Saturday, 19 May 2012

Is Fibromyalgia A Form Of Neuropathy?

Today's post comes from drbradshook.com (see link below) and shows a blog posting by Carol Ryland (neither are visibly connected to HIV in any way) talking about fibromyalgia. Many people who suspect that they have neuropathic symptoms may well be told that they have fibromyalgia and vice versa. In principle the two are not the same although the pain from both is generally treated in the same way. Peripheral neuropathy often coexists with fibromyalgia as both are considered a connective tissue condition and an auto-immune disorder. Experts are now also beginning to see one as possibly part of the other which for the patient is about as clear as mud. Fybromyalgia is very often linked with chronic fatigue syndrome; whereas neuropathy is generally not (although many neuropathy patients may well beg to differ as they struggle through the day). The answer lies in accurate testing and maybe skin biopsies. Whether this information really helps the patient in the end is the question because the treatment is much the same although establishing the cause of your nerve pain will help your doctor treat you appropriately and tidy up your medical file. 


Fibromyalgia Pain Relief Treatments! Which Ones Are Best for Me? by Carol Ryland
If you hurt all over your body, and often feel exhausted… you’ve gone through countless tests to discover what’s wrong with you and even then, your General Practitioner can not find anything in particular wrong with you… your agony may be a symptom of fibromyalgia. Experiencing tender points on places on places such as your neck, shoulders, back, hips, legs or arms that hurt when touched is a fibromyalgia symptom. Other symptoms, for example difficulty sleeping, morning rigidity, headaches, and issues with thinking and memory, called ‘fibro fog,’ are additional signs that point to a fibromyalgia diagnosis. Over 10,000,000 individuals living in North America today, suffer with the agony of fibromyalgia.
For the fibromyalgia sufferer, discomfort is sometimes felt in your neck, back, shoulders, hands, and pelvic area… but it can be anywhere in the body. Fibromyalgia sufferers also endure general fatigue and sleeping problems. Therefore, it’s easy to see why most sufferers seek fibromyalgia treatments that work for them, with their specific symptoms. Fortunately, there are many fibromyalgia pain relief treatments. If you’re one of 5 to 7 % of the people who suffer from fibromyalgia, the following information may help you to select a treatment that will work for you.

Treatments Utilized for Fibromyalgia Pain Relief…

Many professionals in the medical field and their patients seem to be in agreement that the best fibromyalgia pain relief treatments come in tablet form. There are several medicines that are utilized as pain treatments to relieve the physical discomfort, but you should go to your health practitioner to pinpoint the best therapy plan for your precise condition. Your physician can provide you with a prescription for a stronger medication, since over-the-counter drugs aren’t usually strong enough to relieve the discomfort connected with fibromyalgia. Usually, the medications are the same ones used to relieve the pain of arthritis, although opiods are helpful in dealing with other fibromyalgia symptoms, they are not commonly used for fibromyalgia pain relief because they don’t work. In fact, no pain medication has been approved by the FDA for the relief of fibromyalgia pain.

There are other fibromyalgia pain relief treatments which can be used in combination with the “arthritis medications”. Sufferers may use these alternative strategies together with medicine, or by themselves. Alternative techniques for the treatment of fibromyalgia include: Physical treatments like Acupressure and acupuncture, Massage, Exercise, Chiropractic treatment, Osteopathic manipulation, Occupational therapy, and Biofeedback.

To augment fibromyalgia pain relief medications other medical treatments may be applied like antidepressant’s (Paxil, Prozac), sleep medicines (Lunesta, Ambien), anti-epileptics (Neurontin), and muscle relaxants (Flexeril) can all be utilized for fibromyalgia discomfort alleviation. Many of these medicines relieve symptoms so that you can sleep at night, making it possible to achieve the deep-level sleep required for tissue regeneration… and helping to put other body functions back into balance.

It is your decision as the patient to determine what fibromyalgia pain relief treatment(s) you wish to pursue. But speaking to your physician is recommended to steer you in the right direction and provide quality referrals if needed. Although the primary symptoms of fibromyalgia may never fully vanish, it is nice to know that relief for your discomfort is just a doctor’s visit away… and natural treatments including a healthy “heart-smart” diets and the addition of a nutritional supplement can do wonders in helping you to overcome your fibromyalgia symptoms. There’s no need to live suffering in discomfort a minute longer.

For more information on natural treatments of fibromyalgia symptoms, contact me now by clicking on one of the links below.

http://www.overcomefibro.com/best-fibromyalgia-pain-relief-treatments.html

Carol Ryland is the President of a successful health and wellness business, dedicated to educating and mentoring individuals in the natural treatment of illnesses. Writer of many articles on fibromyalgia and related topics, she is a fibromyalgia survivor with a deep personal understanding of the syndrome and its devastating effects

http://drbradshook.com/

From About.com...

"Is the pain we feel with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome a type of neuropathy? It's an idea that's been around for several years but is garnering wider support as researchers find more evidence.

Research just presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting suggests that many of us with these conditions have small fiber neuropathy -- abnormalities in the small nerve fibers, which are near the surface of your skin a deal with pain and temperature sensation.
Researchers took skin biopsies from 30 people with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain syndrome, or a combination of these illnesses, as well as from a control group. Of the people with painful conditions, 13 (43%) had evidence of small fiber neuropathy."

http://chronicfatigue.about.com/b/2010/10/11/small-fiber-neuropathy-in-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.htm

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