. im still dealing with it. one avise, get to the root of the problem, stay healthy.
950934
Registered Nurse Here; Well hun, I think most of us feel this way from time to time, however when this starts out numbering the good days.  It would benefit you greatly to see a Physician, your family doctor, he or she, may decide with you to try a medication or they may suggest a psychiatrist.  Not sleeping well and crying spells are two classical symptoms of depression.  I know  your having a hard time, and there is no need for you to suffer to this degree in the era of medication and modern technology, you can be helped and assisted to feel better.  Please seek medical/mental attention,  there is MHMR, or a family practice doctor.  Both of these can put you on the road to recovery.  Thank you for the opportunity to address such a sensitive question.  Please seek some help.
17097
Yes..living in sadness does cause depression and in turn our mind affects the the body's immune system..it can also lead to strokes and various other potential lethal diseases..life is already too short to feel sad :)
543206
I am 33 as well. I have fibromyalgia and osteoporosis. I have two girls and two step girls and two babysitting kids, I also go to school full time. Sometimes, I feel great- but then other days, I feel like I am my own grandmother. Especially in the mornings. My husband is already making plans for when we retire- we will be snowbirds- in FL in the winter, and MI in the summer. I am always cold, even in the springtime. I wear sweatshirts all year long. It is part of having fibromyalgia.
742748
depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and effects people in different ways, many who are suffering from depression arent completely aware of it, but those close to them might be. if you have drastically changed your habits, are tired or sleepless, crying, or angry, you may be suffering from depression however i strongly suggest you see a doctor as there are many types of depression that only a doctor can diagnose. you could be mildly depressed, suicidal, bipolar, etc. GO SEE A DOCTOR!!!! you cant just snap out of it, or wish it away, you need to be diagnosed and treated before it gets out of control. remember you can still function, laugh etc while depressed so dont put it off!!!!!
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Have you been checked for Fibromyalgia? PTSD is usually caused by a traumatic (physical or mental) event and so is Fibro. However, Fibro could be what is causing your pain. If so, pain medications will not be of assistance and you may then want to look at muscle relaxers instead. I have had Fibro for twenty years and have tried every pain reliever possible. Most worked initially and then I built up a tolerance causing me to move to heavier medications.\n\nHere are a few exerpts that I found linking Fibro and PTSD and are sourced below.\n\nThe mysterious chronic pain condition fibromyalgia is widely thought of as a woman's disease, but new research suggests it is also common among men with posttraumatic stress disorder. \n\nPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or chronic stress may play a strong role in the development of fibromyalgia in some patients. PTSD is an anxiety disorder that is a reaction to a specific traumatic event. Symptoms of this condition, which can occur for years after the traumatic event, include emotional withdrawal, hopelessness, irritability, mood swings, sleep problems, inability to concentrate, and an excessive startle response to noise. There is some evidence that PTSD actually results in changes in the brain, possibly from long-term overexposure to stress hormones.\n\nThis is a list of the symptoms of Fibromyalgia http://www.fibrohugs.com/article.php?story=20040301122908997
89347
Depression is often caused by low serotonin levels in the brain - it's the neurotransmitter that tells you that life is okay.  When we eat, we release chemicals in the brain that make us feel good.  Knowing that, when we're depressed, we look to repeat that feeling good, because we need it so much.